We use a lot of Bisquick in my house, for pancakes, cheese garlic biscuits, taco pie and much more. Bisquick is great. It’s a quick, easy, and versatile premade baking mix. Bisquick is also expensive: a cup of flour costs about 13 cents, but a cup of Bisquick costs about 51 cents. That’s nearly 4 times as expensive simply for the convenience of a baking mix. I like convenience, but I also like saving money. To save time and money, I thought I’d mix up a big batch of homemade Bisquick on the weekend, but the first recipe we tried was disappointing. It didn’t taste anything like Bisquick! There are lots of different homemade Bisquick recipes, so I started a search for the perfect homemade Bisquick.
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Recipes I Tried
I started by going through the top search results on Google and picking out 8 recipes with key differences. Some had a different kind of shortening, a different ratio of ingredients, or different preparation methods. Two recipes included ways to adapt their recipes for gluten-free or vegetarian/vegan diets. It was also important to me that it was quick to make. Ideally, I want to be able to make a big batch of homemade Bisquick in a short time to have on hand for quick breakfasts. While those were bonuses, the most important thing for my family was that the flavor would be just like Bisquick. My husband and son are a bit picky about these things.
Here are the recipes I tested:
The Test
The Best Homemade Bisquick Recipe
The best Bisquick flavor was from recipe #6, from Easy Family Recipes. I’ll admit, I was not rooting for this one to win for several reasons. First, this recipe’s instructions were to grate in the butter, my least favorite method of adding the shortening. Second, because it uses butter, this recipe requires refrigeration. Finally, it takes an extra step when making your recipe. You need to add vegetable oil when you use the baking mix. That’s not too difficult, but for someone who doesn’t cook often like my husband, I’m not sure he’ll remember to add the oil when making an occasional breakfast on the weekends.
I’m still keeping the recipe, but I may modify it a bit. After all, it was by far the best Bisquick flavor and the batter rose well! It will be a great addition to my pantry!
Runner up recipe
My second favorite was recipe #4 from My Recipes. It was very, very close but slightly saltier than original Bisquick’s flavor. During my tests, I used cold butter, but the recipe says you can use either butter or shortening. What I love about this recipe is that it can be substituted exactly for Bisquick, cup for cup. It’s easy for any member of the family to use, without having to remember extra instructions.
If you are looking for a ease and simplicity, I would recommend recipe #4.
Best Techniques
All except for one recipe I tried used shortening or butter, but each had different methods for getting this mixed evenly. One grated the butter in; this was my least favorite method. The butter was cold directly from the refrigerator, but it still clumped up on the grater and in the baking mix. I ended up cutting the butter in with a pastry cutter. Some other recipes instructed me to cut the butter in using a pastry cutter or mix it up in a mixer. Those methods were alright, but still had some very small clumps.
My favorite were the recipes made with the food processor! It was easy to get a nice, even, fine consistency to the baking mix. Even if you choose a different recipe than me, get out your food processor for a better homemade Bisquick. I have this food processor from Cuisinart. I love it, and I use it for everything from shredded cheese and zucchini to processing oats into oat flour. It works well, and helps me save time and energy, as well as money by making or preparing more foods at home.
Which ingredients give the best Bisquick flavor
Vegetarian or Vegan Homemade Bisquick
If you or a family member are vegetarian or vegan, you can make your own homemade Bisquick mix with vegetable shortening or oil. While you can’t use just any vegetable shortening, it is relatively easy to find brands that are vegan. With a vegan vegetable shortening, your baking mix will also be safe for those who can’t consume dairy products, perhaps due to an illness like Crohn’s disease or alpha gal syndrome.
Gluten-free Homemade Bisquick
Any homemade Bisquick recipe can be gluten-free by using gluten-free all-purpose flour. How much it tastes like regular Bisquick mix, I can’t say, as I don’t generally use gluten-free Bisquick mix.
So, what homemade Bisquick mix will I be making?
I’m actually making my own adaptations, combining the best of each of my top 2 favorite recipes. I’m keeping the easy processing and preparation of the runner up recipe by Easy Family Recipes. But I’m changing the amount of salt and sugar to make it more similar in flavor to the recipe that won the taste test, the recipe by My Recipes. Either of these recipes would be a great choice, but I think my new homemade Bisquick baking mix recipe is the best of both worlds.
If you are looking for more ideas, check out my other Money-Saving Recipes!
Homemade Bisquick Baking Mix
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor
Ingredients
- 5 1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup corn starch
- 3 Tbsp baking powder
- 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 Tbsp cold butter (can substitute butter-flavored shortening)
Instructions
- In your food processor, pulse together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
- In your food processor, pulse the chilled butter (or shortening) into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles sand.
- Store the mixture in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 months
