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!
Kathy
OMG….these are soooooooooooooo good!! Nice and light and easy to make. Delicious…and I forgot the vanilla! Thanks for helping me use up the buttermilk I had! A keeper for sure! I enjoy your recipes.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you like them, Kathy! You’re so welcome–thanks for trusting our recipes ❤
Angie
Made this tonight as we had breakfast for dinner. Nobody said a thing about them. They couldn’t. Their mouths were too busy with the pancakes! ❤️
Thank you for a great recipe!
Yavette
Yes! Best pancake recipe I’ve used thus far. I actually made waffles with the batter and they were delicious! I’m bookmarking this one! 🥰
Maggie
great recipe!
I had a problem in that the buttermilk I used was thick and made the batter the thickness of almost a biscuit dough. I used regular milk to thin it so I could use it, but any suggestions for next time?
Sam
Hi Maggie! That’s really, really thick! Your batter should ideally end up a bit on the thicker side, but not that thick. I would just double check all of the measurements again to make sure something wasn’t accidentally over-measured.
Barbara Landers
Wow! These were great! Light, Fluffy and delicious! My husband told me to make this his new favorite for pancakes. Thanks!
Luci
Our go to buttermilk pancake recipe. Thanks!
Alexis
Wow! The lightest, fluffiest pancakes I’ve ever had. Really good!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you liked them, Alexis! Thanks for trying our recipe ❤
Gary
I’m 54 yrs old and just made box pancakes for the 1st time 2 months ago.
Made these this morning. The 1/2 batch.
Followed your instructions and they turned out excellent!
I added some leftover chocolate chips and alternated raw honey and peanutbutter between layers.
Great recipe.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed the homemade version, Gary! 😊
Meribeth
Wow!! Delicious….
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you liked them, Meribeth 😊
Kate
Followed the recipe exactly. Divine!! That was about a month ago and we’re doing them again for dinner tonight. Actually a full-on brunch for dinner. I’ve tried a lot of recipes from “top name” chefs. These are superior.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Brunch for dinner is the BEST, Kate! We’re so happy our pancakes will be on your table again tonight–enjoy! ❤
Kim
I love this recipe I’ve tried several and this one is the best I’ll never go back to box pancake mix
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That’s so great to hear, Kim! Thank you for giving our recipe a try ❤
Ed and Shirley
We loved your buttermilk pancake recipe. It’s the best pancakes we’ve had from scratch.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That’s so sweet! We’re so happy you enjoyed them. Thanks for trying our recipe ❤
Debbie
Super easy. Some of the best home made pancakes I have ever made. I am gluten free and I substituted all purpose gluten free flour. They were delicious. I also use an electric griddle for frying. I don’t have to guess at stovetop cooking temperature. It is so much easier.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed the pancakes, Debbie! Thanks for letting us know how they worked with gluten-free flour. 😊
Cynthia
MY FAVORITESS!!! I Always make them with strawberry sauce, YUM! 😋
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Sounds delicious, Cynthia! We’re so happy you like them. Enjoy! ♥
Nancy
I was wondering if I can cut the recipe in half but I can always freeze the other pancakes we don’t eat. Thanks I can’t wait to try this recipe tomorrow with the kids. I will be adding smash bananas and a few drops of red food coloring for Valentine’s Day.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Nancy! You can definitely make a half batch. Enjoy! 😊
Zami Singh
My grandson introduced this recipe to me when he was six years old.
Its our favourite and always come out fluffy and yummy.
It is one of our special bonding time activity.
He’s the chef and i am his sous chef. 😌😄😂🙏
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That is too cute, Zami! We’re so happy you’re able to bond over our recipe. Let us know if you two try any others! 😊
Tetyana
Thank you!!!! Followed recipe exactly and pancakes turned out divine! Melt in your mouth texture. Also did half batch and still amazing! All ingredients were straight from fridge and no issues! But I’m sure room temperature would make them rise even more!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Tetyana! Thanks for coming back to leave a review 😊
Donna
This recipe is wonderful! I wonder if anybody has frozen the cooked pancakes?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks so much, Donna! We think they will do fine in the freezer. Make sure to separate each pancake with wax paper and store in an airtight container. 🙂