Breakfast Butter Swim Biscuits

These Butter Swim Biscuits are the ultimate no-fuss breakfast. The batter is poured right over melted butter, then baked into golden, fluffy biscuits with irresistibly crisp edges. No rolling, no cutting—just mix, dump, and bake for a cozy, buttery treat that’s perfect for lazy mornings.

Love More Brakfasrt Ideas ? Try My Keto Crustless Zucchini Quiche or this Spinach Onion and Feta Quiche next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Soft, fluffy, and loaded with savory sausage and melted cheese, these buttery treats are pure indulgence. The golden edges stay crisp while the interior remains tender and flavorful, with the cheese adding creamy richness and the sausage bringing savory depth. Easy to prepare with minimal effort, they’re a crowd-pleasing, melt-in-your-mouth favorite.

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Ingredient List

For the Biscuits:

• 1 pound breakfast sausage
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
• 1 ¾ to 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
• ½ cup salted butter, melted

Substitution Notes:

• Sausage: Turkey sausage’s fine, plant-based works too. I’ve used that Jimmy Dean turkey sausage and it’s good
• Cheese: I like sharp cheddar but whatever you got works. Mild cheddar, pepper jack, even some fancy stuff
• Buttermilk: Splash some lemon juice in regular milk if needed. Works in a pinch but buttermilk’s really better

Why These Ingredients Work

Buttermilk makes biscuits fluffy because it’s sour and reacts with the baking powder. Chemistry class finally paying off, right? That acid creates little bubbles that make everything light and airy. Plus it adds this tangy flavor that cuts through all the richness.

Melted butter does everything – keeps things moist inside, makes crispy bits outside. When you pour batter over melted butter, it creates this steaming effect that keeps the bottoms from getting soggy. The butter bubbles up around the edges and creates these amazing crispy bits that everyone fights over.

Sausage brings the breakfast vibes and protein. I use the regular Jimmy Dean stuff but honestly any breakfast sausage works. The fat from the sausage adds flavor and keeps things moist. Don’t drain it completely – that little bit of grease is flavor gold.

Cheddar cheese because duh. Sharp cheddar has more flavor but mild works too. It melts into pockets throughout the biscuits and gets all gooey. Sometimes I throw extra on top before baking for a crispy cheese crust.

Sugar helps with browning and cuts the salty taste from all that sausage and cheese. Just a little bit but it makes a difference. Don’t skip it even though it seems weird.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• Big skillet for sausage – cast iron if you got it
• 9×9 baking dish – glass or metal, doesn’t matter
• Large mixing bowl – needs to hold everything
• Whisk for dry ingredients
• Wooden spoon for mixing – won’t scratch your bowl
• Sharp knife for scoring
• Measuring cups and spoons

Nothing fancy needed here. I use whatever’s clean in my kitchen and it works fine.

How To Make Breakfast Butter Swim Biscuits

Get Things Ready

Heat oven to 450°F. That’s hot so don’t forget to turn it on first like I did last week. Grease your 9×9 pan real good with butter or cooking spray. Don’t be stingy here.

Brown the Sausage

Cook sausage in your skillet till it’s brown and crumbly, about 6-8 minutes. Break it up good with your spoon so you don’t have huge chunks. Drain most the grease but keep a little bit for flavor. Set it aside to cool while you do the next steps.

Mix Dry Stuff

In your big bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and baking powder. Make sure there’s no lumps because nobody wants lumpy biscuits. This step’s important – if your leavening isn’t mixed well, you’ll get uneven rising.

Add Buttermilk

Pour in buttermilk starting with 1¾ cups. Stir it in till you get thick, sticky batter. Might need more buttermilk if it looks too thick. The batter should be sticky and wet – looks gross but that’s what makes tender biscuits. Don’t add more flour thinking you’re fixing it.

Add Good Stuff

Gently fold in the cheese and cooled sausage. Don’t beat it to death – just fold it in till it’s mixed. Overmixing makes tough biscuits and nobody wants that.

The Butter Thing

Pour that melted butter right into your greased pan. Now here’s the weird part – drop spoonfuls of batter right on top of the butter and spread it around with your spoon. Butter’s gonna bubble up the sides and that’s exactly what you want. Looks wrong but trust the process.

Score It

Take your knife and cut 9 squares right through the batter. This makes serving way easier later and helps them bake evenly. Don’t worry about making it perfect – rustic looks good.

Bake

Stick it in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Set a timer and turn the pan once halfway through so it browns evenly. You’ll know they’re done when the top’s golden brown and it springs back when you poke it.

Cool and Eat

Let it sit for maybe 5 minutes so you don’t burn your mouth. Cut along those lines you made and serve them hot while that butter’s still bubbling around the edges.

You Must Know

Batter’s supposed to be sticky as hell. Don’t add more flour thinking you’re fixing something. That stickiness is what makes these biscuits so soft and tender. I learned this the hard way after making hockey pucks the first few times.

Cool your sausage before mixing it in or the fat will make your batter greasy and weird. Let it sit while you mix the other stuff. Room temperature is fine, just not hot from the pan.

Don’t overmix once that buttermilk goes in. Stir just till it comes together and stop. Few lumps are fine – better than tough biscuits.

Personal Secret: I always sprinkle extra cheese on top before baking. Makes this incredible crusty cheese layer that my kids literally lick off their fingers. Sometimes I throw some chopped green onions on there too.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Room temperature buttermilk mixes way better than cold stuff. Take it out of the fridge when you start cooking the sausage. If you forget, microwave it for like 20 seconds to take the chill off.

