Easy Delicious Impossible Pies
If you shy away from making homemade pies—savory or sweet—because of the crust (it can be tricky and there’s all that rolling) you are in for a treat. Meet the impossible pie.
Impossible pies are just the best because they’re easy to make and always turn out so well. Family-friendly, too. Even your pickiest eaters are going to love them.
What makes these pies seemingly impossible? The crust starts out as a thick liquid that you pour over the top of the pie. Then somehow in the baking process the crust finds its way to the bottom and turns into a fabulously delicious pie.
All of the recipes that follow call for Master Mix, which is our homemade (cheap) version of Bisquick. You’ll find the recipe for Master Mix below.
NOTE: You can substitute Bisquick for Master Mix. However, if you do this also exchange the water in the recipes with milk. Why? Because Master Mix has powdered milk in it (all you add is water, whereas Bisquick does not.
Impossible Oktoberfest Pie
- 1/2 pound fully cooked bratwurst (about 3) cut into 3/4-inch pieces
- 1 (8-oz) can sauerkraut, drained (1 1/3 cups)
- 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Swiss cheese
- 3/4 cup Master Mix* (or Bisquick)
- 1/2 cup water (or milk if using Bisquick)
- 1/2 cup regular or nonalcoholic beer
- 2 eggs
Heat oven to 400 F. Grease a 9-inch pie pan that is at least 1 1/4 inches deep. Spread the bratwurst, sauerkraut, and cheese in the pie plate.
In a bowl stir together Master Mix, water, beer, and eggs until well blended. Pour into the pie plate. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serves 6.
Impossible Lasagna Pie
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup small curd whole cottage cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
- 1/2 cup Master Mix* (or Bisquick)
- 1 cup water (or milk if using Bisquick)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 eggs chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Heat oven to 400 F. Grease a 9-inch pie pan that is at least 1 1/4-inches deep. Cook beef in a skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until brown; drain.
Layer cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese in the pie plate. Stir 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, the Italian seasoning and tomato paste into the beef until blended. Spoon evenly over top of the cheeses in pie plate.
Place Master Mix, water, salt, pepper, and eggs in a bowl and stir together until blended. Pour into pie plate. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until the knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Bake 1 to 2 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired. Serves 6.
Optional: If you have some spaghetti sauce on hand, heat it in the microwave to serve with this pie.
Impossible Quesadilla Pie
- 1 (4-oz.) can chopped green chilies, well-drained
- 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (8 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
- 3/4 cup Master Mix* (or Bisquick)
- 1 1/2 cups water (or milk if using Bisquick)
- 3 eggs
Heat oven to 400 F. Grease a 9-inch by 1 1/4-inch pie plate. Spread chilies, cheese, and cilantro into the pie plate. In a separate bowl stir together Master Mix, water and eggs until blended. Pour into the pie plate. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with salsa. Serves 6.
Impossible French Apple Pie
- 3 large apples, peeled and sliced (about 3 cups)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup Master Mix* (or Bisquick)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water (or milk if using Bisquick)
- 1 tablespoon butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- Streusel (below)
Heat oven to 325 F. Grease 9-inch pie plate. Stir together apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg; turn into pie plate. Place Master Mix, sugar, water, butter and eggs in a bowl and stir until blended. Pour into pie plate. Sprinkle with Streusel. Bake 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serves 6.
Streusel
- 1/2 cup Master Mix*
- 1/4 cup chopped nuts
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cold butter
Stir all together until crumbly. Tips Plate size. Pie plates vary in size from one manufacturer to another. If you use a pie plate that is too small, the pie will run over while baking so it’s better to err on the side of a larger pan. The size is usually marked on the bottom of the plate. But if not marked, measure from inside rim to inside rim.
Double batch
All of these recipes for Impossible Pies can be doubled. Bake in two pie plates; or bake a double recipe in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish for about 10 minutes longer than the recipe indicates.
*Master Mix
- 5 pounds all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups powdered dry milk
- 3/4 cup double-acting baking powder
- 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
- 3 tablespoons salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 2/3 cups solid vegetable shortening (like Crisco)
Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening until the mix looks like cornmeal. Store at room temperature in a large container that has a tightly fitting cover (like Snapware or Tupperware) in a cool dark place like the pantry, for up to six month. Makes 30 cups.
Note: You can substitute Master Mix for any recipe calling for Bisquick. Just make sure you substitute water for any milk required in the recipe.
Printable: Scroll down to find the printable Master Mix recipe.
What to do with all that Master Mix?
I’m so glad you asked!
