Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Biscuits (Soft and Fluffy)
I grew up in Texas, where comfort food is king and biscuits show up on the table next to just about everything. Biscuits and gravy on a slow morning. A basket of them alongside soup. That warm, cozy Southern spread I didn’t want to give up just because we went gluten-free and dairy-free.
So I set out to make a really great gluten-free dairy-free biscuit. And y’all, it took me a while.
Here’s the truth: good biscuits are all about texture. They need real rise and a soft, fluffy middle — tender, not too flaky, not a dense little hockey puck. For a long time, mine kept coming out as a mouthful. One thick, gritty bite that tasted like exactly what it was: gluten-free flour. That wasn’t going to cut it.
The fix wasn’t a fancier technique. It was the opposite. Once I stopped fighting the flour with cold butter and folds (no gluten to hold those layers anyway) and switched to a fluffy method — lots of baking powder, room-temperature fat, and a soft, almost-too-wet dough — everything changed.
These bake up light and golden, and they’re easy enough for a weeknight but nice enough for Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas when you want a gluten-free bread side that isn’t sad.
My husband? He’s been known to sneak a few (or ALL) off the pan before the boys can get to them. Fair warning.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and vegan — one biscuit that works around a whole table of restrictions, no separate batch needed.
- Actually fluffy — real rise and a tender middle, not a dense mouthful of flour (I worked super hard on this!).
- No psyllium husk and no eggs — nothing fussy or hard to find.
- Weeknight-easy, holiday-worthy — simple enough for a Tuesday, pretty enough for a Thanksgiving spread.
- Made for dairy-free country gravy — because biscuits and gravy is the whole reason I started.
- Nut-free option — an easy swap makes these work if you’re avoiding nuts too (more on that below).
Ingredients
You’ll find the full amounts in the recipe card. Here’s what each thing is doing so you can shop with confidence.
- King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free flour — I write all my baking recipes around this one because it’s easy to find (my local Walmart carries it) and it performs. I get it at Walmart or on Amazon. It already has xanthan gum in it, which these biscuits need for structure. Full transparency: I tested and wrote these specifically for M4M, and I can’t promise how they’ll turn out with another blend — there are too many gluten-free flours out there to test them all.
- Xanthan gum (optional) — Measure for Measure already has some xanthan in it, so you don’t strictly need more. But a small pinch extra tightens the crumb and cuts down on crumbliness. Add it if your biscuits come out too crumbly; skip it if the crumb already holds together fine. It might sound like an unfamiliar ingredient, but you can actually get it pretty easily at Walmart or Amazon.
- Baking powder — this is where all the lift comes from, so don’t be shy with it. Make sure it’s fresh (there’s a quick test for that in the FAQ).
- Baking soda — just a little, for extra rise and a golden top.
- Salt and a touch of sugar — flavor. The sugar is small, just enough to round things out.
- Palm shortening (room temperature) — this is the fat, and it’s 100% fat with no water, which is exactly why these bake up light instead of heavy. Cut it into the flour at room temp, not cold — we’re not laminating layers here. I order mine more affordably on Amazon, or here’s the one I like from Walmart. (Not sure what palm shortening is or whether you can swap it? I break it down in the FAQ.)
- Full-fat coconut milk — this brings the richness that keeps the crumb tender. I use and love the Thai Kitchen brand from Walmart (this canned coconut milk is my favorite if you’d rather order it). Make sure it’s UNSWEETENED and FULL-FAT, or you’ll get a very different result. I buy the kind with the screw-on cap instead of the can, so I can use every last bit and not waste what’s left (better for your budget and the planet).
- Apple cider vinegar — stir it into the coconut milk and let it sit a minute. It reacts with the baking soda for extra lift and gives you that little buttermilk tang.
- Unsweetened almond milk — think of this as your “water knob.” It’s basically water, so it adds hydration and lift without adding more fat. This is the ingredient that takes these from dense to light, so don’t skip it. (For nut-free, see the FAQ.)
- Vegan butter, for brushing — brushed on top right out of the oven for that buttery finish. It stays on top so it flavors without weighing the crumb down.
How to Make It
The whole method here is built around two things: leavening and steam. That’s what makes a gluten-free biscuit rise. Once you trust that, the rest is easy.
- Preheat your oven to 450°F — all the way. A fully hot oven sets these before they can settle. Line a baking sheet.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together — flour (see recipe note about how to measure the flour correctly!), xanthan gum (if using), baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
- Cut in the room-temperature palm shortening until the mix looks like coarse crumbs. Fingers or a pastry cutter both work. Room temp is on purpose — we want it worked in, not left in cold chunks.
