These quintessential fluffy pancakes are made from scratch in minutes and are loved by kids and adults alike. Throw out your boxed mix!
My kids absolutely love pancakes. Well, I'm not sure what they like more -- the fluffy, warm pancakes, the big slab of butter on top, or the maple syrup that they both demand to pour themselves. This independent pour typically results in a huge puddle of maple syrup around their pancakes, but hey! That's one of the reasons we buy our pure maple syrup from Costco.
This Easy Fluffy Pancake recipe has been tested in our household for years -- and it's always been the winner over a million other pancake recipes we've made for the kids. They're just what you want out of a pancake: fluffy, soft, and filling.
I don't hate on those who use pancake mix out of a box or the "Just Add Water" kind, but when making pancakes is *this* simple, it really doesn't make any sense to include all of the additives and preservatives. I'll save those additives and preservatives for a better time. You'll also notice these pancakes are not sweetened. I think using Quick Blueberry Maple Compote makes them sweet enough, but if you feel the need, feel free to add 1 Tbsp of sugar to the batter.
Tips for Making Fluffy Pancakes
The good news is that the batter for these pancakes can be whipped up in less than 5 minutes. It's really just utilizing your basic pantry staples: flour, baking powder, butter, eggs, milk, and salt.
Properly measure your flour. This could literally be a tip I include on every page where flour is involved. Don't scoop the flour out using your measuring cup. Pour the flour into a measuring cup or use a spoon to scoop it in. This will guarantee you don't pack the flour in resulting in too much.
Let the batter rest. This is really essential because the batter will thicken up a little bit when the flour absorbs the liquid and the baking powder has time to activate. Thick batter equals fluffy pancakes. Watery battery will mean thin, flat pancakes.
Use a non-stick skillet. Don't mess with a regular skillet because you'll have to use a lot more butter to ensure the pancakes don't stick, and that's really difficult on medium-high heat. You could always use a griddle, but if you know me, you know I'm anti-kitchen appliances (for the most part...I have my tried and true). I like to use what I have.
How to Make Pancakes Vegan
If you want to make these pancakes vegan, substitute the butter for olive oil or canola oil and the milk for almond milk. Instead of the egg, mash up bananas or use applesauce. Voila! Vegan pancakes.
How to Store Pancakes
These pancakes can easily be frozen and heated up when the busy week hits. We store our pancakes in individually Ziplock bags once they're completely cooled to room temperature. Then we take them out as needed and stick them in the microwave for 25-30 seconds until nice and warm. They're delicious...and you feel like you've had a homemade, sit-down breakfast even on the craziest of mornings (which is every weekday morning around here).
Other Breakfast Ideas
Check out these delicious breakfast ideas for some more inspiration!
- These Healthy Pumpkin Muffins are so good this time of year. If you haven't tried them yet, jump on it!
- This Healthy Egg and Vegetable Bake is one of the most popular recipes and I understand why: so easy and so delicious.
- Belgian Waffles are good any weekend of the year. Mix and match different toppings to mix up your normal routine. These have a strawberry compote and nutella whipped cream!
- Perfect for a weekend, these Cinnamon Buns from Scratch are sure to be a hit.
Happy weekend!
xox
Easy Fluffy Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ¼ cups milk
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a medium size bowl, whisk melted butter, milk, and egg. Gently stir in the dry mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Be careful to not over mix. Let batter rest for 10 minutes.
- Heat non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Melt a small pad of butter (about ½ Tbsp). If butter sizzles, it's ready for batter. Add 4 small pancakes (using about ¼ cup of batter each time) onto pan. When bubbles start forming at the top and bottom is browned, flip and cook until browned and cooked through (about 2-3 minutes).
- Continue cooking in smaller batches. Serve immediately with butter and blueberry maple syrup*.
Irene
No sugar added?
Kathryn
No sugar -- but you can always add 1 Tbsp or so if you'd prefer!
Jeddiah
I just made this I think they are a 5 out of 10
sabrina Roitman
Way too much salt Iin this recipe.
I made it for my kids and the taste of salt was so overbearing we couldn't eat it.
Kathryn
I'm sorry, Sabrina. Salt is one of those things that people are very sensitive, too. We love this recipe. Hopefully you'll try this again with just a bit less salt!
Jan
Delicious and easy! Added blueberries for a special treat!
Kathryn
Yumm! Love blueberry pancakes, Jan! Thanks for making these and coming back to leave feedback! ❤️
Diane
There is no pancake recipe in the world that needs 3 1/2 tsp of baking powder!!!! Tasted notably metallic.
Kathryn
I'm sorry you had a negative experience. You may want to switch to aluminum-free baking powder (like Rumford or Bob's Red Mill) so you get all the fluffiness without the tinny taste.
Marie
This was too salty and actually kind of gross with the extremely ridiculous amount of baking powder. Don’t make this!!
Kathryn
I'm sorry you felt this way. Make sure you're using good quality baking powder that's aluminum-free. I'll add this in the notes.
imsen
Thank you for the heartfelt story that preempted the recipe, it made me want to try the recipe even more. Just so you know, they came out perfectly fluffy. I’ve never made pancakes from scratch before and these were super simple. My husband isn’t really a pancake fan but he loved them and said they came out great! I am definitely using this as my go-to recipe for pancakes from now on, except I might have to double it from time to time. Thank you!
Danielle
Delicious!!
Kathryn
I'm so glad you like them, too, Danielle! These are a family favorite around here!
Dazzle
Probably the worst recipe I’ve ever tried. Too salty. Medium high burns everything. What a waste of ingredients. This is just my honest opinion. Thanks.
Kathryn
I'm sorry you feel that way. Thanks for your feedback.
Bama Star
I've made my own pancakes, box pancakes, other people's pancakes, an scores of online pancakes.
Upto this recipe it has been one disappointing disaster after another.
I'm not a culinary chef rather just someone who needs good pancakes.
Let's get into it!
I didn't have unsalted butter so I skipped the salt an the salt was not present in the end as is tast test.
I'm lactose intolerant so I used Lactaid milk at given measures.
Lactose free milk is always sweeter than regular milk but the sweetness is not present either in the as is tast test.
One thing I hate about pancakes is being dense, not this recipe!
I was concerned about the 3&½ tsp of baking powder being to much, it's not, I used 1/2 cup for scooping into pan an got three 6"x½" round pancakes, the fourth an last was 7½"x½" round!
I buttered the pan before the first pancake then after the second an had no sticking issues.
These pancakes are a perfect fluffy blank slate for any breakfast condiments.
I've purposely waited for the pancakes to go cold because for me cold pancakes are an appetite killer, not these!
I did have a second person as is tast test "dry an missing something", this person only makes an eats box pancakes, yeah it's dry an missing something, pancakes are supposed to be before you put stuff on them, lol!
A fresh an hot pancake will work perfectly for wrapping up sausages with syrup!
I'm serious, these pancakes have so much potential in what can be done with them!
I'm adopting this recipe for my pancakes because it's five star good!
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Thank you to the author of this recipe!
Roll Tide Roll Kathryn!