Do you know what’s not open on Sundays? Chick-fil-A. Do you know when I most want a really good biscuit? Sunday morning. I don’t know what it is about a fast-food biscuit (and specifically Chick-fil-A’s), but there’s just no substitute. Well, friends, I finally cracked the code, and I’m not exaggerating when I say these copycat Chick-fil-A biscuits taste shockingly close to the real thing. Flaky, a little sweet, golden on the outside and soft as a cloud in the middle — and you can make them any day of the week, no drive-thru required.

The History of Chick-fil-A Biscuits

Chick-fil-A actually didn’t start out as a breakfast spot at all — the chain built its name on chicken sandwiches for lunch and dinner, and the Chicken Biscuit wasn’t introduced until the mid-1980s, when they opened their first standalone restaurant and decided mornings needed some love too. That biscuit has become just as iconic as the sandwich itself, and it’s all thanks to a from-scratch buttermilk biscuit recipe made fresh in-house every single day. That’s the secret, really: it’s not a trick ingredient, it’s just good old-fashioned Southern biscuit technique. If you’ve spent any time in the South, you know biscuits aren’t a side dish, they’re a way of life — showing up at breakfast, at supper, tucked into a napkin for the road. And the trick to getting that tender, flaky, pull-apart texture at home isn’t complicated at all: it’s all about keeping your butter cold.

What Ingredients Do You Need for Copycat Chick-fil-A Biscuits?

• All-purpose flour.
• Baking soda and baking powder.
• Butter. COLD butter.
• Buttermilk.
• Honey.

Simple, right? Nothing fancy, no proprietary blend… just pantry staples you probably already have on hand. The one thing I will say: don’t skip the honey. It’s such a small amount, but it’s what gives these biscuits that signature Chick-fil-A flavor that’s just a little bit sweet.

How Do You Make Copycat Chick-fil-A Biscuits?

Start by preheating your oven and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper, and then mix: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Now for the fun part. Using a box grater, grate your cold butter straight into the flour mixture, tossing occasionally so it doesn’t clump together into one big blob. Once it’s all grated in, toss everything together until the butter is coated in flour.

I like this method instead of cutting the butter in with a pastry blender or your fingers (which can warm it up fast). Grated butter distributes into tiny shreds throughout the dough, and as the biscuits bake, those little butter ribbons melt and create pockets of steam, and that steam is what gives you all those beautiful, flaky layers. (No rolling pin lamination required. Thank heavens.)

Pour in the cold buttermilk and honey, then stir until just combined. I mean just combined —- the second it comes together, stop stirring. Overworking biscuit dough is the number one way to end up with hockey pucks instead of biscuits.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it a few times, just enough to bring it together. Pat or roll it out to about an inch thick, then cut out your biscuits with a round cutter or a floured glass.

Here’s an important biscuit tip: push straight down and pull straight up. Don’t twist! Twisting the cutter seals the edges of the dough and keeps the biscuits from rising properly. (I promise this one small change makes a real difference.)

Arrange the biscuits on your baking sheet at least an inch apart so they have room to puff up, then bake until they’re golden brown on top. Brush with melted butter the second they come out of the oven, because that’s when it soaks in best. Enjoy!