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, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well.
Add 1 1/4 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 3/4 inch thick. Cut with a floured 2 1/2 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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If you enjoyed this recipe, the pleasure of a rating on the recipe card below is requested.
- 2 cups AP flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cup non-fat yogurt
- Preheat oven to 400 convection or 425 regular.
- Combine 2 cups AP flour, 1 T baking powder, 1/2 t baking soda, 1/2 t salt. Mix well.
- Add 1 1/4 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 3/4 inch thick.Cut with a floured 2 1/2 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.
Pro Tips:
- The texture is not that of a standard biscuit. More fluffy doughy not flaky. There is a bit of a yogurt taste if you pay attention. And the outside is a bit harder.
- Greek Yogurt will work but a bit more yogurt taste.
- Good for several days and should freeze well.
- Originally I had 1 teaspoon salt, but I have decreased the salt to 1/2 teaspoon which reflects my current practice.
- This recipe works fine as drop biscuits which are less work.
- The nutrition is for 6 biscuits from this recipe, but I now do 8 drop biscuits which are 132 calories per biscuit.
________________________________
All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
If you like this recipe or find it useful, the pleasure of a nice 4 or 5 rating would be greatly appreciated. Rating is done by clicking on the stars above.
Originally Published March 16, 2013.
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Joy Wolfe
I found your recipe this afternoon before I started supper. I had ham with greens and pintos and felt like we needed a light biscuit to go with it all! I made mine with plain greek yogurt and added just a little milk to make a sticky dough. Then I dropped the dough on a lightly greased baking sheet and rounded out and smoothed the dough just a little. Mine baked in 10 minutes. I brushed a little melted light butter on the tops when they came out of the oven. They were great! My husband loved them and had no idea they were made with Greek yogurt. Thanks for a great recipe!
DrDan
Hi Joy,
Welcome to the blog.
Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Sammie Ferrell
I didn’t have any yogurt so I decided to use same amount sour creme. I would love to know how that changed the nutritional values since I want to use this in my meal planning menus I do for a customer.
DrDan
Hi Sammie,
Welcome to the site.
I had a sour cream version but removed it last year since I felt this one was much better. I felt there was a bit of an odd taste in my version. I do remember that with nonfat sour cream, it was more calories for worse results.
You can enter your version in several online recipe calculators. https://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator is just one available. It will depend on the version of sour cream you use of course.
Hope that helps some.
Dan
Grandi
I was looking for a low fat canned biscuit brand when I stumbled upon this recipe. The comments frequently state fluffy/chewy as opposed to flaky/crumbly, which will be perfect for topping a healhier version of the chicken pot pie I’m planning. Made from scratch is always best! Thanks so much for sharing!
DrDan
Hi Grandi,
Welcome to the blog.
I’m sure this would be fine on a chicken pot pie. I prefer a little flakey but that requires butter.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Rcmarti
Just made the recipe and they came out great! I cut the recipe in half so got only four biscuits (see posted photo) but its good for just two people. I used regular AP flour so they were a little more dense and I did sift the flour, but would like to try using White Lily flour which is the best for making biscuits. I’ll see tomorrow how well they reheat. Thanks Dr Dan for a great fat free biscuit recipe!
DrDan
Welcome to the blog.
This is an interesting recipe for me. It just came together and worked. You can also do this as drop biscuits which is what I usually do since I’M lazy.
If you’re a fan of biscuits and gravy, I use it here for a low fat version that drops the fat by 90% https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/healthier-sausage-gravy-biscuits/
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Kate
I baked these tonight and felt compelled to come and leave a comment to say thank you for the recipe! I stumbled across it while looking for a British biscuit recipe (cookies), these are what we’d call scones in the UK but they looked so good I had to try them. I have gallstones and haven’t tasted a real scone in about two years! These were more spongy than crumbly but they taste so good I don’t mind. I added a little low fat cheese and a pinch of rosemary to the recipe and they came out really well, you’d never dream they were made with yogurt. I’m going to try a sweet version with raisins next. Thank you again!
DrDan
Hi Kate,
Welcome to the blog.
You are right, they are a little different texture but still, quite acceptable to me for the low-fat result. My son just had his GB out in Philidelphia. Life is better without stones.
Dan
Ruth Pilon
I gave it a try. Sorry Dr. Dan, I thought they tasted flat, like eating flour and water.
