These quick and simple pumpkin biscuits are perfect for fall! Pumpkin puree, plenty of butter and a bit of cinnamon create the perfect flaky, satisfying pumpkin biscuit recipe for breakfast or brunch. Vegetarian.
These pumpkin biscuits are just so DELIGHTFULLY AUTUMNAL.
Gorgeous color? Check. Makes the whole house smell amazing? Check. Pairs well with your coziest fall sweater and a cup of tea? CHECK.
These easy biscuits get their gorgeous color and a punch of fall flavor from a bit of pumpkin purée and cinnamon. Still, we kept these flavors purposefully light so you get some depth and richness without overpowering the rest of your meal.
Use these as a fluffy biscuit base for a breakfast sandwich or your favorite eggs benedict, or keep things simple with a bit of butter and a drizzle of honey. They also pair wonderfully with fall soups, like this Peach Whiskey Chili or our creamy Apple Tomato Soup!
How to make these biscuits (the quick version)
These pumpkin spice biscuits are simple to make and ready in no time! Be sure to scroll down to the recipe & video below for detailed instructions.
Mix the dough
Whisk pumpkin purée and milk together to form a smooth mixture.
In a separate bowl, stir flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon together with a bit of salt.
Use clean hands or a biscuit cutter to cut some butter into the flour, then add the pumpkin mixture and stir until everything is just combined.
Shape and bake!
Tip your biscuit dough out onto a lightly-floured cutting board, then gently fold it over on itself a few times (that helps you create those flakey layers!) and pat it into shape.
Use a biscuit cutter or a drinking glass to cut the biscuit rounds, then transfer them to a large baking sheet and bake until they're a deep, rich golden brown.
Three tips for perfect pumpkin biscuits
Keep your milk and butter very cold.
We want to keep plenty of small, solid pieces of butter in our biscuit dough. As the biscuits bake, this butter melts - leaving behind small pockets that create those flakey, pull-apart layers we love. Using cold ingredients helps the butter stay nice and piece-y instead of melting into the dough!
Cube your butter first, and store it in the fridge or freezer while you prep the rest of the ingredients. Once you cut the butter into your dough, work quickly and try to handle the dough as little as possible to keep everything nice and cold!
Fold the dough over on itself for flakey layers.
The key to a great biscuit is stack after stack of flakey, pull-apart-y, buttery layers.
To achieve this, gently pat the biscuit dough out to ½-inch thickness with your hands, then fold it in half and gently pat it into shape again.
Repeat this process two or three times for taller, flakier biscuits!
Use non-aluminum baking powder
Baking powder with added aluminum can lend a slightly bitter or metallic taste to baked goods, so we recommend using an aluminum-free baking powder for best results (we like this one from Bob's Red Mill)!
Additions and Substitutions
These easy, fluffy biscuits are quite forgiving! Feel free to mix them up a bit. Some of our favorite swaps:
- Use butternut squash purée or sweet potato purée instead of pumpkin.
- For a glossy, buttery biscuit, brush melted butter over the top of each biscuit just before baking.
- To make vegan pumpkin biscuits without butter or milk, swap the butter for cold coconut oil and the milk for coconut milk (see how we do this in our vegan biscuit recipe).
- Save time by turning this recipe into drop biscuits! Add an extra Tablespoon or two of milk and mix well to form a sticky dough, then use a spoon to drop scoops of dough directly onto the baking sheet.
- Add fresh herbs like chopped sage, thyme, or rosemary for a deeper savory flavor.
A quick biscuit recipe FAQ
Yes! These biscuits keep very well in the freezer. Let them cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 4 months. Pop frozen biscuits onto a baking sheet and bake at 350° F for 4-6 minutes to reheat. You can also reheat them in a toaster oven for a few minutes or defrost them on the counter for a few hours before serving!
For more fall flavor, we recommend adjusting the spices here (rather than just increasing the amount of pumpkin purée, which will change the texture of the dough). Add up to a Tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice to the dough to dial things up a bit! You can DIY a blend of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger if you don't have any pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice on hand.
We really don't find that these biscuits need sugar, but if you're craving extra sweetness, you can add 3-4 Tablespoons of granulated sugar to the biscuit dough without affecting the recipe too much (you may just need to add an extra teaspoon or two of milk). You can also brush the biscuits with melted butter just before baking and sprinkle a bit of granulated or turbinado sugar on top for a pop of sweetness!
Add more flour! The liquid content of pumpkin purée can vary by brand (or by pumpkin!) so don't be afraid to add a bit of extra flour if your dough looks a bit too sticky. Measuring flour by volume (with cups) is also notoriously unreliable - in our testing, a sample of 20 bakers were off in their measurements by an average of ½ cup. So if your dough looks a bit sticky, don't worry - just stir or pat in a few more Tablespoons of flour until it looks right!
Video: How to make pumpkin biscuits
Easy Pumpkin Biscuits
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 9-12 biscuits 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These easy pumpkin biscuits are perfect for fall!
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup pumpkin purée
- ¾ cup milk
- 320 grams all purpose flour (about 2 ⅔ cups)
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (1 stick) COLD unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450° Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
- In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together pumpkin purée and milk until you have a smooth mixture. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- Add cold cubed butter to flour mixture. Use clean hands or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is coarse, with small chunks of butter throughout. Work quickly so the butter stays cold!
- Pour the pumpkin mixture into your flour mixture. Stir until everything is just combined. The dough shouldn’t be completely smooth – we want to keep lots of butter pieces in there so the biscuits will be nice and flaky.
