Keeping an all-purpose baking mix on hand makes baking so easy! Why bother buying it, when you can make your own homemade Bisquick recipe mix right at home? Make your own DIY Bisquick baking mix with 4 common pantry ingredients for a fraction of the cost. And, find out what recipes you can make with your own homemade biscuit mix.
When I was growing up, this baking mix was a staple in everyone’s house. After all, it was perfect to use for Bisquick ultimate pancakes, peach cobbler bisquick recipe, waffles, chicken, and the famous coffee cake.
Although I often bake from scratch, I love the convenience that an all-purpose baking mix offers. For example, using this homemade Bisquick recipe when making our oven fried Bisquick chicken, baked ultimate chicken fingers, or cornbread dairy free makes the preparation simple and easy.
The best part? The ingredients to make Bisquick are already in your kitchen! Just mix them and store them until you’re ready for Bisquick recipes.
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What is Bisquick?
This is an all-purpose baking mix or biscuit mix. Some people call Bisquick pancake mix or waffle mix.
It’s a premade mix of common ingredients like flour, fat, leavening, and salt that helps shorten preparation time. Thus, a premade baking mix is a time saver.
You can use it to make easy dinner recipes, desserts, and breakfasts.
One great benefit of making your homemade Bisquick mix own is that you can control exactly what goes into it. When you buy a bag from the store, it often contains additives and preservatives.
Other versions of Bisquick Pancake & Baking Mix
Need a gluten-free baking mix? Look for an upcoming recipe for homemade replacements for Gluten Free Bisquick! We will also have a heart-friendly baking mix recipe for a Heart Smart Bisquick baking mix version.
In the meantime, Heart Smart Bisquick and Gluten Free Bisquick are available on Amazon (linked) and retailers. Use them in place of Bisquick in our Bisquick recipes (linked).
How to Make Homemade Bisquick Mix
Making your own homemade Bisquick saves you the cost of buying a store-bought bag of it. And, the simple pantry ingredients in Bisquick mean that you can mix up a batch anytime you need it.
To make this baking mix work properly, you will need a few ingredients for the best rise and tender crumb. When these ingredients are combined, they work together to make a mixture perfect for many baking and cooking recipes.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
So, what is in this baking mix?
Let’s go over each ingredient and talk about the role each one plays in making this homemade baking mix.
- Flour: this is the main ingredient and is used for the bulk of the dough
- Baking powder: this leavening ingredient helps the baked goods rise
- Salt: salt enhances the flavor and helps tenderize
- Vegetable shortening (or butter:) This is the fat that holds the dough together and is an essential ingredient for baked goods
There are different types of fats that you can use. Vegetable shortening is easy and shelf-stable, meaning you can keep it in the pantry, however many of them contain trans fat acids. Read this to learn more about vegetable shortening and see shortening substitutions below.
5 Easy Shortening Substitutes
For those who want to avoid hydrogenated vegetable shortening (and trans fats), there are several suitable substitutions you can use.
- Spectrum Naturals Organic Shortening is non-hydrogenated (free of trans fats) and vegan. You can find it at Whole Foods, Sprouts, and other retailers.
- Nutriva Organic Shortening (linked) is non-hydrogenated and vegan. It is available at Amazon (linked), Whole Foods, Sprouts, and other retailers.
- Coconut oil is non-hydrogenated and vegan. With a melting point of 76-78ºF, coconut oil stays solid at room temperature (around 68º). It is readily available at grocery stores and retailers.
Using coconut oil will likely add a slight coconut flavor to the recipe ingredients you make with this homemade Bisquick mix. This would be fine for pancakes and many sweet baked goods. - Butter is non-hydrogenated, but is animal-based and high in saturated fat. It is readily available at all grocery stores. Use unsalted butter for this DIY Bisquick mix. If butter is used, your baking mix will need to be refrigerated.
- Tallow is non-hydrogenated, rendered beef fat. It is available at Amazon (linked), Sprouts, Whole Foods, and many retailers. Refrigerating tallow is recommended for a longer shelf life.
Equipment For Mixing All-Purpose Baking Mix
The best way to blend these dry ingredients together is by using a food processor or blender.
See my equipment recommendations list on Amazon (linked).
If you want to make this homemade baking mixture by hand, stir the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Then use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut in the vegetable shortening and a whisk or sifter to ensure the mixture is fully mixed.
Make sure there are no large lumps since they won’t mix into the dough well when you add the liquid. The DIY Bisquick mixture will look sandy when mixed together. Small lumps – smaller than the size of a small pea – are perfectly normal.
How to Store Homemade Bisquick
Since the ingredients are all stable when left at room temperature, it’s okay to leave it out of the refrigerator. Store the homemade baking mix in an airtight container in a dark, cool location like a pantry or cabinet.
I keep my mixed homemade Bisquick ingredients – as well as my bulk pantry items – in these Prepworks clear air tight storage containers (linked):
🎯 TFN Pro Tip
If you use butter instead of vegetable shortening, make sure to store it in an air-tight container in the fridge instead of out at room temperature.
If you use butter instead of vegetable shortening, make sure to store it in an air-tight container in the fridge instead of out at room temperature.
What To Make With Bisquick?
These easy Bisquick recipes are ideal to make with your homemade baking mix!
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Since it’s made with flour, baking powder, salt, and vegetable shortening, Bisquick is definitely vegan.
Bisquick may not be a good substitute for flour because of the additional ingredients it contains. However, you can use it in most recipes that call for pancake or baking mix. Or with a recipe that calls for similar ingredient ratios with all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and shortening or butter.
Bisquick is not the same as pancake mix (is it sugar-free). See my pancakes recipe for using this homemade Bisquick recipe to make pancakes. To substitute this in recipes calling for pancake mix, you might need to add sugar or a sweetener first.
More Home Tips and Tricks To Love…
If you tried this Bisquick mix recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Homemade Bisquick Mix
Equipment
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons baking powder
- 1 Tablespoons Kosher salt
- 1 cup vegetable shortening, cubed (see substitutions below in notes)
Instructions
To make baking mix in a blender or food processor
- Add dry ingredients into a food processor or blender. Pulse to mix.
- Then, add vegetable shortening, one cube at a time, and pulse until well mixed. Bisquick mixture is fully mixed when it is lump-free.
To make baking mix by hand
- To mix Bisquick without a food processor or blender, stir together or sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut in the vegetable shortening. Use a grater to shred sticks of butter or cold shortening for even easier mixing.
- Then whisk or sift the mixture until well mixed. The baking mix will look like sand with lumps smaller than peas.
Storing homemade Bisquick baking mix
- Store in an airtight container in a dark, cool location like a pantry or cabinet.
- If you use butter or margarine instead of vegetable shortening, make sure to store it in an air tight container in the fridge instead of out in room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
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jim says
Recipe sounds great but a little correction in your notes…my last batch of Tallow that I made was 9 years ago and I just had to make a new one…Tallow should be used in more Cooking and Baking…It’s one of the healthiest fats to use.
Danielle - TFN Team Member says
Thank you for your feedback! Tallow is a great substitution for this recipe.