I’ve got breakfast covered today with my classic Buttermilk Pancakes recipe — made completely from scratch (and tips to make them if you don’t have buttermilk, too!)! I’ll be showing you how to make thick, fluffy pancakes that can be ready in under 15 minutes! Recipe includes a how-to video!
The Best Pancake Recipe
Buttermilk pancakes are an American classic breakfast food, but despite their unfussy ingredient list, too often people grab for the box mix because it’s just “easier”. Too many home bakers have struggled with dense, flat, or rubbery pancakes, or ones that have charred exteriors, raw centers, or are just all-around lacking in flavor. Today we’re going to fix that with my favorite, fool-proof buttermilk pancake recipe.
While you’d be hard-pressed to find a truly complicated buttermilk pancake recipe, many recipes sadly leave out important tips and tricks that can make or break your breakfast. Do you know the right time to flip? The right heat for your stovetop? Which substitutions are acceptable and which definitely aren’t? How to make buttermilk pancakes if you don’t even have buttermilk?
My recipe has not only been carefully perfected to yield fat, fluffy, and super flavorful pancakes (the cousin to my paper-thin crepes), but I’m also answering all of these questions and sharing my super simple tips and tricks so you’ll never reach for that box mix ever again.
Grab your (preferably non-stick) skillet and get ready for perfect, golden pancakes every time. Let’d do this.
What You Need for Perfect Pancakes
This recipe is easy and uses pantry staples, but let’s talk about a handful of the ingredients before we get started:
- Buttermilk: When combined with the baking soda, this gives the pancakes a nice lift, making them thick and fluffy. It’s purpose isn’t only a chemical one, though, it also gives buttermilk pancakes a great flavor with a classic but subtle tang. See my FAQ section below to make this recipe if you don’t have buttermilk.
- Eggs. Ideally these should be room temperature. Ideally all your ingredients should be so that the batter combines easily but I’m realistic about the fact that most people aren’t going to wake up two hours early to set their buttermilk out to come to room temperature and I’d never ask you to do something I don’t do myself. Fortunately, this recipe is fairly resilient.
- Butter. This should be melted. Do this first so it has time to cool a bit before you add it to your buttermilk.
- Baking powder and baking soda. The combination of these two leaveners give the pancakes the perfect fluffiness and lift.
- Flour. I recommend using all-purpose flour. You can experiment with substituting some of the flour with whole wheat flour, but since that is a much thirstier flour you might need a bit more buttermilk to keep the batter from being too thick. Self rising flour is not recommended as the baking powder and salt are already accounted for.
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Buttermilk Pancakes
- Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Whisk together buttermilk, egg, and vanilla separately and drizzle the melted butter into the mixture while whisking. Add to the dry ingredients.
- Very gently fold together the wet and dry ingredients until almost completely combined. Don’t overdo it or your pancakes will be flat and dense rather than fluffy.
- Cook on medium heat until golden brown on each side. Don’t crank up the heat, this will yield pancakes with burnt outsides and raw centers, and that’s just sad 🙁
SAM’S TIP: You can tell your buttermilk pancakes are ready to flip when the edges begin to look set and the bubbles in the batter begin to burst. At this point you should easily be able to flip a spatula underneath to gently lift up an edge and take a peek: look for a golden brown color!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Zach and I often make a half batch of buttermilk pancakes for breakfast, it divides easily and results are exactly the same! For the buttermilk, you would use 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons.
You can use my buttermilk substitute recipe instead (you only need milk and vinegar or lemon juice). Pour 2 Tablespoons + ¾ teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice into a large measuring cup then add milk until you have the 2 ¼ cup called for. Stir.
However you should know that “homemade” buttermilk is thinner than the real thing. You may not need to use the full 2 ¼ cup called for, it could make your batter runny and your pancakes too thin. If using the substitute, set aside about ½ cup of your buttermilk (so only use 1 ½ cups) and use the recipe as indicated. If the batter seems too thick, gradually add more of the buttermilk substitute as needed.
Most likely this is a result of over-mixing the batter, this can yield flat, dense, or even rubbery pancakes. Do not over-mix your pancake batter — I can not overstate how important this is. When combining your wet and dry ingredients, gently fold together with a spoon or spatula until just combined. A few flour streaks remaining in the batter is actually a good thing!
Absolutely! You can add up to a cup of add-ins to your buttermilk pancake batter. Because you want to avoid over-mixing your batter, it is best to fold these in when your flour is halfway incorporated rather than waiting until you’ve already mostly combined your wet and dry ingredients.
