10 Canned Biscuit Hacks You'll Wish You Knew Sooner

Don't let anyone tell you that homemade biscuits are the only biscuits that count. Sure, they're a scrumptious, Southern-style staple that make Thanksgiving dinner (or just a regular weeknight dinner) complete. But canned biscuits can be just as good, especially if you use a few simple hacks like the ones listed in this article. They're not only a quicker way to get that biscuit-y goodness you crave, they offer a unique level of versatility, because you already have the base biscuit prepared.

How do you go about kicking things up a notch with your canned biscuits? You can stick close to the "original" style of biscuit — buttery and fluffy and delicious — or you can turn them into something totally different, like doughnuts or garlic knots. You can eat them as a side dish, or you can incorporate them into the main dish itself. You can even stuff them for an all-new kind of dish! Your options are practically endless. And all you need to get started is a can of biscuits, a little bit of ingenuity, and these 10 hacks in mind.

If you want your canned biscuits to taste more like the type of homemade, straight-from-Grandma's-kitchen kind of biscuits you get in the South, you should be pan-frying them. To start, grab a can of biscuits, some butter, and a big skillet. Then, open the can of biscuits. If you're using Pillsbury Grands Biscuits (which work great for this recipe), you should have eight biscuits. Separate them from each other and take off the top half of each one (they should all still be circles of dough) to make 16 biscuits total. If you're using another kind of canned biscuit, you may have to cut them in half with a knife instead of just pulling them apart, or you can just leave them as-is.

Once the biscuits are separated, melt around two tablespoons of butter in your skillet. The skillet should be big, because you're going to put all the biscuits in it at the same time with the sides touching. When the butter has liquefied, place the biscuits in the hot, buttery pan. Fry them for around two minutes, then flip them. Keep an eye on them, because they cook very fast. Once your biscuits are fluffy and browned on both sides, take them out of the pan and serve with additional butter, sausage, or anything else you'd like.

Looking for something a little more exciting to do with your canned biscuits? Turn them into garlic knots! While they may look intimidating, these knots are actually extremely easy to make. First, remove the biscuits from the can and cut them all in half by splitting them down the middle (you're making 16 half-circles this time). Next, roll the halves into long ropes of around 7 inches, making sure not to let them get too thin. Then, tie each rope into a knot and set aside. You can choose your own type of knot here, but remember not to tie it too tight or the dough may not rise properly.

Now, mix together around 1/4 cup melted butter, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and herbs such as parsley or Italian seasoning, depending on your personal preference. Add in some Parmesan cheese as well, and mix thoroughly. Once everything is combined, brush the liquid over the knots you made, then put them into the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Voila! Where you once had biscuits, you now have garlic knots.

Make doughnuts out of biscuits, you say? Inconceivable! As strange as it may sound, we can assure you, this canned biscuit hack is just crazy enough to work. If you're looking for a quick afternoon snack to make for your kids, you can whip up some doughnuts in no time at all by starting with a simple can of biscuits. Open the package and remove the biscuits, then cut a hole in the middle of each one. You can do this with a knife, but for a more precise and uniform shape, we recommend using either a very small round cookie cutter or an apple corer.

Once your biscuits all look like little doughnuts, heat up some hot oil on the stove and fry them (or use your air fryer, if hot oil isn't your cup of tea). It should only take around 30 seconds or so per side in the frying oil, so watch them closely. Once the doughnuts are fried, remove them from the oil, let the excess drip off, and coat them with powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, or a quick chocolate glaze. We also recommend frying the doughnut holes: You don't want to waste any of that biscuit — we mean, doughnut – goodness, do you?

Biscuits make a great addition to a big Sunday breakfast. You can eat them on the side of a plate of sausage, eggs, and cheese, of course, but you can also cut the biscuit in half and make a sandwich to eat all those goodies together. That's right: With just a can of biscuits and a dream, you can make stuffed biscuits.

To make stuffed breakfast biscuits, simply take a can of biscuits and cut all the biscuits in half, making two circles of dough out of each one. Place the bottoms of the biscuits in a pan, then add your stuffing. You can add cooked sausage, cooked bacon, scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, or any combination of these or other breakfast favorites. After that, place the tops on the biscuits and seal down the sides. Bake for around 20 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown.

You can do this on a cookie sheet, but if you want a more controlled, less leak-prone alternative, you can also use a muffin tin. Furthermore, you can mix up your fillings and take these breakfast biscuits into lunch or dinner time; consider adding ham or chicken instead of sausage, and throwing in vegetables like spinach with some feta cheese.

If you thought making doughnuts with canned biscuits sounded crazy, wait until you hear about this next trick: Making fried Oreos with canned biscuits. If you've ever had a fried Oreo at a state fair or carnival, you know that you can't just dunk this sandwich cookie in a vat of oil and call it a day. You need to incorporate a proper outer coating to fry an Oreo — something that can add many more minutes to your cooking time.

