Jalapeno cheddar biscuits are fluffy, flaky buttermilk biscuits made with fresh jalapeno peppers and sharp cheddar cheese. Every bite of these savory biscuits is filled with bold buttery, cheesy, and spicy flavors!
Y'all know we southerners can never have too many biscuit recipes and these cheddar jalapeno biscuits are already a new favorite of mine! These savory biscuits add the perfect bold and spicy flavors to breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
For more irresistible biscuit recipes, check out our Perfect Homemade Biscuits and Strawberry Buttermilk Biscuits next!
Jump to:
- Ingredients You Need To Make This Recipe
- How To Make This Recipe
- Variations and Substitutions
- Why Use Buttermilk For Biscuits?
- More FAQs
- Make-Ahead and Storing Instructions
- Tips For The Best Biscuits
- What To Serve With Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits
- Recommended Tools For This Recipe
- More Southern Recipes You Will Love!
- 📖 Recipe
Ingredients You Need To Make This Recipe
- All-purpose flour. Use good-quality flour such as Bob's Red Mill for the best biscuits.
- Baking powder. To make the biscuits rise.
- Sugar. A small amount of sugar really brings out the flavors of the other ingredients in these biscuits!
- Salt. For added flavor and to enhance the other flavors.
- Sharp cheddar cheese. I recommend freshly grated cheese for the best texture.
- Fresh jalapenos. Fresh, chopped jalapenos add the perfect amount of heat without being overpowering. Be sure to remove the seeds.
- Unsalted butter. To add flakiness and flavor to the biscuits.
- Buttermilk. For tenderness and subtle tanginess.
- Melted butter. To brush on the biscuits before and after baking for the perfect crust on top!
How To Make This Recipe
- Preheat your oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt and whisk until combined. Add the freshly grated cheddar cheese and chopped jalapenos to the bowl and toss them in the flour.
- Add the cold butter to the bowl and use your fingers to cut the butter into the dough until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Pour ¾ cup of buttermilk into the bowl and use a wooden spoon to mix the dough until all the flour is moistened and it starts to come together. After the dough starts to come together I like to get in there with my hands to get a good feel for the moisture level.
- If the dough is too dry to hold together, add up to ¼ cup more buttermilk until the dough is slightly sticky but not wet.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it into a ¾ inch-inch thick rectangle. Fold the dough in half over itself, and pat it back out into a rectangle. Repeat this process 3 more times. Finally, pat the dough out into a rectangle about ¾ inch thick. Use a 3-inch biscuit cutter to cut out 6 biscuits. Reshape the scraps and cut out 2 more biscuits.
- Place the biscuits closely together on the baking sheet and brush the tops with melted butter. Top each biscuit with a jalapeno slice and bake the biscuits for 15 to 17 minutes or until golden brown on top. Brush the biscuits with more melted butter when they come out of the oven.
- Allow the biscuits to cool slightly before enjoying them!
Variations and Substitutions
- Whole milk or half-and-half can be used in place of buttermilk. However, I highly recommend buttermilk for the most tender biscuits.
- Many people make biscuits with shortening or lard instead of butter. Both will give you a delicious biscuit and I loved both versions regularly growing up. However, I now prefer the flavor of butter in my biscuits!
- This biscuit recipe can be made with all kinds of fun mix-ins and additions. Try adding some of the following ingredients to your next batch of biscuits:
- Fresh or dried herbs such as parsley or chives
- Fresh fruit such as strawberries, blueberries, or apples
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- Pureed sweet potatoes
- Canned pumpkin
- Warm spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves
Why Use Buttermilk For Biscuits?
Buttermilk is a beloved ingredient in the biscuit-making world because of its acidity and fat content. The acidity of the buttermilk combined with leavening agents like baking powder and baking produces a gas that helps biscuits rise beautifully.
Buttermilk also adds a delicious subtle tanginess to biscuits that is irresistible! Biscuits made with buttermilk rise tall and have a robust flavor.
More FAQs
If your biscuits turn out dense, you may have added too much flour to your dough. measure flour properly by weighing it or by using the spoon and level method.
Using old baking powder or baking soda can also prevent biscuits from rising properly. Make sure your leavening agents are no more than six months old.