Laurie
I love this recipe! I always use Greek yogurt and I have never had an issue. I do cook them in a lower oven (375) and for 15-20 minutes and they are perfect.
DrDan
Hi Laurie,
Welcome to the blog.
Glad it works well for you. I think the Greek Yogurt is fine if you like a bit of that taste.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
SB
Ive made these SO many times. So easy and always turn out AMAZING!
Brooke Morrison
Just wanted to say thank you for this recipe! My husband is on a reduced-fat diet and has been missing his biscuits and gravy in a bad way. I made these with gravy made from turkey sausage and skim milk and it turned out great! The biscuits were a hit! I will definitely be making these again.
Aish
Hello. I’m planning to make these biscuits soon. Which one gives crispier results? Using yeast or using baking powder? Thanks.
DrDan
Hi Aish,
Biscuits are generally crispier than a yeast roll but then again they are separate things. I have not and would not use yeast in this recipe. The closest thing I have to this in a yeast roll is https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/60-minute-yeast-dinner-rolls/ and that does have some fat.
Emily
Very Good Butterless Biscuits! These slightly differ in texture in comparison to full-fat biscuits, but you still maintain the light/airy puff, and can indulge without guilt! I personally used low-fat, plain yogurt, kept the temperature at 400 degrees Fahrenheit and baked for fourteen minutes opposed to twelve, and they came out perfect! (Just make certain that you don’t overmix, I incorporated a dribble of non-fat milk in order to pull the dough together, and avoid overmixing the yogurt into the dough.) Five Stars– will definitely make again!! :)
Sheri
I made these for dinner and my husband was delighted. Soooo good. I used non-fat Greek yogurt and self rising flour and am very happy with the results. There will be biscuits in our lives again, all kinds of biscuits. Thank you so much.
DrDan
Hi Sheri,
This is a surprising recipe to me.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Sandy
O. M. G. Made these tonight, no changes. They were wonderful!
Had one with dinner and had one made into strawberry shortcake. Amazing!
DrDan
Hi Sandy
Thanks for the note. I’m still amazed this comes out so well. I was going to add a little sugar for the shortcake version, I just haven’t got there yet.
Dan
Tammy
I have light sour cream at home. I wonder if I could make this using sour cream.
DrDan
Probably although I never have. Plain yogurt and sour cream are frequently used to substitute for each other.
Dan
DrDan
Hi again Tammy,
I now remember doing sour cream biscuits years ago. They were ok but had a distant taste.
Dan
Boni Watkins
I and my husband love the biscuits made with plain yogurt! They are so Light and fluffy. I will be making them by your recipe all the time! Thank you for sharing!
Penny
My body thanks you for creating a nonfat biscuit!! My cholesterol spiked and my doc has ordered a low fat diet.
The biscuits are just the way I like them… not fluffy and not soggy, a perfect biscuit! I made 1/2 unbleached flour and 1/2 whole white wheat and enjoyed the hearty flavor. The top crust turned brown but not hard and they taste good. I’m sure my family will load them up with butter but that’s better than baking in the butter! I baked them on parchment paper cuz I hate spray oil.
4.5/5!! It will be my go to biscuit recipe!
Iris
Just made these – they are light, fluffy and have a wonderful crispy bottom to them. Finally, I can make biscuits. I made them just as the recipe stated. I did use spray coconut oil on the pan. They are very satisfying. Thank you. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes. 5/5
Mr. M
Wow! These are seriously good. Every bit as good as those loaded with fat. Thank you for this amazing recipe! This will be a staple in our household!
DrDan
Hi Di and Mr. M
Thanks for the notes. I discovered to take pictures even with “experiments” like this. It just worked out so well
Dan
Di
Tried this recipe today and the results were amazing!!!! Thank you so much……..5 stars
Trish
Have you thought about using a butter extract for that buttery flavor?
DrDan
I thought about it but I don’t usually keep it around. A little would be nice.
Thanks for the note.
DrDan
Liz
I only had a single serve cup of ff Greek yogurt and self-rising flour. So I halved the recipe and only added 1 tsp of baking powder to the flour. I had to use 2 TBSP of milk because I was a bit short on the Greek yogurt and the batter was too dry. It made 4 good sized drop biscuits and cooked perfectly in 12 min on a double layer baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. The texture was a bit chewier than old fashioned-very fattening biscuits but they were quite good! Not too dry and light and fluffy. Thanks for the recipe!
jim
I have made these twice now. It is easier to make them right than to make them wrong. The first batch I over kneaded the dough, rolled it out, then made about a dozen round dough balls that cooked up like bricks. They barely rose, and were basically pretty bad.
