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According to Wikipedia, “Bisquick is a pre-mixed baking mix sold by General Mills under its Betty Crocker brand, consisting of flour, shortening, salt, and baking powder (a leavening agent).” The ingredients sound vegan-friendly, but this article seeks to answer the question “Is Bisquick Vegan?” once and for all. In addition, we seek to answer many other frequently asked questions (FAQs).
A full vegan-friendly analysis of Bisquick product can be found in the following sections.
Controversial Vegan Ingredients
Before we start our vegan analysis, we would like to make note of the controversial ingredients that are assumed to be vegan in this analysis. Even though we consider them to be vegan, we will still highlight these ingredients if they appear in any posted ingredient lists. These controversial ingredients include:
Sugar
I many foods products, one of the first few ingredients is Sugar. Sugar is a controversial product in the vegan community because refined cane sugar is processed with bone char to achieve the pure white color. The sugar itself does not contain any bone char particles, but is not vegan due to the processing methods used. Since the type of sugar is typically not stated, it is assumed to be vegan in this analysis. If you choose to avoid non-vegan sugars than all of the products in this analysis should be avoided. A full rundown on if sugar is vegan can be found in our article titled “Is Your Sugar Vegan? Lets Find Out!“
Palm Oil and Palm Fat
Palm oil is a controversial vegan ingredient not because it is animal-derived, but because the cultivation of palm oil has devastating environmental impacts and harms many animals. You can learn more about palm oil in our article titled “Is Palm Oil Vegan?“
Natural and Artificial Flavorings
Natural flavors can come from both animal or plant sources, but the natural flavors in nut butters are typically from plant sources. Those natural flavors from animal-origin will be highlighted if known.
Colors
Some food colors are controversial in the vegan community. This is because food colors are often tested on animals. In this article we assume all food colors are vegan, unless the color itself is from an animal or insect origin (e.g. Carmine).
Bisquick Original Pancake & Baking Mix
Bisquick Original Pancake & Baking Mix Ingredients
Enriched Flour Bleached (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Cottonseed Oil, Leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), Dextrose, Salt. Contains wheat ingredients. [Source]
Is Bisquick Original Pancake & Baking Mix Vegan?
Yes, Bisquick’s Original Pancake & Baking Mix is vegan! However, most of the cooking instructions for Bisquick recipes call for non-vegan ingredients to be added. For example, the directions for pancakes call for 2 cups Original Bisquick, 1 cup milk, and 2 eggs. Therefore, in order to make the Bisquick pancakes vegan you would need to substitute the milk and eggs for vegan alternative (i.e. almond milk and flax eggs).
Bisquick Heart Smart Pancake & Baking Mix
Bisquick Heart Smart Pancake & Baking Mix Ingredients
Is Bisquick Heart Smart Pancake & Baking Mix Vegan?
Bisquick’s Heart Smart Pancake & Baking Mix might be vegan, but we are waiting for verification from Betty Crocker to be sure. The Heart Smart mix includes the ingredient DATEM which uses glycerin for production. Most glycerin is produced using vegetable oils, but some use animal based oils. The rest of the ingredients in Bisquick Heart Smart Mix are vegan-friendly.
We have reached out to Betty Crocker (Bisquick’s parent company) for clarification on if the DATEM is vegan or not.
Bisquick Gluten Free Pancake & Baking Mix
Bisquick Gluten Free Pancake & Baking Mix Ingredients
Is Bisquick Gluten Free Pancake & Baking Mix Vegan?
Bisquick’s Gluten Free Pancake & Baking Mix is vegan! If you are both gluten-free and vegan, Bisquick’s Gluten Free Mix is great for you.
Bisquick Simply Buttermilk with Whole Grain Pancake & Waffle Mix
Bisquick Simply Buttermilk with Whole Grain Pancake & Waffle Mix Ingredients
Is Bisquick Simply Buttermilk with Whole Grain Pancake & Waffle Mix Vegan?
As the name suggests, Bisquick’s Simply Buttermilk with Whole Grain Mix contains buttermilk and egg ingredients. Therefore, it is NOT vegan-friendly.
Bisquick Shake ‘n Pour Buttermilk Pancake Mix
Bisquick Shake ‘n Pour Buttermilk Pancake Mix Ingredients
Enriched Flour Bleached (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Sugar, Defatted Soy Flour, Leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), Palm Oil, Dextrose, Buttermilk, Salt, Egg Yolk with Sodium Silicoaluminate, Egg White, DATEM. Contains wheat, soy, milk and egg ingredients. [Source]
Is Shake ‘n Pour Buttermilk Pancake Mix Vegan?
