These homemade jalapeno-cheddar biscuits are cheesy, flaky, and delicious, easy to make from scratch and perfect for quick morning breakfast or brunch!
Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits Recipe
You know, homemade biscuits are NOT hard to make, but I managed to screw them up for years. I have no idea why. I sometimes feel there is an invisible force emanating from my body that actively interferes with anything with flour that requires baking.
In the past I have failed horribly at making bread or anything involving yeast, and this poor luck extended to biscuits for some reason. Until now!
I am happy to report that I no longer have an issue making biscuits, thanks to a few small things.
Cheddar-Jalapeno Biscuits Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour.
- Salt.
- Baking Powder.
- Baking Soda.
- Cold Butter. Cubed.
- Buttermilk.
- Jalapeno Pepper. Finely diced.
- Garlic Powder.
- Cheddar Cheese. Shredded.
How to Make Homemade Cheddar-Jalapeno Biscuits
First, I measured properly! WOW. Did you know that when you bake anything, you need to ensure your ratios are correct? Baking is different from cooking in that you need precision.
You can't just toss a little extra of "this", a little more of "that" like you can with, say, a homemade pasta sauce or a pot of chili. No! You must measure, or face the consequences. Like I did.
Second, I DID make small adjustments to those ratios and wound up with the measurements that work best for me.
Other tips include using cold butter straight from the fridge, which will help form the best consistency for your dough.
Also, use buttermilk. I've made these with milk and they turn out just fine, but something about buttermilk makes them that much better, and we want the best, right? Buttermilk allthe way.
Lastly, use a good biscuit cutter. You don't have to, but the cutter helps keep the round shape better than hand forminig, and we eat with our eyes as well. You don't need a fancy cutter.
An inexpensive one will do just fine! Like this one that I use - 3.5-Inch Round Stainless Steel Cutter (Amazon affiliate link, FYI).
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Baking is different from cooking in that you need precision. You can't just toss a little extra of "this", a little more of "that" like you can with, say, a homemade pasta sauce or a pot of chili. No! You must measure, or face the consequences.
- Use cold butter straight from the fridge - it helps form the best consistency for the dough.
- You can omit the cheddar, garlic and jalapeno peppers and follow this as a bare bones homemade biscuit recipe. They're DANG good all by themselves with just a little butter. Nice and flaky. It's how I got started.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve your biscuits with a traditional breakfast, slap a bit of butter on them, call it a morning. Nothing wrong there! But biscuits are quite awesome and can be served in many different ways.
Make yourself a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit sandwich. How about drizzling them with bacon or sausage gravy?
How about topping them with lightly poached eggs and letting the thick yolk drip down the sides?
Serve them as a side for your world famous, award winning chili. Or, be like me and serve them as an alternative to traditional desserts.
Who needs cake when you can have a biscuit drizzled with honey or agave nectar? Or tomato gravy? Oh, biscuits, how I do love thee.
I hope you enjoy the homemade biscuits!
Storage & Leftovers
Storing your Cheddar-Jalapeno Biscuits in an airtight container in the fridge may allow to keep them for up to 2-3 days. To maximize the storage life, make sure to refrigerate your biscuits promptly.
Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS.Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 6 tablespoons cold butter cubed
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 large jalapeno pepper finely diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat oven to 450 degrees.
- Add flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda to a mixing bowl. Mix well.
- Add butter and hand mix until butter is thoroughly spread through. The mixture should be slightly grainy.
- Add remaining ingredients and hand mix to form a dough. If it’s too sticky, add another tablespoon of flour.
- Press into ¾ inch thickness and cut into 2 inch rounds. A biscuit cutter is ideal here.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown.
Nutrition Information
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 11/13/24 to include new information and photos. It was originally published on 10/31/16.
Toni says
These are fabulous biscuits! Thanks Mike.
If you don't have a biscuit cutter you can use a clean soup can. works great for me.
we love these. I have even used jalapeño or Chipotle powder (3/4 tsp) in place of the fresh pepper but prefer the fresh.
