I owe the inspiration for these delicious fat-free vegan biscuits to my Facebook followers. Last Sunday, I asked them what recipes they’d like to see “on this beautiful Sunday morning,” and one of the many great responses that came back was “biscuits and gravy.” It sounded good to me, too!
Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little uninspired lately, like I’ve done it all over these 11+ years of blogging, so sometimes I just need someone to tell me what to cook. Now that my daughter’s off at college, I don’t feel as enthused about cooking elaborate meals, and my husband and I usually eat very simply.
D is not very picky about food, though he will often suggest dishes for me to make, but maybe even he has been feeling uninspired. So it was helpful to get feedback from readers to hear what they are craving. I copied down every single suggestion and hope to work my way through them, and if you would like to request a recipe, please leave a comment. But for now, it’s biscuits and gravy.
I already have two biscuit recipes on this blog, a sweet pumpkin-raisin biscuit and a “regular” pumpkin biscuit. But the regular biscuit is part of my Pot Pie recipe, where not too many people find it, and I had been considering pulling it out and making it a stand-alone recipe.
Since there are people who don’t really like pumpkin (amazing, right?), I’ve adapted the recipe to use potato rather than pumpkin as a fat-replacer. Cooking up a medium-sized Yukon gold potato isn’t quite as easy as opening a can of pumpkin, but with a microwave or an Instant Pot, it takes only a few extra minutes. And potato adds a little more lightness without the pumpkin flavor or color.
I served these with my 911 Vegan Gravy with smoked salt added for the bacony flavor I remember from my mom’s biscuits and gravy. It’s an incredibly simple recipe (and gluten-free!), but if you’re in the mood for mushroom gravy, do not miss my Vegan Mushroom Gravy.
I could make a meal out of just biscuits and gravy, but if you’d like something to go along with them, consider Tempeh “Bacon,” Beany Breakfast Sausage, or Simple Scrambled Tofu with Kale. And remember–breakfast for dinner is true comfort food!
Fat-Free Vegan Biscuits
These delicious vegan biscuits get their moisture from mashed potato, not oil. Note: If you'd like to use all whole wheat flour, you may have to increase the liquid a little.
Ingredients
- 1 6-ounce potato (Yukon Gold or red, preferred)
- 1 tablespoon soy milk or other non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (see Notes)
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour (or regular whole wheat flour)
- 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup soy milk or other non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
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Cook 6 ounces of potato. Poke it several times with a fork and microwave for 3-4 minutes or steam or boil. (If you have to cook more than 6 ounces, measure it afterwards and only use one heaping half cup.)
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Allow the potato to cool until you can comfortably peel it. Mash it well in a bowl with 1 tablespoon milk and nutritional yeast. Put it in the refrigerator to cool while you mix the dry ingredients.
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Preheat oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat. Combine the flours, baking powder, soda, and salt. When the potato is no longer warm, add it to the flour and "cut" it in using a fork or pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly.
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Combine the non-dairy milk and lemon juice and add it, stirring until a soft dough forms. If all flour is not moistened, add additional milk a teaspoon at at time until dough can form a ball.
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Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it 4 times. Flatten it down and sprinkle the top lightly with flour. Roll it out about 3/4 inch thick. Using a 1 1/2-2-inch wide biscuit cutter or glass dipped in flour, press straight down without twisting to cut into 12-15 biscuits.
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Place the biscuits, sides lightly touching, on the prepared sheet. Bake until tops are lightly browned, 9-11 minutes. Serve hot.
Recipe Notes
How much extra milk you need will depend on how moist your potato is. If you are boiling or steaming the potato, you probably won't need much extra milk.
For "cheesier" biscuits, use 3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast and add one teaspoon of tahini to the potato.
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Please don’t forget to leave your recipe suggestions below!
Barb
Thanks, Susan! Biscuits are sorely missed. I will be making these this week! I’m rating this recipe at the level I find all your recipes.