But if you have a can of biscuits handy, you can make fried Oreos in a snap. All you have to do is take out the biscuits and cut them in half, making two circles. Flatten them a bit with your hand. Then, grab your Oreos. Dunk the Oreos very briefly in milk, then place them on half of the circles. Close the biscuits by placing the remaining circles on top and sealing them shut with your fingers. Now you can proceed to deep fry them, air fry them, or even bake them to get some quick Oreo treats that will make you feel like you're at the fair all year 'round.

Have you ever had a hankering for cinnamon rolls, only to discover that the can you bought at the store was actually a can of biscuits instead? If so, don't worry. You can still have the cinnamon rolls you crave with just a few small tweaks.

This hack is a little different than the others on this list. Instead of taking the dough out of the can and separating it into each individual biscuit at the start, you're going to keep the roll of dough as it is, scrunched up into one long tube. Put some flour on your work surface and on a rolling pin, then roll the tube out into a rectangle, making it fairly thin. Cover the rectangle you made with sugar and cinnamon before rolling it back up into a tube. Cut the tube into eight or so individual rolls, which you will then put into a pan, just like you would biscuits (meaning, separated on a cooking sheet or with the sides touching in a round skillet). Bake until golden brown. Once they're cooked, eat them as-is, or add a glaze to make them even sweeter.

Chicken pot pie is a family dinner favorite. Who can resist that moist chicken, those melt-in-your-mouth vegetables, and the creamy gravy that pulls it all together? The only drawback to this culinary classic is the crust. No chicken pot pie is complete without it (you can't exactly have a pie without a crust, after all), but making it can be hard work, and quickly turns this into a once-in-a-while dish instead of an easy, go-to, make-after-work one.

Luckily, canned biscuits are here to save the day. There are two ways you can go with this delectable variation. First, you can spread your pot pie filling in a casserole dish as you normally would, just without the bottom crust. Once you have a nice, smooth layer, open a can of biscuits and arrange them on the top of the pot pie, creating a top "crust." Bake until the biscuits are golden brown and your filling is bubbly.

If you want to get a bit fancier, you can also make individual pot pies with this method. Instead of putting the pot pie filling into a casserole, spoon it into ramekins. Then place one biscuit on top of each ramekin and put them in the oven, baking until the biscuits are done and the filling is hot.

Monkey bread, for those who aren't familiar, is a pull-apart bread made up of many small pieces of dough. It's a childhood favorite of many, and parents love to make it because it not only tastes good, it's relatively simple to make. With the addition of canned biscuits, things get even simpler.

To make monkey bread this way, first open the can and take out the biscuits. Separate them, then cut each one into four small pieces. Toss these small pieces with cinnamon, sugar, and your choice of dried fruit. Next, put them all in a cake pan or a Bundt pan and coat with a mixture of brown sugar and melted butter. As with normal biscuits, bake until your monkey bread is golden brown and, in this case, bubbling a bit around the edges. Then take it out and let it cool slightly. Once it's ready, you can pull off the individual pieces and eat them with your hands — though it might be a bit sticky!

Pigs in a blanket are another beloved childhood (and adulthood) favorite. Usually, one uses crescent rolls to create this culinary masterpiece, but what should you do when you're all out? If you have a can of biscuits on hand, you can still make this work.

Separate the individual biscuits and cut each one in half, then flatten them slightly by pressing down on them with your hand or rolling them out with a rolling pin. Once they're flatter and longer, wrap them around your hot dogs just like you would a crescent roll. Bake as usual and watch as the biscuits get fluffy, making a great blanket for your little pigs.

This method also works to make sausage rolls. Typically, when you make pigs in a blanket, you leave some of the hot dog uncovered on either side, but sausage rolls usually have pastry covering the entire length of the sausage, leaving only the ends open. This is easy to accomplish with canned biscuits — just stretch them a little farther.

Making pretzels from scratch can be time-consuming and difficult. But if you have a can of biscuits in the fridge, you can whip up some soft pretzels any time you want.

First, cut each biscuit into four pieces. Roll these pieces into small, round balls. Cut an "X" in each ball with a sharp knife. Bring some water and baking soda to a boil on the stove and add in your balls of dough. Within around 30 seconds, they should get airy and float to the surface. When they do, remove them, drain them, and place them on a cookie sheet, leaving an inch or two of space between them (often you want biscuits to touch while they cook, but that's not the case for pretzels).

Brush the dough with an egg wash and add some large-grain salt before baking for around 10 to 15 minutes. When they're a deep, golden brown, take the pretzels out of the oven and serve them with your choice of cheese dip, cinnamon and sugar, or other dips and/or toppings. Or just eat them as they are!