Biscuits are the ultimate comfort food in our house. I keep a stockpile of homemade ones in the freezer to pop into the toaster oven at a moment’s notice. They serve as breakfasts, snacks, and additions to supper, and I kinda think it will end up being one of those things my kids remember about life in the home they grew up in- Mama and her freezer full of biscuits. I love it. These cheddar cornmeal biscuits are a rendition of the classic ones we regularly prepare. With the addition of cornmeal, cheddar cheese, and the optional dried herbs, these Southern beauties are like a crossbreed of cornbread and biscuit- flavorful, textured, flaky, and super buttery. Let me tell you how to make them.

Making the Biscuits:
These cheddar cornmeal biscuits start like any other biscuit. The dry ingredients of flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt get tossed together in a large bowl. You have the option to add some dried herbs if that’s you’re thing. Next, we cut in loads of ice-cold butter, stir in the cheddar cheese, and bring the whole mixture together with milk. Once a shaggy dough forms, pat the dough out into a rectangle and begin layering the dough by cutting it into thirds and re-stacking those pieces one on top of another. We repeat this process a few times and then gently pat it out into a flat sheet of dough. Use a floured biscuit cutter to trim out rounds and then space them out slightly on a prepared sheet pan. The biscuits get baked until they’re golden brown and crisp around the edges.

I like to add an extra bit of butter to the tops of the biscuits to make them even more golden and savory, but this is optional. As always, be sure to use ice-cold ingredients where indicated to ensure that the biscuits fluff up nicely in the oven. If at any point your dough gets warm, you can pop it into the fridge or freezer to get cold again before baking. For reheating, I recommend a toaster oven or a traditional oven at 350 until the biscuit is warmed throughout and the edges have crisped again.

Enjoy making these treats this weekend! I’ll leave a few other favorite biscuit recipes down below for you to check out, too! Happy Friday to you all, and, as always, happy baking!

If you like these cheddar cornmeal biscuits you should check out:
Mini Buttermilk Biscuits
Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Biscuits
Honey Nut Biscuits
Maple Oatmeal Biscuits
Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits
Buttermilk Biscuit Sandwiches
Peaches and Cream Biscuits
Cheddar Cornmeal Biscuits
These cheddar cornmeal biscuits feature buttery layers, cheddar cheese throughout, and loads of texture thanks to the addition of cornmeal! Consider these your cornbread biscuits!
- Author: Kate Wood
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 16
- Category: Breakfast
Ingredients
- 1–1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup ground cornmeal
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cold plus 2 additional tablespoons of melted butter
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (If desired for herb biscuits)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, stir to combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda (Add in the Italian seasoning here too if you want herbed biscuits!). Use a pastry cutter or the backs of two forks to cut the butter into the dry ingredients, working quickly until pea-sized clumps exist throughout. Stir in the cheddar cheese. Pour in the milk and vinegar and use a rubber spatula to stir until a shaggy dough comes together. Do not overwork the dough.
- Gently and quickly work the dough together and pat out to a 1” thick rectangle. Cut the dough into 3 equal-sized rectangles and stack them on top of one another. Gently press or roll out again to a 1” thick rectangle. Repeat the cutting and stacking process two more times and then roll out to ½-2/3” thick. Use a 1-1/2” round biscuit cutter to trim out rounds of dough. Flour the cutter well and press down straight being careful not to twist the cutter at all. Re-flour and continue cutting out until all the dough has been used. You can gather leftover piece and gently form back together to trim out more circles. Place the biscuits about ¼” apart on the baking sheet or dish. Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes or until the tops are golden and the biscuits have risen. Brush with the melted butter if desired. Allow to cool slightly before enjoying and reheat in the toaster oven as needed.
9 thoughts on “Cheddar Cornmeal Biscuits”
These are the best biscuits I have EVER HAD. They go with everything and are good the next morning, if you can get them to last that long. I served them with meats off of our smoker. I cheat and get all ingredients really cold, then use the food processor to do the chopping and mixing. They have come out perfect both times I have made them.
★★★★★
HOORAYYYY!!! I’m so happy to hear this! Enjoy!
I’m wondering if there is an error in the ingredient measurement. I followed the directions as given. The dough was so wet, it was not manageable and I needed to heavily flour the dough in order to roll and stack as directed. I think I may have added as much as a cup of additional flour and it was still a very soft dough. I am baking now (12 minutes was greatly underbaked) I needed to add 5 additional minutes. I hope they are tasty.
★★★
oh no! hmm, no, the measurements as listed are correct. The dough is moist and a floured surface is needed when patting it out, but adding a cup of flour doesn’t seem right. I’m sorry you had trouble with the recipe and will let you know if I come up with a potential reason for the issue!
Hi there,
I just made these and ran into the same problem, but I think I know what my mistake was. The recipe didn’t specify but I think the cornmeal I used wasn’t right – I used coarse stone ground cornmeal. I kind of knew that that would be an issue but it was all I had so I just went ahead. I’m wondering what kind of cornmeal you used? They tasted delicious though so that’s all that matters in my house!
The biscuits were delicious, once the additional flour was added. Tender (dough was very soft) but in the recipe, having floured board was not mentioned, only a floured biscuit cutter. I will make again, adding more flour as was necessary. I cut into squared rather than make rounds. The entire family loved them! (I used regular cornmeal so that wasn’t the issue.)
HOORAYYYY!!! I’m so happy to hear this! Enjoy!
Can these be frozen before baking?
Yes!