Light and Fluffy Biscuits (with Mayonnaise)

If you’re looking for a super easy, tender biscuit recipe, you’ve come to the right place. These mayonnaise-based biscuits are flaky, tasty, and so, so easy to make! Best of all, you’ve probably got everything you need in your pantry and refrigerator right now. 

Biscuits in a Hurry!

These past few days have been extremely busy as I’ve baked one sweet treat after another. Tonight I decided to to shift gears and prep some breads for this coming week. I started with Doctored Cornbread Muffins, which turned out great. 

Then I turned my attention to biscuits. 

After posting on Facebook about my journey down mayonnaise lane (basically, baking everything I could think of with mayo) a friend suggested mayonnaise biscuits. I’d never heard of such a thing but when I started looking at recipes they seemed super easy. 

I tweaked an online recipe a little (and doubled it) and I’m happy to share it with you. 

Pass the Mayo, Please!

Before I share the recipe, let me pause to talk about mayonnaise. 

Picture a woman in the depression era, trying to bake for her family, but finding herself without the necessary ingredients due to food rations. She’s got very little in her pantry, but she does have flour and baking powder. She’s out of eggs and oil, but in her tiny refrigerator she’s got something that just might work.

Mayonnaise. 

So, she does the unthinkable. She dumps a cup of it into her favorite recipe. . .and it works! In fact, she’s delighted with the outcome!

Can I Make Bread out of Mayonnaise? 

Sounds crazy, right? Yep. But, I’m here to tell you. . .the addition of this very special ingredient results in a light, fluffy product. It didn’t fail me when I made my Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake. It made a terrific Banana Bread. And it made some of the best Cornbread Muffins I’ve ever eaten.

Naturally, I couldn’t wait to try it in biscuit form! And the idea of baking biscuits in muffin tins? Sounded intriguing!

Down here in the south most folks use Duke’s mayonnaise. I must be a mayonnaise heathen because I had Kraft on hand.

I know. Don’t shoot me.

Light and Fluffy Biscuit Ingredients

Maybe you’re ready to try these fluffy homemade biscuits. This is a simple recipe with very few basic ingredients. Easy-breezy!

Here’s what you’ll need to make a full batch. (This will make a dozen small biscuits or ten medium-sized ones.)

• all-purpose flour
• baking powder
• salt
• mayonnaise (full fat, NOT Miracle Whip)
• whole milk (or buttermilk, if you prefer)

How to Make Mayonnaise Biscuits

It’s time to whip up these amazing bundles of joy! 

First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 

Next, prepare a muffin pan by spraying the muffin cups with non-stick spray. 

After that, double sift your flour, baking powder, and salt. (Side note: this recipe calls for a half tsp salt but I might add a full teaspoon next time. I tend to like the added enhancement of salt in breads.)

You’ll need two medium bowls for the sifting process. 

Combine all three dry ingredients in one of the bowls and sift into the second mixing bowl. 

Then repeat the process into the original bowl. (You can sift it even more if it still looks dense. You want it to be light and fluffy.)  

Now your flour mixture is ready to be used. 

Add the half cup mayonnaise and cup milk. Stir until combined. You won’t need a mixer for this process. You can use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. 

This biscuit dough, once stirred, looks a lot like Bisquick. (It even smells a little bit like Bisquick mix.) It has an airy fluffy texture but is sticky, just like Bisquick. (Can you tell I’m very familiar with Bisquick? I should get extra bonus points for mentioning it so many times in a row!)

Using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffin cups about 2/3 of the way up. 

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. 

What Do These Homemade Mayo Biscuits Taste Like? 

First, let’s address what they look like. Don’t be thrown off by the fact that they almost have a dinner roll look about them. My first thought when I saw them was, “If a biscuit and a dinner roll got married and had a baby it would look like this.” 

Then I took a bite. 

Let me back up. I slathered on some butter and took a bite. And swooned. 

Biscuits so Light, You could Fly to the Moon!

That might be a slight exaggeration, but not too far off from the truth!

These are such good biscuits! And can I just say. . .you definitely don’t taste the mayo. (I knew you would ask.)

They have a distinct advantage over Bisquick biscuits: these are truly light and fluffy, like air. They’re not yeasty like a dinner roll. They really are biscuits. But they’re cake-like biscuits, feather-soft and loaded with a tender, flaky texture that absorbs the flavor of the butter like a little sponge!

I’m kind of in shock, actually. These mayo biscuits were so easy to make and so incredibly inexpensive. (Let’s face it, Bisquick isn’t cheap!) I haven’t had much luck with homemade biscuits in the past so I’m happy to have a good recipe.

Variations on this Biscuit Recipe

Now that I’ve tried this recipe, I have to wonder if it would be useable in other ways. Here are a few things I plan to try:

• Easy Drop Biscuits: This would make a great quick drop biscuit recipe! Spoon blobs of this dough onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet (instead of placing in a muffin tin). Freeform biscuits are so yummy!
• Roll-out biscuits. Flour a cutting board and use a floured rolling pin to roll your dough to about one inch in height (flouring the top of the dough before rolling). Then use a biscuit cutter to cut out perfectly formed biscuits. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake. Brush melted butter on top of the dough before baking. (Yum!)
• Buttermilk biscuits. Replace the whole milk with buttermilk.
• Garlic Butter Biscuits: Sprinkle some garlic powder into the dough and add half a cup of grated parmesan cheese.
• Buttery biscuits. I don’t know if this would work, but it might be fun to grate some cold butter and fold it into the dough before baking. (You would have to be careful not to overdo it.)
• Pancakes. Hey, since this mix ended up looking (and smelling) like Bisquick, I figure I can use it for all of the same things I would use Bisquick for! Pancakes would be high on my list. I would adjust the recipe a bit, possibly adding a bit more milk and a tablespoon of sugar.
• Waffles. I think these would make yummy waffles! I would have to add a bit more milk, for sure, but I think it would work.
• Pot Pie. Chicken pot pie or even a sweet (fruit-based) pie would be possible with these biscuits on top. (Yum!)
• Dumplings. I mean. . .I always use Bisquick to make my drop biscuits. This would probably work, too!
• Bisquick Strawberry Shortcake. Y’all. Check out this recipe!
• Sausage gravy and biscuits. Need I say more? These would be amazing with gravy on top! (Hey, we pour gravy on everything down here in Texas!)
• Breakfast sandwiches. Slice in half and add scrambled egg, bacon, and cheese for a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit. Or, add a sausage patty and some cheese between the top and bottom layers of the biscuit.

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My mind is reeling as I think of all of the possibilities!

For now, though, I have enough of these light, tender biscuits to last for several days. I plan to store these in an airtight container. If I don’t eat them in short order I’ll likely freeze them for later use or give them to the grandkids.  

I hope you enjoyed this easy mayonnaise biscuits recipe! Even though this isn’t an original recipe (meaning I found it on multiple websites) I’m still happy to add it to my recipe box.

I hope you enjoyed this tasty biscuit recipe, y’all. Down here in the south we’re all about our breads and this one has just moved to the top of my list!

Just don’t forget to add the secret ingredient. . .mayonnaise!

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About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 150 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.