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!
max
This is probably identical to a recipe used by an American diner i Copenhagen, 30 years back. Perrrfect. My only wish, that you used grams even for the small ingredients, like salt, sugar baking powder and soda..
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Max! It’s not typically standard to list grams for teaspoon measurements which is why I don’t add them.
Suzyb17
This is the best buttermilk pancake recipe out there. The measurements are just right. I do want to note though, for those of you complaining about super thin pancakes, I know why that probably happened- the buttermilk! Depending on the brand, buttermilk can be runny or thick. For example, if I purchase Kate’s buttermilk, which is thin and runny, I use much less, probably a little less than 2 cups for this recipe. If I purchase Five Acre Farms buttermilk however, which is quite thick and creamy, I use 2 1/4 cups, as the recipe suggests. I also prefer to gently fold the batter with a rubber spatula. This helps ensure that you do not overmix.
Laura
I made these 3 times this week. Everyone loves them. TRUST HER! I did it exactly as she said and they come out delicious every time. I always thought pancakes were hard to make, or gross, and now they’re my favourite!
Allison Hay
Far from the best. The proportions are not correct. The pancakes are fine but leave much to be desired.
Sam
I’m sorry you had difficulties here, Allison! Did you make any substitutions? Did you weigh your flour? Are your leaveners still good? You can see me make them in the video so I’m not sure what could have gone wrong here to make you have incorrect proportions. 🙁
Anusca
This recipe mouth waterng..I’m in Italy and don’t find buttermilk in stores so I ordered the buttermilk powder on line. I’m going to try my luck with it today but if you could give me some more precise measures for it I would deeply appreciated!
Discovered you today and plan on making more of your great recipes. Thank you
Sam
Hi Anusca! I have never used the buttermilk powder so I don’t know for sure how it would work. I’d imagine there are conversions somewhere on the package. You can always make a buttermilk substitute if you don’t have buttermilk. 🙂
Debbie Hill
Truly the best recipe I’ve used! So delicious!!
Sims
Loved the pancakes!!
However, I felt that the batter was too thick, so I added more buttermilk. I didn’t measure how much I added, I just added until the batter thickness felt good to me. I estimate it was an additional 1/4 cup or so. They turned out very fluffy and delicious!
(Oh, and one more thing. I didn’t have unsalted butter on hand, so I used 1/4 tsp salt instead of 1/2 tsp.)
LORRAINE
O.M.G. – This is hands down the absolute best pancake recipe I have ever used. Both my husband and I could not believe how good these pancakes were. These are even better than restaurant pancakes. I am blown away.
Thank you Sam for sharing this recipe. I will never use any other recipe again!
Hannah
they taste great but the batter is so thin. my pancakes spread out to be Uber thin, not these thick pancakes that she’s talking about. you have to use a smaller pan or else this recipe does not work.
unless you like skinny pancakes
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this happened, Hannah! Did you make any substitutions? Was your pan hot and ready to go when you poured the batter?
Lauren
Mine turned out super thin too! I looked over the recipe multiple times and did nothing different. They were thin like crepes. I ended up adding at least 1/2-3/4 cup more if flour and still don’t think they were as fluffy as they’re supposed to be. No substitutions.
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this happened, Lauren! Is it possible the batter was over-mixed? This can result in thin pancakes. 🙁
Betty A Mauer
very good.
Vani
My go to recipe! Love it thank you so much !!
MAUREEN
Would the pancakes work with just one egg , don’t want to go to the store
Sam
Hi Maureen! If you cut everything in half one egg will work here. 🙂
J Wood
Excellent flavor, so light and fluffy they want to float off of the plate. I will do these anytime I am craving pancakes!
Maria
These pancakes are perfectly delicious!
Gloria
These were a hit with our family! Great recipe! Much love from Burundi!
Charlotte
Fantastic recipe! Used the exact measurements and they turned out perfectly! Will absolutely make again 10/10