Bisquick’s Shake ‘n Pour Buttermilk Pancake Mix is NOT vegan because it includes both buttermilk and egg ingredients.
Bisquick Biscuit Mixes
Are Bisquick Biscuit Mixes Vegan?
Unfortunately, none of Bisquick’s Biscuit Mixes are vegan-friendly. All of them include milk-based ingredients and some include cheese ingredients. A full list of ingredients in the Bisquick Biscuit Mixes are in the following sections.
Bisquick Complete Cheese Garlic Biscuit Mix Ingredients
Enriched Flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Cottonseed Oil, Leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), Vegetable Oil (palm, palm kernel), Corn Syrup Solids, Salt, Dextrose, Garlic, Buttermilk Powder, Whey, Dried Cheddar Cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), Color (yellows 5 & 6 and other color added), Whey Protein Concentrate, Maltodextrin, Reduced Lactose Whey, Natural Flavor, Citric Acid, Sodium Phosphate, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Modified Corn Starch, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate. [Source]
Bisquick Complete Buttermilk Biscuit Mix Ingredients
Enriched Flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Cottonseed Oil, Leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), Buttermilk, Dextrose, Salt. [Source]
Bisquick Complete Honey Butter Biscuit Mix Ingredients
Enriched Flour Bleached (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed and/or Soybean Oil, Sugar, Leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), Dextrose, Salt, Honey, Wheat Starch, Butter, Nonfat Milk, Color (yellow lakes 5 & 6, blue lake 2 and other color added), Natural and Artificial Flavor, Modified Corn Starch, Soy Lecithin. [Source]
Bisquick Complete Honey Butter Biscuit Mix Ingredients
Enriched Flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Cottonseed Oil, Leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), Vegetable Oil (palm, palm kernel), Corn Syrup Solids, Salt, Dextrose, Whey, Dried Cheddar Cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), Buttermilk Powder, Dried Romano Cheese Made from Cow’s Milk (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), Dried Parmesan Cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), Whey Protein Concentrate, Maltodextrin, Reduced Lactose Whey, Color (yellows 5 & 6 and other color added), Natural Flavor, Disodium Phosphate, Citric Acid, Sugar, Dried Yeast, Hydrolyzed Corn and Soy Protein, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Modified Corn Starch, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate, Soy Lecithin. Freshness Preserved by Propionic Acid. [Source]
Additional Bisquick FAQs
Q: Is Bisquick Gluten Free?
Bisquick only makes 1 gluten-free products which is their: Gluten Free Pancake & Baking Mix. The rest of their pancake and biscuit mixes contain wheat flour as the primary ingredient. Gluten Free Bisquick Biscuits do not exist at this time. [Source]
Q: Is Bisquick Dairy Free?
Only Bisquick’s Original, Health Smart, and Gluten Free pancake mixes are dairy free. All of the other mixes include milk or cheese ingredients. [Source]
Q: Is Bisquick Nut Free?
Based on the ingredients provided in this article, it appears that all of Bisquick’s pancake and biscuit mixes are nut free.
Q: Are there eggs in Bisquick?
The Original Bisquick mix is free of eggs. However, two of the Bisquick products do contain eggs so their may be some cross contamination between products. The following Bisquick products contain eggs:
- Simply Buttermilk with Whole Grain Mix
- Shake ‘n Pour Buttermilk Mix
Q: Is Bisquick Self Rising Flour?
Self rising flour usually consists of three ingredients: flour, salt, and baking powder. The Original Bisquick mix contains all of these ingredients plus vegetable oil. Therefore, Bisquick is similar to self rising flour, but they are not the same thing. A Bisquick alternative can be made by adding 1 tablespoon of oil to 1 cup of self rising flour.
Q: Is Bisquick the same as pancake mix?
The actual ingredients vary between pancake mix brands, but they are usually very similar to the ingredients in Bisquick. The basic Bisquick ingredients are flour, leavening, salt, and oil. Pancake mixes may contain more sugar so a sweeter final product may occur if you are substituting for Bisquick. That being said, pancake mix should work well as a Bisquick substitute in sweet breads, muffins, or scones.
Summary
The Bisquick brand features a variety of pancake, waffle, and biscuit mixes. We found that the Origianl and Gluten Free mixes are vegan, but many of the others are not. Additionally, the only gluten free mix from Bisquick is their Gluten Free pancake mix.
If you liked this article, you can read about other vegan food options here.
