Loaded with caramelized onions, creamy potatoes, and fresh dill, these fluffy and tender potato biscuits are exceptional as a side accompaniment or used to make breakfast sandwiches!
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Imagine the flakiest buttermilk biscuits, light and airy, and layered throughout with rich butter. Now add sweetness from caramelized onions, herbyness from fresh dill and chives, and creaminess from potatoes. Next, top it off with a pinch of flaky sea salt to give it a nice crunch. Can you taste these potato biscuits?? 😊
If you are looking for a great savory biscuit recipe that is also freezer-friendly, this recipe is for you (and be sure to try my buttermilk maple biscuits). They are tender, flaky, and fluffy, with subtle texture from the potato-onion mixture, and a golden, buttery crust.
We add a small amount of whole wheat flour to make them that much healthier, and the red potatoes and onion provide added moisture.
Making biscuits is a breeze if you know all of the tips and tricks, and I'm here to walk you through them to ensure biscuit-making success.
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⭐️ Why These Biscuits Are The Best
- Buttery, flaky, and tender texture with red potatoes adding creaminess add moisture
- Aromatic dill and chives with sweet caramelized onions
- Versatile. Excellent as a side dish or used for sandwiches
- Quick, easy, and freezer-friendly
- Make-ahead instructions provided
🌿 Ingredient Notes
- Buttermilk - The acidity in buttermilk adds slight tanginess and also helps activate the leavener to create fluffy biscuits.
- Flour - We use a small amount of whole wheat flour to make our potato biscuits healthier, but you can skip it and just use all-purpose flour if you prefer.
- Fresh dill and chives - Adding fresh herbs to bread adds another level of flavor, like in my sourdough discard focaccia with rosemary.
- Unsalted butter - Using unsalted butter allows us to control the amount of salt in our biscuits.
- Red potatoes - I love the creaminess of red potatoes, like in red skin mashed potatoes with garlic and cilantro chimichurri with roasted red potatoes. They add moisture and creaminess to our biscuits and pair beautifully with the caramelized onion and fresh herbs.
- Yellow onion - Adding caramelized onion provides subtle sweetness and texture.
📝 Variations & Substitutions
- Fresh herbs. Use your favorite herbs in place of the dill and chives. To substitute dried herbs, use ⅓ of the amount called for here.
- Onion. Substitute red onion or 1 shallot for the yellow onion.
- Make homemade buttermilk. Combine 1 cup of (dairy or plant-based) milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Let it sit for 10 minutes before using.
- Cut potato biscuits into squares using a sharp knife to do away with any wasteful scraps.
- For even flakier biscuits, chill them in the refrigerator for an hour before baking.
- Make vegan/dairy-free: I have not recipe tested this, but you should be able to easily substitute vegan butter, as well as any plant-based buttermilk and cream with good results!
🔪 How To Make Potato Biscuits with Caramelized Onion and Dill
*See recipe card below for a printable version.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Add all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl and stir to combine.
Add the butter, cooked potatoes, caramelized onion, dill, and chives. Use a pastry cutter or fork to break up butter into small, pea-sized pieces. Try to work quickly so as not to warm up the butter.
Make a well in the middle of dough. Pour in ⅓ cup of buttermilk at a time, and use a wooden spoon to incorporate into mixture. Add only as much buttermilk as is needed to create a sticky dough.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and dust the top of the dough lightly with additional flour.
Fold the dough over and onto itself 3 times to create layers of dough (this is what creates flakiness).
Form into a 1-inch-thick disc. Use a 1-inch thick biscuit cutter (or similarly sized rim of a drinking glass) to cut straight down through the dough. Try not to twist cutter, as this will seal off the dough and prevent flakiness from being created.
Repeat and place the biscuits on a baking sheet, making sure they are touching (this helps them rise uniformly).
Gently re-form the dough scraps. Cut out 1 or 2 more biscuits and repeat until all of the dough is used.
Brush the tops of the biscuits with additional melted butter, and sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until fluffy and light golden brown.
If not eating immediately, let biscuits cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or place in freezer for up to 3 months.
🍳 How To Serve Potato Biscuits
- Side accompaniment. Serve with creamy mustard dill sauce with baked salmon, cheesy spinach and mushroom quiche, or goat cheese frittata with asparagus and tomato to round out your dinner or brunch.
- Make breakfast sandwiches.
- Serve with soup. Pair with creamy roasted cauliflower soup, thick and hearty vegetarian chili, or creamy cucumber avocado gazpacho.
- Serve with salads. Try them with my apple gorgonzola salad, apple cucumber salad, or roasted cauliflower salad.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips and Tricks
- Always use cold butter when baking biscuits. If necessary, pop your butter into the freezer for 10 minutes before starting.
- Make ahead: If you want to save yourself a bit of time, the potatoes and onions can be prepared earlier and stored in the refrigerator or freezer: Boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes, or until tender. Next, sauté the onions for 10-15 minutes in a bit of olive oil until they become golden in color. I make larger batches of both items and keep them in the freezer so that I always have some on hand.
- Chill your potato and onion mixture. If you do cook the potatoes and onions right before making the biscuits, I recommend sticking them in the refrigerator or freezer for 10-15 minutes to speed the cooling process. You don't want warm potatoes and onions, or your butter will melt.
- Fold that dough. Folding the dough over onto itself several times is what creates the flakiness, so don't skip this step.
