Do you like to keep a box of Bisquick baking mix in the pantry for a quick and easy way to stir up some biscuits or pancakes?
If you do, here’s a way to mix together your own homemade version that will save you money too!
The Bisquick brand of baking mix has been around since the 1930’s and was created to make cooking biscuits easy and convenient by using their mixture that already contained the baking powder and the shortening. You can usually just add some water or milk to the Bisquick and that’s all it takes for some basic biscuits, waffles, or pancakes.
When I set out to make my own Bisquick, I soon discovered that there were quite a a few versions of this mixture, and they were all just a tiny bit different. After comparing lots of recipes, I decided on a mixture that uses flour, baking powder, salt, and shortening. You should use white all purpose flour rather than whole wheat as whole wheat will give different, heavier baking results. A few things I left out were:
– Sugar: Some recipes called for a few tablespoons of sugar but many recipes did not. I feel that if you can eliminate some sugar from your diet the better off you are, so I did not include any sugar in my mixture.
– Dry Milk Powder: A few recipes had you adding in some dry milk powder, but again several recipes did not include that ingredient. Because the biscuits or pancakes are often made by adding milk, I decided to opt out on using any dry milk powder.
– Butter: If you want your homemade Bisquick mixture to be shelf stable, you will need to use shortening rather than butter or margarine. If you have objections to shortening you can substitute butter, but you will then need to keep your homemade baking mix in the refrigerator.
– Sifting: I read one recipe that said to sift your mixture – twice! I had good intentions . . . really I did. Got my sifter out and everything. I managed to sift about one and a half cups of flour and that was it. *Boring* If you are blessed with more patience than me, then go for it. Personally I think my mixture turned out OK despite the lack of sifting.
HOMEMADE BISQUICK BAKING MIX
Ingredients:
- 5 Cups All Purpose Flour (I used unbleached)
- 3 Tablespoons Baking Powder
- 2 Teaspoons Salt
- 1 Cup Shortening
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Cut in the shortening. You can use a pastry blender, however, I find it easier to just use my hands to get it mixed in really well.
3. Store in an airtight container.
4. Use the same as you would use Bisquick in a recipe.
This is a new mixture for me but I’ve used it in my Copycat Red Lobster Biscuits with good results. I did give in to temptation the other day and bought a new cookbook called Best Bisquick Recipes
Do you have a favorite Bisquick recipe to recommend? I would love some more ideas!
Geraldine P Atkinson says
August 5, 2018 at 12:50 pmI have a recipe that i have not seen.
Belinda says
May 22, 2018 at 3:17 pmHow about the strawberry shortcake recipe! Or just shortcake.
Beverly says
May 25, 2018 at 10:04 amI might have to put shortcake on my to-do list!
glenda says
February 5, 2017 at 10:08 amHow much liquid do you use in making one patch of mixture
Beverly says
February 6, 2017 at 7:23 pmYou can use the homemade Bisquick mixture the same as the store bought. I believe on the Bisquick box it says to use 2-1/4 cups of the mix with 2/3 cup milk. (I use this mixture the most for my copycat Red Lobster biscuits rather than plain biscuits).
Belle Johnson says
October 3, 2016 at 9:03 pmI like the cheddar cheese biscuit I made. Thanks for the home made Bisquick mix. I love it!
Kim says
July 5, 2015 at 5:37 pmSo excited I found this, Just one thing I don’t like to use shorting can I use coconut oil instead of it and do you use the same amount or a little more?
Beverly says
July 7, 2015 at 8:42 pmWithout having tested it myself I can’t say for sure Kim, but I would start by substituting it in the same amount as the lard.
Gail Wilcock says
March 31, 2015 at 5:31 pmcan you use dry shortening in place of solid shortening?
Beverly says
March 31, 2015 at 8:42 pmI’m not familiar with dry shortening (sorry!) but it seems to me it should work and function like solid shortening and could probably be substituted.
Elke says
February 26, 2015 at 7:48 pmOkay, so just to make sure: It’s okay to use butter instead of the shortening? Will the amount be the same?
Beverly says
February 26, 2015 at 8:52 pmYes, you can substitute butter in the same amount. However if you use butter, then you should keep your homemade bisquick in the refrigerator.
CJSampson says
December 10, 2014 at 6:52 amHas anyone tried using lard instead of the shortening? I prefer to render my own lard and use that when ever shortening is called for.
Marti says
August 3, 2014 at 11:34 amI prefer not to add the butter/shortening, and add that when I mix up the pancakes, and then use olive oil, milk and an egg, for pancakes. This way the mix is good for shelf life and I keep it in a ziplock. Is there a problem with this?
gwen says
April 15, 2014 at 5:20 pmCan you use self rising flour since I Have So much on hand?
Beverly says
April 17, 2014 at 12:25 pmIf you use self rising flour, I would leave out the baking powder in this recipe. Self rising flour already contains baking powder, so I think it would work best if you just added the salt and shortening to make your homemade Bisquick.
sharon says
March 8, 2014 at 3:21 pmI need to know a few things. How many buscuits does this recipe make in total and how much mix to how much liquid do i need to make busicuits ?
