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!
Tammy Moore
These pancakes were everything you want in a pancake ! I didn’t have much butter so I used veg oil but they were still delicious and fluffy.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you liked the pancakes, Tammy! Thanks for trying our recipe and coming back to leave a review ❤
Nickleb
I made these this morning and they were the lightest, fluffiest pancakes I have ever had. I added a smidge extra vanilla because we don’t use syrup but I dont think I needed to do that ( we dont use syrup). These pancakes were delicious
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you loved the pancakes! Thanks for coming back to leave a review 😊
Kobi
Hi, I made this pancakes and my little ones loved every beat of it. Question is, how do I store the left over batter?
Thanks
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Kobi! We’re so happy the pancakes were a hit for you 😊 You can store leftover batter in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days. The pancakes won’t be as fluffy, but they’ll still taste great!
Lyn
These are the best pancakes ever! And I have been cooking for a long time! My question is, can I save leftover batter for another day.?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Lyn! We’re so happy you enjoyed our recipe 😊 You can store leftover batter in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days. The pancakes won’t be as fluffy, but they’ll still taste great!
Mark
My pancake connoisseur 10 yo daughter loved these both times I made them…..meaning this recipe is a total keeper! Thank you for sharing.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wonderful! We’re so happy they passed her test 🙂 Enjoy, Mark!
Nancy viera
Just made these. They are the BEST pancakes I have ever made. I dont have a good track record for making pancakes so I am excited this turned out so good. Thank you.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy they were a hit for you, Nancy! Thanks so much for giving our recipe a shot 😊
Michaiah
Batter is way too liquidy
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We can’t say for sure why this happened, but it sounds like something may have been mis-measured 🙁
Phyllis
I agree about possibly mis-measuring. My batter has turned out so thick I’ve actually added an extra splash of buttermilk both times I’ve used this recipe. Wonderful pancakes though.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yes, thick batter means thick pancakes, which we love! We’re so glad you like them too, Phyllis 😊
Deb
Hi I am an experienced cook and baker. I enjoy watching the cooking videos. Yes it’s simple to make pancakes, but I really like to watch, just in case someone has a better tip I can use. I followed the recipe except for actually cooking the pancakes. The only thing I would change is I wouldn’t use oil or cooking spray. Cooking spray can leave an unpleasant film on your pans and sometimes it impacts your pancake taste. I always use butter to coat my nonstick skillet, then gently wipe out excess butter from the skillet. Your recipe is the exact same recipe I got years ago from a pancake restaurant cookbook. If I had never made pancakes I would really appreciate the tutorial. Thank you for taking the time to share your recipe and the video.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re happy to hear that you found it helpful, Deb! Thanks for commenting–enjoy the pancakes! 😊
Pamela
This was my first time making pancakes from scratch and they were absolutely delicious. I added extra buttercream to thin out the consistency as I found it to be a bit thick. This will be my go to recipe. Thank you!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy that you like them, Pamela! Enjoy the pancakes and please let us know if you try any of our other recipes 😊
OP
Thank you for the detailed recipe. The pancakes turned out great!!
Emm
Amazing pancakes, and I’m happy you did explain it more in-depth and I’ve a very experienced cooker. I never knew the key was not to over mix the batter, I just finally found out my my pancakes would be flat or rubbery. I’ve tried Japanese fluffy pancakes and they are a lot of work to make. Definitely a good one. Thanks so much
Levi
Made these this morning and when I say DELICIOUS!!!! I MEAN DELICIOUS!!! This recipe made exactly 8 pancakes with the size pan she used.
Veronica
Better than I expected. I followed the video completely with all of the ingredients in front of me. My family will enjoy them over the holiday.
Thanks for sharing
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Veronica! 🙂
Lisa
The recipe as written is unnecessarily complicated unless you have literally never made a pancake in your life – I scrolled right through to the list of ingredients which is all I wanted. I used eggs right out of the fridge and regular, salted butter without affecting the quality whatsoever – these pancakes were light, fluffy, and absolutely luscious. (Note: I used more buttermilk, because the batter was kind of thick.)
Sam
I always aim to write my recipes so that even novice bakers will have success and the best possible results, including people who have never made pancakes from scratch before. I am sorry that you found the instructions to be too complicated but I”m not sure that I agree. Ultimately I am glad you enjoyed. If the batter seemed a bit thick, it may have been that the flour was accidentally over-measured and the cold eggs could also contribute to that.
Lisa
It’s not a criticism of the recipe, just one little tweak would be to list the ingredients first, then proceed with the step-by-step directions only because experienced cooks might want to skip to the chase. As far as adding more buttermilk, I just like my pancakes on a little bit thinner side so that is something I normally do anyway. I am visiting a family member and didn’t have my usual recipe that I have been using for many years, so searched for something similar and this one was it. It is excellent, just like my old tried-and-true recipe (I add extra buttermilk to that one, too!)
batya
Amazing Pancake
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for letting us know you liked this recipe, Batya! Enjoy ❤️