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For delicious homemade pancakes, this easy pancake recipe is the perfect base for your favorite toppings and variations!
If you love pancakes, you’ll also love our Buttermilk Pancakes and Fluffy Pancakes – made better when topped with Whipped Cream and Buttermilk Syrup!
The Best Homemade Pancakes!
I think it’s safe to say that most people LOVE pancakes for breakfast.They’re easy and delicious slathered in butter and syrup (especially if it’s Buttermilk Syrup)!
Why is this recipe the best?
- Simple! Made with pantry and kitchen staples, these can be made any time.
- Quick – made in minutes! What’s not to love about that?
- Easy to Change Up – adding ingredients and mix-ins is great. This is the perfect BASE recipe for all of those variations.
- Better than Store Bought. Many pancake recipes rely on store-bought pancake mixes, but this recipe is even more delicious and the perfect starting recipe for all other pancake recipes.
Below are also several ideas to change up the pancake mix to make it even better with the flavors you love most!
How to Make Pancakes from Scratch
This quick pancake recipe is so simple to make!
DRY INGREDIENTS. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. That’s your pancake mix!
WET INGREDIENTS. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in the milk, egg, and melted butter. Whisk until combined.
For fluffy pancakes, let the batter rest for 15 minutes after mixing.
COOK THE PANCAKES. Lightly oil a griddle or frying pan and heat to medium-high (about 375°F). Pour about ¼ cup of batter onto the griddle for each pancake.
Cook until bubbles appear and the underside is lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook for 2 minutes more until browned on the second side.
ENJOY! Serve hot with your favorite toppings.
Pancake Toppings
This best pancake recipe is perfect with any toppings, but here are some of our favorites.
- fresh fruit
- syrup, Buttermilk Syrup, or Cinnamon Buttermilk Syrup
- butter
- Whipped Cream
- peanut butter
The options are endless – be sure to keep scrolling to see how to change up this simple pancake recipe for even more flavor.
Recipe Tips
This pancakes recipe uses simple ingredients!
- Use fresh ingredients, particularly baking powder. An open package of baking powder should be less than 6 months old for it to work the best.
- Do not overmix. Don’t try to get out all the lumps. Overmixing will cause the pancake batter to become gummy and tough.
- Room-temperature eggs and milk mix much easier into the other ingredients and prevent overmixing the batter.
Cooking tips.
- Leave enough room on the skillet between each pancake to easily flip.
- Flip once and don’t press on the pancakes with the spatula. It doesn’t make them cook any faster and only serves to flatten them.
- Make 1-2 test pancakes to ensure the temperature of the griddle is just right.
Substitutions. The recipe is best when made as written, however, some substitutions may be made to produce a similar pancake:
- Dairy-free: use almond milk, oat milk, or soy milk and melted margarine.
- The egg can be replaced with applesauce or a store-bought egg replacement.
- Replace the milk with Buttermilk which you can easily make by combining milk and vinegar.
- Use whole wheat flour in place of all-purpose white flour. You may need to also add a bit more milk.
- Replace the white sugar with a cinnamon sugar mixture.
Storing Info
MAKE AHEAD OF TIME. Pancakes are best made right before serving. If making a large amount, keep them warm by placing them on a baking sheet in a 200°F oven until ready to serve. Avoid stacking them so the heat and steam from the newer pancakes can cause the ones on the bottom to get soggy. Do not cover them with foil for the same reason.
FREEZE. We have a blog post ALL about freezing pancakes. Be sure to check it out for all our tips.
STORE. Separate pancakes with parchment paper and place them in a Ziploc bag.
Pancake Base Variations
Pancakes with syrup on their own are delicious, but it’s fun to change them up too! Below are several ideas to modify this quick pancake recipe to create an entirely new pancake that is also delicious and perfect for the season or holiday.
Be sure to let us know your favorite way to change up classic pancakes!
Here are some other classics we like to use as bases for our pancakes:
Sweet + Fruity Pancakes
Here are some easy ways to make the pancakes sweet!
- Banana Pancakes: add banana slices to partially cooked pancakes.
- Apple Pancakes: add ⅓ cup applesauce and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter OR use 1 grated Granny Smith apple and a teaspoon of cinnamon.
- Chocolate Chip Pancakes: add chocolate chips – kids go nuts over these!
- Blueberry Pancakes: add blueberries and even make blueberry syrup for blueberry lovers!
- Lemon Blueberry Pancakes: mix in lemon zest, lemon juice, and blueberries.