You can also skip the mix-ins and instead top off your pancakes with whipped cream or blueberry sauce, instead. Or do mix-ins and fancy toppings, I don’t judge!
Yes you can! While I have a waffle recipe that I love and would recommend, my buttermilk pancake batter actually makes delicious waffles, too.
These are great with simple butter and syrup, but sometimes I like to get fancy and add whipped cream, strawberry sauce, blueberry sauce, caramel sauce, chocolate gravy, or hot fudge sauce!
Have you ever tried a pancake sundae before with ice cream and toppings? Not health food, but so good!
Alright, I think that pretty much covers it! I hope you’ll try these out and please let me know what you think!!
Enjoy!
Other Breakfast Recipes You Might Like:
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Make sure to check out the how-to VIDEO in the recipe card!
Best Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ¼ cups buttermilk¹ (530ml)
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten, room temperature preferred
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled (57g)
Recommended Equipment
- Non-stick skillet
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, until well-combined.
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together buttermilk,, eggs, and vanilla extract.
- Take your melted butter and slowly drizzle it into your wet ingredients while whisking, stirring until well-combined (the butter may separate and curdle if your other ingredients are cold, this is OK, just whisk to combine).
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and use a wooden spoon to stir until just combined — do not overmix your pancake batter or your pancakes will be flat. Use a light hand when stirring, and a few flour streaks in the batter are fine.
- Spray a non-stick skillet with cooking spray or lightly brush with canola oil and place on burner on medium-low heat.
- Allow skillet to preheat before adding batter (about 5 minutes, it's good for your pancake batter to sit several minutes as well, which is why you prepared that before preheating your pan), and once skillet is heated (I usually test this by hovering my hand several inches above the pan and making sure I can feel the heat radiating from it) scoop pancake batter into pan (I use about ½-⅔ cup of batter per pancake).
- Allow pancake to cook until edges begin to appear cooked and bubbles in batter begin to burst. Using a pancake spatula, carefully flip pancake and continue to cook several more minutes until pancake is golden brown.
- Repeat until all batter is used — I recommend spraying or brushing the pan between each batch of pancakes.
- Serve warm topped with salted butter and maple syrup!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Buttermilk Pancake recipe originally published 01/29/2018, updated just in time for Fat Tuesday! Recipe is unchanged but additional tips have been added and a video is now included!
tania
I have been trying many recipes but this one is a great success will keep forever
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Tania! 🙂
Yolanda
Can the batter be made the previous night and stored in the fridge?
Sam
Hi Yolanda! I have done this on many occasions. The batter becomes a little bit runnier in the refrigerator overnight but the pancakes still turn out great for me. 🙂
Sarah
This recipe is my favorite pancake recipe. My husband loves them and me too! Thanks! So happy I found it! It’s so easy to make.
Sam
I’m so happy to hear this, Sarah! Thank you so much for trying my recipe! 🙂
Laurisa
Hi Miss Sam— thank you for this recipe! My whole family loves it and my mom (who’s usually a box mix mom) asks me to make this like every morning lol.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Laurisa! 🙂
Jerry B
I had some buttermilk left over from the day before and thought I would make some pancakes for breakfast, but I wanted something different than my usual buttermilk pancake recipe. I came across this recipe while doing a web search. And am I glad I did. These are one of the best, if not the best, pancakes I have ever made.
My eggs and buttermilk were cold when I put this together, so I cheated a bit and but them in the microwave for a bit after whisking them together, and before adding the melted butter. I usually use a pancake griddle when I make pancakes, but being that the recipe suggested using a non stick skillet, I thought, why not, rather than get the griddle out.
These pancakes where light and fluffy, and tasted great. They definitely one of the best pancakes I have ever eaten.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Jerry! 🙂
Mary
Bravo!!!!! Excellent pancakes 😊😊
Judy L Corrado
Another hit! Thank you, Sam. I’m always confident that any recipe from you will turn out great. Thank you for sharing with us.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Judy! 🙂
Susan
This is the best pancake recipe I have ever made. My kids love them. 1st time I didn’t set my eggs or buttermilk out to room temperature and they still turned out delicious. Today when I made them again, I was more prepared and set everything out a few hours before making the pancakes. Best ever!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much Susan! The room temperature ingredients really make combining everything much easier. 🙂
Nick
These are amazing! I made my family quite happy with these today!
