Fluffy Beer Biscuits
These easy beer biscuits will be a big hit! They're fluffy, delicious and made with 100% whole wheat flour. Recipe variations included!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
“Who brought the bread?” “I didn’t bring any bread, did you?” “What do you mean, we don’t have any bread for Christmas dinner?!”
I’ve got you covered if your bread guy forgets the bread. These fluffy beer biscuits are almost as easy as pouring a can of beer into some flour. No yeast, no rising time, no fuss. Beer offers a nice yeasty flavor that makes these taste more complicated than they actually are.
If you’ve ever enjoyed beer bread, you’ll love these. I like the biscuit format better because there’s more crusty surface area, plus they finish baking faster. These babies are an improved rendition of one of my oldest recipes, my feta and rosemary beer biscuits (she’s almost six years old now).
I set out to make 100 percent whole wheat beer biscuits that are nice and fluffy, without a “healthy” aftertaste. I’m pleased to report that after about five tries, I finally got them just right.
Regular whole wheat flour yielded more dense biscuits. Dense isn’t always a bad thing, but I wasn’t in love with the resulting biscuits. Then I tried using all whole wheat pastry flour, which is a more finely ground flour made from soft white wheat berries with a lower protein content. Those biscuits weren’t as crusty or fluffy as I wanted them to be, so then I tried a combination of both. Bingo.
Whole wheat flour offers structure, and whole wheat pastry flour makes the muffins tender and fluffy. It’s the same combination that I use to make flaky whole wheat pie crusts. While I wouldn’t suggest using two different flours just because, it’s definitely worth doing here. My partner Bob’s Red Mill makes the best of each! If you don’t have both flours at home right now, check my recipe notes for alternatives. Happy holidays, all.
Fluffy Beer Biscuits
These easy beer biscuits are fluffy, delicious and made with 100% whole wheat flour. Check the recipe notes below for ingredient details and variations. Recipe yields 12 biscuits.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (optional)
- ¼ cup honey
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 12 ounces beer
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. If necessary, lightly grease the cups of your muffin tin or line them with paper liners (my pan is non-stick, so I didn’t grease mine).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine both flours, the baking powder and salt. Stir to combine. Stir in the cheese, if using.
- In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine the honey and melted butter. Whisk to combine, to loosen up the honey. Set aside.
- Gently pour the beer and the honey-butter mixture into the flour mixture. Using a big spoon, stir just until combined. Divide the batter evenly between 12 muffin cups.
- Bake until the tops are golden brown, about 25 to 28 minutes. Let the muffins cool for a few minutes in the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack to continue cooling (or serve immediately).
Notes
Recipe adapted from my rosemary and feta beer biscuits.
Flour notes: I used a combination of regular whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour to achieve fluffy, 100% whole wheat biscuits. For even less of a “wheaty” flavor, use white or “ivory” whole wheat flour. You can substitute all-purpose flour for either or both of the flours if you prefer.
Beer notes: I like to use lighter beers in beer bread, so that beer is more of an undertone than the most dominant flavor. A wheat beer/hefeweizen seems to have the lightest flavor. Light lagers work well, too. If you want a strong beer flavor, try a stout or your favorite beer!
Make it dairy free: Omit the cheese. You can omit the butter as well. I tried substituting olive oil for the butter, but didn’t love the resulting flavor.
Make it vegan: Omit the cheese and butter. Use maple syrup or sugar instead of the honey.
Make it gluten free: I haven’t tried this, but I just glanced at some gluten-free beer bread recipes and it looks like they generally use a gluten-free all-purpose blend plus three eggs. Might be worth a shot, but remember that you’ll need to use gluten-free beer if you’re sensitive to beer.
Change it up: For basic honey-butter biscuits, omit the cheese. Or, play with the flavors—feta cheese is nice in these, and so are fresh or dried herbs. For an extra savory note, stir a few twists of freshly ground black pepper into the batter, and/or sprinkle it on top of the baked biscuits.
Serving suggestions: These biscuits would be awesome with my homemade vegetarian chili or butternut chili.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This post was created in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill and I received compensation for my participation. Opinions are my own, always. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who support C+K!
These look delicious! Thanks for sharing! Merry Christmas =)
Thanks, Sara! Happy New Year!
I’m so trying these! This will be my Christmas present for my mom and dad ha!
Hope they loved them!
These sound so good! More substantial than the French baguettes we usually have.
Thanks, Lisa!
What beer do you use that is suitable for vegetarians please? As most are made with finings of isinglass or gelatine I struggle to find ones that aren’t. Thanks in advance.
It looks like you have several options! Of this list New Belgium and Sierra Nevada are probably the best and most widely circulated options. I’m lucky to live in Wisconsin, where many are available. http://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/which-beers-are-suitable-for-vegans/
Thanks, Bonniejean!
