If you are looking for the best pancake recipe to make from scratch, you’ve found it! A simple combination of ingredients you likely have on hand (flour, milk, eggs, baking powder) makes these easy pancakes the perfect breakfast!
Fluffy, flavorful and delicious.
Tips for Perfection
- HEAT Cook over medium heat. It takes longer but the results are better (a non-stick skillet works best).
- OIL Oil the pan and allow it to heat up. Before making the frist batch, give it a gentle wipe with paper towels to remove any big blobs of oil. This will give you perfectly browned pancakes.
- BATTER The batter should be slightly lumpy (image below) and should pour easily but should not be runny.
- If it’s too thick add milk a tablespoon or two at a time.
- If it’s too runny or you’ve accidentally added too much liquid, you can add a bit of flour to get the right consistency.
- FLIP Flip the pancakes with a spatula once bubbles begin to form and the bubbles near the edges start to pop.
- MIX-INS Add your mix ins on top of the pancakes once you’ve poured the batter into the skillet instead of stirring them into the batter. This keeps mixins from burning onto the pan.
How to Make Pancakes (from scratch)
BATTER
You’ll love how simple it is to whip these up. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!
- Mix dry ingredients together with a whisk (this adds air to the flour, almost like sifting it).
- Whisk wet ingredients together thoroughly with the melted butter.
- Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour wet ingredient mixture in. Mix, but not too much, your batter should be a bit lumpy!
HOW TO COOK PANCAKES
Test an electric griddle or pan for temperature. Spill a droplet of water onto the surface and if it sizzles, it’s ready but don’t make it too hot or the pancakes will burn before they’re cooked in the middle!
- Pour 1/4 cup of batter into pan.
- Wait until bubbles form in the middle and they just begin to pop along the edges. The edges should be a little bit browned.
- Flip and cook the other side.
You can do a few at a time or more, depending on how big your cooking surface is. Transfer pancakes to a warm (200°F) oven. Just have an open casserole dish waiting in the oven to receive the freshly cooked flapjacks! That way they stay nice and hot, and you can serve them all at once at the table along with other fixings.
Make Ahead/How to Reheat Pancakes
I often keep a batch of homemade pancake mix in my cupboard to make pancakes easy but on weekdays we like to have them ready to go so all they need is warming.
Much like crepes, pancakes can be refrigerated for up to 5 days and kept in the freezer for 2 months. Just seal them in a freezer bag or an airtight container for storage (with a piece of parchment in between).
To Reheat Pancakes
Toaster: Pop homemade pancakes straight into the toaster. And it makes them a tiny bit crisp which is delicious.
Microwave: The microwave works too, just heat about 20-30 seconds for 1 serving.
Easy Breakfast Recipes
- Make Ahead Egg Muffins
- Overnight Oats
- Breakfast Burritos (Freezer Friendly)
- Blueberry Bran Muffins
- Quick and Easy French Toast
Perfectly Fluffy Pancakes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar or to taste
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ cups milk or as needed
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Whisk milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk.
- Create a well in the middle and add wet ingredients. Stir just until combined, batter should look slightly lumpy. It should be slightly thick but should still be able to pour fairly smoothly. You may need to add a bit more milk.
- Preheat a griddle or frying pan over medium heat (or to 350°F). Lightly grease with butter or olive oil.
- Pour ¼ cup batter for each pancake and cook on one side until bubbles form and begin to pop, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side about 1-2 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Favorite Pancake Toppings
My kids’ absolute favorite thing to do to pancakes, is to spread them with seedless raspberry jam, then drizzle warmed up heavy cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon over them. Trust me when I say this is actually a delicious combination! Other favorite toppings include:
- Butter and real maple syrup, of course!
- Whipped cream and honey… delicious on crepes, too!
- Sliced strawberries… or blackberries, raspberries, blueberries…or all four!!
- Sprinkles, like these fun birthday cake pancakes!
- Various kinds of jam with clotted cream!
- Nutella… this is basically like having dessert for breakfast!
- Cinnamon with a homemade cream cheese topping.
These were very good pancakes! Very easy to make. I only used 2 tsp of baking powder and they turned out very fluffy. I will save this recipe to use again. Thx!
