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Looking for a great substitute for milk in biscuits? Keep reading to find out how you can use items you may have in your kitchen to replace milk in any homemade biscuit recipe.
Homemade biscuits are usually made with ingredients like all purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, butter and of course whole milk. Homemade biscuits are super fluffy, flaky, buttery and soft and are a staple served with gravy.
But, if you’re about to make a homemade biscuit recipe, and you notice that you have no milk, what can you use to make your biscuits just as good, or even better?
Thankfully, there are at least 12 good alternatives for milk in biscuits and you are likely to have at least 5 of these in your home! You really can make amazing homemade biscuits without milk!
Best substitutes for milk in biscuits
The best substitute options for milk when making mashed potatoes include buttermilk, oat milk, almond milk, evaporated milk, coconut milk, soy milk, kefir, half and half, Greek yogurt, heavy cream, sour cream and mayonnaise.
Let’s discuss each in more detail below where we share why they work as great alternatives in biscuits and the conversion ratios for each.
Buttermilk
Buttermilk is a great substitute for milk in biscuits. Buttermilk adds a nice flavorful tang to biscuits, and can be used on a 1:1 substitute ratio.
The acidity of Buttermilk also causes a reaction to the leavening agents in the biscuits dough, which make them rise and results in flaky, soft biscuits.
Use 1 cup of buttermilk to replace 1 cup of whole milk in biscuits.
Oat milk
Oat milk can also be used to replace whole milk in biscuits, and this ingredient is great for making delicious vegan biscuits.
Use ½ cup of plain unsweetened oat milk for every cup of flour used to make the biscuits. Keep in mind that it will make your biscuits slightly sweeter than biscuits made with regular milk.
Almond milk
You can also make fluffy, soft, and buttery biscuits with almond milk instead of milk.
Almond milk makes more of a healthy biscuit, and if you wanted to, you could make your biscuits with almond milk vegan simply by also using vegan butter.
You’ll need about ½ cup of original unsweetened almond milk for every cup of flour used in the recipe.
Evaporated milk
Evaporated milk also called unsweetened condensed milk, can also be used to replace whole milk in a biscuit recipe.
Evaporated milk is not a very popular ingredient in biscuits, but, if this is all you have in your pantry at the moment, it will work! In fact, you’ll get some delicious evaporated milk biscuits for your finished product.
Evaporated milk is richer and creamier than whole milk, so use 1 part evaporated milk and 1 part water as a substitute for whole milk. Substitute on a 1:1 ratio for some tasty biscuits with evaporated milk.
Coconut milk
Another good substitute for milk in biscuits is full fat coconut milk. ¾ cup of coconut milk is all you’ll need in a recipe that calls for 2 cups of all purpose flour.
Note that it is important to use creamy full-fat coconut milk. The thinned-out watered-down beverage from the refrigerator section will not make great biscuits.
Soy milk
Another great alternative for milk in biscuits is soy milk. To use soy milk in a biscuit recipe, you will need about ¾ cups of soy milk for every 2 cups of all-purpose flour used.
Soy milk has a slightly bean-like flavor, but other than that it is a great substitute. Use unsweetened soy milk for the best results.
A 1:1 substitute ratio is ideal.
Kefir
Kefir also makes a good milk substitute for biscuits. Kefir is basically fermented milk that is made from kefir grains and whole milk.
If you happen to have some of this in your fridge, you can use about 1 cup for every cup of milk called for in the recipe, or a 1:1 ratio.
More ways to make biscuits without milk
Half and half
Another ideal milk replacement for biscuits is half and half. Half and half is made of equal parts whole milk and heavy cream and works great in most biscuit recipes.
Use about 1 cup of half0and-half for every 2 cups of flour needed to make dairy-free biscuits.
Greek yogurt
Greek yogurt can easily replace milk in a biscuit recipe. Greek yogurt is a good option because its creaminess helps to make baked goods like biscuits moist and tender as well as imparts that nice old-fashioned flavor.
Use ⅓ cup of greek yogurt for every cup of flour used to make some tasty biscuits without milk.
Heavy cream
While it is not the first thing one would pull out of the fridge to add to homemade biscuits, if you have heavy cream and no milk, this ingredient can work.
Heavy cream will slightly alter the flavor of the biscuits, but it does make some delicious, rich biscuits everyone is sure to love.
Use about 1 cup of heavy cream for every 2 cups of flour used in the recipe.
Sour cream
Sour cream is another easily accessible ingredient you can use as a substitute for milk in biscuits.
Sour cream is tangy and it will add some amazing moisture and texture to the biscuits without thinning your batter.
Use ¾ cups of sour cream for every 2 cups of all-purpose flour a recipe calls for.
Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise is not similar to milk, but, it can be used in its place. Mayonnaise is made with eggs and oil and adds moisture and richness to baked goods like biscuits.
Mayonnaise is best used together with milk – in the case of no whole milk, almond milk or soy milk will work. Use ¼ cup of mayonnaise and ¾ cup of milk for every 2 cups of flour a biscuit recipe calls for.
Can you make biscuits with evaporated milk?
Yes you can. In fact, not only is it possible, but biscuits made with evaporated milk are quite delicious once you dilute the evaporated milk well, by using 1 part water and 1 part evaporated milk.
Can you substitute buttermilk for milk in biscuits?
Yes you can. Buttermilk biscuits are quite common and I dare say more popular than biscuits made with milk. In fact, more than half of the biscuit recipes online are made with buttermilk instead of milk which makes it the perfect milk substitute for biscuits.
Final thoughts
It should be noted that none of the ingredients mentioned above can really give the same results that whole milk will in a biscuit recipe.
Nonetheless, all of those ingredients mentioned make really good second choices in the event that you have no milk on hand.
In fact, some of them, such as the heavy cream and buttermilk, make some really fluffy, flaky, and tender biscuits that you’ll want to make over and over. And, if you’re looking for some good substitutes for buttermilk in biscuits, then click the link for some ideas.
Also, feel free to check out these milk substitutes for biscuits here.