Yum! I am excited for this recipe. We are home brewers and it will be fun to add our beer to this recipe. Thank you – Happy Holidays!!
How cool! Hope you enjoy these biscuits.
Wishing the two of you a wonderful and cozy Christmas, filled with love, laughter, gratitude and peace <3
Thank you so much, Pia! Happy New Year!
These sound wonderful! And I would want to try them with wheat beer. I recently tried a beer bread recipe and did it with IPA the first time – I love IPAs, but for me they are not good in bread. The next time I did it with a darker, yet still mild beer, which was better. But now it’s time for wheat. I definitely want to make these. Also appreciate the explanation of why to use the two different kinds of flour. I wish you a wonderful Christmas and new year.
Thank you, Susan! I used an unfiltered wheat beer and enjoyed the flavor, but I’ve had the same experience with more intense beers. Happy New Year!
Coincidentally, I came to your blog to find some muffins that were not sweet. I don’t need them particularly for Christmas but I am glad you posted this recipe today, nonetheless!
I can’t find whole wheat pastry in stores so I typically sub all purpose. The half whole wheat and half AP flour really did make fluffy muffin interiors. The beer also makes the outside of them nice and firm with a slight crispiness. I used coconut oil in place of butter, which I feel lends itself nicely to baked goods.
I have made beer bread twice before but the loaves 1) took forever to cook and 2) tasted bad because of my poor judgement in beer.
Beer bread is not a way to use up that beer you don’t like. It is necessary to use a beer that tastes good to you! I would steer clear of any bitter or hoppy beers, personally. I had a remaining seasonal ale (New Belgium’s Pumpkick) in my fridge so that worked nicely in this bread.
Also, no cheese for me this time but that honey was a nice touch. The subtle sweet hint added a nice depth of flavor to the bread. Thanks for a great recipe, Kate!
Thank you, Melanie! I’m so glad that you appreciated this one. Happy New Year!
Got suggestions for “grain” free and “sugar” free addition for this recipe? I thought a mix of almond and coconut flours (maybe 3/4 almond and 1/4 coconut) but wonder what to use to replace the honey … I am desparate for a good “bread” or “biscuit” that is grain & sugar free. (I have tried many and they taste like eggs and most are nearly flat. Thanks and thank you for your recipes.
Hi Colleen, you can just omit the honey; I think you’ll be fine without it, but if the dough needs a little more moisture to incorporate all of the flour, just add a little splash of water. I am not sure about the grain free option, though. Almond meal-based baked goods always require eggs for structure, in my experience, or they turn out like pudding.
Hi Kate, These look really great, but I am wondering why you call them biscuits when they are obviously muffins?
Hi Terrisue, in my mind, muffins are sweet and very tender inside, whereas biscuits are more structured and savory. These are more structured and savory, so I called them biscuits. You can bake them as drop biscuits on a baking sheet if you’d rather.
These turned out great. I served these with Christmas dinner. Thanks.
Thanks, Deb! Glad to hear it!
Very good recipe! I halved the honey, and added a big handful of chopped fresh basil as well as some finely minced hot pepper. Gave it a nice kick. Next time I’ll cut down even more on the honey, to serve as a savory side, you don’t need the sweet in it.
Thanks, Amanda! Your version sounds great. I like the honey mostly for the added flavor complexity.
These were great! I reduced the sweetener (used sugar) to 1 tablespoon, cut the salt to 1/4 teaspoon, used a 59¢ can of beer from Trader Joe’s, and scooped them onto a parchment lined pan with an ice cream scoop to make drop biscuits. These were so quick and easy to throw together for unexpected guests who dropped by on a chilly, rainy evening!
Served them with assorted mustards and cheese, along with chowder and salad. Everyone loved them. Thanks for sharing the recipe. We’ll be making these often.
Thanks, Autumn! That sounds like a fun evening. Glad you all enjoyed them!
Ugh, mustard! I have to make these again now to eat with mustard!! YUM.
Oh yeah, we LOVE mustard in our house! We served hot German mustard, Irish whiskey mustard, Coney Island Hot Dog mustard, mustard aioli, (Trader Joe’s), and (my favorite) plain old yellow mustard along with few others that have been lurking around in our fridge for awhile. That and a plate of cheese slices (cheddar, Swiss, Meunster, provolone, pepper jack) and these fantastic biscuits, made a simple pot of tomato-bean chowder a lot jazzier!
Made these wonderful biscuits tonight and they are great! I halved the recipe. The hint of honey goes so well with the savoury cheddar and the beer. I’ll definitely be making them again.
Thank you, Danica! Glad to hear it!
Fluffy indeed. I love Bob’s stuff, it’s the best. Cheers and Happy Holidays, Kate!
Thanks, Annie! Happy New Year!
I absolutely love Bob’s Red Mill products, and I love what you’ve done with the whole wheat flour! These look amazing!
