Sweet Potato Biscuits Recipe

Robyn Stone

on Nov 07, 2024

27 Comments

5 from 2 votes
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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 let my sister and I help her make them throughout the year, especially during fall and winter. They are perfect for breakfast and brunch and to serve alongside your turkey and cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving!

Three sweet potato biscuits stacked on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

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 recipe perfect for your fall table (or any time!).
  • Amazing flavor. The mashed baked sweet potato adds delicious 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 to make sweet potato biscuits on a marble surface.

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!

Instruction Overview

  1. Make the sweet potato biscuit dough. 
  2. Fold and roll the dough.
  3. Cut out the biscuits.
  4. Bake and serve.
Adding cooked sweet potato to flour mixture.
Rolled dough ready for cutting.
Cut sweet potato biscuit dough.
Baked biscuits on a baking sheet.

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.

Sweet potato biscuit opened on a white plate with butter on top and honey and a fork to the side.

I love to serve these biscuits hot with butter and honey. For breakfast or brunch, they are also delicious with baked ham.

Storage Tips

To store leftovers. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.

To make ahead. Prepare as directed and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Reheat and serve.

To freeze. Prepare and cool. 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

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!

Three sweet potato biscuits stacked on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Pin Print Save

Southern Sweet Potato Biscuits Recipe

Robyn Stone
5 from 2 votes
Sweet Potato Biscuits make a delicious biscuit recipe that the whole family loves. Get this heirloom sweet potato biscuits recipe that you’ll turn to again and again.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 22 minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (328 g) mashed sweet potato, from a medium cooked sweet potato
  • 1/2 cup (113.5 g) whole milk
  • 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1 tablespoon (12 g) baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon (3 g) kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon (12 g) sugar
  • 1/2 cup (113 g) 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:
  1. Use baked sweet potatoes for a deeper sweet potato flavor in these biscuits.
  2. Fold the dough for visible, flaky, tender layers in your biscuits.
  3. Butter the biscuit tops for a wonderful buttery flavor in every bite.
  4. Make extras as everyone loves them.

Nutrition

Calories: 164kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 266mg | Potassium: 178mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1825IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Enjoy!
Robyn xo

Originally shared in October 2011. Updated with step-by-step photographs and clearer instructions.

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About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

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5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

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Recipe Review




27 Comments

  1. Crystal says:

    Could I prepare the dough the day before , store in fridge then roll out and bake the next day?

    Reply
    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Crystal, I don’t recommend making the dough and then baking the biscuits the next day. The steps I have listed in the Make Ahead section in the recipe have worked best for me.

  2. Anna says:

    My first time making sweet potato biscuits.Iheard they are very good.

    Reply
    1. Robyn Stone says:

      You have to try these next time you make them, Anna. I’m so glad others liked them.

  3. Donna says:

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply
    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Thanks, Donna, I’m so glad you liked these sweet potato biscuits.

  4. Robyn Stone says:

    Roland, the self-rising flour already has baking powder added.

    Reply
  5. Robin Klump says:

    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.

    Reply
  6. Karima says:

    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!

    Reply
    1. Robyn Stone says:

      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

    2. Karima says:

      Thank you so much for answering. I will be making them this weekend and I can’t wait!

  7. Muffin says:

    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!

    Reply
    1. Robyn Stone says:

      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

  8. Marv Whorton says:

    These look great! i will be making these for thanksgiving. What a beautiful story too!

    Reply
    1. Robyn Stone says:

      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.

  9. Robyn Stone says:

    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. 🙂

    Reply
  10. Georgia Pellegrini says:

    Wow, sweet potato biscuits never occurred to me but they sound MAGICAL. Perfect for the holidays.

    Reply