Thanks Mike.
I have also placed a halved pepper on top when we have guests or take along. Always a hit.
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent! Great tip on the soup can! I love it.
Miska Knezevic says
Excellent!
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Miska!
CJ says
I do this with my 2 ingredient biscuit recipe! 2 c self rising flour and 13/4 c heavy cream. Mix, bake 500 degrees 15 min.
Mike Hultquist says
Sounds great! Don't forget the jalapenos and cheddar!
Tabitha Floor says
My son used your recipe for his 4H project this year- he won Reserve Grand Champion at our fair!
Question for you: can these be baked and then frozen? Then just thawed to serve? Has anyone frozen biscuits?
Mike Hultquist says
Wow, this is amazing! Great to hear! Biscuits DO freeze very well. Just cover them in freezer proof plastic or in a container, then thaw/reheat/serve. Glad to hear this, Tabitha!
Jackie Ann Taylor says
Can you freeze them before baking? Or do you recommend only freezing them after they've been baked?
Mike Hultquist says
Hi, Jackie! I actually freeze them AFTER baking them all the time. They reheat perfectly!! Then I toast them a bit and YUM.
Jackie Ann Taylor says
Thank you! Very helpful to know. Have a great Thanksgiving!
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Jackie! You too!
Kamil says
This recipe is so good that I just can't make normal biscuits anymore!
Thanks for the great recipes Mike, big love from Poland.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome. Thanks, Kamil! Big love! =)
col says
scones.
at least their known as that over here.
know these are meant to be savoury but i had them with jam (jelly).
cheese, jam and chili. a certain trinity.
top recipe.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Col! Glad you enjoyed it! Perfect with jam or jelly for sure.
Timothy J Sheehan III says
Michael: Arrived home from work about three weeks ago, feeling restless, antsy, or whatever and decided: “I’m going to make biscuits”. I do cook daily, but I’ve never in my life made biscuits. So, looked up recipes, and came up with two; yours, and a plain biscuit recipe. I tried those first, and with two tries felt decent about prospects for getting them down. Then, after making a pot of chili, I asked my son to come over and enjoy it with me. I told him we were going to make your biscuit recipe. Lots of laughs later, we ate, devoured the biscuits, and now I make them several times a week, mostly for other folks. During this stressful time of pandemic and politics, I feel people find comfort in food, especially when someone else prepares it. I am using your recipe, with my own tiny tweaks, and am now responsible for providing three dozen for a family for a Thanksgiving. Thanks for the great recipe! Tim
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
That is so nice to hear Timothy. Thanks for spreading the love of spicy food. -Mike
Sandy says
Can I substitute drained pickled jalapeños?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Yes, you can, Sandy. Fresh is better, but pickled will still work nicely. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Tim says
I very rarely post reviews, but felt I had to for this recipe. I’ve tried a lot of biscuit and scone recipes - and this is now my go-to recipe without fail, any time I want to make biscuits. It works perfectly every single time. Light, fluffy, crumbly - absolutely perfect.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks so much, Tim! I appreciate it. Yep, these biscuits are great!
Amanda says
Can these be made ahead of time? Or do they need to be served fresh?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Amanda, they are best served right out of the oven, but you can warm them up later on. Also, you can freeze the raw dough after forming them into biscuit shapes. Then, thaw the dough and bake them.
Sarah says
how many biscuits does the recipe make?
REPLY: Sarah, this will make you 6-8 biscuits. -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
Stu says
Hello Michael & Patty, Love your site & your books. A couple of things I'm hoping you can clarify regarding the Cheddar-Jalapeño Biscuits. Your have referenced using a 3½" round biscuit cutter, as well as a 2" cutter; could you clarify… 2" seems rather small for most biscuits. Also, could you please advise on the yield from this recipe & for what size biscuits. Thank you.
REPLY: Stu, you can realistically form them into any serving size as long as they aren't too large. Just make sure the thickness of the dough is about 3/4 inch thick. -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.