Susan Voisin
Aww, thank you, Barb! I hope they live up to your expectations.
Barb
they did! Biscuits are back in our kitchen.
KathyD
It would be great if you would publish a collection of your recipes in book (not ebook) form. It could be self-published. I would like all of the home comfort foods like this, the burgers, loaves, pancakes, cakes, biscuits, scones,etc. with the calorie counts and lots of pictures.
calgal
I would buy any format of book from Susan! Her recipes are so amazing and I’d love to show my support. I do recommend this website to every single person I know and on all of my vegan facebook groups, though.
Susan Voisin
Thank you both! I don’t know why, but the idea of writing a book has always intimidated me. But maybe I should just jump in and do it. I appreciate all of your support!
Debbie
Please, please, please do a print cookbook. I’ll buy the first one!! I have so many of your recipes already copied and filed in a notebook, but would love a real cookbook from you!
I say this as I copy this new recipe in my notebook. 😋
moonwatcher
These are beautiful, Susan! Thanks! I’m thinking Mike might want these for Thanksgiving. 🙂 xo
Lavender
I’m so glad I’ve stumbled on this site!! I’m British & had wondered why Americans put ‘Biscuits’ on Stews!
Biscuits here are very hard/sugary things served plain or with a very sugary sweet solid centre like fondant. They look like what we call ‘scones’ which also are very sugary cakes, often filled with jam & cream here for tea.
Hkowever, I had some help from a ‘Southern’ cook on a U.S. site who gave some tips about the ingredients which were similar, but not the same in quantities, to the savoury scones we use to top a meat/veg dish called a ‘Cobbler’.
The only thing I really find different & really not nice is, that when I see ‘gravy’, it’s a pallid swill thing, not a rich brown thing! And I notice that the ‘gravy’ is inbetween the scones, not over them, scones with JUST gravy (which is a sauce really?), ohh oh oh ohh, I’m having a culture shock here!!!
I’ve made the scones & will put most of them on a ‘cottage pie’ tomorrow instead of potato. They are different from British scones because the flour ratio etc differs but I do love them! And no animal fat too!!! :)))
Lavender
Sorry, re Paragraph 2, I meant to leave another paragraph. I meant that your pictures looked like our ‘scones’, not our hard sugary sweet biscuits.
Jane
What a great post! I have been totally void of inspiration for weeks and none of my go-to recipes makes me feel like I actually want to bother with the effort of cooking them. But I can almost taste this as I read. Even better, I’m pretty sure my 5 year old will love it with mushroom gravy! Thank you Susan! x
Helyn
Wow! This is fantastic, Susan!! I’ve been contemplating creating a low-fat biscuit recipe and you saved me the trouble! 😉 Can’t wait to try. I have a really yummy country gravy recipe on my blog that would pair well with these… it is oil-free but not low fat (cashew based). Anyway, thanks so much for all your recipes!
Ana Melm
LoveLoveLove these surprising biscuits, will try for sure
Beth
I’m having a lot less time to cook, but still want to eat well. Perhaps you could do some blogs on eating well, but more simply for everyday living? Ideas for sack/lunch boxes? My circumstances have shifted into a long distance daily commute.
I have made a lot of recipes from your website during the last few years. I’ve been really grateful for your website & recipes. I have been having the best food of my life.
I want to make this new biscuit recipe. It looks like it would be ideal to have for Sunday dinner with friends. I make cornbread a lot when we have soup or stew, but biscuits will be a nice change.
Sherry Shrallow
Another winning recipe Susan! I have been trying to reach you to ask your permission to share some of your recipes that are my favorites in a book I am publishing in 2018 called Staying Alive- Healing From Heart Disease- A Survivor’s Story. I hope this message gets to you as I have not been successful in being able to contact you.
I would so appreciate it if you would give me permission to use some of your recipes in the chapter I call My Favorite Recipes.
