Garlic Butter Swim Biscuits (+Video)
Garlic Butter Swim Biscuits are the easiest, most tender and fluffy biscuits made from scratch then lathered with a savory homemade garlic butter! No rolling pin and no biscuit cutter needed!
TENDER HOMEMADE BISCUITS
If you have never had a Butter Swim Biscuit, you’re in for a treat. These Garlic Butter Swim Biscuits combine some of the best flavors with a tender interior. I’ve been making Butter Dip Biscuits for ages now and have a ton of flavors and variations. If you love these biscuits made from scratch with no rolling or cutting the dough, then take a look around the site for some more yummy flavors (even sweet ones! like Peach Butter Swim Biscuits.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
The flavors of garlic truly take the spotlight in this garlic butter biscuit recipe. If you prefer a milder garlic taste, you can reduce the minced garlic to 2 cloves. However, when it comes to garlic butter biscuits, the expectation is to savor that delectable garlic goodness, right! So don’t be afraid to enjoy allll the garlic flavor.
While I guess you could use the jarred garlic, fresh garlic is really best here. The jarred stuff just won’t give the same pop of garlic flavor that you’ll get from the fresh stuff. It can be used if you’re really in a pinch but just know that the freshly minced garlic is going to give you the best flavor profile between the two.
Sure, if you like cheesy garlic butter dip biscuits, feel free to add in whatever shredded cheese you prefer and have one hand. Cheddar Garlic Butter Swim Biscuits are another variation I’ve made and they’re always a hit!
I use the aluminum-free kind because I have found that I can taste the aluminum in many baked goods where a good bit of baking powder is used. When I first created the Butter Swim Biscuits over 12 years ago, most baking powder had aluminum in it. These days that is not the case but there are still some on the market that do have it in it. You can certainly use those – this is purely personal preference. We do use quite a bit in this recipe so I like to point it out in case others may have the same sensitivity. If it doesn’t bother you, or that’s all you have on hand, traditional baking powder will work just fine!
What you have leftovers? We usually gobble all of ours up. But, if you have some you want to save for later, place them in an airtight container or bag and store in the fridge for up to a few days.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- all-purpose flour – you could technically use self rising flour here but you’d have to remove the baking powder from the recipe. I personally love to use the White Lilt brand of flour for biscuits. You do not need to sift the flour first.
- granulated sugar – this does not make it sweet at all. It just counterbalances the buttermilk a bit to give it a nice balance of flavor.
- aluminum-free baking powder – I talk about this more above in the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section. Just make sure your baking powder is fresh. Most baked goods don’t turn out properly because the baking powder has been sitting too long in the pantry and has gone off.
- garlic powder – you could use all fresh garlic here but I think the garlic powder works well with the fresh garlic to really give it that big punch of garlic flavor. Alternatively, you could just use all garlic powder.
- buttermilk – Real buttermilk will always make the best biscuits in my opinion. It’s worth running up to the store to grab a bit to ensure you get the most delicious biscuits possible. If you really want to use the fake buttermilk trick of milk and vinegar/lemon juice, you can but I don’t think you’d be getting the best possible version of this recipe.
- garlic cloves – use fresh garlic here, not the jarred stuff. It just won’t give you the best flavor. I’m not against jarred garlic by any means but when the garlic is the actual star of the show, it really makes a difference to use freshly minced garlic.
- salted butter – if you are sensitive to sodium then you could use unsalted butter. You could also remove the additional salt added to the recipe. But I think salt is definitely needed for flavor. If you have a salt substitute you prefer, I would suggest using that.
HOW TO MAKE GARLIC BUTTER SWIM BISCUITS
Preheat the oven to 450F degrees. Spray an oven safe glass or ceramic 9×9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray (Note: you there is enough butter in this recipe that you shouldn’t have any sticking but I like to be double sure. If you don’t have nonstick spray, don’t worry about it.) In a medium bowl, mix together all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and garlic powder. Pour in 1 3/4 cups buttermilk and minced garlic. Stir until a sticky batter forms. If the batter still seems too dry add a tad bit more buttermilk until the batter is thick and sticky.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the salted butter in the microwave. Pour melted butter into the prepared baking dish. Pour biscuit dough into baking dish (right on top of the melted butter.) Some of the butter will run over the top of the dough. Tip: I will spray my hand with some non stick spray to help spread the dough out evenly in the pan. Cut the dough into 9 squares (as best you can). This will help with cutting later when the biscuits are baked.
Bake (on the middle oven rack) for about 25-30 minutes, rotating the dish once during baking. Oven times DO VARY since different ovens have different hot spots, but basically biscuits should be golden brown on top and spring back to the touch. Insert a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean with no batter, they are done! While the biscuits are baking, stir together the melted butter, parsley flakes, and garlic powder. Brush this all over the tops of the biscuits while they are still warm.
Cut along the lines again and serve.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Garlic Butter Swim Biscuits (+Video)
Ingredients
For the biscuits:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 ¾ cups buttermilk (you may need up to 2 cups)
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter
For the garlic butter topping:
- ¼ cup salted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450F degrees. Spray an oven safe glass or ceramic 9×9 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray
- In a medium bowl, mix together all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, aluminum-free baking powder, salt and garlic powder.
- Pour in 1 3/4 cups buttermilk buttermilk and minced garlic. Stir until a sticky batter forms. If the batter still seems too dry add a tad bit more buttermilk until the batter is thick and sticky.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the salted butter in the microwave. Pour melted butter into the prepared baking dish.
- Pour biscuit dough into baking dish (right on top of the melted butter.) Some of the butter will run over the top of the dough. Tip: I will spray my hand with some non stick spray to help spread the dough out evenly in the pan.
- Cut the dough into 9 squares (as best you can). This will help with cutting later when the biscuits are baked.
- Bake (on the middle oven rack) for about 25-30 minutes, rotating the dish once during baking.
- Oven times DO VARY since different ovens have different hot spots, but basically biscuits should be golden brown on top and spring back to the touch. Insert a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean with no batter, they are done!
- While the biscuits are baking, stir together the melted butter, parsley flakes, and garlic powder. Brush this all over the tops of the biscuits while they are still warm. Cut along the lines again and serve.
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- Technically you don’t have to spray the baking dish with nonstick spray but I like to make absolutely sure there will be no sticking. However, there is plenty of butter in this recipe that it shouldn’t stick if you don’t spray it.
- The garlic really shines through, if you don’t like as much garlic taste you can back off on the minced garlic to 2 cloves, but if you are making garlic butter biscuits, you expect to taste garlic!
- Fresh garlic is really best here. The jarred garlic just won’t give the same impact. It can be used but freshly minced garlic is going to give you the best flavor.
- You can add cheese if desired.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container or bag for up to a few days in the fridge.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
They are awesome I make them for my son all time .He loves them.
I tried this recipe once, quite some time ago. I don’t know what the haitch I did, but it I definitely made a sideways turn somewhere, lol. They were SO salty that I have never tried to make them again!. Too afraid that I would repeat the error of my baking ways! In spite of that sad experience, I am FINALLY ready to get back up and try again!
Your comment made me giggle. – what the haitch! Haaaa! I can’t imagine what happened either! Maybe you added extra salt instead of the sugar? It’s hard to know but I hope you give it a try again!! They are worth it – I promise!