So I decided to try it again. I barely kneaded the dough, just fully incorporated the ingredients, patted it down to about 1/2 inch, not 1/4, and cut the dough in 6 equal parts with a pizza cutter. Success!!!
Easy excellent recipe, over kneading, over handling the dough, = BAD, result, Sort of like pancakes, over beat pancake batter and yuk. Just get the batter together and leave it alone. THIs IS NOT like BREAD, knead, rise, punch, etc., I treated it that way the first go. OLD DOGS DO LEARN.
Thanks for the recipe.
DrDan
Hi Jim,
Yep, old habits die hard. I have been doing biscuits for many years but initially over mixed. So one of the secrets is to just mix until all the flour is incorporated. If you are adding things like cheese, I put it in with the flour. The exception would be like blueberries (see zero fat blueberry scones) then just gently fold them in at the end.
Thanks for the comment.
DrDan
Vaness
***** Delicious! and so very easy!!
Philip
Awesome biscuits, easy to make, delicious taste. I added some herbs on top before baking. Will experiment with other flavours.
DrDan
I have been adding garlic and some low-fat cheese (I know… not zero fat) Kind of a Red Lobster type thing.
Glad it worked well for you.
Thanks for the note.
DrDan
James Guzman
I’m on a low fat diet due to gallstones. These are a delicious godsend! I’ll be sharing this recipe with family and friends. Thank you!!
Jody
These are the best. I knead mine 10 or 12 times. I will never use another biscuit recipe again
Ann
Tried your recipe and enjoyed them quite a bit. Thank you for posting.
DrDan
I did a low fat version of biscuits with sausage gravy that drops the calories by over 50% at https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/healthier-sausage-gravy-biscuits/ if your interested.
Thanks for the note and rating.
DrDan
Dianna
I was a bit skeptical as to how these would turn out. I gave them a try be a use of how fluffy they looked in the picture. Mine did not turn out fat free as I only had regular yogurt in my fridge. Additionally, I added half a table spoon of butter because…well…butter. These biscuits turned out fantastic. They we even better slathered in sausage gravy.
Rhonda
Wow! For fat free, these are great! Thank you! Super simple. Only thing I suggest is adding the comment next to yogurt….do not use Greek style. I did and had to add a little milk to get the right biscuit consistency.
Michelle
THank you! I was very skeptical, but they turned out great! I made them into drop biscuits and that worked fined. Very tasty! Who would have thought a biscuit could be made without fat?
DrDan
This was an experiment that just came out right…
Thanks for the comment.
DrDan
Amber
Excellent recipe! I used expired yogurt (it was not moldy or bad, just more “yogurty”) and they turned out fantastically, couldn’t taste the yogurt at all. I look forward to experimenting with cheese and seasonings.
5/5 stars. Thank you!!
DrDan
It is just a basic recipe that screams for modifications. Thanks for the note.
DrDan
Vicky W
Love, love, love these biscuits! Trying to lose weight slowly and they are perfect for cutting some calories but not flavor and satisfaction. Sometimes I add blueberry yogurt and blueberries, or strawberry yogurt and sugar free strawberry jam. This morning I added cinnamon, raisins, and a little Splenda in the dough and a small amount of simple glaze on top – yummy! I always use one-half white whole wheat flour with good results. I have used low carb dairy blend yogurt as well as half Greek yogurt and half almond milk. I think these would be good with garlic and cheese too and am going to try that next. Thank you for posting this versatile and delicious recipe!
Danni
Love your site. We call these scones in Australia. But we have them sweet with jam and cream. You can also make them with lemonade instead of baking powder. As a savoury have you tried the dough rolled out into a rectangle , cheese sprinkled over it ,then roll it up and cut into rounds then baked as above. For a sweet version a sweet filling can be spread on it. As I said I love your site, thank you for your time.
cheers
robert
Can these bisquits be made ahead and frozen before baking, stored in freezer bag and then baked latter as desired?
DrDan
I would think they freeze like bread… OK for a couple of months. I have never tried it though.