Never heard of beer bread but this sounds like such a fun recipe. I’m sure my family would love it.
Thanks, Katherine! Beer bread is super easy. Hope you get a chance to try it soon!
Made these the other night to go with some chili, and promptly ate four….oops.
I had never had beer bread/biscuits before but we had a lonely bottle of a friend’s home-brew begging to be used. Will definitely make again! I used a nice aged cheddar, the funk went well with the beer. Loved the fluff and loved watching the batter foam up when the beer was added! thanks for another great recipe!
Thank you, Mandy! So glad you enjoyed the biscuits. They are pretty addictive. :)
These are so easy to make and delicious! What a great recipe!
Thanks, Tamar! Glad you enjoyed them!
I made these vegan with the flours I had on hand: half whole wheat and half all-purpose. Delicious! They were perfect with our lucky New Year’s blackeye peas and cabbage.
Sounds like a great meal! Thanks, Suzanne!
i like whole white wheat better than the brown whole wheat flour. will that work along with the whole wheat pastry flour?
Have you used avocado oil or coconut oil in place of butter or olive oil?
Yes, for sure!
Definitely wasn’t the type of biscuit I was looking for, and tasted more like a muffin, but we all loved these and I’ll definitely be making them again!
Great! Happy it worked out in the end, Brandy.
I loved these beer biscuits so much!! I added rosemary, thyme and garlic powder (1 tsp each) to flavor it. I omitted the cheese and added 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast instead. I also added a few tablespoons of sugar because I like sweet biscuits. This was incredible! I already ate two :)
Good morning! Do you think these would freeze well? I’m considering making some now and freezing them to use at Thanksgiving.
Hello Kate,
I was looking to make these for a school group, but am hesitant about using beer in a recipe for them. Is there a substitute for the beer that you would recommend? Thanks!
~Claire
If you are worried about gluten, you can try a gluten free beer substitute. But if you are looking to omit the beer altogether, I would recommend a different recipe as one of the key ingredients is beer. Hope this helps!
Another perfect, easy to follow and most importantly delicious recipe. Came out perfect the first time, and every time since. Thanks!
You’re welcome Georgia!
Very creative! It actually makes total sense to use beer if you don’t have yeast available. It’s probably a lot quicker too.
Thanks, Alexia.
You referred to your flaky whole wheat pie crust, but I couldn’t find the recipe on your website or in your cookbook
Is honey or sugar necessary for the baking chemistry to work? I’d love to have these be sugar-free and more on the savory side. Thank you! I’m a big fan of your recipes : )
Hey Caro, thank you! I haven’t tried without honey, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work without it. You may need to add 1/4 cup more beer to make up for the loss of liquid—but again, I haven’t tried to be 100% certain. Please report back if you give it a shot!
Hi Kate! I ended up following your other beer bread recipe (the rosemary feta beer bread biscuits one) and leaving out the sugar and adding a little bit of extra salt on top to make it a savory whole wheat bread and it was delicious! I did about 2 cups whole wheat flour and 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour and maybe 1/8 cup extra water.
I don’t know for sure, but it’s seeming like the bread is helping with lactation (apparently beer/yeast helps with milk production!) so it’s even more reason to consume this yummy bread. Thanks for all your great recipes, I’m a big fan!
I made these last night & paired them with your Roasted Pumpkin Soup. They worked so well together & they were both delicious! I’ve always struggled a little with my biscuits, but these came out perfectly! I might even have one with breakfast. Thanks so much!
This looks amazing! Have you tried this with pumpkin ale?
I haven’t! Not sure you would get the same pumpkin flavor you would expect. But, let me know if you try it!
Would these be good with strawberry shortcake? Looking for a healthy alternative to the traditional white flour biscuit.
Hi, I’m not sure about these for that. Sorry!
Hi Kate! I made these tonight with a Cobb salad (from Pinch of Yum). They were so delicious!! I used 1 1/2 cups of spelt flour and 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour. Everyone loved them!
That’s great to hear, Allison! I appreciate your review.
I made a batch of these with Hoegaarden and a batch with pumpkin beer for a Friendsgiving and they were a hit!
That’s great to hear, Sarah!
This is the fifth Cookie and Kate recipe I’ve used. It did not disappoint. I ordered your cookbook and I’m waiting for it like a kid waits for Christmas!
Hooray! I’m so glad you ordered my cookbook and have been trying so many of my recipes. I appreciate your review!
These biscuits are FABULOUS! I made them as written (substituting 1/2 the flour with AP organic white) with what I had on hand – sharp cheddar and a bottle of Japanese rice lager beer that had been rattling around in the refrigerator. Paired them with the vegetarian chili recipe from this site. Barely finished dinner and my guests were asking when I would make the biscuits again. Thanks for another great recipe!