Sweet Potato Biscuits are a tender, flaky, fluffy, and slightly sweet Southern biscuit. This easy recipe makes the best biscuits!
This sweet potato biscuit recipe is a favorite of my grandmother’s. She would let my sister and me help her make them throughout the year, but especially during the fall and winter. They are perfect for breakfast and brunch and to serve alongside your turkey and dressing for Thanksgiving!
Grandmother made her sweet potato biscuits with sweet potatoes that she would boil and then mash. While they were always incredibly delicious, and I make them that way from time to time, I also love to make them using baked sweet potatoes. I find that it deepens the sweet potato flavor and makes the biscuits even richer.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick and Easy. A quick and easy sweet potato biscuit recipe perfect for your fall table (or any time!).
- Amazing flavor. The mashed sweet potato adds such great flavor.
- Versatile. These biscuits are delicious for breakfast, brunch, appetizers, dinner, and even to serve with fancy holiday meals!
How to Make Sweet Potato Biscuits Recipe
Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
- Sweet potato – You will need a cup of mashed sweet potato. I love to use a baked sweet potato (a great way to use leftovers!) for a deeper, sweeter flavor, while my Grandmother always used boiled sweet potatoes for her biscuits. Either works fine! See my notes below on how to use Grandmother’s method.
- Milk – I use whole milk in this recipe.
- Flour – This recipe uses all-purpose flour.
- Baking powder – You’ll use baking powder as the leavening agent in these biscuits.
- Salt – The salt helps enhance and balance this recipe’s flavors.
- Sugar – The sugar also enhances the sweetness of the sweet potatoes without making these biscuits too sweet.
- Butter – Mixed into the biscuit dough and then brushed on top of the biscuits for baking.
Even Easier!
Use leftover baked sweet potato to make these biscuits more quickly and easily!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Make the sweet potato biscuit dough. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Cut the butter into chunks and add to the flour mixture. Cut into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or with a fork until the butter resembles coarse crumbs in the flour mixture. Add the sweet potato and slowly add enough of the milk to make a soft dough.
Fold and roll the dough. Turn the biscuit dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently pat the dough into a rectangle. Fold each of the edges of the dough into the center and again, gently pat into a rectangle about 1/2-inch thick.
Cut out the biscuits. Cut the dough with a floured, sharp metal cutter or bench knife. Place the cut biscuits on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the sweet potato biscuits lightly with melted butter.
Bake the biscuits. Place into the hot oven and bake for 10-12 minutes.
Serve. I love to serve these biscuits hot with butter and honey. For breakfast or brunch, they are also delicious with baked ham.
Fold the Dough!
Folding the biscuit dough, also called laminating, creates layers within the biscuits. You can also cut the dough into four even pieces, stack the pieces, and then cut the dough to form the layers.
Storage Tips
To store leftovers. Store biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.
To make ahead. Prepare biscuits as directed and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Reheat and serve.
To freeze. Prepare and cool the biscuits. Store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 6 months. Thaw, reheat, and serve.
How to Boil Sweet Potato Cubes
Peel, cube, and boil a medium sweet potato over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes for 1-inch cubes. Mash the sweet potato and then measure to use the correct amount in the biscuit recipe.
More Biscuit Recipes
- Cream Biscuits (2 Ingredients!)
- Buttermilk Biscuits (3 Ingredients!)
- Angel Biscuits
- Cinnamon Roll Biscuits
Sweet Potato Biscuits Pro Tips
- Use baked sweet potatoes for a deeper sweet potato flavor in these biscuits.
- Fold the dough for visible, flaky, tender layers in your biscuits.
- Butter the biscuit tops for a wonderful buttery flavor in every bite.
- Make extras as everyone loves them.
Here’s my family’s Sweet Potato Biscuits recipe. I hope you love them as much as we do!
Related Recipes
Southern Sweet Potato Biscuits Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato, from a medium cooked sweet potato
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, cold, plus more melted butter for brushing the tops of the biscuits
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat oven to 425º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Make the sweet potato biscuit dough. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Cut the butter into chunks and add to the flour mixture. Cut into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or with a fork until the butter resembles coarse crumbs in the flour mixture. Add the sweet potato and slowly add enough of the milk to make a soft dough.
- Cut out the biscuits. Turn the sweet potato biscuit dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently pat the dough into a rectangle. Fold each of the edges of the dough into the center and again, gently pat into a rectangle about 1/2-inch thick. Cut the dough with a floured, sharp metal cutter or bench knife. Place the cut biscuits on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the sweet potato biscuits lightly with melted butter.
- Bake the biscuits. Place into hot oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. Serve hot.
Notes
Ingredient Notes
Use baked sweet potatoes for a deeper sweet potato flavor in the biscuits or peel, cube, and boil sweet potatoes until fork tender, 12 to 15 minutes for 1-inch cubes.Storage Tips
To store leftovers. Store biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. To make ahead. Prepare biscuits as directed and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Reheat and serve. To freeze. Prepare and cool the biscuits. Store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 6 months. Thaw, reheat, and serve.Pro Tips
Use baked sweet potatoes for a deeper sweet potato flavor in these biscuits. Fold the dough for visible, flaky, tender layers in your biscuits. Butter the biscuit tops for a wonderful buttery flavor in every bite. Make extras as everyone loves them.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Originally shared in October 2011. Updated with step-by-step photographs and clearer instructions.
My first time making sweet potato biscuits.Iheard they are very good.
You have to try these next time you make them, Anna. I’m so glad others liked them.
Very good and easy recipe. This is actually the first biscuit recipe I’ve ever made that didn’t just taste blahhh. I will definitely make again but probably add more sweet potato. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Donna, I’m so glad you liked these sweet potato biscuits.
Roland, the self-rising flour already has baking powder added.
Hello Robyn,
I’ve never heard of sweet potato biscuits until my dad asked about them after listening to them being mentioned in a talking book. He’s blind and gets ready material from the National Library for the Blind and Disabled. I’d love to make them.
I see that you have butter and melted butter in the ingredients list but in the recipe it only says to use the cold butter. What do we do with the melted butter? I can’t wait to make these, all your biscuit recipes are delicious!
The melted butter is to brush on the hot biscuits when you take them out of the oven. Thanks for asking about it! I hope you enjoy them – I’m so happy you like the other biscuits! Thanks Karima! xo
Thank you so much for answering. I will be making them this weekend and I can’t wait!
I love sweet potato biscuits. There is a restaurant here in a small town called Smithfield,Virginia. It’s the ham capital of the world! My friend and i love to meet for lunch at The Taste of Smithfield for a bowl of soup and their yummy sweet potato biscuits stuffed with country ham. Hmmm hmmmm GOOD!!
I was wondering if I could use buttermilk instead of milk. The restaurant’s biscuits are oh So moist and seem to have a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg in them. Oh and for hefty price you can take a container of the biscuits home for the freezer. Id rather make my own!
Sweet potato biscuits are amazing! I hope you enjoy these! I always use whole milk, Muffin, so I can’t say how they would taste with buttermilk as I don’t use it in this recipe.
I hope you enjoy them! Thanks! xo
These look great! i will be making these for thanksgiving. What a beautiful story too!
I’m sorry, Perry, that step was omitted in the recipe. You should brush the biscuits lightly with the melted butter just before placing in the oven.
Hi Melanie,
You can use all butter if you prefer. I’ve always used part butter, part shortening for my biscuits – most likely because that’s what my grandmother taught me. 🙂
Wow, sweet potato biscuits never occurred to me but they sound MAGICAL. Perfect for the holidays.