Sam
That is so awesome! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much! 🙂
joyce
Can you prepare the mix the night before?
Sam
Hi Joyce! That should work just fine, just make sure to cover it tightly. 🙂
Carla
Anytime I have buttermilk on hand, I make these pancakes. Hands down, the best and fluffiest pancakes ever! I get raves every time and always recommend this recipe. My only tweak is that I omit the vanilla extract because I’m not a fan. Recipe is still perfect. The downside is that you’ll want to eat pancakes every day. Lol
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoy them so much, Carla! I wish I had the motivation to make myself pancakes every morning. It would be awesome! 🙂
Christy Wu
HIGH RECOMMEND
Whenever l need a recipe, l head to this site. HONESTLY all the past recipes from friends, videos, youtube, bakers, like l manage to screw them up. This time was legit the first that they are decent. And my stubborn self refuses to use the mix so always looking for from scratch. Thank you so much for your recipes!
Sam
Thank you so much, Christy! I’m so glad you enjoyed them and I really appreciate your support and nice comments. 🙂
Tianna
This is my go to pancake recipe. We make it at least once a month, if not more! My husband and son ask for it! I think Sam is an amazing baker! She knows what she is doing!
Sam
Thank you so much, Tianna! I’m so glad everyone enjoys them so much! 🙂
Tianna
You’re Welcome! Thank you for allowing us to use your recipe!
Megan
This is by far the best buttermilk pancake recipe I’ve come across. They’re so fluffy and flavorful, no need to add additional ingredients for an extra sweet taste! My family and I give this recipe 5 stars+
Sam
Thank you so much, Megan! I am so glad you enjoyed them so much. 🙂
Nick
I don’t know how others are reporting that their pancakes turned out well. I’m no baking/cooking novice but when your dry ingredients are basically the same measure as your wet ingredients, you’re not making pancakes. You’re making a thick cake batter. Cake batter doesn’t pour like you need pancake batter to unless you just want a few pancakes. I was trying to make pancakes for my family so a few is not what I had in mind here. I had to thin it out with quite a lot of regular milk (having used up the rest of my buttermilk already) but the batter never really relaxed. I tried cooking the pancakes anyways and man were they uneven. I should have figured the parity of wet and dry was going to be problematic but now I’ve learned, at the expense of ingredients I won’t get back.
Sam
Hi Nick! I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy the pancakes. Yes this batter is thicker, this is by design. The batter should still be pourable. Unfortunately it sounds like the flour may have accidentally been over-measured. If you haven’t already I would recommend taking a look at the video. You should be able to get eight 8″ pancakes as I have listed right above the ingredients. 🙂
Kelly Stevens
Hi Sam,
Well finally I have found the BEST buttermilk pancake recipe!!! I am so excited. You have no idea how many I have tried that all claim to be the BEST, but yours is the real deal. They came out exactly as you claim – light & fluffy and mine looked just like yours in the photo. My search is over. This recipe will join your The Worst Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe as my go to from now on.
Thanks for sharing!
Sam
Thank you so much, Kelly! I am so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Sade
The first time I made these a few months ago, I had the same issue as some others did where the pancakes turned out flat and overall not great. I used the buttermilk substitute (and all of it) and it totally makes sense now that that’s where the issue was! I decide to give it another shot this morning because I wanted to get it right for my dad’s birthday breakfast next week. Interestingly, I left the buttermilk substitute out for almost an hour and it thickened WAY up. I did not use up all of it in the recipe this time; I used slightly less than a cup (I made a half batch) and OH MY GOODNESS!!!! They came out so thick and fluffy!! I’m in the middle of eating them right now but I was so excited about how they turned out that I just could not wait to post this. I don’t know what did the trick, if it was the buttermilk substitute being thicker or using less of it.. probably both.. either way, it was a complete success this time. Thank you, Sam!!
Sam
I’m so glad they turned out this time! Thank you so much for your feedback. I will be sure to share your information with others that ask. 🙂
Valerie
Made this pancake recipe for my family to rave reviews. My 12-year old grandson who loves to cook with me just asked for the recipe so he can make them in the morning with his dad. Think I’ll ask him to wait and have pancakes for dinner so I can have them too.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Valerie! 🙂
Rachel
I have been trying to make pancakes since moving out of home 15 years ago and have failed miserably every time until tonight!
These pancakes are AMAZING!! I doubled the batch and I don’t think they will last even an hour in my house everyone is devouring them. Thank you so much
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Rachel! 🙂