Homemade Bisquick Mix
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Want to make your favorite biscuits or pancakes, but you don’t have any Bisquick? Has this ever happened to you? You go to the pantry because you’re craving pancakes or homemade biscuits, you grab the box of Bisquick baking mix and right away by the weight of it, you know you don’t have enough. Never fear! There’s no need to go to the grocery store. In just a few minutes, you can make your own Homemade Bisquick Mix with common pantry ingredients and my simple recipe.
Preparing homemade Bisquick mix is so easy, you will wonder why you never did it before!
EASY HOMEMADE BISQUICK MIX
If you are familiar with Bisquick, then you know it works for various recipes. Of course, Bisquick biscuits and pancakes are top on the list, but you can create many other great recipes with Bisquick mix as well. Use your Bisquick baking mix to make dumplings, chicken pot pies, corn dogs, coffee cakes, and even donuts!
DIY homemade Bisquick baking mix is so simple. You will wonder why you never made before. Plus, you can make this easy Bisquick substitute at literally a fraction of the cost of any pre-made store-bought mix.
WHAT IS BISQUICK?
Bisquick is a Betty Crocker food product that was invented in the 1930s. An executive from Betty Crocker learned about it during his morning commute on the train. The chef in the bar car of the train told him how he was able to make fresh biscuits daily because the pre-made the batter.
The lightbulb went off and a mega-million-dollar idea was born!
The thing that makes Bisquick so convenient is that it contains premixed dry ingredients – but uses hydrogenated oil instead of lard or shortening. In this recipe for homemade Bisquick, I suggest shortening, but you can also use lard, butter, or coconut oil in similar proportions. Any of these options will work just fine and keep similarly in terms of storage and shelf life.
You can make a healthier version of Bisquick from scratch by using part whole wheat flour or spelt flour. Or lighten up the oils using canola, sunflower, or safflower.
Ingredients To Make This Homemade Bisquick Recipe
Ready to make this easy recipe? You will find the list of ingredients here – but the complete measurements and instructions can be found at the bottom of this post in the printable recipe card.
Flour – I used all-purpose flour but you can also use a combination of flour like spelt or whole wheat.
Baking powder – One of the other simple ingredients is baking powder, the leavening agent to help your baked goods rise.
Vegetable shortening – I prefer vegetable shortening but you can also use lard or coconut oil. Cold butter also works well but make sure to buy unsalted butter.
Salt – Just a touch of salt to enhance the flavor.
How To Make Your Own Bisquick Mix
First, In your standing mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Next, Add in shortening, in small increments, and continue whisking until completely incorporated. A minute or two is all you need.
Alternatively, you can combine the flour mixture and shortening in a large bowl and use a pastry cutter to mix it together.
Finally, Store in an airtight container, I like to use a mason jar in a cool and dark place for up to 3 months.
Love it? Pin it!
If you love this Homemade Bisquick recipe make sure that you don’t lose it! Pin it to your favorite Pinterest recipe board before you go!
FAQs
- How do you make Homemade Bisquick? Homemade Bisquick is really easy. It’s just a combination of flour, baking soda, shortening, and salt.
- What can I use if I don’t have Bisquick? If you don’t have any Bisquick you can use pancake mix instead or combine flour, baking soda, shortening, and salt like in this recipe.
- Is Bisquick just flour and baking soda? No, Bisquick has baking powder, not soda, shortening, and salt in it.
- What are the original ingredients in Bisquick? The original Bisquick recipe had bleached white flour, cornstarch, dextrose, palm oil, leavening agents, canola oil, salt, sugar, DATEM (an emulsifier), and distilled monoglycerides.
- Is Bisquick just flour and baking powder? No, Bisquick has flour, shortening, and salt as well.
What is shortening?
Shortening is a generic term for a form of hydrogenated oil. Shortening has a high burn point and works like lard in recipes, meaning it won’t burn like butter would at similar temps.
Hydrogenated oil, without going into an entire chemistry lesson, is an oil that has been turned into a solid or semi-solid form its usual liquid form. That is why it can be used in a dry mix of ingredients or used in things like margarine.
Why use shortening for homemade Bisquick mix? Vegetable shortening keeps for a while at room temperature, so there is no need to worry about storage. Kept at room temp, this mix will last for up to three months. In the fridge, it will keep for up to six!
The hydrogenated oil in a box of Bisquick is even more hydrogenated so that is why it appears to be a powder.
Shortening is great for baked products like biscuits and pancakes because it helps create more of a lighter and fluffier consistency than using a “wet” ingredient like vegetable oil.
Substitutions
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Instead of using all-purpose flour, you can use a combination of flours like spelt of whole wheat. You can even make gluten-free Bisquick with gluten-free flour.
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In place of shortening use butter, lard, coconut oil or canola, sunflower, or safflower oil.
Tips and Tricks
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If you don’t have a stand mixer handy, you can also use the food processor method of combining all the ingredients and processing them together. You can also use a pastry blender, or even two forks or your fingers to mix the baking mix if desired.
How to store homemade Bisquick
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When using vegetable shortening, coconut oil, or lard, you can store your homemade baking mix in a cool dark place, like your pantry for up to 3 months. Since there are no added chemical stabilizers it won’t keep as long as the store-bought mix.
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If you are using butter, the mix will have to be stored in the refrigerator and will be good for about 3 weeks.
Recipes that Use Bisquick Baking Mix
Not quite sure what to do with this substitute for Bisquick flour? Here are just a few of my favorite recipes using this homemade mix:
- Banana Bread Pancakes (pictured above)
- Chocolate Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce
- Banana Pecan Rolls
- Easy Berry Bisquick Muffins
- Impossible Pie with Bacon & Swiss – a fun twist on Bisquick Impossible Pie
- Recipe for Bisquick Peach Cobbler
- Pumpkin Spice Bars
- Copy Cat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits
- Recipe for Bisquick Sausage Balls
- Sour Cream Bisquick Biscuits
- Lasagna Pot Pie
Next time you need Bisquick for a recipe, don’t run to the store! Make your own!
LIKE THIS RECIPE?
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Make your own Bisquick
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 cups flour
- 3 Tablespoons baking powder
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 Tablespoon salt
Instructions
- In your standing mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add in shortening, in small increments and continue whisking until completely incorporated. A minute or two is all you need.
- Store in an airtight container, in a cool and dark place for up to 3 months.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted on September 30, 2015. It was updated to improve user experience on April 18, 2023.
Thank you, Michaela! I had no idea that I could make my own! Printed, made and keeping it in my save forever folder! You rock!
Happy to help! 🙂
I’m sorry for my ignorance, but is my understanding correct that there is a difference between Bisquick pancake/waffle mix and Bisquick All Purpose Baking Mix? And if there is a difference, which would this recipe reflect? I’m looking to use my grandma’s shortcake recipe which calls for the all purpose Bisquick or Jiffy. Thanks in advance!
Pancake mix is a lot like Bisquick, but is slightly sweeter because of its sugar content.
Thank you for the recipe of making your own “Bisquick”! I am Gluten free & have been all my life, & now I am at 78!
So I “Thank You for this recipe”!
Sincerely,
Mary Lou S.