These homemade air fryer biscuits are perfectly flakey, and full of cheesy goodness. Pantry ingredients, combined with luscious butter and sharp cheddar cheese make for a delicious flakey biscuit. Forget preheating the oven - all you need is your air fryer basket and 30 minutes! These are the perfect addition to your breakfast table with stuffed bagel bites, or are even better dunked in comforting chili!
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👩🏽🍳Why This Recipe Works
You can make these biscuits as small or big as you like! If you prefer biscuits for breakfast sandwiches, like me, then you can make these biscuits larger. If you like smaller ones for dunking in your eggs or as a side dish, you can make them smaller!
Perfect for novice bakers! Baking is not exactly my favourite thing to do, but these biscuits are easy! If you are trying to experiment with baking and making baked goods from scratch, this recipe is perfect - just like my pizza dough focaccia, skillet dinner rolls and garlic monkey bread!
The customizations are endless! Why stop at just cheddar cheese? You can add bacon, green onions, or anything in between. Go for a loaded version of these biscuits, kind of like loaded mashed potatoes, if you will!
🥘Ingredients
- Sharp cheddar cheese: Sharp cheddar is ideal for biscuits as it is a good melting cheese, with a good amount of flavour. Milder cheddars will easily get masked by the butter in the biscuits, which is why I prefer a sharper, aged cheese.
- Salted butter: Because these biscuits are savoury biscuits, I like to use salted butter to ensure that the biscuits are not bland. You always want to ensure you are using the coldest butter possible, which is key to those flakey layers.
- Baking powder: Baking powder is the leavening agent in these biscuits, which helps give them their iconic puff. Keep in mind that baking powder and baking soda are not the same. Baking soda requires acid and a liquid to activate, whereas baking powder already includes an acid.
- Half and half cream: My preference is to use half and half as it is slightly lighter than traditional heavy cream. These biscuits already pack a good amount of richness from the butter and cheese, and I have not found a significant difference when using a higher fat heavy cream.
A full list of ingredients with measurements is located on the recipe card, below.
📖Substitutions
- All purpose flour: Self-rising flour can be used in place of all purpose flour. Self-rising flour already has baking powder added into the mixture, so you can omit the baking powder from the recipe.
- Salted butter: If you prefer sweet biscuits use unsalted butter in the dough. If you want savoury biscuits but only have unsalted butter, you will want to add some additional salt to the dry ingredients to keep the flavors balanced.
- Sharp cheddar cheese: Any melting cheese works in place of sharp cheddar. You can opt for a less aged cheddar, or something more adventurous like Pepperjack.
- Half and half cream: Heavy cream or buttermilk are both great alternatives to half and half. I would avoid using 2% or lower fat percentage milk, as I find that it does not add the same dense richness.
🔪Variations
- Scallions: Add some finely chopped green onions to the mixture for an onion twist.
- Bacon: Crisp up bacon and finely chop it. Add to the dough for a smokey flavour.
- Ham and cheese: Ham and cheese are a match made in heaven, and would be delicious in biscuit form! Chop your favorite deli ham into ribbons and add into the biscuit dough with cheese.
- Jalapeno cheddar: For a spicier kick, add some chopped jalapenos to the mix for a classic jalapeno cheddar combo, like in this Cheddar Jalapeno Biscuits recipe.
- Sweet: If you like a sweeter biscuit, give these Honey Butter Biscuits a try.
⏲️Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep Work Before Cooking
Collecting all your ingredients - This will make cooking so much easier. Gather all the spices you will need, and keep them nearby.
Grate the cheese ad butter - Using a box grater, grate the butter and the cheddar cheese into the same size shreds. I recommend using the standard large hole grater side.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients until everything is combined. [photo 1]
Add the grated cheese and butter to the dry ingredients, and toss it into the flour using your fingers or a rubber spatula so the cheese and butter is coated with flour. Be gentle, as you want the butter to stay intact. [photos 2&3]
Pour in the half and half cream, and stir together with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Stir the dough together until rough clumps have formed. [photos 4 &5]
Empty the bowl onto a clean surface, and bring it together with your hands. Be sure not to overwork the dough, as you want the butter to stay cold.
Next, you will want to fold the dough over itself three times. You will take the dough from one side, and fold it into the middle. Take the dough from the other side, and bring that over to the middle, on top of the folded piece. Rotate the dough, flatten, and repeat three times. This is an excellent guide to folding biscuit dough. [photo 6]
Using a glass, or a cookie cutter that fits the size of biscuits you want, cut out your biscuits. Reform the scraps, and cut out the remaining biscuits. [photo 7]
Arrange the biscuits in your air fryer basket. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the biscuits with a thin layer of half and half cream. [photo 8]
Air fry the biscuits for 12-15 minutes at 375°F. Be sure to check your biscuits around the 10 minute mark, as each air fryer can vary with cooking times and overall power.