- Peach Pancakes: chop up drained peach halves into small pieces and gently fold them into the batter.
- Island Pancakes: add ⅓ cup of crushed pineapple (drained), and 3 tablespoons of shredded coconut.
- Brownie Batter Pancakes: incorporate ¼ cup brownie mix and ½ cup chocolate chips.
Seasonal + Festive Pancakes
We love to switch things up for the holidays and for special occasions:
- Pumpkin Pancakes: add ⅓ cup of pumpkin puree and ½ teaspoon of pumpkin spice to the batter.
- Bacon Pancakes: add chopped bacon pieces to the batter before cooking.
- Funfetti Pancakes: use Funfetti cake mix and a ⅓ cup of rainbow sprinkles.
- Snowman Pancakes: decorate with bacon and chocolate chips for fun all winter long.
- Christmas Pancakes: a Christmas breakfast favorite!
- Gingerbread Pancakes: add in ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and molasses.
- Eggnog Pancakes: use eggnog instead of milk.
- Hot Cocoa Pancakes: 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder added to the batter.
- Carrot Cake Pancakes: use 1 cup of shredded carrots, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon of allspice, and ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg.
- Maple Nut Pancakes: Add ⅓ chopped walnuts and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup to the batter.
Recipe FAQ
Instead of purchasing a package of pancake mix you can double, triple, or even quadruple the dry ingredients in the recipe (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar). Sift it together and store it in the pantry to use later. When you are ready measure out 1¾ cup of the dry mix and combine it with the wet ingredient listed in the recipe (milk, egg, butter, vanilla).
The top common mistakes when making pancakes include overmixing the batter, not letting the batter rest, not using the correct griddle temperature, and flipping them too soon or too often.
Flip the pancakes when the edges of the pancake should start to set, bubbles will appear evenly in the batter, and the underside will be a golden brown. Do not press on the pancakes and try not to flip more than once.
For More Sweet & Fruity Pancakes:
- Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
- Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes
- Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes
- Strawberry Pancakes
- White Chocolate Berry Pancakes
- Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Pancake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1¼ cups milk
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Toppings: fruit, whipped cream, buttermilk syrup
Instructions
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in the milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla and mix until smooth.
- Lightly oil a griddle or frying pan and heat to medium-high (about 375 degrees F).
- Pour about ¼ cup of batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook until browned (about 3 minutes), then flip and cook for 2 minutes more until browned on both sides. Serve hot with your favorite toppings.
Video
Notes
- Don’t overmix, some lumps in the batter is ok.
- Room-temperature eggs and milk mix much easier into the other ingredients and prevent overmixing the batter.
- Let the batter rest for 15 minutes after mixing to help create fluffier pancakes.
- Make 1-2 test pancakes to ensure the temperature of the griddle is just right.
- Flip once and don’t press on the pancakes with the spatula.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do I thaw pancakes before reheating in oven?
After reheating pancakes from frozen, can I refreeze them?
Here are our tips for freezing pancakes & reheating…https://lilluna.com/how-to-freeze-pancakes/. Hope that helps!
Hi, sorry but, I don’t see the amount of the ingredients. If you could please let me know where I could find them I would greatly appreciate that. Thanks
Of course! If you click on “jump to recipe” at the top of the page, it will take you right to the recipe card. Hope that helps!
Most pancake recipes use similar ingredients so you may think why try this one. Well I have tried several different recipes but this is the absolute best! It makes the fluffiest and most delicious pancakes ever while being so easy to make! No need to search any more!
Mine are runny and flat 😭
Can we substitute gluten free flour and if so, what would be the measurements.?
Best recipe I’ve ever tried. The fluffiness is amazing ❤
These weren’t the best pancakes I’ve ever had, but were super easy to make and fluffy. I appreciate the simplicity of the ingredients!
Medium heat is tearable
This recipe is a keeper. I’ve tried this with King Arthur’s gluten free measure for measure flour as well and it is just as tasty. Thank you Kristyn!
You’re welcome! Thanks for sharing about the gluten free flour. So glad the pancakes are a hit!
Thanks for your excellent recipe. It would be nice to also have a metric conversion option.
Glad you enjoyed the pancakes. And thank you for that feedback!!
Question – Is a serving ONE pancake? Using the recipe for a large group, thanks.
