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.
I need nutritional information! Special needs household.
Hi Debbie, you can find the nutritional information at the bottom of the recipe. Enjoy!
Too much baking powder. I thought that but didn’t realize till my husband mentioned they tasted terrible. Why so much?
Made this for my family this morning….. OMG I AM NEVER EVER EVER buying the complete pancake mix again. These are INSANE!! I am not a breakfast eater, but my husband couldn’t finish his (no one was more surprised than I was lol) so I managed to snag some and I am so glad he didn’t finish!
I will never buy pancake mix again. so delicious.
These were so fluffy and delicious. Easy to follow recipe. Couldn’t stop eating them.
Very yummy, fluffy pancakes! I love your recipes! Thank you! ❤️
These are definitely my favorite pancakes! I’ve made them so much that I memorized the recipe!
How would you alter the recipe using gluten free flower? I tried once, but it was super runny. I know GF flower is totally different, so just curious if you have any pointers there.
I am so happy to hear you love this pancake recipe so much! I haven’t tried it gluten-free so I can’t say for sure Haileigh, but maybe another reader has some insights!
Made half of recipe and they were great
Made these this morning with mashed bananas. They were fantastic!
Super fluffy and soft! These had a mild eggy taste which we liked. Wrap a piece of bacon and your in heaven. Can I freeze left over batter?
Looking forward to the holiday recipes!
So glad you enjoyed these! I haven’t tried freezing the leftover batter so I can’t say for sure. If you do have extra batter, you can cook the pancakes and freeze the leftover pancakes.
This were easy and tasted GREAT!
This is similar to the recipe l’ve been using over 40 yrs, buttermilk gives cakes a tangy taste. l also add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda & cream of tartar & cut baking powder down to 2 & 1/2 teaspoons.
can these be made into waffles?
Hi Linda, the batter is a different consistency, so for best results, we recommend following our easy waffle recipe.
Batter was runny, wouldnt fluff up and had no taste. Very disapointed!
These were outstanding. Definitely will make these again. Full of flavor and fully OMG so fluffy. I ate one without any of the fixings so good.
Loved the waffle recipe and was very optimistic with this as I put it together. However, I couldn’t get the pancakes to bubble. They aren’t flat so not sure why it didn’t bubble. All leavening agents are not expired.
These were delicious and fluffy! I’ll be officially making these my Saturday morning pancake recipe.
They worked rlly well and taste great
Excellent!! I used buttermilk and put them in the waffle maker!
Delicious! Light & fluffy.
They really worked and they were really fluffy and light