Easy Homemade Pancakes

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Few things are better than waking up to a stack of perfectly golden, easy homemade pancakes. Today, we are cooking up a batch of buttery basic pancakes from scratch that are an absolute delight. With a fluffy texture and perfectly balanced light flavors, this easy pancake recipe will surely be your new go-to whenever you and your family are craving pancakes for breakfast!

Jump to Recipe

It’s no secret that pancakes are a breakfast staple in many households. When I think of pancakes, I think of love on a plate. They are inexpensive, easy to make, and all the ingredients needed for the recipe are usually already available in your pantry. When I was developing this pancake recipe, my focus was to use minimal ingredients that delivered the most flavor. Now, whipping up a stack of fluffy, golden-brown homemade pancakes is easier than ever.

Equipment Needed:

Gather the following items and place them on the counter to ensure you have all you need to make cooking up a batch of pancakes a breeze:

• Measuring Cups & Measuring Spoons: These will be used to measure out the exact amount of ingredients needed for this recipe.
• Mixing Bowls: A large mixing bowl will be needed for the dry ingredients and a smaller mixing bowl will be needed for the wet ingredients.
• Wire Whisk, Wooden Spoon & Plastic Spatula: Have a whisk and wooden spoon handy to mix all the ingredients together. A spatula will be used to flip the pancakes.
• Cooking Pan or Skillet: The size of the cooking pan is up to you. You can use a small cooking pan to make one pancake at a time that are perfectly round, our you can use a larger pan to cook multiple pancakes at once. If you are cooking up a large batch of pancakes, using a skillet is a great option, so you can cook around six pancakes at once.

Pancake Ingredients:

Now on to the ingredients for delicious, simple pancakes:

• All-Purpose Flour: For best results, ensure that the flour you are using is less than six months old. Use a sifter when adding the flour to the bowl to avoid any clumps.
• Sugar: When making pancakes, I usually use white granular sugar since I always have it on hand. Feel-free to use your favorite sweetener or sugar-replacement instead.
• Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Similar to the flour, make sure your baking powder and baking soda have not expired. These two ingredients are leveling agents that will allow the pancakes to reach that wonderful fluffy texture that we are after.
• Salt: Use a fine salt such as table salt, fine sea salt or fine kosher salt.
• Whole Milk & Lemon or Buttermilk: I don’t normally have buttermilk on hand. Instead, I add a bit of lemon juice to whole milk to mimic the taste of buttermilk. This will help balance out the sweeter flavors in pancakes. If you have buttermilk on hand, use it instead of whole milk.
• Egg: Allow the egg to come to room temperature by sitting out on the counter for about 30 minutes prior to using. An egg at room temperature will mix easier with the other ingredients.
• Light Oil: My light oil of choice is light olive oil. When purchasing olive oil to cook with, ensure that it says it is for frying and baking on the bottle, like shown in the image above. Light olive oil has a higher smoke point than virgin olive oils and is safe to use for cooking. If you do not have a light oil on hand, you can replace it with melted butter.
• Unsalted Butter: A pad of butter will be placed into the pan prior to cooking the pancakes. This will add a yummy buttery flavor to the pancakes and help prevent them from burning.

How To Make Easy Pancakes From Scratch:

Alright, it’s time to get cooking! Follow the steps below to quickly whip up a batch of easy homemade pancakes.

• If you don’t have buttermilk, start by adding warm whole milk and lemon juice to a glass, and set it aside for a few minutes. The lemon juice will make the milk start to curdle, As shown in the photo below. This is what we want to develop a tangy flavor.

• Next, mix all the dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt) into a large mixing bowl. Lightly mix all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon to ensure there are no pockets of one single ingredient.
• In a smaller mixing bowl, add the wet ingredients (egg, milk and light oil) and lightly beat the mixture with a wire whisk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
• Lightly mix all the ingredients together with a wire whisk until there is no longer dry flour in the mixing bowl. Do not over mix to keep the pancakes as airy as possible. It is okay if there are clumps in the batter.
• Place a pan on the stove top and heat on medium-low heat. Add a pad of butter to the pan and allow it to melt and cover the pan’s surface. Once the butter has melted, pour a 1/4 cup of pancake mix onto the pan for each pancake. Once the pancakes start to bubble like shown in the photo below, it is time to flip the pancakes over and allow to cook for another minute or two.
• Remove the cooked pancakes from the pan and place it on a plate off to the side. Repeat until all the pancake batter is used up.

How To Store & Reheat Pancakes

Pancakes are a great food prep item. A big batch of pancakes can be made over the weekend and enjoyed throughout the week.

• Refrigerate Pancakes: Store any leftover pancakes that you want to eat over the next few days in an airtight container or storage bag and place in the refrigerator. Pancakes will last in the refrigerator for up to five days. To reheat, simply place pancakes on a microwave safe plate and heat for around a minute.
• Freezing Pancakes: Allow the pancakes to completely cool. Layer the pancakes in a freezer proof container or bag between sheets of waxed paper or parchment paper. The paper will ensure the pancakes do not stick together. The pancakes will last in the freezer for up to three months. To reheat, treat them like you would a frozen waffle. You can reheat them in a toaster oven, standard toaster or in the microwave.

Easy Pancake Variations:

Additional ingredients can easily be added to this pancake recipe to add additional textures and flavors.

• Chocolate Chip Pancakes: You can’t go wrong classic chocolate chip pancakes! After you pour the pancake batter on to the pan. Sprinkle some chocolate chips on the top of the pancake. Flip to complete cooking and serve as you normally would.
• Dairy-Free Pancakes: Replace the whole milk with any dairy free milk, such as almond milk or oat milk.
• Spiced Pancakes: Add cinnamon, nutmeg or vanilla to the pancake batter to enhance the flavor as desired.

Tips For Making The Best Pancakes:

Below are some tips to making the best pancakes in town.

• Fluffy Pancakes: Reduce the amount of milk from 1 cup to 3/4 cup to make fluffier pancakes. To ensure the pancakes rise as much as possible, aim to use fresh ingredients.
• Perfectly Round Pancakes: If you are aiming for picture perfect pancakes, cook the pancakes one at a time in a small pan that is 8 inches or smaller.

Pancake Toppings:

No stack of pancakes is complete without some tasty toppings. Add a pad of butter to warm pancakes and top with maple syrup, whip cream, fresh fruits or nuts. You can also replace the syrup with a fruit compote.

• Blueberry Compote
• Strawberry Compote

Did you enjoy this easy homemade pancake recipe? Your feedback in the comments takes just a minute to contribute and helps other brunch lovers find their next favorite recipe! Thank you for your time in trying out a new recipe and sharing your thoughts. For more, visit the recipes tab.