Delicious and easy recipe
Super easy and delicious! I never made homemade pancakes before, but after running out of the store bought stuff, I decided to give it a try. After trying these, I’m never buying store bought again! Also a bonus that’s it’s a fun process that my toddler can help in too. Followed the exact recipe and let the batter since for the full 15 minutes as mentioned in the notes. Highly recommend this recipe. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Delicious! These turned out great and I’m 50/50 on pancakes lol. Either they’re great or they’re awful. I used oat milk and added chocolate chips as well and my family ate them right up.
Thank you for a great recipe! Simple & quick. I actually made the night before so the school morning was easier. Makes a whole bunch of silver dollar pancakes. Yummy & the rest are in the freezer for another day.
Followed step by step and it literally turned into a giant clump of mashed flower.
Sorry to hear that. Next time you can definitely adjust the amount of milk if you need it to be a little less thick. Thanks for giving the recipe a try!
I love all the pancakes
I’m gonna try to bake it!!!!!!!!😇😙😙😙😙😙
Hope you enjoy!!
This is my new favorite pancake recipe!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed the pancakes!
I think these pancakes are delicious and easy to make so I love you so much ”lil’ lunas”.
Very very fluffy
Mine turned out to be an inch thick
The best fluffy pancakes ever!!!😋well worth it
Yay!! Happy you think so! Thank you!
Hi Kristyn! Thank you so much for this delicious recipe! I enjoy making most things from scratch and I’ve tried several different pancake recipes and NONE of them worked! This one is PERFECT! I want to make a big batch of the dry ingredients and store them in an airtight container so I have it ready to go. How much of the dry ingredients do I use once it’s all mixed (like a store bought mix?) Thanks again for the recipe and thank you for your help.
This is THE most delicious homemade pancake recipe I’ve tried!!!
Wonderful thank you
Fluffy and delicious, these were a hit. I added a little nutmeg. We’ll be using this recipe again!
Perfect pancakes! i sub oat milk and add chocolate chips and its incredible!
These Pancakes are some of the best easy-bake pancakes I have ever made! The most delicious, but simple pancake recipe, as well as so so delicious! I have to wake up pretty early, and I don’t want everyone to have to eat cereal, so I make this easy 15 minute recipe, and only take 10 – 15 minutes to cook all of them. I have made these so many times, and trust me, even if you don’t measure exact, the recipe will still work. Amazing recipes, and I would eat them all day if I could! They are so good, and I definetly reccomend these to all people and ages to try out! (If you have grandkids this would be a fun simple recipe you could do together)
These Pancakes are some of the best easy-bake pancakes I have ever made! The most delicious, but simple pancake recipe, as well as so so delicious! I have to wake up pretty early, and I don’t want everyone to have to eat cereal, so I make this easy 15 minute recipe, and only take 10 – 15 minutes to cook all of them. I have made these so many times, and trust me, even if you don’t measure exact, the recipe will still work. Amazing recipes, and I would eat them all day if I could!
This website sucks. You cannot even get to the recipe and instructions without it auto scrolling back to the top. Too many ads , very difficult for the mobile User to navigate the page. Need to upgrade your host. Sorry
I am just confused, were does it say how much to put in?
So delicious and I am a kid who made the pancakes by myself
Easy, one bowl, nothing fancy, and they came out perfect!
Needed more milk than put in recipe
it was way too thick until I added more milk
Making them right now. I added peanut butter to mine!! Let see how they come out!! Thank you for the recipe!!
My grans and I had these for breakfast topped with little organic maple syrup, organic fresh blueberries and Reddi whipped real cream. Used all organic ingredients. Was absolutely delicious! My grans said, “That was so yummy!”
a pity there is only quantities iwith cups, etc. in Europe we still use the scale
What is a serving size for the pancake recipe? I am a type 2 diabetic and need to know how many, if any, I can have. Love your recipes
It depends on the size of the pancake but for this particular recipe a serving size would be 3 (6-inch in diameter) pancakes.
@Karen, you can substitute the sugar in the recipe w monkfruit and the taste is the same. As far as the intake of sugar and requirements for diabetics I don’t know, but pancakes fall in the carbohydrate department which it will metabolize into sugar in your body and will be dependent on how large you make your pancakes. Hope you find your answer.😊
Definitely a keeper
Happy to hear that!! Thank you so much!!
I want to make pancakes today to eat tomorrow morning on a road trip. Just wondering how they might go cold?
Hi! I hope the pancakes were yummy! I honestly don’t mind them cold… but you can also heat them in a microwave or a toaster the next day.
