These thick and fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes are the perfect easy breakfast idea! They’re made with simple ingredients and are make ahead and freezer friendly.
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This super easy Buttermilk Pancake recipe only takes 5 minutes to prep, and only 15 minutes to cook the whole batch (depending on the size of your pan, of course).
They really are the BEST pancakes, and you only need basic pantry staples to give them a great flavor!
You KNOW we love breakfast and brunch. If it were up to me, I’d eat it for every meal! These buttermilk pancakes are no exception.
You’ll never buy a store-bought pancake box mix again after you’ve seen how easy it is to make the real thing.
Buttermilk Pancakes are quick enough to make for a filling breakfast on a busy weekday, but they’re tasty enough to include in a fancy brunch with all the trimmings on lazy weekend mornings too.
My Easy Banana Oatmeal Pancakes recipe is great for something a bit heartier, and these Sheet Pan Pancakes are a great way of making pancakes for a crowd without slaving over the stovetop. Got extra bananas? Opt for these Banana Pancakes!
For more sweet breakfast treats, try my Brown Sugar Glazed Apple Cinnamon Baked Donuts, my French Toast Casserole, or these White Chocolate Cranberry Sweet Rolls.
Ingredients Needed:
- Flour: I used all-purpose flour for these pancakes, but you can use an alternative if you prefer, see notes below.
- Sugar: white granulated sugar adds sweetness to the pancakes, but it is optional.
- Baking Agents: use a combination of baking powder and baking soda to give you the fluffiest pancakes!
- Salt: to enhance the flavors of the pancakes, so they’re delicious on their own or with toppings.
- Buttermilk: use low-fat real buttermilk. You can make your own buttermilk or use store-bought.
- Butter: oil or melted butter to cook the pancakes on the griddle.
- Egg: to bind ingredients and help the pancakes rise.
- Vanilla: vanilla extract adds a delicious warm flavor to the pancakes.
How to Make Buttermilk Pancakes
Here are a few step by step photos to guide you! The full recipe is included in the recipe card below.
- Mix dry ingredients. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add wet ingredients. Add in buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract and whisk until completely combined.
- Let it sit. Let the batter sit on the counter for a bit before cooking the pancakes.
- Cook. Cook pancakes on a hot griddle, flipping them to cook both sides. Serve immediately with your favorite toppings!
Buttermilk Pancakes FAQs
Make the pancake batter and store it in a jar or airtight container for up to 4 days. Give it a good stir, then cook your pancakes fresh when you want them! This is a great way to prep for breakfasts on busy school days.
Refrigerate cooked pancakes once they have completely cooled for up to 1 week. I recommend reheating in a toaster oven or the oven for a bit of a crisp edge, but the microwave works too.
To freeze leftover pancakes, place them flat in a single layer on a parchment-lined sheet pan and flash freeze for 1 hour. Then place in an airtight freezer-safe container or freezer bag for up to 6 months.
To reheat, you can microwave them or place them in the toaster.
Tips and Notes
- Flour: you can use regular flour for this recipe, or swap some for whole wheat flour, ground flax, buckwheat, or even wheat bran (start with ¼ cup with those last 3 types of flour). See my Whole Wheat Pancakes recipe for a whole wheat version.
- Sugar: The sugar is optional and honestly you won’t really notice it missing if you are serving the pancakes with syrup and the whole deal. It does make them taste great on their own though!
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is essential to getting these seriously fluffy pancakes. See How to Make Buttermilk here if you don’t have any on hand.
- Oil: Vegetable oil, canola oil, or olive oil will work fine for cooking pancakes, but you can also use melted butter to give you an added buttery flavor!
- Quantity: This is a relatively small recipe, yielding 8 large pancakes or enough for 2-4 people. You can easily double or triple the recipe by moving the toggle over the number of servings above.
Buttermilk Pancakes Variations
- Chocolate chip pancakes. Add some chocolate chips to the top of the pancake batter just after pouring it into the pan.
- Chocolate pancakes. Add some good-quality cocoa powder to the pancake batter to make chocolate pancakes!
- Berries. You can put berries in your pancakes by dropping them on top as they cook. You could also blend berries and add the mixture to the pancake batter if you wish. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and cherries are my favorite choices.
- Spices. Add some cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, allspice, or ginger to your pancakes for a warm spiced flavor that’s great for fall!
- Extract. Get creative and use a different flavor of extract for your pancakes. Try almond extract, peppermint extract for the holiday season, or lemon extract!
Serving Suggestions
You know I love breakfast and brunch, so of course, we enjoy these classic buttermilk pancakes with all the good stuff on top and on the side. We love these fluffy buttermilk pancakes topped with a pat of butter and drizzled (or drenched – no judgment here!) with maple syrup, peanut butter, Strawberry Sauce or Nutella.
We often have pancakes with a side of Air Fryer Bacon, fresh berries, and sometimes even these Easy Yogurt Parfaits.
Check out my post on How to Make an Omelette for a delicious savory breakfast dish, or try these Mini Frittata Muffins or my Easy Ham Quiche recipe.
Enjoy all my breakfast and brunch recipes with some delicious drinks on the side! My Healthy Strawberry Smoothie recipe is amazing, and this Blueberry Smoothie recipe goes with a lot of savory flavors too. Sometimes you just need that caffeine hit though, so my Cold Brew Coffee is the beverage for you!
More Sweet Breakfast Recipes to Try
Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour 170g
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 25g (optional)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons oil or melted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar (if using), baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Stir the buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract into the flour mixture until completely combined. Let sit on the counter for 10-20 minutes.
- Lightly grease a large flat griddle or large skillet and let it heat up. Spoon the pancake batter by the ladleful onto the hot griddle surface. Cook for about 3 minutes per side, until just golden brown.
- Serve immediately with your favorite toppings!
Notes
- Quantity: This is a relatively small recipe, yielding 8 large pancakes or enough for 2-4 people. You can easily double or triple the recipe by moving the toggle over the number of servings above.
- Make Ahead: Make the pancake batter and store it in a jar or airtight container for up to 4 days. Give it a good stir, then cook your pancakes fresh when you want them! This is a great way to prep for breakfasts on busy school days.
- Store: Refrigerate cooked pancakes once they have completely cooled for up to 1 week. I recommend reheating in a toaster oven or the oven for a bit of a crisp edge, but the microwave works too.
- Freezer: To freeze pancakes, place them flat in a single layer on a parchment-lined sheet pan and flash freeze for 1 hour. Then place in an airtight freezer-safe container or freezer bag for up to 6 months.
Nutrition Information
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Carol Rees says
These were fabulous! My grandkids always get the store bought pancakes at their house (working parents, time crunch) and they weren’t looking forward to having pancakes today (mom had to insist they try one). They couldn’t get enough! The 9 year old commented how fluffy and delicious they were, and he doesn’t even use syrup! Thanks for giving us this recipe, and making my day😊♥️
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Carol! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
David Smucker says
This is a great recipe but I would make one strong suggestion about the flour used. If you can find it, use self-rising biscuit flour instead and take out the baking powder, but leave in the baking soda. Also add NO salt because the self rising flours are already 3 % salt. Why biscuit flour? Because it a lower gutian flour 8% rather than the all purpose at 11- 12 %. Makes for much more tender pancakes. I found this out heading up our church’s pancake suppers were we serve about 250 folks. Biscuit flour is made from soft wheat vs. hard wheat. This is a major reason biscuits have a southern US history and Bread a northern US history.