- Storage: Store in the refrigerator (in an airtight container) for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- How to reheat: Place in a preheated 350 degree F. oven for 5-10 minutes or use a toaster oven.
- Make homemade buttermilk. Combine 1 cup of (dairy or plant-based) milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Let it sit for 10 minutes before using.
- Don't twist biscuit cutters. Flour your biscuit cutter, and make sure you cut straight down through your dough. Otherwise, it will prevent your biscuits from getting that beautiful lift.
- Place snugly on baking sheet. When placing potato biscuits on a baking sheet, make sure they are touching each other. This will help the biscuits rise.
- Don't overwork your dough. We are not going for a smooth and homogeneous dough, but one that is more shaggy, with lumps of butter and sprinkles of flour still visible.
- Use a box grater to cut your butter. This makes for easy mixing and more even distribution throughout your dough.
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
Biscuits should be soft, tender, and fluffy, with a golden crust. They should be flaky, with layers of butter visible. A good biscuit should also be light and airy, with a fair amount of height, as opposed to flat and dense discs.
There are several tips for higher-rising biscuits, including using cold butter, folding your dough several times, not twisting biscuit cutters, and placing biscuits close together on your baking sheet.
The acidity and fat in buttermilk works together with the leavening agents to help the biscuits rise.
🥖 More Bread Recipes
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Potato Biscuits with Caramelized Onion and Dill
Ingredients
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 2 Tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon fresh dill, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh chives, chopped (or ½ teaspoon dried)
- ½ cup unsalted cold butter, plus more for topping
- ½ cup red potatoes, cooked and diced into ¼ inch pieces (*see Make Ahead instructions above for recommended cooking time)
- ¼ cup yellow onion, diced and caramelized (*see Make Ahead instructions above for recommended cooking time)
- flaky sea salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Add all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Add the butter, cooked potatoes, caramelized onion, fresh dill, and chives. Use a pastry cutter or fork to break up butter into small, pea-sized pieces. Try to work quickly so as not to warm up the butter.
- Make a well in the middle of dough. Pour in ⅓ cup of buttermilk at a time, and use a wooden spoon to incorporate into mixture. Add only as much buttermilk as is needed to create a sticky dough.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and dust the top of the dough lightly with additional flour. Fold the dough over and onto itself 3 times to create layers of dough (this is what creates flakiness).
- Form into a 1-inch-thick disc. Use a 1-inch thick biscuit cutter (or similarly sized rim of a drinking glass) to cut straight down through the dough. Try not to twist cutter, as this will seal off the dough and prevent flakiness from being created.
- Repeat and place the biscuits on a baking sheet, making sure they are touching (this helps them rise uniformly).
- Gently re-form the dough scraps. Cut out 1 or 2 more biscuits and repeat until all of the dough is used.
- Brush the tops of the biscuits with additional melted butter, and sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt (if using).
- Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until fluffy and light golden brown.
- If not eating immediately, let biscuits cool completely.
Notes
- Always use cold butter when baking biscuits. If necessary, pop your butter into the freezer for 5 minutes before starting.
- Make ahead: If you want to save yourself a bit of time, the potatoes and onions can be prepared earlier and stored in the refrigerator or freezer: Boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes, or until tender. Next, sauté the onions for 10-15 minutes in a bit of olive oil until they become golden in color. I make larger batches of both items and keep them in the freezer so that I always have some on hand.
- Chill your potato and onion mixture. If you do cook the potatoes and onions right before making the biscuits, I recommend sticking them in the refrigerator or freezer for 10-15 minutes to speed the cooling process. You don't want warm potatoes and onions, or your butter will melt.
- Fold that dough. Folding the dough over onto itself several times is what creates the flakiness, so don't skip this step.
- Storage: Store in the refrigerator (in an airtight container) for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Don't twist biscuit cutters. Flour your biscuit cutter, and make sure you cut straight down through your dough. Otherwise, it will prevent your biscuits from getting that beautiful lift.
- Place snugly on baking sheet. When placing biscuits on a baking sheet, make sure they are touching each other. This will help the biscuits rise.
- Don't overwork your dough. We are not going for a smooth and homogeneous dough, but one that is more shaggy, with lumps of butter and sprinkles of flour still visible.
Barb Haner
I will be making these biscuits! The pictures are absolutely fantastic!
Gastronotherapy
Thank you! 🙂
Tania
Never made Biscuits before but thought i’ll give it a try and this turned out so GORGEOUS! Thank you for the recipe and your tips really helped me!
Gastronotherapy
Thanks, Tania! Hooray!
Lauren
Never thought to use caramelized onions in biscuits - amazing combo!
Gastronotherapy
Thanks, Lauren! Caramelized onions add a nice level of both sweetness and moisture - love it!
Andrea
What fantastic flavors in these biscuits! I can make a meal out of these!
Gastronotherapy
Thanks, Andrea! I often make breakfast sandwiches with them!
Beth
Oh wow! These biscuits have amazing flavor! So delicious and were such a big hit! We love this combination and definitely on the remake list!
Gastronotherapy
Thanks so much, Beth! 🙂
Sara Welch
Enjoyed these with dinner last night and they do not disappoint! So light, fluffy and delicious! Easily, a new favorite biscuit!
Gastronotherapy
Thanks, Sara! Yay!