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You will find it hard to believe that these tender, delicious, easy-to-make biscuits are both grain-free and vegan, but it’s true! The key ingredient is chickpea flour, which delivers a powerful punch of nutrition, too.
Not every biscuit can be light, fluffy and delicious while also being grain-free, vegan, and easy-to-make. Oh, and protein-rich (4.5 grams per biscuit), too.
In fact, few biscuits come anywhere close.
This one can. Once again, it’s chickpea flour that makes the impossible possible, this time in convenient quick-bread form. And whether you embrace or eschew grains, this is a biscuit recipe you will want to try, for the buttery-nutty flavor, tender texture, and great nutrition.
They are a cinch to make, too! Drop biscuits are the real wonder bread: the ingredient proportions are the same as for rolled and cut biscuits except for the liquid. Adding a higher proportion of liquid allows the dough to be “dropped” off a spoon onto a baking sheet. Express bread! These chickpea flour biscuits, for example, are ready (start to finish) in just about 15 minutes.
A key to creating the light texture and mellow flavor of these biscuits is making some sour milk. I know, “sour milk” may not inspire delectable imagery, but is an essential element for countless varieties of tender quick bread (think buttermilk pancakes, biscuits and breads). Making the sour milk (mock buttermilk) is as simple as stirring some vinegar into the milk of your choice and letting the mixture stand for a few minutes before using. It’s remarkable how the small amount of acidity elevates the biscuits from good to great (trust me; I made the biscuits with water and with plain milk, first. Souring the milk is the way to go here!).
You won’t have to cut in/work in chilled butter or fat, either. Instead, stir in the oil of your choice (my choice is olive oil) along with the sour milk. After that, just drop, bake and eat!
It should go without saying that these biscuits are perfect alongside a mug of hot soup for supper, but do not forget about lunch (um, yes, I would like a biscuit sandwich) and breakfast (bring on the jam!).
A plain biscuit is always grand, but depending on your mood and inclination, you may want to play dress-up by adding some stir-ins or sprinkles. The sky’s the limit, but here are some of my favorite options:
*Fresh or dried herbs (e.g., rosemary, parsley, thyme, herbes de Provence)
*Cheese (nondairy or dairy, or some nutritional yeast for cheezy flavor)
*Seeds (e.g., sesame, poppy, hemp, or an assortment + dried minced onion & garlic for an “everything” biscuit)
*Flaked coconut (stir some in & sprinkle some on top for toasted coconut bliss)
*Spices + sweetness (e.g., cinnamon sugar, cardamom, ginger, pumpkin pie spice)
It’s hard to choose a favorite, but my coconut biscuit variation is topping my list these days. I added a restrained slather of ginger preserves on this beauty late this morning for my second breakfast (#eatlikeahobbit). Happy baking, everyone!
Easy Grain-Free Drop Biscuits {V+GF}
- Prep Time: 2 mins
- Cook Time: 13 mins
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
Perfect, fluffy, tender drop biscuits, made in minutes with chickpea flour. They are naturally vegan & gluten-free, and endlessly versatile!
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons nondairy milk
- 3/4 teaspoon white or cider vinegar
- 1–1/4 cups chickpea flour
- 1–1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small cup or bowl, combine the milk and vinegar. Let stand at least 2 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the milk mixture and olive oil until blended.
- Immediately drop 6 equal portion of dough onto prepared baking sheet, spacing at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 13 minutes until puffed and golden brown at the edges.
- Serve warm or cool completely.
Notes
Storage: Store the cooled biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, the refrigerator for 5 days or the freezer for 3 months.
Tip about Milk: If needed, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of additional milk (no need to add more vinegar) if dough is too stiff
- Category: Bread
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 biscuit
- Calories: 138
- Sugar: 2.1 g
- Sodium: 286 mg
- Fat: 8.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 11.6 g
- Fiber: 2.2 g
- Protein: 4.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
These are soooooo amazing! I was craving a savory biscuit as I’m currently on a grain-free sugar-free diet, and I’m so thankful you made this recipe! I added 1/2 tsp. each turmeric, sambhar masala, thyme, parsley, and about 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper. Incredible with a little pat of Miyoko’s vegan butter! Biscuit craving beyond satisfied!
★★★★★
Wonderful, Gifun, I am so glad that you enjoyed these!
I really like ur biscuits like these that also use almond flour. I was going to ask if all chickpea flour would work when I saw ur link to this recipe in response to person allergic to almond flour.
But now I have the question – if the almond/chickpea biscuits work w/o oil, will these?
Thanks!
Hi Kay!
I think you might still need some oil in these. Here’s why: the almond flour biscuits work without oil because almond flour is high in natural oils (i.e., the fat is in the flour itself). Chickpeas are virtually fat free, so without added fat, I fear they could be a bit dry. But you could try using applesauce or a bit of pumpkin to create moisture in place of the oil.
Would lemon juice safise instead of using vingeger of any kind?
Hi Kellie,
Absolutely! Lemon juice will work just fine here.
The thing is I want to eat your creations and they are nice and simple and quick. Just right!
I was wondering if any other flours would work? Brown Rice, tapioca, quinoa, coconut? I am currently out of the chickpea but have plenty of the others.
Hi Laurie! Alas, this particular recipe will only work with chickpea flour.
Thanks! These turned out really good. I was looking for a baking powder-like biscuit to go with the turkey stew I made tonight. These hit the spot!
Wonderful, so glad to hear, Julie!
Hello!
I am loving so many of your recipes! I do have a question. I am following a particular way of eating to lose weight. You can have certain carbs, but per serving no more than 5g of fat.
Do you think this recipe might work by replacing the olive oil with unsweetened applesauce?
Thank you so much for your help!
Val
Hi Val! So glad you are enjoying the recipes 🙂 I think you could make these with applesauce as a sub; they will certainly hold together. The texture will be less tender with the lack of oil, but should still be good. Pumpkin would likely work as well, but perhaps add a touch more liquid. Would love to know how it works out, Val!
Are these proportions correct? My dough was so runny it was almost like pancake dough. I am thinking there was way too much liquid for such a small amount of flour.
I am so so sorry, Flo! I have made the change. It is half the amount of liquid. I originally had this scaled to make 12 biscuits and then reduced it to 6 biscuits, but made an error with the milk. So sorry, and thank you for letting me know. The change has been made!
Thank you! I will try again! Love your recipes!
Thank YOU, Flo!!! xo
Sorry, I confused the recipe with the soup I’ve made at the same time. I didn’t add water to the biscuits. 🙂
No problem, Shari!