Beverly says
March 8, 2014 at 4:54 pmYou would use this homemade Bisquick the same as a store bought box of Bisquick. I believe the recipe on the Bisquick box is 2-1/4 cups of Bisquick mixed with 2/3 cup of milk so you could use that same ratio with this homemade version. I believe that recipe would yield about a dozen biscuits (depending on the size you make your biscuits). So you should be able to get close to 3 dozen biscuits from this recipe.
Khady says
February 26, 2014 at 2:15 amHello Beverly
Thanks for this useful recipe. I was thinking about using extra virgin coconut oil instead of shortening and leave the mix at room temperature. Can it work? By the way I use coconut oil for my traditional scones recipe(instead of butter) and it only does it work perfectly but I get the extra yummy flavor from the coconut
Beverly says
February 27, 2014 at 11:58 amI think coconut oil would probably work Khady! Because it is stable at room temperature it will be OK in this mixture, and it will also provide the “fat” component needed in recipes using Bisquick. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
beth eagle says
January 7, 2014 at 3:21 pmDo you use the same directions as the bisquick box for drop dumplings?
Beverly says
January 7, 2014 at 7:30 pmYes, you can use this homemade mixture the same way, using the same directions, as you would use the store bought Bisquick in a recipe.
Tamara says
December 28, 2013 at 12:31 pmI have a large family and I usually keep a big box of Bisquik on hand for biscuits, chicken and dumplings, pancakes, and chicken pot pie. This morning I was going to make biscuits and horror of horrors, my big (expensive!) box of Bisquik was full of weevils. Not wanting to make a trip to the store or spend so much on a new box, I did a Google search and found several recipes. I chose yours and the only change I made was to add some baking soda because I like the extra leavening. My biscuit recipe (5 C mix, 3/4 C buttermilk, 1/4 cup club soda, 1/2 C melted butter, 1 egg, 1 tsp salt, 2 Tbsp sugar baked at 450 12-14 mins) came out even better than when I use Bisquik. My sons declared then the best biscuits they’ve ever had. I never need to buy Bisquik again. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Beverly says
December 29, 2013 at 3:57 pmThat’s awesome Tamara! I’ve saved your biscuit recipe too and will be giving it a try – but maybe in a smaller version 🙂
Juanita says
June 22, 2015 at 4:42 pmBeverly, my math is very bad. Can you give me the smaller version of her recipe? Thanks
Beverly says
June 22, 2015 at 7:48 pmYou could try cutting the recipe in half as follows: 2-1/2 cups Bisquick, 1/3 cup buttermilk, 2 Tbl club soda, 4 Tbl melted butter, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 Tbl sugar. You might need just a bit more buttermilk as a 1/3 cup is not exactly half of 3/4 C. in the original recipe, but it’s close. I also just left the 1 egg in, same as in the original. I hope it turns out if you try it . . . I might give it a try too!
Debbie Craig says
December 21, 2013 at 10:40 pmHappy Holidays Bev!
I just browsed through these tips on making your own Bisquick, as I needed some for a no crust egg quiche I’m making for tomorrow. I have Aunt Jemima pancake mix and was wondering if I could used that in place of the Bisquick?
I know you can make pancakes out of Bisquick, but wasn’t sure if you could use pancake mix in place of Bisquick.
I’m serving it for company, so I’ll make my own Bisquick for now.
Thanks for your tips.
Beverly says
December 22, 2013 at 8:52 pmA mixture like Bisquick has some kind of fat/shortening added to it, and also has some kind of leavening (like baking soda or powder) added to it. I think most pancake mixes have those two features as well so you should be able to substitute pancake mix in a pinch.
theresa coghill says
June 10, 2013 at 7:33 amhave been looking for this for ever and my daughter is married and is low income with 2 children so any diy mixes packets ect. woruld so bee helpful for her and I will be shareing your page wither and her family it is great thanks
Lori Hastings says
May 16, 2013 at 3:12 pmi stumbled upon a great bisquick recipe for biscuits as follows. 2 cups bisquick, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup 7 up and a 1/4 cup melted butter. put melted butter in a small baking dish, mix the remaining ingredients together in a bow. the mixture will be sticky. make balls of dough and place in pan of melted butter, evenly spaced apart. bake 400 for about 15 minutes. so good! and easy! will for sure use your recipe for this…
Cindy says
April 13, 2013 at 2:36 pmHi Beverly,
Thanks for the recipe! I have a couple of off-topic questions for you- what font did you use for your jar label and did you make the label or purchase the labels and print them?
Thanks so much!
Beverly says
April 13, 2013 at 3:18 pmThe label was made in the free photo editing software Picmonkey using the Overlock font. I uploaded a plain white square (that I made in Paint) to Picmonkey, then used one of the shapes in the Labels (which you find in the Overlay section) and then typed in the words for my label. Once I had it saved, I printed it off on a clear label that I bought at the office supply store. I bought the labels that are a 8.5×11 full sheet size that you cut down to any size you want. I was a little bummed, however, that the “clear” labels actually looked kind of frosted when they were stuck on glass.