Brush the tops of the biscuits with butter, and enjoy!
💭Expert Tips
Use cold ingredients: You want to make sure that the butter specifically is as cold as you can get it. This also means that while you are mixing the biscuit dough, you want to try to keep the butter shreds as whole and prominent as possible. It helps to use cold cream and cheese as well, to keep the butter cold.
To make cutting the biscuits easier: Dust the glass or cookie cutter with flour.
Use a food processor: If you have one, to help the dough come together faster. Start by pulsing the butter and the cheese into the dry ingredients. Slowly add the cream in, and pulse until a dough has formed.
Do not overwork the dough: Use a light hand when mixing the biscuit dough together. Overworked dough will result in tough biscuits without layers.
🍽Make Ahead & Storage
Make Ahead Instructions
These biscuits can be made ahead entirely, and stored in the freezer for up to 6 months. Store in an airtight freezer bag.
If you prefer to bake these biscuits fresh from the freezer, you can portion the biscuits out using your cookie cutter or glass, and arrange the biscuits on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 2-3 hours, and then transfer the frozen biscuits to a freezer bag.
To reheat, wrap in foil and reheat in the air fryer or the oven. You can alternatively defrost pre-cooked biscuits in advance and toast to reheat.
Storing Leftovers
Store leftover biscuits in an airtight container or bag, and refrigerate. These biscuits will keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the air fryer, or toast if you want to use them for a breakfast sandwich.
Avoid storing these biscuits at room temperature, as this will cause them to harden and taste slightly stale.
⭐Recipe FAQs
Cheddar biscuits make the perfect addition to a breakfast spread, with crispy hash brown potatoes. They also go perfectly with a bowl of comforting homemade chili!
If you plan on finishing your biscuits within a day or two, you do not have to refrigerate your biscuits. When storing in a humid environment, however, I do recommend it. To extend their shelf life, the fridge is the way to go.
Absolutely - many types of canned biscuit dough can be cooked in the air fryer, and are often a great shortcut to homemade ones. Follow the instructions on the package for temperature and cooking time adjustments specific to your brand and type of biscuit dough.
To prevent sticking, use parchment paper or non-stick cooking spray in the air fryer basket before placing the biscuit dough. This also makes cleanup easier. If you have a silicone air fryer liner, those work perfectly!
📝More Easy Bread Recipes
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Homemade Air Fryer Cheddar Biscuits
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups All purpose flour
- 2 ½ tablespoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Sea salt
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 1 stick Salted butter - chilled, grated
- 1 cup Half and half cream - chilled
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese - chilled, grated
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients until everything is combined.2 ½ cups All purpose flour, 2 ½ tablespoon Baking powder, 1 teaspoon Sea salt, 1 teaspoon Garlic powder, 1 teaspoon Sugar
- Add the grated cheese and butter to the dry ingredients, and toss it into the flour using your fingers or a rubber spatula so the cheese and butter is coated with flour. Be gentle, as you want the butter to stay intact.1 stick Salted butter, 1 cup Cheddar cheese
- Pour in the half and half cream, and stir together with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Stir the dough together until rough clumps have formed.1 cup Half and half cream
- Empty the bowl onto a clean surface, and bring it together with your hands. Be sure not to overwork the dough, as you want the butter to stay cold.
- Next, you will want to fold the dough over itself three times. You will take the dough from one side, and fold it into the middle. Take the dough from the other side, and bring that over to the middle, on top of the folded piece. Rotate the dough, flatten, and repeat three times.
- Using a glass, or a cookie cutter that fits the size of biscuits you want, cut out your biscuits. Reform the scraps, and cut out the remaining biscuits.
- Arrange the biscuits in your air fryer basket. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the biscuits with a thin layer of half and half cream.
- Air fry the biscuits for 12-15 minutes at 375°F. Check the biscuits at the 10 minute mark for doneness.
- Brush the tops of the biscuits with butter, and serve.
✱Recipe Notes
- Use cold ingredients: You want to make sure that the butter specifically is as cold as you can get it. This also means that while you are mixing the biscuit dough, you want to try to keep the butter shreds as whole and prominent as possible. It helps to use cold cream and cheese as well, to keep the butter cold.
- To make cutting the biscuits easier: Dust the glass or cookie cutter with flour.
- Use a food processor: If you have one, to help the dough come together faster. Start by pulsing the butter and the cheese into the dry ingredients. Slowly add the cream in, and pulse until a dough has formed.
- Do not overwork the dough: Use a light hand when mixing the biscuit dough together. Overworked dough will result in tough biscuits without layers.
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