Everyone raves about these deliciously fluffy pancakes! Made with simple staple ingredients, they turn out light and golden. Perfect for topping with butter, syrup, or fresh fruit.

adding syrup of a stack of pancakes

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Why You’ll Love This Homemade Pancake Recipe

  • They’re light, fluffy, and super yummy.
  • This recipe uses staple ingredients you likely have on hand. 
  • Homemade pancakes are easy to make and don’t require much more effort than boxed mixes.
  • You can double or triple the batch and freeze them for quick weekday breakfasts.
adding ingredients together to make Pancake Recipe

Ingredient Tips

  • All-Purpose Flour: You can substitute ½ cup of all-purpose flour for ½ cup of whole wheat flour, or experiment with using gluten-free flour.
  • Milk: Any kind of milk can be used, including non-dairy milk like almond milk.
  • Melted Butter: A bit of fat adds flavor and helps with browning. Replace butter with vegetable oil, melted coconut oil, or margarine if that’s what you have.
  • Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract is best, but you can also use artificial vanilla, a pinch of cinnamon, or even coconut extract instead for a different flavor.

Tasty Toppings

  • There’s nothing that compares with real syrup and real butter on homemade fluffy pancakes!
  • Fresh fruit like sliced strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries are wonderful on pancakes… or try all four with fresh whipped cream.
  • Peanut butter, Nutella, jam, or homemade strawberry sauce are also delicious toppings.

How to Make Pancakes

You’ll love how simple it is to make this homemade pancake recipe!

  1. Whisk the dry ingredients (full recipe below). In another bowl, whisk wet ingredients.
  2. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir just until combined; the batter should be a bit lumpy.
  3. Cook on a griddle or skillet until golden and serve with butter and maple syrup.

To make ahead, mix dry ingredients ahead and store in a jar. Just add wet ingredients and mix!

Keep Batches Warm

Double or triple this recipe to feed a crowd! Preheat a casserole dish or baking pan to 200°F in the oven. Once the pancakes are cooked, transfer them to the dish to keep warm while you cook the remaining batches.

Pancake Recipe with butter

Pro Tips for Perfect Pancakes

  • Don’t Overmix: The batter should be slightly lumpy and pour easily. If it’s too thick, add a splash of milk. If it’s too runny, add a bit of flour to get the right consistency.
  • Medium Heat: Cook over medium heat. It takes longer, but the results are better (a non-stick frying pan works best).
  • Additions: For add-ins like blueberries, sliced bananas, or chocolate chips, add them to the pancakes in the skillet instead of stirring them into the batter. This will keep them from burning in the pan.

Storing & Reheating

Storing: Cooked pancakes can be refrigerated for up to 5 days and kept in the freezer for 2 months. Seal them in a freezer bag or an airtight container for storage (with a piece of parchment in between).

Toaster: Place homemade pancakes straight into the toaster and toast until slightly crisp and heated through.

Microwave: For softer pancakes, reheat them in the microwave. Cooking times can vary, but try for about 20 to 30 seconds per serving.

More Favorite Breakfast Recipes

Did your family love these Homemade Pancakes? Leave a rating and comment below.

image of Everyday Comfort cookbook by Holly Nilsson of Spend With Pennies plus text
plated Fluffy Pancakes with syrup
4.91 from 663 votes

Pancake Recipe

Servings 12
Homemade pancakes are soft, fluffy, and lightly sweet, making them perfect for topping with syrup, fruit, or butter.
Servings 12
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Email this recipe!
Enter your email and we’ll send it directly to you, plus get even more tips & recipes!

Ingredients  

Dry Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar or to taste
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

  • cups milk or as needed
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions 

  • Preheat a griddle or frying pan over medium heat (or to 350°F). Lightly grease with butter or vegetable oil.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.
  • In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
  • Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet mixture. Gently stir the batter until just combined, the batter should be slightly lumpy.
  • Pour about ¼ cup of batter onto the heated griddle for each pancake. Cook on one side until bubbles form and begin to pop, about 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes over and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until both sides are golden brown.
  • Transfer the cooked pancakes to a serving plate or a warmed oven and repeat with the remaining batter.