I hope to hear back from you and just wanted to thank you for all you have done to help me maintain my oil free plant-based lifestyle for almost 7 years now.
Sherry Shrallow
Danielle
I made these with mashed orange sweet potato instead of white potato, and they were delicious. I served them with some of your 911 gravy, steamed kale and some quinoa ‘meatballs’. It was like a mini-Thanksgiving!
Abigail Taylor
Hi Sue, first of all thank you for being my longstanding faithful, dedicated and wonderful friend. I always enjoy your pictures with you cat. ( I love cats). I also love the pictures and notes with recipes, only I cannot try some, as I do not get many of the food items called for. I notice this recipe with the biscuit, it is possible to get all items, and I love biscuits such as this one, so I will let you know how things go, when time affords me to make them. Love you as always. Hugs. Abigail
Michelle
I am gluten free so I unfortunately cannot make this recipe. But I didn’t write to complain:) I really came here to beg you to create a lovely recipe book in print with all your recipes contained in this website. I hope you will consider it, Susan! Thanks so much for all the effort you put into this blog.
Susan Voisin
Thank you, Michelle! I am definitely considering it. I just need to find a way to get it done along with all the other things I need to do to update my blog and website. I need more time (and energy!)
TD Bennington
I’ve made these with gluten free flour mix of 1/3 brown rice flour + 1/3 Garbanzo bean flour + 1/3 millet flour. They are great! Just use the mix and substitute for the wheat flour.
Susan Voisin
I’m so glad to hear that, TD!
Lisa
You mention pot pie. Would these work on top of pot pie? Would you put them on top uncooked? Are they flaky?
Susan Voisin
Yes, just put them uncooked on the pie about 10-15 minutes before it’s done. They aren’t flaky, though. Flakiness comes from layers of shortening and flour, and it’s basically impossible to do without added fat.
Jan
Hi Susan…can gluten free flour be substituted in this biscuit recipe?
PS – thank you for so many fabulous recipes!
TD Bennington
YES!
Meredith Watkins
My kids smashed these for dinner tonight! I omitted the nooch. We topped some with agave syrup and others with cherry preserves and coconut whipped cream. Yum. If you added a tablespoon or so of sweetener to the dough, they could easily be used for strawberry shortcakes.
Thanks for the recipe.
Tamara Rivera
Hi Susan!!! These are delicious, but I don’t know what I did wrong. We used a 2 inch glass to slice the biscuits, they rose but they didn’t spread. So I have a tray of mini-biscuits 🙂 Any suggestions?
Alexz
If I don’t have access to nutritional yeast, is there something else I can use?
Also, do you think this would work with squash instead of potatoes?
Susan Voisin
The nutritional yeast just adds flavor, so you can leave it out. Squash will probably be much wetter than potato, so you should start with a lesser amount and add more as needed.
Phillip
Thank you for your recipe for fat free vegan biscuits. Would regular
russet potatoes work ok if I don’t have Yukon Gold or red potatoes?
Susan Voisin
They may need a little liquid added because russets are dryer than Yukons.
Marisa Blake
These are perfect!! Mashed potato works great at replacing fat in this recipe. I used 100% whole grain wheat flour. I also added some sunflower lecithin powder, onion powder, garlic powder and some choppped chives. good the next day too. Thanks Susan! I’ve been reading your blog for about 8 years now since I started my plant-based journey and never had a failed result 🙂
Kayla
Could these be dropped instead of kneaded and cut into circles?
Susan Voisin
Yes, they should work fine as dropped biscuits.
Myla
Go for it Susan! Been a straight vegan for a year now and i am so loving it! Eating good and healthy foods with nice presentations is awesome! Go for it and share your passion.We’ll support you!!!
Barbara
Could I use vinegar underscoring juice?
Susan Voisin
That should work but I’m not sure how it’ll taste.
Babs
These Biscuits are so fluffy and delicious! I am addicted to them — and my one year old loves them, too!!! Thank you so much, Susan!