- Stir the apple cider vinegar into the coconut milk and let it sit a minute to curdle a bit (that’s the buttermilk effect). Add it to the dry mix, then add almond milk a little at a time until the dough comes together soft, tacky, and almost-too-wet. Here’s the part that trips everyone up: it should look SCARIER and wetter than you think is right. Under-hydrating is the number one reason gluten-free biscuits bake up dense. A wetter dough traps steam and bakes open and light.
- Rest the dough 15–20 minutes. Don’t skip this — it lets the starches fully hydrate, which is what kills that gritty texture.
- Pat the dough out to about 1½ inches thick. Keep it tall. Don’t roll it thin.
- Cut with a 2-inch cutter, pressing straight down. Don’t twist the cutter — twisting seals the edges shut and keeps them from rising. Straight down, lift up.
- Place them on the sheet with the sides just barely touching. They’ll help each other climb.
- Bake 14–18 minutes, until golden and the sides look dry and set. Don’t pull them early — underbaked gluten-free flour reads as gritty, so let those sides fully set.
- Brush with vegan butter the second they come out. Then try to get one before your family does.
Substitutions
Here’s the quick rundown of what you can swap and what to expect. I’ve only tested the main version, so treat any swap as a solid starting point.
- Gluten-free flour: Written and tested for King Arthur Measure for Measure. I can’t promise other 1:1 blends will behave the same. If you try one, make sure it has xanthan gum (or add ¼ tsp).
- Palm shortening → regular shortening: Use Crisco-style vegetable shortening 1:1. Both are 100% fat with no water, so they behave the same here. Don’t sub vegan butter — too much water.
- Coconut milk → another dairy-free milk: Use a rich, unsweetened option like full-fat cashew or barista-style oat milk, plus an extra tablespoon of shortening to replace the lost richness. Just out of coconut milk? Thinned full-fat coconut cream works. (Coconut allergy — see the FAQ.)
- Almond milk → oat milk or water: This is your nut-free swap. Almond milk is only there for hydration, so oat milk or plain water works fine.
- Egg: None needed — these are egg-free on purpose, and adding one makes them denser.
- Not Paleo: There’s no easy grain-free swap for this exact recipe. For a Paleo biscuit, see the FAQ.
FAQ
Why are my biscuits dense or gritty? Nine times out of ten, it’s hydration. If your dough wasn’t soft and almost-too-wet, the biscuits bake tight and heavy. Add more almond milk next time until the dough looks a little too wet.
Grit usually means one of two things: the dough didn’t rest long enough for the starches to hydrate, or the biscuits came out of the oven a touch underbaked. Give them the full rest and make sure the sides are dry and set before you pull them.
How do I measure the gluten-free flour? Weigh it, if you can. Gluten-free flour packs down in the bag, so it’s WAY too easy to scoop out too much — and too much flour is the number one reason GF biscuits turn out dry, dense, and crumbly.
A cheap kitchen scale ($10–$13) takes the guesswork out every time, and I highly recommend weighing your flour in grams instead of scooping. No scale? Fluff the flour with a fork, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off — never pack it down or scoop straight from the bag.
What is palm shortening, and can I use regular shortening instead? Palm shortening is just palm oil that’s been processed to stay solid and scoopable at room temperature. The important part for baking: it’s 100% fat with no water and no strong flavor. Yes, you can swap in regular vegetable shortening (the Crisco-style tub) one-for-one — it works the same way here because it’s also pure fat with no water. Palm shortening is my go-to mostly because it’s non-hydrogenated, but for these biscuits the two perform the same. Use what you’ve got.
Why not just use vegan butter? Because vegan butter has a high water content, and that makes it tricky. When you’re chasing a light gluten-free biscuit, you want to control the moisture yourself — that’s the whole job of the two milks. Vegan butter sneaks in extra, uncontrolled water and a softer fat that weighs the crumb down. Shortening is 100% fat, so you stay in charge of the hydration and the biscuits bake lighter. I brush vegan butter on top after baking so you still get that buttery flavor where it counts.
Why coconut milk, and what can I use instead? The coconut milk is doing the richness job — the fat is what makes the crumb tender instead of dry. Use full-fat, unsweetened.
Just don’t have a can, or prefer not to use it? Full-fat canned coconut cream thinned with a little water works in its place. If you’re actually allergic to coconut, skip to the next question — you’ll want a different swap. Either way, keep it as rich as you can, because lower-fat milks give you a less tender biscuit.
