Is Bisquick Vegan? (2023 Updated)

Is Bisquick vegan? Betty Crocker brand Bisquick is a baking and pancake mix. You only need to add a few ingredients to the mix to make fluffy pancakes or delicious biscuits. But is it vegan? The answer is that some flavors are vegan while other flavors contain animal products. Let's check out the ingredients for the original mix which can be found on the Betty Crocker website.

Original Bisquick Ingredients

Original Bisquick Ingredients: Enriched Flour Bleached (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Vegetable Oil (palm oil, canola oil, high oleic soybean, and/or sunflower oil), Corn Starch, Dextrose, Leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), Salt, Sugar, Monoglycerides.

The good news is that Original Bisquick does not contain any non-vegan ingredients. Remember, this is only for the ingredients in the mix, not all the ingredients needed to make pancakes. Let's take a look at the other varieties.

Bisquick Products

Bisquick comes in a variety of flavors. There is also gluten-free Bisquick which is made of rice flour. Here are all the varieties of Bisquick and whether or not they contain any ingredients from animal products.

Heart Smart Pancake & Baking Mix - VEGAN
Gluten-Free Pancake & Baking Mix - VEGAN
Complete Cheese Garlic Bisquit Mix - Contains milk ingredients and may contain egg
Complete Buttermilk Biscuit Mix - Contains milk ingredients and may contain egg
Complete Pancake Mix Flavor Burstin' Cinnamon - Contains milk ingredients
Complete Pancake Mix Flavor Burstin' Chocolate Chip - Contains milk ingredients
Complete Pancake Mix Flavor Burstin' Maple Brown Sugar - Contains milk ingredients

Both the Heart Smart and the Gluten-Free mixes are vegan. All of the other favors are not.

Bisquick Shake 'n Pour Buttermilk Pancake Mix

Bisquick makes an even easier way to make pancakes with their Shake 'n Pour. It comes in a plastic container. You just add water, shake it up, and pour the mix on your pan. But is Bisquick Shake 'n Pour vegan? Let's check out the ingredeints.

Bisquick Shake 'n Pour 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, DATEM.

Unfortunately, the Shake 'n Pour Mix contains buttermilk and is not vegan.

How to Make Vegan Bisquick Pancakes

So we now know the Original Bisquick mix is vegan. But the instructions say to add milk and eggs to make your pancakes since it's basically the dry ingredients in a pancake recipe. The good news is that we can make some simple changes to make the pancakes vegan.

First, instead of regular milk you can just replace it with any plant milk you like. I like using oat milk or unsweetened soy milk for pancakes. If you're wondering about the differences between the different kinds of non-dairy milk, check out Vegan Milk Options - A Look at Non-Dairy Milks.

stack of pancakes with strawberries on top.

As for the egg, you can just leave it out. Using an egg substitute isn't necessary. If you really want to, you can use a flax egg instead. That being said, I don't like baking with flax eggs because I think it makes baked goods too dense. Then, add any mix-ins you like to the Bisquick pancake batter. My favorites are blueberries and vegan chocolate chips! You are all set to make your pancakes. Store any leftover pancakes in an airtight container.

Recipes to make your own Bisquick

Yes, Bisquick contains vegan ingredients. But it also contains some other ingredients you might want to leave out of your pancakes. The good news is that it's simple to make your own pancake/baking mix. Here is a quick and easy recipe for Homemade Bisquick by My Baking Addiction. You will only need the following ingredients and a food processor:

flour
baking powder
salt
vegetable shortening

That's all - only four ingredients! This homemade Bisquick stays good in the fridge for 3 months and will save you time on your future baking.

Vegan Bisquick Recipes

Of course you can make pancakes with Bisquick. But there are many other ways to use it in both sweet and savory recipes. Check out the following recipes.

Dairy-Free Vegan Bisquick Biscuits by the Spruce Eats - This is a simple biscuit recipe.
Biscuick Apple Cobbler Recipe by Joy to the Food - Just make sure you use dairy-free milk.
Dairy-Free Strawberry Shortcake Made in a Pan or Roll & Cut Style by Go Dairy Free - Vegan strawberry shortcake...enough said!
Root Vegetable Pot Pie by The Veg Life! - A delicious veggie pot pie with a biscuit topping.

FAQ

Is sugar vegan?

Bisquick contains sugar and you might be wondering if it's vegan. While sugar comes from sugar cane, which is a natural plant, the filtration process of some brands of white sugar uses bone char. According to Peta.org, "Bone char—often referred to as natural carbon—is widely used by the sugar industry as a decolorizing filter, which allows the sugar cane to achieve its desirable white color."

So cane sugar doesn't technically contain any animal products. Some strict vegans choose to stay away from it because of how it's processed. But this is completely up to you.

Is it better to use butter or oil to cook your pancakes?

You can use both! I use vegetable oil, coconut oil or vegan butter and they all come out delicious.

Is Bisquick gluten free?

Only the specified Bisquick Gluten Free Pancake & Baking Mix is gluten free.

Is Bisquick dairy-free?

Only 3 varieties of Bisquick are dairy-free: Original, Gluten Free, and Heart Smart.

Is Bisquick Shake 'n Pour vegan?

Unfortunately, the Shake 'n Pour mix contains buttermilk and is not vegan.

Summary

Bisquick is a great shortcut when you don't have a lot of time but you want to make pancakes. It's also great for biscuits and dessert recipes! Luckily, Bisquick can fit in with a vegan diet since its ingredients are free of animal products. A box of Bisquick is a good pantry staple to have on hand. So next time you go to the store, grab a box and get baking!

Want to make your own pancakes in a much quicker way? Check out: