These delicious and easy to make ham and cheese drop biscuits are light and tender with bits of ham and sharp cheddar cheese baked right in. Perfect for using up leftover ham, and great for breakfast or any time!
Ham and cheese biscuits are a classic Southern American breakfast food. These drop biscuits are perfect for a quick and easy breakfast or snack., and also great for packing in a lunchbox. They’re easy to make and can be tailored to your liking by adding different types of cheese and meats. In this recipe, we’re using cheddar cheese and ham, but you could use any type of cheese or meat that you like.
I hope you enjoy this recipe! ❤️ If you give it a try, please let me know how it turned out for you in the comments section at the bottom of the page or share a pic of your om noms on Instagram and tag @dishesanddustbunnies! ❤️
Be sure to see the recipe card at the bottom of the post for full ingredients & instructions!
How to Make Ham and Cheese Biscuits – Overview
You can find the full recipe details, including ingredient amounts and the full instructions at the bottom of this post, but first here's a quick overview on how to make ham and cheese biscuits.
To make ham and cheese biscuits, you will need: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, butter, ham, cheese, and milk or buttermilk. The first step is to preheat the oven to 450°F.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients and whisk them together. Cut cold butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender (or 2 forks) until the butter and dry ingredients create pea sized or smaller pieces. Add ham and cheese. Add the milk or buttermilk and stir until combined.
Drop biscuit dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet using an ice cream scoop or two spoons. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden.
Allow to cool for a little bit on a cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm with melted butter on top. Enjoy!
Recipe Variations
You can change up this ham and cheese biscuit recipe to suite your tastes! Here are a few ways to add some extra flavor to make the best biscuits ever!
- I'll be adding ideas to this section as I experiment!
Cheese – My favorite kind of cheese to use in biscuits is sharp cheddar cheese, but you can try using any variety of shredded cheese you like! Pepper jack is another great option! Try them with garlic and parmesan too!
Meat – Ham is usually the most popular choice when it comes to adding meat to biscuits, but you can swap ham for cooked bacon, sausage, or even chopped prosciutto. I find that meat with a little saltiness to it works best.
Milk or Buttermilk – For this recipe, you can use either regular milk or buttermilk. Buttermilk will add more depth and richness to the recipe. Either way will taste amazing!
Salted or Unsalted butter – I find that no matter which kind of butter you use, these ham biscuits will come out absolutely delicious! Please keep in mind though that if you're changing up some of the ingredients used in this recipe, you might want to go with unsalted butter.
For example, prosciutto or bacon is quite a bit saltier than the regular cooked chopped ham that typically goes with this recipe, so unsalted butter would be best to use in this case.
Fresh Herbs – Adding fresh herbs like chives or green onions is a great idea for a little extra flavor!
Other Add-in ideas – chopped jalapeños, green chilies, chopped nuts
Are American biscuits the same as scones?
Although similar, American biscuits are actually not the same as scones. Scones are typically sweeter and more dense than biscuits. Biscuits are flaky, buttery, and light.
What goes well with biscuits?
Ways to Serve biscuits:
Biscuits with ham and cheese can be used in various ways, such as:
- as a side with Soups and stews
- Along with Breakfast – bacon, eggs, etc
- As a side dish with dinner
- Along with meals that feature seafood – the biscuits are a great compliment to the richness of the seafood!
- With gravy as a main dish
- With jam or honey for breakfast
- As a bread for sandwiches
- Will go deliciously with any of these great Southern-style recipes!
How to Store Leftover Ham and Cheese Biscuits
If you have any leftover biscuits, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. They'll also be good in the freezer for up to 2 months. To reheat, place them on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes.
Do Ham and cheese Biscuits need to be refrigerated?
Yes, as these biscuits contain meat, it's best to store them in the refrigerator.
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Ham and cheese biscuits
- Total Time: 33 minutes
- Yield: 12 big biscuits or 24 smaller biscuits 1x
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ⅛ tsp cayenne
- ¾ cup cold butter (salted or unsalted – I find it doesn't affect the taste of the final biscuits by much)
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- ¾ cup cooked ham, diced
- 1 ¼ cup milk OR buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients using a whisk; flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, garlic powder, and cayenne.
- Cut in cold butter using a pastry cutter or two forks. Do this until the butter and dry ingredients make pea sized or smaller pieces.
- Stir in the pieces of ham and the cheese.
- Add the milk or buttermilk and stir to combine. Try not to overwork the biscuit dough – it'll be ready once the dry ingredients just dissolve into the milk/buttermilk.
- Using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, drop about 3 tablespoons of dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. You should be able to fit 12 large biscuits on a baking sheet, or you can make 24 smaller biscuits, divided on 2 baking sheets.
- Bake for about 15-18 minutes or until the tops are slightly golden. Allow to cool for a little bit on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool if desired.
- Ham and cheese biscuits are best served warm with a little melted butter on top. Enjoy!
Notes
It's important to ensure that the butter you're using is very cold. Cold butter straight from the fridge is fine, but sometimes I like to chop up my butter ahead of time, then place it in the freezer for about 15 minutes before adding to the recipe. This ensures that the butter is cold enough to work its magic in the dough!
To ensure that the biscuits baked properly, if making enough biscuits to fit on two baking sheets, please bake each batch separately.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Category: Breads & Baked Goods
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American/Canadian
