Low Calorie, Healthy Biscuits with Sweet Potato
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These incredible healthy biscuits are the perfect breakfast or side dish. Every bite of these insanely good low calorie biscuits is flaky, slightly sweet, and very similar to a traditional biscuit! An easy, healthy recipe that’s delicious and nutritious!
Biscuits are one of the best comfort foods ever, but more often than not they are loaded with unhealthy ingredients and are high in calories and fat.
But these biscuits are different! Thanks to a few secret ingredients, they are lightened up without losing any of those decadent soft layers you’d expect from traditional biscuits. They have a natural sweetness from the sweet potatoes, which keeps them low in added sugar, but they are still light, fluffy, and comforting. They make a great addition to your morning breakfast, an appetizer, or side dish!
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This healthy biscuit recipe yields 10 fluffy and delicious biscuits and they’re really easy to whip up!
Tools and Equipment You’ll Need
Recipe Ingredients and Notes
- Sweet Potatoes: Great for adding sweetness without needing a lot of sugar!
- Flour: I recommend white whole wheat flour, or whole wheat pastry flour to get extra whole grains without sacrificing on that light biscuit texture we all want.
- Applesauce and Buttermilk: Lower fat substitutes for butter!
- Maple Syrup: For just a touch of additional sweetness, but you can leave this out as well if you want no added sugar.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Wash the sweet potato and then poked the potato several times with a fork. Place it in a microwave safe bowl and add 2 tsp of water to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and cut a slit in the top. Microwave for 3 to 5 minutes, or until soft and the skin is loose. Let cool.
Step 2: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
Step 3: In a separate bowl, stir together the syrup, applesauce, and buttermilk.
Step 4: Once the sweet potato has cooled, peel, and mash well with a fork. Transfer the mashed sweet potato to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
Step 5: Add the sweet potato mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together, being careful not to overmix.
Step 6: Lightly flour a clean surface using clean hands, transfer the sweet potato dough to the surface. It is very and important to keep the surface covered lightly in flour, as the dough will be sticky.
Step 7: Gently roll the dough out to a 10-inch-diameter about ½ in thick and use a 2 ½ inch biscuit cutter or the rim of a juice glass to cut out biscuits. Gather the scraps and re-roll to cut out more biscuits. You should get 10 biscuits. Transfer the biscuits to a prepared baking sheet. Bake until slightly browned on the edges, 24 to 28 minutes. Serve warm.
What Makes These Biscuits Healthy?
- Low Calorie: Each one of these biscuits is only about 141 calories. That is amazing, considering traditional biscuits are loaded with calories. You can enjoy this special treat without any guilt.
- Protein and Fiber: These sweet potato low calorie biscuits have 4 grams of protein and 3.6 grams of fiber. So you can feel good about getting some healthy nutrients, and they are sure to keep you full.
- Vitamins and Minerals: In addition to the protein and fiber, you’ll be happy to know you also will get other good for you nutrients. Vitamin A, potassium, vitamin C, manganese, and vitamin B6 are just a few of the vitamins and minerals you will get from these amazing healthy biscuits.
Will Kids Enjoy These Healthy Biscuits?
Oh, yes! Kids will love everything about these delicious biscuits. Because they are naturally sweetened, kids are automatically drawn to their incredible flavor, plus they’re very reminiscent of traditional biscuits without all the extra unhealthy ingredients. So, I don’t think you’ll have any trouble getting your kids to eat these healthy biscuits.
Recipe FAQs
How Do You Store Biscuits?
To Store At Room Temperature or the Fridge: Let the biscuits cool completely on a wire rack after they have finished baking. Transfer them to an airtight container or ziptop bag. They will keep for up to 2 days at room temperature, or up to 4-5 days in the fridge.
To Freeze: Let the biscuits cool completely. Then wrap each of the biscuits in plastic wrap or foil. Transfer them to an airtight freezer safe container or large freezer bag, and place in the freezer. They will last for 2-3 months in the freezer.
To Reheat: If heating from frozen, thaw the biscuits overnight in the fridge. If you want to serve them warm, heat them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds until hot.
What Do You Serve With Low Calorie Biscuits?
There are so many ways to enjoy this healthy biscuit recipe but here are a few of our favorites:
1) With butter & jam or fresh fruit preserves
2) As a side for soup or chili
3) As a breakfast sandwich — just cut in half and top with your favorite eggs!
4) With honey and your favorite soft cheese (like brie or goat cheese)
How Do You Make Vegan Biscuits?
Making this healthy biscuit recipe vegan is super easy! Just replace the buttermilk with vegan sour cream (or plain, unsweetened vegan yogurt) + water.
Use 3/4 cup vegan sour cream (or yogurt) mixed with 1/4 cup water, whisk together, and then use just 3/4 of that combined mixture for this recipe.
Top Tips For Making Healthy Biscuits
- Be sure to line the baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Otherwise the biscuits may stick to the baking sheet.
