My jalapeno plant is absolutely POPPING OFF this summer. I am not exaggerating. I go out there every few days and come back inside with another handful, and at this point I have officially run out of normal jalapeno ideas. Salsa? Made it. Poppers? Made those too. So now I am baking with them, and friends, this is the recipe that made me realize I should have been doing this the whole time.

These are honey jalapeno cheddar drop biscuits, and they are the BEST EVER. Sharp cheddar, fresh diced jalapenos, a little garlic and pepper, and a tablespoon of honey mixed right into the dough so you get that sweet heat thing happening in every single bite. They bake up in a cast iron skillet with crispy golden edges and the softest, fluffiest middles. Then you spread whipped honey butter on top while they are still warm and honestly, that is the moment.

Here is the best part. Drop biscuits are SO incredibly easy. There is no rolling, no chilling, no cutting out perfect little rounds and rerolling the scraps. You grate cold butter into flour, you mix your wet ingredients, you stir it all together, and you scoop. It takes a little bit of your time and a little bit of a mess if you use your hands, but it is totally worth it. They come out looking like a showstopper and nobody needs to know how easy it was.

My family has already started listing off other flavors they want me to make, and I am not complaining even a little. If your garden is giving you more jalapenos than you know what to do with, or you just grabbed a couple at the store because they looked good, this is your recipe. Perfect little starter, perfect thing to bring to friends, perfect side for basically any dinner.

P.S. Freeze your butter for about 15 minutes before you grate it! Cold butter is what gives you those flaky layers, and grating goes so much faster when it is FIRM. If your hands start warming the dough while you mix, pop the whole bowl in the fridge for 5 minutes and pick right back up.

Easy Honey Jalapeno Cheddar Drop Biscuits

Ingredients Needed

Cold Unsalted Butter: This is the whole secret to a flaky biscuit, and grating it is the trick that makes it foolproof. Those little frozen shreds stay separate in the dough and then steam in the oven, which is exactly what creates those beautiful layers. You can shred it on a box grater or pulse it in a food processor, whichever you prefer. Just keep it COLD until the second it goes in.
All Purpose Flour: The structure of the whole biscuit. Two and a half cups gives you a dough that is sturdy enough to hold all that cheese and jalapeno without falling apart. Spoon and level your flour instead of scooping straight from the bag, because packed flour makes dry, heavy biscuits. This is the one measuring step I would not eyeball.
Baking Powder: Two full teaspoons, and this is what gives you that dramatic rise and pillowy interior. Drop biscuits do not get any lift from folding or layering, so the baking powder is doing all the heavy lifting here. Check that yours is fresh, because expired baking powder gives you sad flat biscuits. It really does make or break the texture.
Salt: One teaspoon, and it is doing more than you think. It balances the honey, sharpens the cheddar, and keeps everything from tasting flat and floury. Savory bakes especially need enough salt to wake all the flavors up. Do not cut it back.
Garlic Powder: Just a half teaspoon, but it adds this warm savory backbone that makes the biscuits taste like something from a restaurant bread basket. It plays beautifully with the sharp cheddar and rounds out the heat from the jalapenos. Garlic powder blends into the dry ingredients much more evenly than fresh garlic would. Small ingredient, big payoff.
Black Pepper: A half teaspoon of pepper brings a gentle bite that layers right on top of the jalapeno heat. It keeps these firmly on the savory side even with the honey in the dough. Freshly cracked is my favorite here for the little pops of flavor. Add more if you like things spicy.
Large Eggs: Two eggs bring richness, structure, and a gorgeous golden color to the finished biscuits. They also help bind all that cheese and jalapeno into the dough so nothing crumbles apart. Room temperature eggs mix into the wet ingredients more smoothly. This is part of what makes these feel a little more special than a basic biscuit.
Whole Milk: A third of a cup adds moisture and helps everything come together into a scoopable dough. Whole milk gives the richest flavor and the most tender crumb, so I always reach for it in biscuits. It also thins the sour cream just enough to pour easily. Cold from the fridge is perfect.
Sour Cream: This is my SECRET WEAPON in these biscuits. The tang cuts through all that butter and cheese, and the fat keeps the crumb unbelievably soft and moist. It also makes the dough thick and scoopable, which is exactly what a drop biscuit needs. Full fat sour cream, please, this is not the place to go light.
Sharp Cheddar Cheese: A full cup of freshly shredded sharp cheddar, and I really do mean freshly shredded. The pre shredded bags are coated in anti caking starch that keeps the cheese from melting into those gooey pockets we are after. Sharp cheddar stands up to the jalapenos instead of getting lost. Grate it yourself and you will taste the difference immediately.
Jalapenos: The STAR of the show and the reason this recipe exists. Two jalapenos, seeded and diced small, give you fresh bright heat scattered through every biscuit without overwhelming them. Seeding tames the spice while keeping all that gorgeous grassy jalapeno flavor. If your plant is going wild like mine, use three and live your life.
Honey: One tablespoon goes right into the wet ingredients and it is what makes this whole thing sing. It balances the heat, deepens the savory notes, and helps the tops caramelize into that beautiful golden color. You get sweet heat in every bite instead of just spice. Then it shows up again in the honey butter, because more honey is always the answer.
Honey Butter Ingredients: A half cup of softened unsalted butter whipped with two tablespoons of honey until it is light and fluffy. Five full minutes in the stand mixer with the whisk attachment is what turns it from butter with honey stirred in into something cloudlike and spreadable. You will not use all of it on the biscuits, but it keeps beautifully. Put it on cornbread, toast, pancakes, everything.