To get tall biscuits, be sure you do not twist the biscuit cutter when cutting out the biscuits. This can seal the edges, preventing them from rising tall. Place biscuits closely together when baking them so they rise up instead of out.
Those beautiful flaky layers you see in biscuits come from the way the dough is folded and shaped. Folding the dough over itself several times before shaping and cutting out the biscuits will give you flaky layers.
Make-Ahead and Storing Instructions
This biscuit dough can be prepared a day ahead of time, shaped into a disc, wrapped in plastic wrap, and stored in the refrigerator until ready to bake. You can also cut the biscuits out, wrap them in the pan, and store them in the refrigerator until ready to bake.
Leftover jalapeno cheddar biscuits can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for two days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Tips For The Best Biscuits
- Measure your flour properly! Use a kitchen scale to weigh your flour or fluff the flour in the bag, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off with a knife. Too much flour in the dough can result in dense, dry biscuits. This is the kitchen scale I use - it's very inexpensive and I use it ALL the time!
- Make sure your baking powder and baking soda are fresh. Leavening agents that are over six months old lose their effectiveness and can cause your biscuits to turn out dense.
- Use very cold butter! Cold butter releases steam as it melts in the oven, creating air pockets and resulting in extra fluffy biscuits.
- Use cold buttermilk. Buttermilk helps the biscuits bake up extra tender and fluffy.
- Do not overwork the dough. Only mix the dough until all the flour is moistened. Overmixing the dough will result in tough biscuits.
What To Serve With Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits
These savory biscuits add a bold punch of flavor to breakfast or dinner and pair well with so many dishes! Here are some of my favorite pairing suggestions:
- Cajun Smothered Chicken Breasts
- Cajun Crawfish Etouffee
- Creamy Cajun Shrimp and Corn Chowder
- Southern Smothered Chicken
- Southern Salmon Croquettes
- Southern Collard Greens
- Authentic Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
- Creamy Southern Cheese Grits
Recommended Tools For This Recipe
More Southern Recipes You Will Love!
- Soul Food Candied Yams
- Southern Smothered Chicken
- Southern Salmon Croquettes
- Buttermilk Cornbread Muffins
- Southern Green Beans
- Southern Collard Greens
📖 Recipe
Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (280g) weighed or spooned and leveled
- 6 teaspoons baking powder (1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons)
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups cheddar cheese freshly grated
- ¼ cup fresh jalapeno peppers seeded and finely chopped
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter very cold, cut into cubes
- ¾ - 1 cup cold buttermilk whole or low-fat
- melted butter for brushing tops
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt and whisk until combined. Add the freshly grated cheddar cheese and chopped jalapenos to the bowl and toss them in the flour.
- Add the cold butter to the bowl and use your fingers to cut the butter into the dough until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Pour ¾ cup of buttermilk into the bowl and use a wooden spoon to mix the dough until all the flour is moistened and it starts to come together. After the dough starts to come together I like to get in there with my hands to get a good feel for the moisture level.
- If the dough is too dry to hold together, add up to ¼ cup more buttermilk until the dough is slightly sticky but not wet.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it into a ¾ inch-inch thick rectangle. Fold the dough in half over itself, and pat it back out into a rectangle. Repeat this process 3 more times. Finally, pat the dough out into a rectangle about ¾ inch thick. Use a 3-inch biscuit cutter to cut out 6 biscuits. Reshape the scraps and cut out 2 more biscuits.
- Place the biscuits closely together on the baking sheet and brush the tops with melted butter. Top each biscuit with a jalapeno slice and bake the biscuits for 15 to 17 minutes or until golden brown on top. Brush the biscuits with more melted butter when they come out of the oven.
- Allow the biscuits to cool slightly before enjoying them!
Notes
- Measure your flour properly! Use a kitchen scale to weigh your flour or fluff the flour in the bag, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off with a knife. Too much flour in the dough can result in dense, dry biscuits.
- Use very cold butter! Cold butter releases steam as it melts in the oven, creating air pockets and resulting in extra fluffy biscuits.
- Do not overwork the dough. Only mix the dough until all the flour is moistened. Overmixing the dough will result in tough biscuits.
- Leftover homemade biscuits can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for two days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
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