What if I’m allergic to coconut? You can still make these — you just need a rich, non-coconut milk in place of the coconut milk. Full-fat cashew milk or a barista-style oat milk are your closest bets (the barista versions have more fat than regular oat milk, which matters here). Soy milk works too if that’s not also off the table for you.
Those are all thinner than canned coconut milk, so add an extra tablespoon or so of palm shortening to put the lost richness back. Keep using the almond milk (or oat milk/water) for hydration like usual. I haven’t tested every swap myself, so treat your first batch as a test and adjust from there.
How do I make these nut-free? Swap the almond milk for oat milk or plain water. Almond milk is really just acting as the “water knob” for hydration here, so water works fine — you’re only adding lift, not flavor.
Are these biscuits Paleo? No — these are made with King Arthur Measure for Measure, which is a rice-based gluten-free blend, not a grain-free Paleo one. There’s honestly no easy swap to make this exact recipe Paleo. But if you want a truly incredible Paleo biscuit, there’s a Paleo drop biscuit in my cookbook that is the best I’ve ever had —get my cookbook here.
Can I add an egg? You can, but I don’t. Egg adds structure, and it also adds density — and in every test, the version without the egg came out lighter. This recipe is written to work egg-free, so leave it out and let the baking powder and steam do the lifting.
How do I store them, and can I make them ahead? Biscuits are always best warm and fresh out of the oven. If you have leftovers, keep them in an airtight container at room temp for a day or two, or freeze the baked biscuits for longer. Warm them back up in the oven for a few minutes and they come right back to life. I don’t recommend storing the raw dough — the leavening starts working once it’s mixed, so bake it while it’s fresh.
Other Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Bread and Side Recipes You’ll Love
If you’re building out a cozy gluten-free dairy-free table, here are a few more WholeFoodFor7 favorites to serve alongside these biscuits:
- Dairy-Free Country Gravy — the biscuits-and-gravy pairing these were made for.
- Whole30 Budget Beef Stew — biscuits were born to be dunked in this.
- Whole30 + Paleo Soups — a whole roundup of soups that want a biscuit on the side.
- Paleo Banana Bread — another easy gluten-free dairy-free bread for the family.
- Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Thanksgiving Recipes — where these biscuits earn their spot on the holiday table.
Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Biscuits
Equipment
- 1 2 1/4-inch biscuit cutter No biscuit cutter? Scoop the dough into mounds for drop biscuits, or cut with a floured drinking glass or open can — just press straight down, don't twist.
Ingredients
- 230 grams gluten-free 1:1 flour or 1¾ cups + 2 tablespoons, but SEE NOTES for the correct way to measure gf flour!
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum optional — add it if your biscuits come out too crumbly; skip it if the crumb already holds together
- 1/2 cup palm shortening room temperature
- 3/4 cup canned full-fat unsweetened coconut milk well stirred
- 1 teaspono apple cider vinegar
- 6 tablespoons almond milk or oat milk or water for nut-free
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450°F — all the way. A fully hot oven sets these before they can settle. Line a baking sheet.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together — flour (see recipe note about how to measure the flour correctly!), xanthan gum (if using), baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
- Cut in the room-temperature palm shortening until the mix looks like coarse crumbs. Fingers or a pastry cutter both work. Room temp is on purpose — we want it worked in, not left in cold chunks.
- Stir the apple cider vinegar into the coconut milk and let it sit a minute to curdle a bit (that's the buttermilk effect). Add it to the dry mix, then add almond milk a little at a time until the dough comes together soft, tacky, and almost-too-wet. Here's the part that trips everyone up: it should look SCARIER and wetter than you think is right. Under-hydrating is the number one reason gluten-free biscuits bake up dense. A wetter dough traps steam and bakes open and light.
- Rest the dough 15–20 minutes. Don't skip this — it lets the starches fully hydrate, which is what kills that gritty texture.
- Pat the dough out to about 1½ inches thick. Keep it tall. Don't roll it thin.
- Cut with a 2-inch cutter, pressing straight down. Don't twist the cutter — twisting seals the edges shut and keeps them from rising. Straight down, lift up.
- Place them on the sheet about 1/2" apart. They'll help each other climb. Bake 14–18 minutes, until golden and the sides look dry and set. Don't pull them early — underbaked gluten-free flour reads as gritty, so let those sides fully set.
- Brush with vegan butter the second they come out. Then try to get one before your family does.
- Store the cooled biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days (or freeze for up to 3 months), and warm briefly in the oven before serving to bring back their fresh-baked texture.
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