Save time and money in the kitchen with these 20+ DIY Baking Mixes for pancakes, waffles, brownies, and muffins using regular pantry staples.
Want homemade baked goods? Want it easy in the kitchen?
Do you have to choose?
Nope. You can have both when you make DIY Baking Mixes for pancakes, waffles, brownies, and even muffins! Using regular pantry staples, you can create your own homemade mixes to keep things delicious and customized to your preferences while still making it easy to pull it off.
Why a mix in the first place?
I think it’s probably a common American experience to grow up thinking that all baked goods come from a box, the freezer section, or the bakery aisle of the grocery store.
Someone else did the baking. We opened boxes and bags.
We can thank the executives of Big Food in the 50s for convincing us that a mix was better than making it ourselves.
It wasn’t until I went to college that I realized that making baked goods from scratch was better and more importantly, cheaper than the commercial alternatives.
But even though it was better to bake it myself, sometimes I just didn’t want to fuss with all the measuring spoons and cups and or to pull out all those ingredients again. So, yeah, I get why they invented Betty Crocker.
To bake my cake and want to eat it, too, I started making my own mixes. At first I just mixed up the dry team of a recipe the night before, but eventually I realized I could mass produce them. Just like Betty.
What are DIY baking mixes?
A DIY Baking Mix is just that, a baking mix you do yourself. You can make your own mixes for almost any baked good in which the dry ingredients are added at the same time.
You can make homemade mixes for any of the following types of baked goods:
- quick breads
- cakes
- cupcakes
- scones
- waffles
- pancakes
- biscuits
- cornbread
- brownies
- coffeecake
- donuts
Be sure to scroll down for more than 20+ favorite Good Cheap Eats baking mixes.
How do you make a homemade baking mix?
Baking mixes are very easy to make yourself. Here’s how the process goes:
- Label a bag or jar with the wet ingredients list and the baking instructions.
- Fill the container with the dry ingredients.
- Seal and store until you’re ready to use. You can store it at room temperature in a cool, dry place or for longer storage, stash it in the freezer.
That was pretty easy, wasn’t it? Check out our favorite recipes to make into mixes here:
Enjoy a batch of oatmeal waffles, full of whole grain goodness. This oatmeal waffle recipe is sure to please the whole family! Celebrate a bright new day with these tangy buttermilk corn waffles. Gild the lily with a little honey butter. Start the morning on a high note with a lovely stack of homemade buttermilk waffles. This recipe allows for making it ahead as a mix or your own frozen waffles. These easy pancakes are perfectly delicious and excellent for feeding a crowd. You can even make this basic pancake recipe as a mix or as a freezer meal! Want to enjoy pancakes without a lot of added sugar? This recipe for Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes is packed with flavor and nutrition. Good morning, Sunshine! Start the day right with a short stack of delicious, whole wheat blueberry pancakes. They’ll come together quickly and easily with a homemade mix. This easy, homemade muffin mix recipe allows you to make big, bakery-style muffins that can be flavored any way you like. Make several batches of mix and bake all kinds of muffins! Ditch the boxed brownie mix! These Cocoa Brownies mix up quickly and taste amazing, full of chocolately flavor without the junk. Bake up a batch of this Milk and Honey Cornbread. It’s lightly sweetened and delicious for breakfast or the bread basket. This Buttermilk Cornbread is so easy to make, super delicious — and it even passes muster with my Southern friends — even if it’s sweet cornbread. Fill the bread basket with a batch (or two) of these Pumpkin Biscuits. They’re a simple but delicious addition to your next soup or chili night. And you can make them gluten-free! Skip the can of refrigerated biscuits! You can make flaky layers all on your own with this easy recipe for flaky buttermilk biscuits. Bake someone happy with these lemon drop scones covered in lemon glaze. This lemon scone recipe is delicious, nutritious, and super easy to make. Christmas Tree Scones are a festive addition to your holiday breakfast or brunch table. They are also delicious served with afternoon tea! These Spiced Pumpkin Scones are delicious for breakfast with your morning coffee as well as an afternoon snack with tea or milk. Bake someone happy with these easy to mix up Maple Oat Heart Scones. Make it as a mix or toss the formed scones in the freezer to bake later. Donut shop mornings can be blissful, but also expensive. Save some coin and bake your own triple chocolate donuts. Irish Soda Bread is an easy quick bread to fill the bread basket with. It mixes up effortlessly and bakes up beautifully. Looking for an easy cake recipe? This Spiced Pumpkin Bundt Cake with a luscious maple glaze comes together easily and quickly, perfect for dessert or snacking. This Pumpkin Coffeecake with Pepitas features a dense, moist cake, topped with a sugar crumb topping dotted with salty pepitas. It promises to be a winner at your house this fall. Cinnamon and brown sugar form a crunchy topping that sits and settles into a spiced cake, making a perfect accompaniment to your favorite hot beverages. Bake this Cinnamon Streusel Coffeecake for your next breakfast, brunch, or tea. 20+ DIY Baking Mixes to Help You Eat Well
Oatmeal Waffles
Buttermilk Corn Waffles
Homemade Buttermilk Waffles (21 cents each!)
Basic Pancake Recipe - An Easy Pantry Staple
Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes
Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes
Homemade Muffin Mix - Mix and Match Muffins (92 cents/dozen)
Cocoa Brownies
Milk and Honey Cornbread
Buttermilk Cornbread
Pumpkin Biscuits
Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits
Lemon Drop Scones
Christmas Tree Scones - A Fun Holiday Tradition
Spiced Pumpkin Scones are Perfect for Fall
Maple-Oat Heart Scones - They Work for Me!
Triple Chocolate Baked Donuts You Can Make Yourself (17 cents/serving)
Bake Irish Soda Bread for St. Patrick's Day
Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Maple Glaze
Pumpkin Coffeecake with Pepitas
Cinnamon Streusel Coffeecake Recipe
Katha Pierce Horton
There are only 2 of us and we don’t like to cook and freeze (who knows when they would surface in the freezer again). Any suggestions for preparing 2-4 muffins from the mix?
Jessica Fisher
The best I could suggest would be to half the batch. You’d get six large muffins that way. Maybe share with friends?
Sarah @ Economist at Home
I love this idea. Every time I make muffins I think about the effort I’m duplicating by not having a huge batch of dry ingredients pre-mixed and waiting for me.
Have you ever tried making the muffin mix using whole wheat flour for half or more of the flour called for? If so, does it need extra wet ingredients to keep it moist? Just wondering if you’ve tried it. Thanks!
Jessica Fisher
I’m pretty sure the muffin mix if half ww pastry flour…
Janet
I vacillate between paying for convenience and doing it myself. I cannot remember the last time I purchased a spice mix. I save my empty spice jars and re-label and use them for my spice mixes. On the other hand, I often purchase muffin mixes when they are on sale and I have a coupon. I will not pay more than 25 cents. Likewise, I will not pay the extra cost for shredded carrots, but will purchase shredded cheese when it is on sale for a low price. I make my own salads. I do not like the taste and will not eat bagged salads. It really comes down to a combination of which cooking tasks I do and do not enjoy, the cost difference of doing it myself and differences in taste.