- Turn biscuit dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat it into a disc about ⅔ inch thick, then fold the dough over on itself and pat into shape again. Repeat this process 2-3 times to create additional layers for maximum flakiness.
- Pat dough to about ⅔ inch thickness. Use a 2-inch biscuit cutter to cut the dough into rounds, then place the biscuit rounds on your lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 450° F for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned. Serve immediately with butter and honey.
Notes
If your biscuit dough feels too wet, add more flour. The liquid content of pumpkin purée can vary by brand (and by pumpkin!) so don’t be afraid to add a bit of extra flour if your dough looks a bit sticky. Measuring flour by volume (with cups) is also notoriously unreliable; it’s very easy to end up with too much or too little flour when using cup measurements. This is a forgiving dough, though! If it looks a bit sticky, just stir in more flour a Tablespoon at a time until it feels right. Too dry? Add a splash of milk to help it come together.
No biscuit cutter? Turn a drinking glass or small bowl upside down and use it to cut out your biscuit rounds, or pat the biscuit dough into a large square and cut it into thirds top-to-bottom and left-to-right to form 9 evenly-sized squares (see this in action on our herb biscuit recipe).
Additions and Substitutions. Use buttermilk in place of milk if you like. For vegan biscuits, use cold coconut oil and coconut milk (see our vegan biscuit recipe for more on this technique). Use butternut squash or sweet potato purée in place of pumpkin. Brush biscuits with melted butter before baking if you’d like a glossy finish. Add fresh chopped sage, thyme, or rosemary for a deeper savory flavor. Add an extra teaspoon of cinnamon or a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice for more fall flavor.
The key to great biscuits is to work quickly and keep the ingredients as cold as you can. Touch the dough as little as possible and don’t let it sit out – you don’t want the butter to melt until the dough is IN the oven (that’s what gives you those amazing flaky layers!)
Use aluminum-free baking powder. Aluminum can lend a slightly bitter or metallic taste to baked goods, so we recommend using an aluminum-free baking powder for best results (we like this one from Bob’s Red Mill)! If you’re sensitive to the flavor of baking powder even with an aluminum-free brand, add a teaspoon of lemon juice or cream of tartar to the biscuit dough to neutralize some of the flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 1.3 g
- Sodium: 428.5 mg
- Fat: 8.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.6 g
- Protein: 3.5 g
- Cholesterol: 21.9 mg
Keywords: fall, autumn, baking
Paulina
I ended up needing a bunch more flour, I think my purée wasn’t as thick as yours!
Team Life As A Strawberry
We're so happy you were able to find your perfect dough consistency!
Shawnza
No sugar at all, or sugar sub? I added about a quarter cup to sweeten it up, and probably an additional 1/2 cup flour to make this resemble a dough. I make a lot of biscuits and they are normally more crumbly.
★★
Team Life As A Strawberry
We love these biscuits on the savory side without added sugar! Biscuits are more about technique than anything (and these are pretty forgiving!) so you can definitely experiment to find your perfect sweetness!
Sarah
This is seriously the best batch of biscuits I have ever made! So freakin delicious!! Wouldn't change a thing. I think part of it was how you said to fold the dough. Great tip!
★★★★★
Team Life As A Strawberry
YAY! Thanks, Sarah!
Sandy J.
So easy to make! I added 1 Tbsp sugar to my dry ingredients and about 1/4 tsp of nutmeg -- next time I will likely increase the sugar, possibly using brown sugar for richness. Will be serving them with a rustic chicken/vegie/brown rice soup so wanted them to be hearty enough to complement the soup.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Jen
Great texture and subtle pumpkin flavor...but next time I’ll up the cinnamon (and I added allspice too, yum)) and add 1-2 Tbsp of sugar. It just needs a touch of sweetness then it’s perfect!
★★★★
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Thank you Jen!
Debbie
Yo, this recipe is amazing! So easy, just make sure you have a pastry cutter for ease with the butter. I put apple butter on mine and they are to die for!!
★★★★★
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Hi Debbie! YUM, that apple butter idea sounds yummy. Thank you!
Aidan
I added pumpkin spice instead of cinnamon, about 2 tps. I couldn't really taste pumpkin really though. Any suggestions? Great texture!!!
Jessie @ Life As A Strawberry
So happy you liked these, Aidan! You might try experimenting with the pumpkin spice mix or using straight cinnamon - that ultra-cinnamon-y-ness (<-- technical term) really elevates the pumpkin flavor and makes it pop. You could also always add a tad more pumpkin puree if you like - just add a bit of extra flour if the dough looks too wet! Biscuits are more about technique than anything (and these are pretty forgiving!) so you can definitely experiment to find your perfect level of pumpkin flavor!
Cheryl S
Great recipe. First batch like hockey pucks because not folded enough after pouring out of bowl. Second batch much better after I poured out onto parchment paper and folded a few times adding flour as I went. Next time I will add more folded layers for more flaky layers. I also added full tsp cinnamon and 2TBSP sugar for personal flavor preference.
Karly
Um, I don't know if I've ever seen or even thought of such a perfect combination. These look absolutely INCREDIBLE! Cannot wait to try them!
Jessie
Thanks, Karly!
Coley
I'm 100% making these, though I'm not confident I can achieve those INSANE flakes like you do. I struggle with biscuits, man. And it pisses me off! I can make the flakiest pie crust this side of the mason dixon, but for whatever reason biscuits elude me. I think I just need more practice... to the kitchen I go!
Jessie
Oh maaaaan - I'm not great at pie crust, so maybe we need a baking day soon and we can help each other out, eh??