Use a scale if you got one. 2½ cups flour can vary depending on how you scoop it. But honestly, this recipe’s pretty forgiving so don’t stress if you don’t have a scale.

Turn your pan halfway through baking or one side gets darker than the other. Learned this after serving lopsided biscuits to company. Embarrassing.

Save some sausage grease. I know it sounds gross but a little bit mixed into the batter adds so much flavor. Just a tablespoon or so.

If your oven runs hot, check them at 20 minutes. Every oven’s different and burnt biscuits make everyone sad.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Jalapeños and pepper jack cheese make these spicy as hell. My brother-in-law loves this version. Dice the jalapeños small so you don’t get huge chunks of heat.

Fresh herbs are really good. Chives, thyme, rosemary – whatever you got growing. Dried herbs work too but use less.

Hot sausage instead of regular if you like things spicy. Or mix half regular, half hot for medium heat.

Bacon instead of sausage is amazing. Cook it crispy, crumble it up, use some of the bacon grease in the batter. My sister does this and it’s incredible.

Ham and swiss cheese for a fancy version. Dice the ham small and use swiss instead of cheddar. Tastes like a breakfast sandwich.

Green onions, bell peppers, mushrooms – whatever vegetables you like. Just don’t add too much or the biscuits get soggy.

Make-Ahead Options

You can totally make this the night before if you’re one of those organized people. Just cover it tight with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge. Add about 5 minutes to the cooking time since it’s cold.

The batter actually freezes pretty well for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge before baking. Handy for when you want fresh biscuits but don’t want to deal with mixing everything up.

I’ve never tried freezing the cooked biscuits but I bet they’d work. Just reheat in the oven till they’re warm.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

That butter swimming thing isn’t just for Instagram photos. It actually serves a purpose – keeps the bottom from getting soggy while the top gets crispy. The butter creates steam that cooks the bottom while protecting it.

You could use less butter but honestly, why would you? That’s what makes these special. I tried it once with less butter and they were just okay instead of amazing.

Don’t panic when the butter bubbles up everywhere. First time I made these, I thought I’d messed up when the butter came up around the sides. That’s exactly what’s supposed to happen.

The aluminum-free baking powder matters. Regular baking powder can leave a metallic taste, especially when you’re using this much. Spend the extra dollar for the good stuff.

Serving Suggestions

These are perfect just how they are but honey on top is absolutely killer. Real maple syrup works too but honey’s my favorite. The sweetness plays so well with the salty sausage.

Put some fresh fruit on the side so you can pretend you’re eating healthy. Strawberries, grapes, whatever’s in season. Makes the whole plate look fancier.

Make scrambled eggs too if you want the full breakfast spread. Cook them in the leftover sausage grease for extra flavor. Or fried eggs if that’s your thing.

Little bit of jam or preserves is really nice. Apple butter’s amazing with these. My mom always serves jam with biscuits so it feels traditional.

Coffee, obviously. These are rich so you want something to cut through all that butter and cheese. Orange juice works too if you’re feeling fancy.

Serve these at brunch and everyone thinks you’re some kind of cooking genius. I brought these to a potluck once and three people asked for the recipe. Felt pretty good about myself.

How to Store Your Breakfast Butter Swim Biscuits

Keep leftovers covered in the fridge for 3 days, but honestly they never last that long at my house. Jake eats them cold straight from the fridge like some kind of animal.

To reheat, stick them in a 350°F oven for 5-7 minutes till they’re warm. Microwave works too – 20-30 seconds per biscuit but they won’t be as crispy.

They freeze really well for up to 3 months. Wrap them individually in foil or plastic wrap, then put everything in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the fridge and warm in the oven.

Allergy Information

Contains: Gluten from flour, dairy from butter and cheese, possibly eggs depending on what sausage you use

No gluten: Try a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend but I can’t promise they’ll be exactly the same. Gluten-free baking is tricky.

No dairy: Use dairy-free butter and cheese substitutes but results might be different. The butter’s pretty important for texture.

Less salt: Get low-sodium sausage and cheese. These are pretty salty as written so it might help.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can I skip the sausage and just make cheese biscuits?

Yeah, absolutely. Use bacon bits instead, or diced ham, or just make them plain with extra cheese. Still gonna be good.

Why did my biscuits come out heavy and dense?

You probably mixed too much after adding the buttermilk, or added extra flour thinking the batter was too wet. Barely mix once that buttermilk goes in, and sticky batter is good batter.

I don’t have buttermilk. Can I use regular milk?

Put a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in a cup of regular milk and let it sit for 5 minutes. Makes fake buttermilk that works okay, but real buttermilk tastes better.

How do I know when they’re completely done?

Top should be golden brown and bounce back when you poke the center. Toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.

Can I double this recipe for a crowd?

Sure. Use a 9×13 inch pan instead and add maybe 5-10 minutes to the cooking time. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.

What if I don’t have a 9×9 pan?

8×8 works but they’ll be thicker. 9×13 works but they’ll be thinner. Just adjust cooking time accordingly.

Can I add other vegetables like spinach or tomatoes?

I wouldn’t add anything with too much water content like tomatoes – makes the biscuits soggy. Spinach might work if you squeeze all the water out first.

💬 Made these breakfast butter swim biscuits? Tell me how they turned out! Did your family fight over the corner pieces too?