Substitutions and Modifications

No sour cream? Full fat plain Greek yogurt works perfectly and gives you the same tang and tenderness.
Want more heat? Leave the seeds in one jalapeno, or add a pinch of cayenne to the dry ingredients.
Swap the sharp cheddar for pepper jack, smoked gouda, or a sharp white cheddar. All so good.
No cast iron skillet? A parchment lined sheet pan works great, you just lose a little bit of that crispy edge.
Use pickled jalapenos if that is what you have on hand. Drain and pat them dry first so the dough does not get soggy.
Add 4 slices of cooked crumbled bacon to the dough for a jalapeno popper situation.
Buttermilk works in place of the whole milk and adds even more tang.
Fresh chives or green onions stirred in with the cheese are a beautiful addition.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

They are ridiculously EASY. No rolling, no chilling, no biscuit cutter, just scoop and bake.
They are the perfect way to use up a summer jalapeno situation, whether it is from your garden or the farmers market.
Crispy golden edges, soft fluffy middles, gooey cheddar pockets, and sweet heat in every bite. They are a total SHOWSTOPPER for how simple they are.

Equipment Needed

Easy Honey Jalapeno Cheddar Drop Biscuits

Easy Honey Jalapeno Cheddar Drop Biscuits baked in a cast iron skillet with sharp cheddar, fresh jalapenos, and whipped honey butter. No rolling and no biscuit cutter needed, just scoop and bake for the perfect sweet heat side dish!

Print Recipe Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 40

Servings: Servings

Video

Ingredients

For the Biscuits:

½ cup cold unsalted butter grated
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 large eggs
⅓ cup whole milk
⅓ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 jalapenos seeded and diced

For the Whipped Honey Butter:

