Real mashed sweet potatoes take these fluffy Sweet Potato Biscuits to a whole new level of tenderness. These easy homemade biscuits are sweet, flaky, and melt-in-your-mouth, perfect with honey butter or pimento cheese!
Tender and Flaky Sweet Potato Biscuits
If there ever was a must-bake biscuit recipe, I think I’ve found it. And that’s saying something because biscuits are kind of a thing around here. I love my traditional Skillet Biscuits, which always have a place on my table whether it’s weekend brunch or Thanksgiving dinner.
Adding sweet potato to the mix was an unexpected twist I never knew I needed. I traveled to North Carolina not too long ago and Sweet Potato Biscuits were on the menu at a restaurant we visited. They were so great that I knew I needed to recreate them at home. And now they’ve definitely gone into our regular rotation!
This simple biscuit recipe has a subtle, irresistible sweetness from the sweet potatoes and a hint of sugar. They’re perfect all year long, but in the fall time these will be extra delicious with a pinch of pumpkin pie spice!
Why You’ll Love This Biscuit Recipe
These tender sweet potato biscuits are about to change your life. Here’s why:
Easy. These sweet potato biscuits are the easiest to make with only 5 ingredients. Using self-rising flour means there’s no need for additional leavening.
Versatile. Homemade biscuits make the perfect side dish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Whip up a batch of soft sweet potato biscuits for the holidays, or any time of the year.
Sweet, cozy flavor. Mashed sweet potato brings a unique, cozy flavor and lovely orange color to buttermilk biscuits. These are perfect for fall baking! You could even spice them up with cinnamon or nutmeg, see further on for easy variations.
What You’ll Need
You can count the ingredients for these sweet potato biscuits on one hand! I outline them below. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card below the post for the full ingredients and recipe details.
Flour and Sugar: For this biscuit recipe, I use self-rising flour and regular granulated sugar. Adding a bit of sugar makes these a little sweeter, and boosts the flavor of the sweet potatoes.
Butter: Make sure to use cold, salted butter. Cutting it into cubes will make it easier to mix with the other biscuit ingredients. I also like to brush the tops of freshly baked sweet potato biscuits with a bit of additional melted butter.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes: You’ll need about two medium-sized fresh sweet potatoes, cooked, cooled, and mashed before your start. See below for preparation notes!
Buttermilk: Like your butter, you’ll want your buttermilk cold from the fridge. If you don’t have buttermilk, it’s easy to make your own.
Preparing the Sweet Potatoes
Before you make your biscuits, you’ll need some mashed sweet potatoes. This is easy to do by boiling them on the stove, roasting the sweet potatoes in the oven, or cooking the sweet potatoes in the microwave. These biscuits are also a great way to use up leftover baked sweet potatoes.
My preferred method is baking the sweet potatoes. Simply scrub your sweet potatoes clean and bake them in the oven at 400ºF for 45-55 minutes, until they’re soft.
Whichever way you go about cooking your sweet potatoes, once they’re done, squeeze them out of their jackets and use a fork to mash them. Make sure that you allow the puree to cool completely before making your biscuits.
How to Make Sweet Potato Biscuits
This recipe makes enough dough to comfortably fit 10 biscuits inside a 12-inch cast iron skillet (see my tips below and the recipe card for notes on other sizes). While your oven preheats to 450ºF, grease your skillet, and then get started on the biscuit dough:
Combine the butter and dry ingredients. Whisk the flour and sugar together, then cut in the cold butter cubes. You can do this using two forks, or a pastry blender. You want the mixture to be crumbly with small pieces of butter throughout.
Add the sweet potatoes. Next, stir buttermilk into the mashed sweet potatoes, then combine this with the dough. Do your best to not overwork the biscuit dough. We want all those small pockets of butter to stay intact for tender, flaky biscuits.
Knead. Now, on a floured surface, fold the dough over itself a few times to create the layers. Then, use your hands to press the dough out into a disc (aim for about 1 ½ inches thick).
Shape the biscuits. Finally, cut out the dough using a round biscuit cutter, and arrange the biscuits inside your greased skillet. It’s fine if the biscuits are touching the pan.
Bake. Pop those babies into your preheated oven. Bake the biscuits for 20-25 minutes, until they’re golden, then take them out, brush the tops with melted butter, and serve.