One dozen biscuits
- 3 cups Master Mix
- 3/4 cup water
Blend and knead a few strokes. Roll out and cut biscuits with a round biscuit cutter, into squares or diamond shapes. Bake 10 minutes at 450 F.
Dumplings
Use the same measurements as for biscuits. Drop into hot liquid of choice. Cook 10 minutes uncovered and an additional 10 minutes covered.
One dozen muffins
- 3 cups Master Mix
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup water
Mix water and egg; add dry ingredients. Add optional items such as blueberries, chocolate chips, nuts and so forth, as desired. Bake in muffin cups for 25 minutes at 450 F.
Four dozen drop cookies
- 3 cups Master Mix
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup nuts or chocolate chips
Place Master Mix, sugar, egg, water and extract in a large mixing bowl. Mix until all ingredients are well incorporated. Fold in nuts and or chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls on prepared greased baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes at 375 F.
9-inch round coffee cake:
- 3 cups Master Mix
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup water
Blend all ingredients and pour into a greased 9-inch cake pan. Cover with topping: 1/2 cup brown sugar, 3 tablespoons butter, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Optional: Add 1/2 C nuts or raisins to the topping mix. Bake at 400 F for 25 minutes.
18 medium pancakes or 6 waffles
- 3 cups Master Mix
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 egg
Blend only until barely incorporated. Prepare pancakes or waffles as usual.
One 8-inch square gingerbread
- 2 cups Master Mix
- 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Beat the egg together with the water and molasses. Mix well with dry ingredients until all are incorporated. Pour into a greased 8-inch square cake pan. Bake 40 minutes at 350 F.
Cornbread
- 1 1/4 cups Master Mix
- 3/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
Mix all ingredients until fully incorporated. Pour into 8 x 8 greased pan. Bake 25 minutes at 400 F.
Master Mix
Ingredients
- 5 pounds all-purpose flour, about 17 cups
- 2 1/2 cups powdered dry milk
- 3/4 cup double-acting baking powder
- 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
- 3 tablespoons salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 2/3 cups solid vegetable shortening like Crisco
Instructions
- Sift dry ingredients together.
- Store at room temperature in a large container that has a tightly fitting cover (like Tupperware) in a cool dark place like the pantry, for up to six months. Makes 30 cups.
Notes
One dozen biscuits
- 3 cups Master Mix
- 3/4 cup water
Dumplings
Use the same measurements as for biscuits. Drop into hot liquid of choice. Cook 10 minutes uncovered and an additional 10 minutes covered.One dozen muffins
- 3 cups Master Mix
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of water
Four dozen drop cookies
- 3 cups Master Mix
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup nuts or chocolate chips
9-inch round coffee cake
- 3 cups Master Mix
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup water
18 medium pancakes or 6 waffles
- 3 cups Master Mix
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 egg
One 8-inch square gingerbread
- 2 cups Master Mix
- 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
One 8-inch square cornbread or muffins
- 1 1/4 cups Master Mix
- 3/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
I used to use Master Mix all the time when my daughter was growing up. Then we moved and I got away from making it. I recently bought a small box of Bisquick on sale and was startled by all the added ingredients. I wanted to make Master Mix and couldn’t find my recipe. Thank you for sharing it today.
You bet! It’s a keeper handed down to me from my mother in law, Gwen Hunt. Some reading this knew her and will love knowing where that recipe came from.
Absolutely love the idea of making “individual” impossible Lasagna pies as my husband is a vegetarian so I would use a meat substitute in his and regular ground beef in the others. How long would you bake the MUCH smaller versions? This would be an awesome answer to my dilemma of preparing slightly different meals, yet similar at the same time!! Thanks in advance for your help!!
I don’t know exactly. Just watch it. My guess is that the timing would be about the same … but really, experiment. Keep you eye on it.
The impossible Pumpkin Pie is a family favourite made completely in a blender.. Bisquick lists these and other “Impossible Pies”
on line.
Hi Mary,
What brand of milk powder do you use?
Thanks,
Angie
I use my supermarket’s generic/store brand.
Excellent recipes but, I’m sorry, that is NOT cornbread! Not made with Martha White cornmeal, not made with buttermilk, not baked in a cast iron skillet. LOL!
Can you substitute whole wheat flour or some of the white flour?
I have never tried that, so I have no experience. But I’ll bet other readers might!
An easy way to blend in the solid shortening and dry ingredients is with a food processor. First, freeze 1/5 of the shortening in small pieces along with one pound of dry ingredients. Use the food processor to blend to cornmeal consistency. Repeat until all shortening and dry ingredients are blended. I use this process to make scones and biscuits.
Used to enjoy impossible pies but now we have to eat gluten free. Have you invented a gluten-free master mix yet??