Made my pancakes on a griddle, they came out as flat as a paper
Sorry to hear the pancakes were flat. That hasn’t ever happened to me with this recipe. Possibly could have been an issue with the baking powder? I’d double check that it isn’t too old so that those pancakes will rise! 🙂
Recipe doesn’t mention when to add vanilla. With the other wet ingredients?
Oh yes! You’ll add it with the egg, milk and melted butter.
I made these for my son and his friends yesterday. Teenager approved. They really liked them. Nice and fluffy and great flavor.
This is our go to family pancake recipe! Thanks!
Love these fluffy pancakes!!
Best pancakes I have ever had in my life !!!
Aw, thank you!! I’m so glad to hear you love them!
These pancakes came out GREAT!
Yay!! So glad they did! Thanks for sharing!
Is 1 1/2 cups of milk and 1 1/2 cups of flour correct? I had to add more than 1 1/2 cups flour because it was very liquidity.
Nevermind. It was my error. 🤦♀️ That’s what happens when 4 kiddos are distracting me.
Haha! No worries. I totally can relate to you there! 🙂
Yes, those measurements are correct, but you can certainly tweak a little to get to the desired consistency you prefer. 🙂
Soft and fluffy pancakes with this recipe, thank you!
You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed the pancake recipe!!
These are SO delicious and incredibly easy to make! Our new go-to recipe. Thank you!
You are welcome! I’m so happy you liked it and that you have a new go-to recipe. Thanks for trying it!
Does this recipe call for all purpose flour?
Also, can I substitute Gluten Free AP Flour?
Yes, all purpose flour. I have not tried them with Gluten Free flour, but I imagine you could substitute it out for pancakes and it would work just fine.
I can’t wait to try these! Can you please share your favorite griddle?
Yay! Hope you enjoy the pancakes. Yes, here are some favorites of mine: https://amzn.to/3e0Ktxn and https://amzn.to/3363jNj
How would this recipe change if I wanted to make waffles instead? Would I need to add anything or just use this recipe as directed?
You would want to increase the fat content to create that crispy outside and fluffy inside. I would add about 3 Tbsp of oil to this recipe to turn it into waffles. You could also give our waffle recipe a try. It’s very similar to this pancake recipe, just created specifically for waffles! https://lilluna.com/belgian-waffles/
I’m looking forward to trying some of the add-ins – it would be helpful if all of them had suggested amounts for the add-in ingredients
Thanks for the suggestion! Hope you enjoy the pancakes!
So easy and delicious! It has the perfect amount of salty sweet flavor. I used a 1/3c measuring cup and it made 9 pancakes! Definitely going in my recipe book!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it as much as we do! Definitely my go-to pancake recipe for sure! 🙂
(FYI-You listed vanilla in ingredients but forgot to add it in directions). I omitted the vanilla and also substituted almond milk. My husband is a very fussy connoisseur of pancakes, and he gave the pancakes 10 stars out of 5! Ty!
Oops, I will need to fix that. Thank you for letting me know! Please, tell him thank you!!
Wonderful, my whole family love it.
That makes me so happy! Thank you!
My favorite pancakes
I love these pancakes. So easy and always have ingredients and will never buy a box mix again. Yummy
Yay!! Happy to hear that! Thank you!
In your wet ingredients you don’t mention the vanilla
I will need to add it, but go ahead & add it with the other wet ingredients.
Delicious and easy!!!! Thank you!!!
You are so welcome! Thank you so much!
So… this recipe was a HUGE hit in my home. The taste was DIVINE!
My only caveat was the thickness of the batter. It was thicker than I prefer so next time I’ll use less baking power and a little more milk and water mixture.
Easy to make and fun too!
Thank you so much for sharing that! Glad it was a hit!
This was so simple and came out perfectly! I used almond cocunut milk since I don’t do dairy and it was still delicious. Thanks so much for sharing!
Great option!! Thank you for sharing that!
By far the easiest and tastiest pancake recipe i’ve found! my son is super picky and will actually eat these!
That’s why we love it! Glad he did! Thank you!
Great Pancakes
Thank you so much! Happy you liked them!
Thank you so much! I want to try this – but my family does not eat eggs. What would be a good substitute? Or is it going to make a big difference if i skip the egg? I’m not sure if the egg makes it more soft – but i am a fan of crispy food so if it was less soft than usual it wouldn’t be a huge deal for me :p
I haven’t tried leaving out the egg, but I would just google what a good substitute would be for eggs in pancakes. I know it makes them nice & fluffy 🙂
So simple and delicious!
So happy you think so 🙂 Thank you!
