Learn how to make the best homemade pancake recipe and enjoy it as is or use it as a base for your favorite mix-ins! Enjoy these soft and fluffy pancakes with maple syrup on top.
Our family love pancakes for breakfast! Other favorites include buttermilk pancakes, ricotta pancakes and silver dollar pancakes.
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Best Fluffy Pancakes
With a few simple ingredients, you can whip up perfectly fluffy pancakes for your family in no time. Keep it simple and enjoy yours with homemade maple syrup or buttermilk syrup or go big with some fresh whipped cream and chocolate sauce!
Why This Recipe Works
- A base for mix-ins. This homemade pancake recipe is made from scratch using basic kitchen staples. Get creative and add blueberries, chocolate chips, or a sprinkle of cinnamon, it’s up to you!
- Perfect texture. Soft and fluffy pancakes with slightly crispy edges are what I like to call restaurant-style but better!
Pancakes Recipe Ingredients
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Unsalted butter: We use unsalted so we can control the amount of added salt. If you’re using salted butter, omit the extra salt. Save some butter for greasing the griddle as well, it helps get those crispy edges!
- All-purpose flour: Although we’re not baking anything, it’s still important to measure the flour accurately. That way you’re not making dense pancakes.
- Granulated sugar: To sweeten the homemade pancake recipe.
- Baking staples: Baking powder and baking soda are leavening agents for rise, salt rounds out the flavors and vanilla extract adds flavor.
- Milk: The higher the fat, the richer the batter will be. You can even use buttermilk.
- Large eggs, whisked: Used to bind the pancakes together so that they don’t fall apart when you flip them.
Substitutions and Variations
As mentioned earlier, this simple pancake recipe can be used as a jumping-off point.
- Add some mashed bananas for banana pancakes or a cinnamon sugar swirl for these cinnamon roll pancakes.
- Turn these into chocolate chip pancakes or blueberry pancakes just by adding a handful of mix-ins.
- For special occasions, use food coloring to make green pancakes for St. Patrick’s Day, red food coloring for Valentine’s Day, or add in some sprinkles for a special stack of birthday pancakes!
How to Make Pancakes
- Combine ingredients. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla.
- Mix batter until smooth. Start whisking from the center working your way towards the outside making sure everything is blended. Then, stir in the flour until the mixture is smooth and lump-free (or just about).
- Cook the pancakes. Coat the griddle or skillet with cooking spray and then butter. Pour 1/4 cup of the pancake batter into individual circles. Cook for 2 minutes or until bubbles start to appear and the edges start to become golden. Flip and cook for another minute.
- Serve or keep warm. Serve cooked pancakes immediately or keep previous batches warm in the oven at 175°F to keep warm until all the batter is used.
Expert Tips
- Adjust the batter consistency. If the batter is too thick, add another splash of milk. If it’s too thin add 1 Tablespoon flour.
- Dairy-free and gluten-free Alternatives. To make this dairy-free, use almond milk or oat milk. For gluten-free, you can try these with 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour.
- A DIY pancake board. If serving a crowd, set up a pancake charcuterie board and have an assortment of fresh fruit, sauces, syrups, and toppings for everyone to pick their own!
Recipe FAQs
I wouldn’t make this homemade pancake recipe too far in advance. It’s one thing to stir the batter and let it sit for 10 minutes to allow the baking powder to do its thing, but anything more than that you’ll risk it losing air.
However, what I like to do is have a batch of easy pancake mix on hand. It has a long shelf life and is ready to use when I need it. This is one easy way of being prepared in advance.
While self-raising flour is great for thick pancakes, what I like about using regular all-purpose flour along with baking powder and baking soda is that I can control how much to use for how thick I want my pancakes.
The first is to make sure your baking powder and baking soda are fresh and ready to be put to work. Next, you don’t want to overwork your batter. Mix until smooth and then allow it to rest and activate.
You also want to make sure the griddle is hot before you add the batter, but never turn the heat up too high. Last, always grease the griddle in between batches.
Storing
Once completely cooled, keep leftover pancakes in an airtight container or zip-lock bag in the fridge for up to 4 days. They’ll also keep frozen for up to 3 months.
Thaw them in the fridge overnight, or reheat from frozen using the microwave for about 30 seconds.
Looking for more easy pancake recipes? Try sheet pan pancakes, apple cinnamon pancakes and pumpkin pancakes!
More Pancake Recipes
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Best Pancake Recipe
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Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter , plus more for the griddle
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 2 large eggs , whisked
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For serving: Syrup, Fresh berries
Instructions
- Preheat a griddle to 325°F, or a skillet over medium-high heat. Melt the butter in the microwave and set aside to cool for 3 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, melted butter, eggs and vanilla. Start whisking from the center and then incorporate the flour, just until most the lumps are gone and the batter is smooth. If the batter is too thick, add another splash of milk. If it's too thin add 1 Tablespoon flour.
- Coat the griddle (or skillet) with a spray oil and then butter. Pour 1/4 cup batter into individual circles. Cook 2 minutes, or until bubbles appear. Flip and cook 1 minute, or just until golden.
- Serve immediately or place on a baking sheet in the oven at 175°F to keep warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: 30 Minute Meals, American, Breakfast, Christmas, Freezer-Friendly, Kid-Friendly, Nut-Free, Stovetop, Sweet Breakfast
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is also the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook. Here you will find easy family-friendly recipes for every occasion.
I tried blueberries with this recipe and the kids loved them. I love how versatile this recipe is. Whether with simple butter and syrup or with cream, still delicious.
Blueberries sound delicious Lily! I’m so glad you and your family loved the pancakes :) Thanks for the review!
Turned out so nice and fluffy! So much yummier than the boxed kind.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the pancakes Abby :)
Just perfect. Finally found an easy pancake that the whole family loved!
I’m so glad you and your family enjoy the pancakes Rae :)