Coconut Oil Vegan Biscuits
Vegan Biscuits could not be easier to make at home. All you need is coconut oil, as well as a few other pantry staple ingredients for the perfect fluffy biscuits! Makes 8 biscuits.
Love vegan breakfast items? Don’t miss my Vegan Banana Muffins, Vegan Breakfast Apple Crisp and Vegan Baked Oatmeal!
These Coconut Oil Biscuits were originally published on October 14, 2013. The photographs, along with the text of this blog post, were updated on August 10, 2020.
Homemade biscuits used to scare me so much that I didn’t try my hand at the actual from-scratch kind until I was 23.
In my mind, biscuits were like a pie crust, and they took some serious chops. Because if you mess ’em up, they are awful.
Fast forward to when I lived alone in Southern Mississippi and had a craving for biscuits one morning. Not wanting to leave the apartment, I actually made some biscuits with the butter, flour, salt and baking powder I had on hand.
I was shocked at how simple they were to make, and I’ve been making biscuits from scratch ever since.
Back in 2013, my doctor wanted me to cut out dairy products to see if I was lactose intolerant, so these Homemade Vegan Biscuits came into being out of necessity during that time.
My in-laws were in town, and I made biscuits to enjoy as the base of Boudin Breakfast Sandwiches and then realized I couldn’t eat said biscuits.
So I went to the drawing board and developed a recipe of my own that actually worked straight out of the gate.
These vegan biscuits are delightfully flaky and crisped up perfectly on the outside while remaining fluffy on the inside.
Other biscuit recipes our whole family adores: Cream Biscuits and White Sausage Gravy | Raspberry Shortcake Biscuits | French Onion Biscuits | Chili Cheese Biscuits | Vegan Sweet Potato Sage Olive Oil Biscuits
Looking for more breakfast ideas? Visit my Breakfast and Brunch Recipe Index to find inspiration!
What you need to make easy Vegan Biscuits at Home
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In addition to these products, you’ll need a few ingredients, too. 😉 These are all what I’d consider “pantry” ingredients at my house, but I know everyone stocks theirs differently.
- Coconut oil—refined or unrefined both work! The key to the coconut oil is it needs to be solid, not liquid.
- Flour, salt and baking powder—these make our homemade self-rising flour mix!
- Unsweetened almond milk (or any other unsweetened non-dairy milk you’ve got on hand)
- Lemon juice—just a little bit to add some tanginess.
How to make Homemade Vegan Biscuits
First and foremost, check and confirm your coconut oil is in solid form. This means that the coconut oil isn’t a liquid—because if it is, the texture of your biscuits will be off. (I’ve found that depending on your kitchen temperature, it might become a liquid during the summer months.)
If your coconut oil is liquidy, pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes, then check it and see if it’s solidified. This process is a dicey one because if the coconut oil gets too cold, it becomes impossible to measure out and work with.
When you’ve confirmed your coconut oil is good to go, preheat your oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
Make the Biscuits
Measure the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl. Whisk until combined, then set aside.
Combine the almond milk and lemon juice in a smaller bowl or a liquid measuring cup. Stir, then set aside.
Using a dough blender, cut the solid coconut oil into the flour mixture until it’s crumbly, like wet sand. Pour in the wet ingredients, and gently stir into a rough dough.
On a floured surface, press out the dough with your hands and cut into biscuits with a biscuit cutter. Do not twist the biscuit/cookie cutters because this will prevent the biscuits from rising fully.
Transfer the vegan biscuits to the prepared baking sheet, and bake until golden brown.
Enjoy warm with your favorite jam or by themselves!
Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips
You should know what I’m going to say by now. Vegan biscuits are a wonderful food item to serve at a Brunch at Home!
As someone who is not vegan, but who has friends who are, I always, always, always want to make my guests comfortable in my home. And I don’t want to serve them something sub-par (or worse—make them eat whatever random vegan-friendly items I have to give them because I didn’t plan for their diet.)
Hence, me making a ton of vegan muffins and vegan breakfast items.
Breakfast and brunch, in my opinion, are super simple to serve to both vegans and vegetarians… and a lot of the time, us non-vegans wouldn’t even notice when it comes to something like a biscuit like these!
Here are a few tips and tricks for making these beautiful biscuits for a gathering:
- Ensure your coconut oil is the right texture the day before brunch. If it’s liquidy, pop it into the fridge.
- Double the recipe for a crowd!
- Serve the biscuits with other vegan breakfast items, like Orange Fig Preserves, Mai Tai Papaya Jam and Tart Cherry Lime Jam.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do these biscuits taste like coconut?
I’m not a big coconut flavor fan (I know, for shame!), but I think these biscuits taste scrumptious.
Be sure to look at your jar of coconut oil. Unrefined coconut oil has a definitive coconut, tropical flavor while the refined coconut oil is more neutral.
Can I use a different type of oil in these biscuits?
No. For this recipe to work (and for the biscuits to be the ideal texture), you’ve got to have room temperature, solid coconut oil.
If you wanted to swap out the coconut oil for something, I’d suggest trying either room temperature vegetable shortening or a cold vegan butter in its place.
What can I serve alongside these biscuits?
You can honestly do so much with these biscuits! If you’re serving them for a brunch, serve them with a smattering of different jams and toppings.
Also consider the following recipes that pair beautifully with vegan biscuits:
Here’s how you make ’em:
Vegan Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour 120g
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 5 tablespoons solid coconut oil
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk or another unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice freshly squeezed
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, measure out the flour, salt and baking powder. Whisk until combined, then set aside.