I made these earlier this week! So good – my kids all raved over them!
That makes me so happy! Thank you so much!
These pancakes are amazing! Some of the BEst I’ve EVEr had and THey are so easy to make. So glad I found your blog. I’m pregnant and Will be making These often 🙂
I am so glad you found it, too!! Thank you! I hope you find more recipes to try 🙂
I swear these were superb!!! I ate them without my Bacon because I had forgotten it was on my plate! I got finished and made more. This is a true blessing and I THANK GOD!
I’ll be trying more of your recipes!!
LOL…I love this! Thanks so much for sharing that with me 🙂 Hope you like other ones you try!
It was a great recipe! I added 1 sliced apple to mine and a cinnamon and sugar mixture and it was delicious! Thank you for the great recipe 🙂
You are so welcome! Sounds yum! Thank you for sharing that!
I have never been able to make pancakes. I’m a decent Cook, but my pancakes are always a disAster. These came out Perfect on The fIrst try. Thank you!!!!
Oh, that makes me so happy to hear!! Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
I will keep simple: my 10 year old ate 2 medium sized and asked for One more 🙂 ExCeLlent recIpe. Practical, Easy, and fast! Thumbs up
Awe, happy to hear! Glad you gave it 2 thumbs up! Thank you!!
THE INSTRUCTION ARe clear and the website is well made also the end result is great
Thanks so much!
Best PANCAKEs I’ve ever had!
I love hearing that! Thank you for letting me know!
I have a recipe i love but thought I’d try this one. I liked it even better. I felt like the pancakes cooked more evenly than my regular recipe. Thanks for sharing.
These were fluffy and delicious and the perfect breakfast!!! Can’t wait to make them again!
I love how easy and delicious these are! I can’t wait to try this recipe!
These are so easy and fluffy. My kids loved them.
These really are so easy & so fluffy!! I try to make pancakes every week..usually on the weekends, so these will be our go-to from now on!
THESE WERE THE PERFECT PANCAKE FOR US! A HINT OF SWEET, PERFECTLY FLUFFY AND SO EASY! WE DEVOURED THEM, AND I WISH I HAD DOUBLED THE RECIPE. DEFINITELY HAVE TO DO THAT NEXT TIME, MY KIDS WANTED MORE AND MORE. YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE BUTTERMILK SYRUP SHE SUGGESTS. IT IS LITERAL HEAVEN AND WHIPS UP SO FAST. OUR NEW GO TO FOR SURE!!
Easy, delicious homemade pancakes with mix-ins that don’t sink! We used what we had on hand, #COVID19, and made brownie pancakes with mint chips instead of chocolate chips. No wrong answers!!
Love it! Sounds yummy! Thank you for sharing that!
Such a yummy and quick recipe! I make pancakes from scratch almost Every week. my littles said i needed to maKe this recipe from Now on. They loved it! DEfinitely my new go to! It is seriously so good!!! Thanks for sharing!
Yay!! Glad they like them 🙂 I am glad to share yummy recipes!
Our Favorite Homemade pancake mix! Can’t wait to try the Different vaRiaTions.
Woohoo!! Yes, that’s the best part!!
This is ALMOST iden to my go-to pancake recipe! When i want to Switch it up A litTle i use flavoured coffee creamer for all or part of the milk. Yummy!!! ?
Good way to change it up 🙂 Thanks for sharing that! Glad you like them!
These are so yummy! All of my kids devoured them! They were super easy and so versatile for EVERYONE to CUSTOMIZE with their own toppings. This will be my new go-to Pancake recipe!
Yay!! Yes, that’s why we love them, too! Thank you 🙂
This recipe is so easy and quite the crowd pleaser! The batter holds up well with mix-ins (we added mashed banana) and cooks up so fluffy and light. THank you for another great recipe!
Thank you so much for trying it! Glad you found it!
The person who said that they gave your recipe a 4, instead of a 5, because it needed more milk…. That’s unfair; because “it” didn’t need more milk, “SHE” needed More MILK!
We make adjustments accordingly!
I adjusted the sugar on the mere fact that I love sweet pancakes. I also adjusted the milk a tiny bit, because I love a thinner pancake.
However, this RECIPE was/is excellent!
Awe, thank you so much for sharing that! Glad you liked it!
There is a recipe on this post. 🙂 You can either scroll to the bottom of the page for the recipe card or you can click up at the top of the page where it says “Jump to Recipe” and it’ll scroll right to the recipe for you.
When does it say how much to put in?