Tender and fluffy with really good taste in a non-guilty zero fat biscuit. Just follow these easy step by step photo instructions.
Editor's Note: Originally Published March 16, 2013. Updated with clarified discussion, options, and updated photos.
Some recipes are for low-fat biscuits, but this one is zero-fat. Using nonfat yogurt to replace the butter and milk, you still get great rise and texture. Plus, just a few ingredients will get you there.
The Story (skip if you want.)
For some unknown reason, I bought a large container of nonfat yogurt a few weeks ago. I think I was going to make a low-fat carrot cake, but I ended up not using the yogurt.
So, time to experiment. I decided biscuits were a great place to start. With a little looking around, I found some guidance but not exactly what I wanted. So I modified my normal drop biscuit recipe with great results.
My Rating
A high 4 or low 5. I love biscuits, but I don't usually have the yogurt.
Pro Tips: Recipe Notes on Zero Fat Biscuits
I'm now aware that flour has 1 gram of fat per cup (who would have known). By FDA rules these are still "zero" since they are less than 0.5gm per serving.
I usually do drop biscuits, but I did these as cut biscuits that increased the work a little. That surprised my wife a little, and she wanted to know what was different other than the shape. So really the taste is very good.
So what differences are there?
- First, the slight yogurt tang. Not very noticeable except if you know, it has the yogurt. Not a bad thing.
- Second, they are fluffy but not flaky. If you want flaky, you should cut in some butter. I miss the flaky a little, but for zero fat, I will live.
- Third, the outside is a little firmer.
About 176 calories for these LARGE biscuits at six biscuits for this amount. However, I generally do 8 drop biscuits, so they are 132 calories each.
Variations on Zero Fat Biscuits
Healthier Sausage Gravy and Biscuits
Preheat oven to 400 convection or 425 regular.
Combine 2 cups AP flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt. Mix well.
Add 1 ¼ cup nonfat yogurt. Fold in until all dry is incorporated.
You can now make drop biscuits if you want. Or spread the dough onto a floured surface and pat down to about ¾ inch thick. Cut with a floured 2 ½ inch cutter. Make them the size you want. Cut, combine scraps, cut, combine scraps. Place on a PAM sprayed baking pan. I got 6 cut biscuits. I will usually do 8 drop biscuits.
Bake until golden brown. About 12 minutes.
This recipe also works well as drop biscuits.
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Zero Fat Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup non-fat yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 convection or 425 regular.
- Combine 2 cups AP flour, 1 T baking powder, ½ t baking soda, ½ t salt. Mix well.
- Add 1 ¼ cup nonfat yogurt. Fold in until all dry is incorporated.
- You can now make drop biscuits if you want. Or spread the dough onto a floured surface and pat down to about ¾ inch thick.Cut with a floured 2 ½ inch cutter. Make them the size you want. Cut, combine scraps, cut, combine scraps. Place on a PAM sprayed baking pan.
- Bake until golden brown. About 12 minutes.
- This recipe is fine for drop biscuits.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Originally Published March 16, 2013
Cathy
Made these with Greek yogurt and added 2T of milk- turned out great! I patted the dough out to 3/4 inch and cut the rectangle into 8 biscuits. I’ll make these again and again- thank you!
Yasir
I wasn’t expecting much, but pleasantly surprised that the biscuits tasted good! I used whole wheat flour and it worked out just fine.
Rita
Love, love, love these biscuits!!!! I prepared exactly your recipe and found the drop method worked best and got the best end result! Thank you so much!
Coach
Hi, what is the flour “adjustment” for using Greek yogurt? If less or more flour, how much?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Coach,
Welcome to the blog.
The main difference between Greek and regular yogurt will be the thickness due to the extra filtering of the Greek version which will concentrate more protein and will have a bit less fluid. So Greek is thicker and less moist. But there is some variability by brand.
So when using Greek yogurt, a bit less flour would be the general rule. If it gets too dry, you will have little rocks. You can add a bit more yogurt or a touch of milk if needed.
Dan
Quinn
Hello, could we substitute oat flour instead of white flour? or will they not come out with the flaky biscuit texture?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Quinn,
Welcome to the blog.
I have never used oat flour for anything so no idea. But this is not "flaky" biscuit anyway.
Dan
Claudia
Mine were extremely bland. Will make again but this time will add a bit of garlic salt ( instead of salt ) or a few tablespoons of monk fruit to make them sweet
JJ
Hi there I did two batches side by side as I am not a big yogurt or Greek yogurt fan and I can taste it in just about any recipe... one was to a T recipe batch 2 I used one cup of cottage cheese(blended)and a quarter cup of applesauce. both were good but I much prefer batch to as it didn't have the Tang of yogurt I'm just throwing it out there for an option still fat free cuz used fat free cottage cheese it just has a mellower taste 🤣🤣🤣
Mary
How can this Zero Fat Biscuit recipe have 1 gram of fat (saturated no less) as shown on the nutrition label when none of the ingredients have any fat?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Mary,
Good eye. There was a software update a few months ago and the database also changed. It is Europen so rounding rules are not set like the USA. By manual calculations, there is 0.44 grams of fat with 0.35 being saturated per biscuit (that is zero by USFDA rules since less than 0.5grams are rounded down). Most of that is from flour which can vary some by brand but a bit by the yogurt and a touch in the baking powder. I have no idea why it would kick one down and the other up. I'm contacting the developer for his attention. I have manually fixed it to USA rules.
When I originally did calculations manually years ago, this was about 0.2gms. Different database I guess.
Dan
linda ehikhamen
Hi, I just tried this recipe tonight, I was craving shortbread with my strawberries. I only had 6% Balkan yogurt, but they turned out AMAZING!!
Craig
Good Recipe!
I tried this and just cooked them a little longer. I like the outside crispy anyway. The biscuits are great! I dreaded soup without my regular kick-ass baking powder biscuits. Because she is watching her fat, I went looking for a low-fat recipe. I tried one and they were excellent.
Sue
I tried this and thought the flavor was good. However, the insides was still a little raw. It was kinda wet and sticky while it was golden brown outside. Is there a way to fix this?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Sue,
Welcome to the blog.
The internal texture is softer but should not be raw.
Why is it happening?
1. Oven runs a bit hot.
2. Variability in ingredients
3. Too thick
First, what will not work. Do not just increase temperature or cook longer if the outside is done. By the time you get the center done, the outside is overcooked.
Solutions (probably both will help a lot)
1) Lower oven temperature by 25 degrees and cook longer.
2) Make a thinner biscuit.
Final note. I suspect your oven is running too hot. Get an oven thermometer (about $10) and check it. It will save a lot of ruined food down the road.
Dan
Moriah Hatfield
I tried these biscuits and for some reason they tasted really good but were a little dense. What could I have done wrong?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Moriah,
Welcome to the blog and sorry for the delay getting back to you.
They are not flaky but are a bit fluffy. If you want, a tablespoon of milk or water will make a lighter dough.
Dan