Christine says
April 13, 2013 at 11:34 amcan this be stored?? in the fridge?? and for how long??
Beverly says
April 13, 2013 at 3:30 pmThis mixture is very shelf stable. I keep mine for several months at room temperature with no problems at all. However if you use butter instead of shortening, then you should keep it in the refrigerator where it will also keep for several months.
marjorie says
April 4, 2013 at 12:07 amWould you by chance know if a gluten free flour will work for your bisquick recipe? I know they now sell gluten free bisquick…expensive! I too am new reading your blog….thanks for ll the great info…love it!
Beverly says
April 5, 2013 at 9:49 amI think what you would have to do Marjorie, is make your own gluten free flour blend (like in this recipe: http://glutenfreecooking.about.com/od/glutenfreemixes/r/sorghumflourmix.htm ), and then substitute a blend like that for the 5 cups of flour in this homemade bisquick recipe. I think the challenge would be to find the gluten free flours like rice flour or quinoa flour to make your own blend.
Gloria Hensel says
March 9, 2013 at 5:53 amI wasted about an hour looking through every cookbook I owned trying to find a substitute for Bisquik baking mix. Yours is the best one I found on the internet. Bless you!
Beverly says
March 9, 2013 at 1:27 pmThanks Gloria! It’s been working well for me and I hope you like it too 🙂
Francie says
March 9, 2013 at 10:04 pmThanks, It has saved me a bundle and Its so great to make biscuits and my family’s fave coffee cake.
Francie Smith says
February 16, 2013 at 2:10 pmThanks, need to mix some up so I can make Bisquick struesel coffee cake for breakfast tomorrow.
Cathy says
January 27, 2013 at 3:29 pmTerrific blog, Beverly! I found you via Pinterest and am having a great time reading. I haven’t tried anything yet but I wanted to give some insight on Amber’s question. When you make this mix, check the date on your baking powder and be sure to use it by that date. I had poor results once making a tried-and-true scratch cornbread recipe, and then found my baking powder to be expired. Good luck to all!
Amber says
January 23, 2013 at 12:28 pmGood to know-Thanks! I’ll be trying this out this week, for sure!
Amber says
January 22, 2013 at 7:50 pmHi! Just found your blog via Pinterest, and am keeping busy checking it out!
Are there any recommendations on shelf life for this DIY bisquick?
Beverly says
January 22, 2013 at 8:48 pmNice to hear you are having fun looking around the site Amber! I have kept this DIY Bisquick for several months without any problems. After a few months we have usually used it up. All the ingredients are very shelf stable though. My “guesstimate” would be six months to a year of shelf life.
June says
December 18, 2012 at 7:19 pmI was checking out your Baking Mix post and I’m always looking for new ideas. I’ve been using a Quick Mix from the Utah State University Cooperative Extension website. It’s mix uses Canola Oil or Shortening and you don’t have to sift the mix and if you use Canola Oil you have to refrigerate but with shortening there is no refrigeration. To check it out type quick mix with canola oil.pdf in your search engine I use google and also check out quick mix with shortening.pdf.
While viewing pay attention to the page numbers it will make it easier to follow and it also has recipes to try.
extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/FNP_102.pdf
https://extension.usu.edu/…/…
Please read Article
https://extension.usu.edu/fsne/files/uploads/…/february%20scoop.pdf
Hope this helps
Gigi says
October 13, 2012 at 2:44 pmCan I substitute vegetable oil if I don’t have shortening?
Beverly says
October 13, 2012 at 8:02 pmI have not tried this with vegetable oil, but I would wonder if it would affect how the baked goods turn out. It would probably mix in OK and look about the same, but when you go to make biscuits or something, you might not get the same fluffiness or rise to the baked goods.
Pat says
August 21, 2012 at 1:17 pmtks for great homemade mix-love to bake this way and needed this recipe=love your blog
Rita May says
June 3, 2012 at 8:53 amI too just discovered your blog while waiting and will definitely be back to look at all of your posts
After today
Heather says
May 11, 2012 at 12:59 pmI stumbled upon your blog today & have been gobbling up all the different posts. I recently made my own Bisquick and loved it. I used it just like the store bought stuff and we didn't notice a difference at all.
Di says
May 9, 2012 at 10:09 amIs Bisquick the same as Jiffy? I have been using up my Jiffy store lately. Their 'rich' pancakes….. I make up double batches and just freeze them. I also use the Jiffy recipe, slightly altered, for banana bread…. a total favorite! Jiffy for the topping on cobblers….terrific! I am starting on Bisquick, to use it up, today with a batch of pancakes. As soon as it is all used up I will switch to your formula. It will be fun to compare all three……
Totally enjoy your site!
Tracy Wood says
May 6, 2012 at 7:10 amWhat a great idea! I don't use baking mix very much any more, but when my kids were little – oh, man! Pancakes galore!
Tracey says
May 6, 2012 at 7:02 amThank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.. just got a 5 lb bag of flour and ran out of bisquick..Know what I'm making today!!