Tips for The Best Biscuits
If you’re wary of making your own biscuits, I’ve got your back. Once upon a time, I was no stranger to the fear of my homemade biscuits turning out like hockey pucks, too! But I promise, with a bit of practice, this recipe, and some helpful tips below, you’re going to nail it.
Keep your ingredients cold. Cold ingredients, like the butter and buttermilk in this recipe, are essential for the best flaky biscuits. This is why it’s also important to cool your mashed sweet potatoes completely before adding them to the dough.
Don’t overwork the dough. It’s worth repeating, but make sure that you don’t handle the dough too much when mixing and kneading. Overworking activates the gluten in the dough, which leads to dense biscuits.
Don’t twist when cutting the biscuit dough. Twisting the biscuit cutter seals the edges of the biscuits, which prevents them from puffing up. Instead, press the cutter firmly into the dough.
Different skillet sizes: You can make these sweet potato biscuits in a 10-inch skillet, though you’ll have 2 biscuits left over. If you’d like, you can bake the extra two in a smaller baking pan at the same time. Alternatively, bake your biscuits in two 8-inch skillets.
Try adding spices. For an even cozier fall or holiday spin on these sweet potato biscuits, why not try adding cinnamon, nutmeg, or mixed spice to the dough. The spices play off of the sweet potato perfectly!
Common Questions
What’s the secret to light and flaky biscuits?
The first key to flaky biscuits is cold ingredients. Keep your ingredients in the fridge until you’re ready to use them, and if you’re baking in a warm kitchen, refrigerate your biscuits before you bake them. Another rule is to not overwork the dough, as this yields a tough, dense biscuit.
Can I use canned sweet potato puree?
If you’re pressed for time, yes, it’s fine to make these biscuits with canned sweet potato puree. I recommend passing canned puree through a fine mesh sieve to drain any excess water.
What to With Serve Sweet Potato Biscuits
These sweet potato biscuits make wonderful breakfast biscuits, warmed up and spread with a pat of butter. I like to drizzle mine with maple syrup or honey. Of course, old-fashioned biscuits of any kind are a classic side for Southern cooking! Try these ideas:
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Store leftover sweet potato biscuits airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days. Reheat these biscuits in the oven for a few minutes, or in the toaster.
Can I Freeze Sweet Potato Biscuits?
Yes! The baked and cooled biscuits can be stored in an airtight container or freezer bag and kept frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost your biscuits in the fridge or at room temperature before reheating and serving.
Real sweet potatoes bring delicious tenderness and flavor to homemade Sweet Potato Biscuits! These flaky biscuits are perfect for breakfast or as a side dish.
3 cups self-rising flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup cold salted butter, cut into small cubes
1 1/2 cups cold cooked and mashed sweet potatoes (about 2 medium sweet potatoes)
3/4 cup cold buttermilk
2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
Preheat your oven to 450°F. Coat a 12-inch cast iron skillet with butter (*see tip #1). Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the self-rising flour and sugar. Using a pastry blender or two forks, cut in the cold butter until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is in pea-sized pieces in the mixture. Set aside.
In a small bowl, stir together mashed sweet potatoes and buttermilk. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. The dough shouldn’t be either too sticky or too dry. If it’s too dry add in a splash of buttermilk, or If the dough is very sticky add in a tablespoon more flour (see tip #2). The trick is to not handle the dough too much, as you want the cold butter pieces to remain. This is what will make your biscuits extra flaky.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured counter and knead by folding the dough over on itself 4 – 5 times. This is what creates layers. Press the dough into a 1 1/2- inch disk.
Using a 3-inch round biscuit cutter dusted with flour (see tip #3), cut out biscuits and arrange them in the cast iron skillet (they will touch in the pan, this is fine). Use all the dough.
Bake biscuits for 20 – 25 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.
Remove the pan from the oven and immediately brush with melted butter.
Notes
Tip #1: If you don’t have a 12-inch skillet you can make these in a 10-inch skillet but will have dough left over for 2 biscuits. Or you can use 2 8-inch skillets
Tip #2: Keep all the ingredients cold. This will produce the fluffiest, flakiest biscuits.
Tip #3: Don’t Twist the Biscuit Cutter. Firmly press the cutter down into the dough, but don’t actually twist. Twisting the biscuit cutter seals off the edges of the biscuits and they therefore will not rise as high.