½ cup unsalted butter softened
2 tablespoons honey

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and grease a 10 inch cast iron skillet. Get this going first so the oven is fully up to temperature when your dough is ready, because these biscuits want to hit HOT heat right away.
In a large bowl, whisk together the 2 1/2 cups of flour, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Give it a good whisk so the leavening and seasonings are evenly distributed through all that flour.
Now grate your cold butter right into the flour mixture. I like to freeze the stick for about 15 minutes first, then run it over a box grater or pulse it in the food processor. Toss the shreds through the flour as you go so they do not clump together.
Work the butter in with your hands, a pastry cutter, or two forks until the mixture looks like coarse sandy crumbs with some pea sized pieces still in there. Yes this is the messy part if you use your hands, and yes it is worth it. Work quickly so the butter stays cold!
In a separate bowl, whisk together the 2 eggs, whole milk, sour cream, and the tablespoon of honey. Whisk until it is completely smooth and fully combined with no streaks of sour cream hiding at the bottom.
Pour that wet mixture over your flour mixture, then add the shredded cheddar and your diced jalapenos right on top.
Stir everything together until it is just fully combined. The dough will be thick, shaggy, and a little sticky, which is exactly what you want. Try not to overmix here, because a gently mixed dough is a tender biscuit.
Scoop the dough into your greased cast iron skillet in mounds of about 3 tablespoons each. A large cookie scoop makes this so easy and keeps them all the same size. Nestle them close together so they help each other rise up tall.
Bake at 425 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are LIGHT and GOLDEN and your whole kitchen smells like a bakery that also happens to sell nachos. Start checking at 20 minutes.
While they bake, make the honey butter. Add the 1/2 cup of softened butter and 2 tablespoons of honey to your stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whip for a full 5 minutes, until it is pale, light, and fluffy. Do not rush this, the 5 minutes is what makes it cloudlike.
Spread that honey butter over the warm biscuits and serve them right out of the skillet. You will not use all the butter, but you can save it for other things, or use it all. I am not going to tell you what to do. You know?

Storage Instructions

Counter: Store cooled biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Because of the cheese and sour cream, I would not push it past that.
Fridge: Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Warm them in a 350 degree F oven for 5 to 7 minutes to bring back the crisp edges and gooey cheese.
Freezer: Freeze baked and fully cooled biscuits in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, then reheat at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes. The honey butter freezes for up to 3 months too, so make a double batch!

Tips and Tricks

Freeze your butter for 15 minutes before grating. Cold butter equals flaky layers, and it grates so much more easily when it is firm.
Shred your own cheddar. The pre shredded stuff is coated in starch that stops it from melting into those gorgeous gooey pockets.
Wear gloves when you dice your jalapenos, or wash your hands really well afterward. Learn from those of us who have rubbed our eyes an hour later.
Use a large cookie scoop for even biscuits that bake at the same rate and look bakery perfect in the skillet.
Do not overmix the dough. Stop as soon as everything is combined, even if it looks a little rough. Rough dough, tender biscuit.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How spicy are these biscuits?
With the jalapenos seeded, they land at a mild and friendly warmth that most people love, especially with the honey balancing everything out. If you want more kick, leave the seeds in one jalapeno or add a third pepper. If you are serving spice sensitive folks, seed them thoroughly and you will be in great shape.

Can I make the dough ahead of time?
Biscuit dough is happiest baked right away, since the baking powder starts working the moment the wet and dry ingredients meet. If you need a head start, grate the butter, dice the jalapenos, and shred the cheese ahead and keep them in the fridge. Then mixing takes about five minutes.

Do I have to use a cast iron skillet?
Not at all! Cast iron gives you those beautifully crisp golden edges and it looks GORGEOUS on the table, but a parchment lined sheet pan works too. Just space the biscuits about two inches apart and check them a couple minutes early.

Why are my biscuits dense instead of fluffy?
Usually it is one of three things: overmixed dough, warm butter, or old baking powder. Mix only until things come together, keep that butter cold and grated, and check the date on your baking powder. Nail those and you will get tall fluffy biscuits every time.

Can I use pickled jalapenos instead of fresh?
Yes, and they are delicious in a totally different tangy way. Drain them well and pat them dry with a paper towel first so the extra liquid does not throw off your dough. Use about a third of a cup, chopped.

What should I serve these with?
Honestly they are a whole moment on their own with that honey butter, but they are also the perfect starter or side. I love them alongside chili, soup, barbecue, a big salad, or scrambled eggs in the morning. They are also my favorite thing to bring when friends are coming over.

Do you LOVE Easy Appetizers?? Check out MORE of my Favs:

5-Ingredient Buffalo Chicken Sliders

Cheesy Garlic Pizza Breadsticks

Pepperoni Pull Apart Bread Recipe

Let’s Stay in Touch!

If you make these Honey Jalapeno Cheddar Drop Biscuits, I NEED to see them! Snap a photo of that skillet before everyone tears into it and tag me @munchiesbymallory on Instagram and TikTok. It genuinely makes my whole day to see what you are baking in your kitchens. And if your jalapeno plant is out of control like mine is right now, consider this your official permission to start baking with them. Happy baking, friends!