These are absolutely delicious and so fluffy, too! My boyfriend and his son said they were excellent. (And trust me…they’re picky!!!)
A so amazing pancakes! If I didn’t mess them up I forgot the salt I knew there was something missing but they cooked perfectly and I’m not good at making pancakes but these were so easy and looked delicious….maybe next time I’ll read all the directions twice…hahah
Best pancake ever. I will make from now on. Box recipe was good but from scratch they don’t compare. The most mouth watering, fluffy, delicious pancakes in the world. Did I say the were delicious!!! Try them , you’ll love them. ❤
Thanks, Theresa! So happy you enjoyed them!
There is no reason to try any other recipes. If someone doesn’t like these, take your keto, gluten free, protein infused pancake loving butt out of here.
Made it yesterday for breakfast. Everyone really liked them. I thought they were very light tasting. Loved them.
Very good recipe! Very fluffy and I love the fact it takes only 2 tablespoos. of sugar. I can not eat too sweet pancakes.
Why so much baking powder!!?? The pancakes had a bitter after taste and my tongue was burning for some reason…
Sorry to hear that Debra! This recipe usually has such great results. Did you use 4 teaspoons of baking powder?
These delightful fluffy pancakes are quickly becoming a favourite at my house. I’ve made it several times now and cook them in a waffle maker. I add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the recipe. My granddaughters love it!
That is great, Peter! So happy to hear that.
Can you pre make this mix and leave it in the fridge. If so how long?
Hi Devin, to prep ahead we love making this pancake mix, then you just need to add the liquid portion when ready to make pancakes!
I made this recipe today for lunch with my 2 toddlers, I felt like 4 tsp.baking powder was a lot so I only used 2 tsp. The recipe still turned out really good and my boys loved it. Thank you!
No buttermilk?
You can find our buttermilk pancakes here.
Thank you for the heartfelt story that preempted the recipe, it made me want to try the recipe even more. Just so you know, they came out perfectly fluffy. I’ve never made pancakes from scratch before and these were super simple. My husband isn’t really a pancake fan but he loved them and said they came out great! I am definitely using this as my go-to recipe for pancakes from now on, except I might have to double it from time to time. Thank you!
So happy you all enjoyed these pancakes, Imsen!
It was only me eating these so i cut the recipe in half and these were the perfect texture and taste to me!!! i added some frozen blueberries to a few of them and they were super good!!! This is definitely my new go to pancake recipe!!!!!
Can you use this recipe for waffles too? I love all your recipes! You are my go-to for delicious meals. Thank you!
Hi Linda, the batter is a different consistency, so for best results, we recommend following our easy waffle recipe!
Made these for brunch and they cooked up so good.
These pancakes were so quick to make and fluffy and tasted great! My go to recipe calls for separating eggs and beating egg whites and folding them back in, it takes forever but they tasted amazing. This recipe will most likely replace that one as it is so quick to put together and they are fluffy. My son noticed when I tried to make box pancake mix and did not like it. I did switch out for buttermilk and ended up adding more regular milk after I made a tester pancake as it tasted fine but the batter was a little thick. I don’t get the bad reviews about dry or hard. I think the recipe instructions should mention to not overmix as overmixing leads to harder pancakes. And I’m wondering if people used all baking soda vs. 4 tsp of baking powder. Either way these worked for me and are now saved on Pinterest. Thank you!
You’re welcome Wyndy! Thank you for sharing!
literally the best pancake recipe I’ve ever tried. I’m glad I did because they were amazing and the whole family loved it! I can’t believe how good these are.
I just made these and these are the fluffiest pancakes I’ve ever made! So good and light, I will definitely keep using this recipe!
I’ve tried several make from scratch pancakes and this is where the search ends. They are tasty and fluffy. The flavor is perfect for traditional fluffy and the extra crispy edge pancakes. We have lovers of both styles in our house. Chocolate chip, strawberry and blueberry are favorite additions to the pancake mix in our home.
I have made these several times before posting this comment. Thank you for sharing your passion.
You’re welcome Staci ❤️ So happy to hear that you love these pancakes so much!