DrDan
Shweta
is there a way to replace the AP flour? Perhaps a gluten free flour or healthier flour? I dont buy white flour ever. I have Whole wheat pastry, would that work?
DrDan
I have never tried them and I’m not familiar with cooking characteristics But I will give it a guess. Since these are biscuits, gluten formation is not very important…so… I would just substitute it in and see what happens. The worst that would happen is some wasted ingredients. If you try it please comment here with your results
DrDan
dolores
Scweta…..do what I do. I mill my own flour and you won’t find white processed flour in my kitchen. BUT that doesn’t mean, you can’t have soft, fluffy biscuits.
Subbing gluten free flours can actually be LESS healthy…as if you look at the ingredients list, it ‘s mostly starch (most of them highly refined). Since I like to eat whole food, I like to sub barley flour (unless you have Celiac disease) or oat flour (which is very healthy). It will add a little color but who cares?! There are other options, I would use half ww pastry and half oat flour or barley flour. You will still get the health benefits.
Stay healthy.
dolores
Lisa
Great recipe! They were really good. I just used plain non-fat yogurt since I was all out of Greek and they were delish!
Anna Marie Price
These are tasty! We used greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt and this made them a bit drier. However, I simply used what I had on hand. Will plan for the next batch and make them with regular plain yogurt. This one is a winner. Thanks for sharing a very doable usable recipe!
DrDan
Thanks for the note and rating.
DrDan
Bianca
Tried this recipe today – I added about a quarter cup of nutritional yeast to give it a cheesy flavour. This is the first time my mom approved of what I made in the kitchen ever since I started oil-free baking. Thank you so much!
V
Using organic whole wheat flour, they came out too dense and tasteless – had to put a little agave sweetner to eat. Something else needs to be added so they are not bland?
DrDan
The whole wheat flour is the issue. It has less gluten and won’t act the same at all. I have only had success with 100% whole wheat when I added gluten in other recipes. Also a sweetener is almost always needed like honey commonly. I don’t think you can do much with this recipe with the whole wheat flour.
DrDan
Darlene Bloom
Thank you, thank you. Fat free biscuits that are NOT rocks. Question for you, not about biscuits. In the above pictures you are adding yogurt. How do you get it all to come out of the cup. For me it sticks like honey. I was told to oil the cup, but since oil is to enemy that is a no no. What do you do to get such clean cup results?
DrDan
Hummm it is a stainless steel cup and it just comes out. No oil. If yours doesn’t just fall out, use a rubber spatula to scrape. Also it is just biscuits. I do it without measuring frequently. A quick spray of PAM would add minimal fat if you want.
Thanks for the note and rating.
DrDan
Shawna
This isn’t completely fat free, unless you have fat free flour.
DrDan
Well… busted…. Really I didn’t know until just now that flour had 1 gm of fat per cup. Now if I go by FDA rules it is still “zero” per serving… but that is cheating really. I’m editing the post tonight.
DrDan
Vera
This is a fabulous recipe! I added some crushed roasted cumin and it was an absolute winner. I had to bake it for really long though at a low temp to get desired hardness. I think I must’ve messed up the measurements. May u pls share them in gms to help clear the ambiguity. Please I really love this recipe and I really want to make them again the right way.
Cheers!
DrDan
Thanks for the note. I don’t cook by weight but AP flour should be about 140 gms per cup. The yogurt should be about 30 gms per oz. Weight of spices and baking powder… I have no idea but do people weigh spices…
I do have very nice cheat sheets for various conversion at https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/kitchen-cheat-sheets/
DrDan
Cecilia
Fantastic, I am on a reduced fat diet study and I thought it’d be a long while before I could eat a biscuit again….these are great. They were a delicious accompiament with dinner tonight. Thanks for the recipe.
DrDan
Thanks for the note
DrDan
Akros
These are really good! Easy to make, good flavor, and nice light texture. I substituted King Arthur whole wheat white flour for the AP, and they were still light.
DrDan
This recipe came out much better than I ever thought it would.
Thanks for the comment
DrDan
Jenny
Wow, no butter biscuits? I have to try this! Thanks for the recipe!
wendy
I found that these were burning on the outside and still doughy in the inside. 425 is too high for these. Not bad for lowfat ,but I found the first batch tasteless, so I sprinkled some thyme in them. If this second batch is still too doughy, I wont be making them again.
Janna Walters
Just made them. They were WONDERFUL.