10 Things You Didn’t Know About Bisquick

Whether you rely on Bisquick for your regular baking, only use it in a bind, or have never laid eyes on the stuff (which we would find hard to believe), we have 10 Bisquick facts that you probably don’t know — along with the recipes you need to make Bisquick go from the box to plate in just a few easy steps. From its humble beginnings in a train kitchen to its position as the dominant force in the “baking in a box” category, it has been a long road for Bisquick. 

On a train to San Francisco, General Mills salesman Carl Smith was astounded by how quickly the kitchen on the train produced its biscuits. The cook showed him his pre-made mix (sans liquid), which he kept in the ice chest. Smith took this idea to the scientist at General Mills, who produced a shelf-stable biscuit mix.

For a Buttermilk Biscuit recipe, click here.

When Carl Smith discovered this phenomenon on a California train in 1930, there weren’t any cake, muffin, or biscuit mixes available in stores. Upon its launch in 1931, Bisquick started the whole “baking in a box” genre.

For an outside-the-box Bisquick Churros recipe, click here.

Within a year after Bisquick’s release, 95 other biscuit mixes were introduced, but a year after that only six remained, and Bisquick remained the leader in the genre. Bisquick continues to dominate the category today.

For Upgraded Box Cake recipes, click here.

This convenience food became a staple in households during World War II, and the “world of baking” slogan adopted in the 1940s referred to the 12 recipes that could be produced using a single box of Bisquick. Many of the recipes featured on the back of the box in the ’40s are still used and reproduced today.

For the Golden Potato Pancakes made with Bisquick recipe, click here.

The world’s largest peach shortcake record was broken in 1981 in South Carolina using four tons of Bisquick.

For a Kentucky Bourbon Peach Shortcake recipe, click here.

The formula was changed in the 1960s to produce lighter, fluffier, Southern-style biscuits, but the popularity of the product led to a quick name change from “new” to “regular.” It’s the same mix we use to make pancakes today.

For a Southern Style Biscuit recipe, click here.

Bisquick’s mix has changed over the past 80-plus years from the original recipe that General Mill’s head chemist, Charlie Kress, created, but the iconic blue and yellow packaging has remained Bisquick’s identifiable feature.

For a Bisquick-Topped Chicken Pot Pie Recipe, click here.

In 1985, Bisquick became the official sponsor of this weeklong celebration of pancakes. National Pancake Week occurs the week leading up to Shrove Tuesday — known to some as National Pancake Day — which occurs the Tuesday before Lenten season.

For the Perfect Pancakes recipe, click here.

From potato gnocchi to churros, Bisquick has a lot more reach than the 12 in one slogan boasted. The basic ingredients in Bisquick — flour, salt, sugar, and dehydrated oils — make it ideal as a substitute in a wide range of recipes both sweet and savory.

For the Bisquick Potato Gnocchi recipe, click here.

Bisquick Original contains partially hydrogenated oils. These trans fats have been linked to heart disease, so Bisquick developed Bisquick Heartsmart, which contains zero trans fats.

For the Bisquick Potato Cheese Perogis recipe, click here.