Video

Notes

If you prefer a sweeter pancake, add a little bit more sugar.
To Make Large Batches: If making large batches, preheat the oven to 175-200°F and keep a baking sheet in the oven. Keep pancakes warm on the baking sheet.
To Make Whole-Wheat Pancakes: Substitute ½ cup of white flour for whole-wheat flour.
To Make Ahead: Cook and cool pancakes. Separate pancakes with a layer of parchment paper and place in a freezer bag. Reheat in the microwave, toaster, or oven
 
4.91 from 663 votes

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1pancake | Calories: 129 | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 136mg | Potassium: 224mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 171IU | Calcium: 110mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
adding syrup to Pancake Recipe with a title
light and fluffy Pancake Recipe with writing
warm and buttery Pancake Recipe with writing
Pancake Recipe on a plate and photo of a stack of pancakes with butter and syrup and a title

Categories:

,

Recipes You’ll Love

About the author

Holly Nilsson is the creator of Spend With Pennies, where she creates easy, comforting recipes made for real life. She is also the author of “Everyday Comfort,” which promises to inspire even more hearty, home-cooked meals.
See more posts by Holly

Free eBook!

Subscribe to receive weekly recipes and get a FREE Bonus e-book: Quick & Easy Weeknight Meals!

You can unsubscribe anytime by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of emails you receive.

4.91 from 663 votes (447 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. I made these once and they were the best pancakes I’ve made! So light and fluffy! But I have some leftover buttermilk I wanna use, can I use that this time around instead of regular milk?5 stars

  2. I love this recipe for pancakes come out so light and fluffy and there’s so many other things you can do with it. This is now my go to pancake mix so thank you very much, I’ve made them quite a few times. I freeze the leftovers and I eat them during the week and it’s perfect so they freeze really good too5 stars

  3. Fluffy and delicious! Thank you! My hubby even said he likes them better than from any breakfast restaurants!5 stars

  4. These pancakes were a 5 for fluffiness but were lacking flavor. I followed the recipe exactly too. My husband and I were nonplussed.3 stars

  5. first time making these and I’ll tell you true….it won’t be the last. So simple & so delicious.
    I always struggle to get FLUFFY pancakes but these turned out great! (I’d have shared a photo but I didn’t know how)5 stars

  6. I followed the recipe exactly and my cakes are liquid. Not even pancakes. What did I do wrong?

    1. I am sorry to hear that Zae! I just remade this recipe and the batter turns out fluffy and delicious. If it is too liquidy it might need a bit more flour to help thicken it and make sure not to over mix. Make sure when measuring flour that you follow this easy guide to ensure the correct amount of flour is used!

  7. I added more milk than suggested and still this turned out to be more like bread dough than pancake batter…?

  8. Made these today, as written except had to sub oat milk for cow’s milk because we were out. Teenager noticed a different taste, but still liked them and ate a mountain of them.

    Easy to make, no fancy ingredients or techniques. Came out fluffy and delicious. Teenager and I devoured them. In the past, I’ve also increased this recipe by 50%, also worked perfectly.

    Thanks for a great and versatile recipe!

  9. My oldest requested fluffy pancake for dinner last night and these were perfect! They turned out so fluffy and delicious that he also enjoyed them for breakfast again today! SWP Employee5 stars

  10. my go to has been Betty Crockers recipe for years now, but they just were not very fluffy, so I tried yours. I was skeptical because the ingredients were almost the same, but they turned out just wonderful!

  11. These were really good, easy to make and made with staples most everyone has in their kitchen. I will add a little more sugar next time, as I wish they were sweeter.4 stars

  12. This is my go to pancake recipe! They always turn out so fluffy and delicious. I recommend letting the batter sit for a little bit — I found that it makes the pancakes fluffier. I tend to add a bit more vanilla and sugar since I don’t put syrup on my pancakes.5 stars