Easy Sourdough Drop Biscuits - Old Fashioned Recipe (Video)
These easy sourdough drop biscuits have the best flavor, and are soft and fluffy. They can either be made with active starter and allowed to raise overnight, or with discard and baking powder for a quick side dish. This is an old fashioned simple recipe without any cutting in of the butter, or rolling out of the biscuits which makes it especially easy to make with no mess. You just mix them up, drop in them in a skillet, raise and bake. There’s nothing better than soft, buttery sourdough biscuits made from scratch and served with some delicious sourdough gravy or alongside meat and vegetables for a healthy well-rounded meal. This is a recipe the whole family will enjoy and ask for time and again.
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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These perfect sourdough drop biscuits are best when started a few hours before they are served. This makes them healthier because they are long fermented, allows them to rise so they’ll be nice and fluffy biscuits. This also makes it really easy to get them on the table in time for dinner because they’re already mixed up. They just have to be baked while you’re fixing the rest of the meal. One of my favorite things about sourdough is it’s flexibility and that most recipes can be mixed up ahead of time, which makes them quick and easy to bake up in time for a quick meal.
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.
Learn how to make sourdough sausage gravy here.
For more of our favorite delicious recipes from scratch, click here.
Ways We Enjoy These Easy Sourdough Biscuits
- Topped with gravy made with venison sausage for breakfast.
- With butter and homemade jam or jelly alongside any meal or even for breakfast.
- Add some cheese and garlic to the biscuit dough and serve with soups or stews in the wintertime.
- They are also so good with homemade butter and raw honey.
- Let’s be honest, any meal is better with flaky sourdough biscuits. They add a wonderful healthy and comforting element to any home cooked meal.
Be sure to watch our full tutorial on how to make your own sourdough starter here.
For more of our favorite sourdough recipes and tutorials on making sourdough bread, check out the sourdough portion of our website: Sourdough.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here
Why Make Sourdough Drop Biscuits?
Sourdough biscuits have a delightful tang from the sourdough starter that makes them so delicious and unlike any other biscuit. This biscuit recipe is my favorite because you don't have to roll out the biscuit dough and cut out the biscuits.
Ingredients
Tools
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 raise when you bake them.
- These biscuits are perfect for cooking over a camp fire in a dutch oven because you don’t have to roll them out.
How To Make This Easy Sourdough Biscuit Recipe
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, cover with a tea towel and 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. They will keep on the counter for 2-3 days, or up to a week in the refrigerator.
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Easy Sourdough Drop Biscuits
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.
Notes
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 raise when you bake them.
- These 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!