Sourdough Drop Biscuits
There’s nothing quite like warm, buttery sourdough drop biscuits fresh from the oven. This easy recipe comes together with simple pantry ingredients and can be made with either active sourdough starter for a long-fermented, fluffy biscuit, or with sourdough discard for a quick weeknight side. Because there's no rolling, cutting, or extra mess, these old-fashioned biscuits are one of the easiest homemade breads you'll ever bake. Serve them with homemade sourdough sausage gravy, spread them with fresh homemade butter and jam, or pair them with creamy cheeseburger soup, cowboy chili, or this creamy sauerkraut sausage soup for a comforting meal everyone will love.
Quick Look: Easy Sourdough Drop Biscuits
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🍳 Cook Time: 20 minutes (plus 8 hour rise time)
- 🕒 Total Time: 8 hrs, 30 mins
- 👥 Servings: 12 biscuits
- 📊 Calories: ~194 kcal per serving (based on nutrition panel)
- 🔥 Cook Method: Oven-baked in a cast iron skillet
- 👩🍳 Flavor Profile: Buttery and tender with a subtle sourdough tang, soft interior, and lightly crisp edges.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy – quick to mix and bake with no fuss.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Delicious with homemade toppings. Serve them warm with homemade butter from raw milk, this easy homemade jam, or a generous spoonful of sourdough sausage gravy for the ultimate comfort food meal.
- No rolling or biscuit cutter required. Just mix the dough, drop it into your skillet or pan, and bake. They're perfect for busy mornings and beginner bakers.
- Works with active starter or sourdough discard. Whether you're planning ahead with an overnight ferment or need a quick side dish tonight, this recipe fits into any schedule. Still need to make a sourdough starter? Try this easy sourdough starter recipe.
- Soft, fluffy, and buttery every time. These old-fashioned sourdough drop biscuits have a tender interior with lightly golden edges that are perfect for soaking up homemade gravy.
- Perfect for cast iron baking. Baking these old-fashioned biscuits in a cast iron skillet creates soft pull-apart biscuits with delicious buttery edges.
- Made with simple pantry ingredients. No fancy equipment or complicated techniques—just wholesome ingredients you probably already have on hand.
- Makes perfect campfire biscuits. This is a great recipe for making homemade sourdough biscuits over the campfire. I've done it many times, and they bake up so nicely in a dutch oven. Just be sure to put more coals on the top of your dutch oven, then on the bottom so they don't burn.
Ingredients
For a full list of ingredients needed to make this recipe, see the recipe card below.
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How To Make This Easy Sourdough Biscuit Recipe
- Step 1: In a medium bowl, add the sourdough starter and melted butter, and mix well. If you're planning to bake these right away, you can use sourdough discard and add the baking powder in the next step.
- Step 2: Add the dry ingredients and mix until it forms a shaggy dough. You can add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky, or a little more water if it's too dry. Be sure to add the baking powder if you want to bake these right away. You can leave it out if you used active sourdough starter and plan to let these rise overnight.
- Step 3: Knead for 2-3 minutes on a lightly floured surface until the dough is nice and smooth.
- Step 4: Pinch off golf ball-sized dough pieces and roll into balls. Place in a well-greased 12” cast iron skillet. If using active sourdough starter and no baking powder, cover with a tea towel and allow to rise in a warm place for a few hours or overnight, until double in size. Otherwise, you can bake these right after mixing them up.
- Step 5: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake biscuits in preheated oven for 15-25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter using a pastry brush if desired.
- Step 6: Serve with sourdough sausage gravy, or with homemade butter and jam.
- Step 7: Store leftover homemade biscuits in an airtight container. They will keep on the counter for 2-3 days, or up to a week in the refrigerator.
Expert Tips
- I like to mix these up and drop them into the cast iron skillet in the evening, so they’re ready to bake for breakfast first thing in the morning.
- If you're making sourdough discard biscuits instead of using active sourdough starter, add the baking powder to be sure they rise when you bake them.
- When making these for an early morning breakfast, set your oven on time bake the night before so you can just stick the biscuits right into the oven when you wake up.
- These drop biscuits are perfect for cooking over a camp fire in a dutch oven because you don’t have to roll them out.
Sourdough Drop Biscuit FAQs
The difference between a biscuit and a drop biscuit is that regular biscuits are made by mixing cold fat, usually butter, in with flour, which makes the biscuits flaky. Then they are rolled out and cut out before being baked. Drop biscuits are made with more of a sticky dough and are just shaped or dropped onto a pan before baking. Drop biscuits are a bit more rustic and simple, but are faster and easier to make than regular biscuits.
A 3-ingredient drop biscuit is made with butter, milk, and self-rising flour, which already contains the baking powder that makes the biscuits rise. Sourdough drop biscuits are made with regular flour, sourdough starter, butter, milk, and baking powder. Sourdough drop biscuits will have a greater depth of flavor from the sourdough starter, and can be long fermented, or slowly raised overnight.
If you try this recipe and love it, please come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @wagonwheelhomestead21. I can’t wait to see what all you make!
Sourdough Drop Biscuits
Equipment
- 1 Medium mixing bowl
- 1 12” cast iron skillet or baking sheet
- 1 measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- 2 cups sourdough starter active is best, but discard works fine if you put in the additional baking powder, below
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder (optional if using active starter and raising overnight
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add sourdough starter and melted butter and mix well.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until it forms a shaggy dough You can add a small bit of flour if the dough is sticky or water if it's too dry.
- Knead for 2-3 minutes on a lightly floured surface until dough is nice and smooth.
- Pinch off golf ball sized dough pieces and roll into balls.
- Place in a well greased 12” cast iron skillet. If using active sourdough starter, and no baking powder, allow to raise in a warm place for a few hours or overnight, until double in size.
- The next morning preheat the oven to 375 degrees (I like to set my oven on time bake the night before so when I wake up, I can just stick the biscuits right into the oven).
- Bake biscuits in preheated oven for 15-25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter using a pastry brush if desired.
- Remove from oven and brush the tops with butter.
- Serve with sourdough sausage gravy, or with homemade butter and jam.
- Store leftover homemade biscuits in an airtight container on the counter for 2-3 days, or up to a week in the refrigerator.
Video
Notes
- If you're making sourdough discard biscuits instead of using active sourdough starter, add the baking powder to be sure they rise when you bake them.
- When making these for an early morning breakfast, set your oven on time bake the night before so you can just stick the biscuits right into the oven when you wake up.
- These drop biscuits are perfect for cooking over a camp fire in a dutch oven because you don’t have to roll them out.
I will make these today. I love the simplicity. But, I want to get some ready and send to my son in another state. Can I freeze the balls and have him raise and bake them later?
That works only if you can keep them frozen until they get to him so he can put them in a pan. I'm not sure you want them thawing out in the mail, unless you packed them in the pan he would be baking them in if that makes sense. They might be hard to handle once they thaw out...like a little stickier, etc.
These biscuits are delicious, thank you for sharing!