- In a liquid measuring cup, combine the almond milk and lemon juice. Stir, then set aside.
- Using a pastry cutter, cut the solid (not liquid!) coconut oil using a dough blender or a fork into the flour mixture until just combined. Slowly work the oil into the dry mixture until it has the texture of wet sand.
- Slowly pour in the wet ingredients, then form into a shaggy dough by gently stirring the ingredients together using a rubber spatula. (Don’t overmix here!)
- On a floured surface, press out the dough with your hands and cut into biscuits with a biscuit cutter. Do not twist the biscuit/cookie cutters because this will prevent the biscuits from rising to their full extent.
- Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown.
- Enjoy warm with your favorite jam or by themselves!
Notes
Nutrition
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
I was scared to make biscuits, too, but they’re really not so bad. (A lot easier than sugar cookies, my worst enemy) The addition of coconut oil in these is brilliant! Can’t wait to try them.
Mmm… there is nothing like a biscuit fresh from the oven is there? These look wonderful. Congratulations on a successful experiment 🙂
Aw, Erin! Lactose intolerant? That’s my worst nightmare in food terms, as I am pretty much addicted to cheese, milk, ice-cream, sour cream, yoghurt… uh, well you get my drift! I guess gluten intolerance could be worse. Yes, actually, that’d be worse.
Anyway, back to these AWESOME biscuits. They look deliciously flaky and light. It’s been a very long time since I ate American biscuits (as opposed to English biscuits, which are cookies in American terms!) but I remember how delicious they are when spread with butter or dipped in gravy. Mmmm. Coconut oil is pretty adaptable, isn’t it? I’m growing to love it as a vegan/dairy-free alternative when my friends in those categories come to dinner! SO glad that you have a dairy-free option you enjoy! Hope you’re well Erin dear! xx
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Alison Abernathy
alisonabernathy@thesouthernc.com
So I am old hat at making biscuits, have been doing so from scratch for years for my family. But due to my littlest one being intollarent to milk fats, I needed a dariy free rec. I use cocnut oil all the time, and alternative milk. But I used coconut milk and lime juice, for the added fat. They are very fluffy! Something that is hard to get without animal milk. I put the dry mix in to the freezer
For 3min with the oil. Befor using a pastry knife to cut it into it. The colder your oil, the better when making biscuits. Also I added the wet ingridens, and mixing with a spatula just till all combined. And then droped them instead to roll them.
So I am old hat at making biscuits, have been doing so from scratch for years for my family. But due to my littlest one being intollarent to milk fats, I needed a dariy free rec. I use cocnut oil all the time, and alternative milk. But I used coconut milk and lime juice, for the added fat. They are very fluffy! Something that is hard to get without animal milk. I put the dry mix in to the freezer
For 3min with the oil. Befor using a pastry knife to cut it into it. The colder your oil, the better when making biscuits. Also I added the wet ingridens, and mixing with a spatula just till all combined. And then droped them instead to roll them.
Glad that you’re accustomed to all kinds of biscuit-making, Leanne, and I love that you use coconut oil in yours, too!
Can we substitute the white flour for something else ? Perhaps coconut flour ? Or almond?
Danielle, I think coconut or almond flour would be interesting in these biscuits, and I’m sure you can sub them out. Unfortunately, I’ve never subbed the all-purpose flour for either of them in this recipe, so I’d be hard-pressed to talk ratios and other things to ensure the biscuits turned out the same. However, if you do give it a shot, I’d love to know how it turned out…
Fantastic biscuits! Thank you so much for the great, moist and fluffy recipe. I dropped mine instead of rolling them.
My son has a dairy allergy and I’m always looking for new recipes for him.
He unfortunately also has a nut allergy too. Any suggestions for substitutions instead of the almond milk? He drinks soymilk, could that be used?
Thanks for the ideas!
Helen, I’m sorry to hear about your son’s dairy and nut allergies! Allergies are so challenging sometimes, huh? While I haven’t made this recipe with soy milk and cannot attest to it turning out the same, I think the substitution should work for you. If you do make them, I’d love to know how it turns out, and good luck finding recipes for your son!
I follow the recipe carefully, but my biscuits don’t rise. Very tasty, but flat! Help. Bob
Hmm. Strange, Bob. Mine didn’t rise TOO much, as evidenced in the photos, but they DID rise a bit in the oven. Maybe your baking powder was a little old? Possibly? That’s the only guess I’ve got.
I’m glad they were tasty, though, and I hope my guess helps! Sorry I’m not much more help.
These were fabulous! They were so moist we didn’t even add butter…no, we’re not vegan but I was out of butter so Googled for a recipe using coconut oil which I had on hand. I will recommend these and make them again. The dough was very sticky, but once one the floured board it came together perfectly. I used regular skim milk instead of vegan and it too was great.
Thanks
These were fabulous! They were so moist we didn’t even add butter…no, we’re not vegan but I was out of butter so Googled for a recipe using coconut oil which I had on hand. I will recommend these and make them again. The dough was very sticky, but once one the floured board it came together perfectly. I used regular skim milk instead of vegan and it too was great.
Thanks
Stephanie, I am THRILLED to hear that these worked for y’all! I love that you didn’t have butter and that you found this recipe through Google. 😀 I’ve been in that boat before, and it’s fun when the recipe turns out. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment–it means the world to me! And if y’all make these again, I hope you enjoy them just as much!
I made those biscuits and they are delicious! The only thing I did different is I used whole grain wheat flour and 1/2 tsp salt.
Oh yay! So happy to hear these biscuits turned out for you, Betty! Glad that the whole grain wheat flour worked, too!