- Use a sift to mix your dry ingredients, and be sure to spoon and level your flour while measuring it out (vs. sticking the measuring cup directly into the flour and scooping it out)
- Don’t twist your biscuit cutter when cutting your biscuits – flour the mold and push it straight through the dough, and then lift it out. This will help your biscuits to bake evenly.
- You can add extra ingredients that you want to these biscuits. You’re welcome to add in ¼ cup of any of your favorite dried fruits such as raisins, dried cranberries, or even shopped up dried apricots. This will make them more of a scone then a biscuit.
- Be sure not to over-mix the batter, or over-bake your biscuits. If you do the biscuits will be very dense and not as flavorful.
- To make this recipe for a crowd, just double the batch!
- To make these gluten free, replace the flour with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Flour
Check Out These Other Amazing Breakfast Recipes!
- Banana Oatmeal Cookies With Peanut Butter
- Healthy Flapjacks with Fruit, Nuts, and Seeds
- Vegan Banana Bread
- Biscuits Without Baking Powder
- Healthy Vegan Scones with Pumpkin
- Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal With Berries
- Multigrain Blackberry Waffles from Simplistically Living
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🎥 Watch How to Make It
Low Calorie, Healthy Biscuits
These biscuits use secret ingredients to keep them light and layered with the traditional flavor, but not all the fat.
Servings: 10 biscuits
Calories: 141.2kcal
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 3.5 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp organic maple syrup
- 3 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
- 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Wash the sweet potato and then poke the potato several times with a fork. Place it in a microwave safe bowl and add 2 tsp of water to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and cut a slit in the top. Microwave for 3 to 5 minutes, until soft and the skin is loose. Let cool.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the syrup, applesauce, and buttermilk.
- Once the sweet potato has cooled, peel and mash well with a fork. Transfer the mashed sweet potato to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
- Add the sweet potato mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together, being careful not to overmix.
- Lightly flour a clean surface and using clean hands transfer the sweet potato dough to the surface. It is very important to keep the surface covered lightly in flour, as the dough will be sticky. Gently roll the dough out to a 10-inch-diameter about ½ inch thick and use a 2 ½-inch biscuit cutter or the rim of a juice glass to cut out biscuits. Gather the scraps and re-roll to cut out more biscuits. You should get 10 biscuits.
- Transfer the biscuits to the prepared baking sheet. Bake until slightly browned on the edges, 24 to 28 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
Top Tips For Making Healthy Biscuits
- Be sure to line the baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Otherwise the biscuits may stick to the baking sheet.
- Use a sift to mix your dry ingredients, and be sure to spoon and level your flour while measuring it out (vs. sticking the measuring cup directly into the flour and scooping it out)
- Don’t twist your biscuit cutter when cutting your biscuits – flour the mold and push it straight through the dough, and then lift it out. This will help your biscuits to bake evenly.
- You can add extra ingredients that you want to these biscuits. You’re welcome to add in ¼ cup of any of your favorite dried fruits such as raisins, dried cranberries, or even shopped up dried apricots. This will make them more of a scone then a biscuit.
- Be sure not to over-mix the batter, or over-bake your biscuits. If you do the biscuits will be very dense and not as flavorful.
- To make this recipe for a crowd, just double the batch!
- To make these gluten free, replace the flour with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Flour
Nutrition
Serving: 1biscuit | Calories: 141.2kcal | Carbohydrates: 30.6g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 0.6g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 139mg | Fiber: 3.6g | Sugar: 7.9g
How much sweet potato? One large = approximately how many cups or ounces?
Hi Jennifer! 1 large sweet potato is about 6oz. Hope that helps!
If you wanted to bake the potatoes in the oven versus using the microwave how long and what temp would you do?
Hi Bridget! If you wanted to bake the sweet potatoes in the oven, here’s what you need to do: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place a piece of foil on a baking sheet. Use a fork to poke holes in the sweet potatoes, put them on the baking sheet, and bake for 40-50 minutes until they are soft inside. Hope that helps!
If I could give this 10 stars, I would! Such an incredible biscuit recipe!! From, the Biscuit (Eating) Queen
Awww yay!! Thank you so much Ashley! 🙂
Ohh I love anything with sweet potatoes but never made a biscuit with them before – such a great recipe!
Thanks Lauren!! The sweet potatoes really add a nice twist to this recipe!
My son has recently become obsessed with sweet potatoes. I have been on the hunt for some good recipes and I just found a winner! I love the tip to add dried fruit to the recipe…so good!
Thanks Jillian! I can’t wait to hear how this recipe turns out for you and your son!
These look like a perfect side for Thanksgiving! Pinning, thank you!
Yes!! This would be perfect for Thanksgiving! 🙂
I’ve never thought of turning sweet potato into biscuits, but I’m definitely going to try these!!
Awesome! I’m sure you will love this recipe!
Yum, Yum, Yum! This are yummy! I Wish to try this someday soon.
Thanks Megha! I’m sure you will love it!
Simple and very cool recipe 🙂 I like cookies like this!
Thanks Katrina! I’m sure you will love these biscuits!