Buttermilk Pancakes turn out perfectly fluffy and buttery with a delicious buttermilk tang – a classic breakfast recipe made from scratch.
Is there a more well-known Breakfast Recipe than hot, buttery pancakes right off the griddle? For more griddle favorites, check out my French Toast and Belgian Waffles recipes.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe
It’s hard to think of a more classic and comforting breakfast than a fluffy stack of golden brown pancakes. They’re a simple but delicious recipe that has been a go-to dish for generations. It’s no wonder why. These flavorful pancakes are the perfect light and airy breakfast treat you can dress up however you like. Plus, homemade pancakes are quick and easy way to brighten up any morning.
Ingredients
- Flour: For the classic pancake that is light and soft, use all-purpose flour. However, to make a slightly healthier version of this recipe, you can use half whole wheat flour and half regular white flour.
- Leavening Agents: You’ll want to use a combination of baking powder and baking soda as the leavening agent in the pancake batter. As the pancakes cook, these ingredients form air bubbles throughout the batter, which make the pancakes light and airy.
- Buttermilk: Of course, this wouldn’t be a Buttermilk Pancake recipe without the buttermilk. Adding the creamy, acidic ingredient sets this recipe apart from regular pancakes. I opted for low-fat buttermilk because it provides all the flavor and acidity you need for the recipe without making the batter too heavy. If you don’t have a carton of buttermilk, I have a substitute in the Frequent Questions section below.
- Eggs: Be sure to beat the eggs in a separate bowl before adding them to the liquid ingredients. This is important because it ensures they’re well blended without you overbeating the pancake batter.
- Butter: You should also melt the unsalted butter before starting the recipe. The melted butter makes the pancakes rich and moist.
- Vanilla: Adding a little vanilla extract finishes this recipe with the perfect Buttermilk Pancake flavor. It’s simple, familiar, and tastes wonderful with the slightly tangy buttermilk taste.
How to Make Buttermilk Pancakes
Time needed: 20 minutes.
- Sift Dry Ingredients
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar into a large mixing bowl twice to remove any lumps from the dry ingredients.
- Add in Wet Ingredients
Then add the melted butter, 2 cups buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract to a separate medium bowl and whisk the wet ingredients until smooth.
- Mix Batter
Then add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and whisk until well combined.
- Grill Pancakes
Lightly butter your electric griddle and turn it to medium heat. Then scoop ⅓ cup pancake batter onto the hot griddle. Cook pancakes until bubbles start to form on the surface and the edges start to dry out. Then flip and cook pancakes for another 20 seconds before carefully removing them from the hot griddle. Continue with the remaining batter and serve hot.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
- 2 cups low-fat buttermilk
- 2 large eggs , beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar twice into a large bowl.
- In a medium bowl whisk together butter, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Add in flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
- Working in batches, scoop ⅓ cup batter onto lightly buttered griddle on medium heat and cook until bubbles form and the edges start to dry out, about 2-3 minutes.
- Note: You can cook a couple pancakes at a time, just give them enough room they aren't touching and you can flip them easily.
- Flip and cook for 20 seconds or until golden brown on the bottom.
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes
Chef’s Note: Why use buttermilk for pancakes?
Using buttermilk in the recipe serves a few key purposes. The first is that the acid interacts with the leavening agents to kickstart them and start helping the recipe rise. The buttermilk also tenderizes the gluten to make a soft crumb. Lastly, it provides a slightly tangy flavor, which tastes amazing in the simple buttery pancake recipe. If you don’t have a bottle of buttermilk, you can make it yourself. All you need is regular milk, acidic ingredients, like white vinegar or lemon juice, and about 5 minutes. See the Frequent Questions for the steps to make homemade buttermilk.
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes, prepare and cook the pancakes as you usually would. Allow them to cool completely before storing. Place the cooled pancakes in a single layer between wax paper or parchment paper sheets in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag. They can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Tips and Tricks for Pancakes
- Be careful not to overmix the homemade mixture, or you’ll deflate the fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes. There may still be some lumps in the pancake batter, but that’s to be expected. I like to beat the eggs before adding them together with the other ingredients to help this process.
- Let the pancake batter sit for about 5 minutes before cooking for best results. This allows the flour to absorb the liquid ingredients around it, resulting in light, airy, buttery pancakes. It also gives the buttermilk time to tenderize the other pancake ingredients. Adding rest time to your pancake cooking routine is the easiest way to ensure you get the fluffiest pancakes.
Toppings for Pancakes
There are many ways to finish these fluffy pancakes. Of course, there are simple toppings like extra butter and real maple syrup. But, if you want more ideas to serve up extra amazing pancakes, try putting out fresh fruit, Whipped Cream, peanut butter, Strawberry Sauce, blueberry sauce, jam, Nutella, or chocolate sauce.
How to Store
- Store: To keep the fluffy pancakes fresh, don’t leave them sitting at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Let any leftover pancakes cool to room temperature. Then you can put them in a ziplock bag or another airtight container. Classic Buttermilk Pancakes can stay in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat: To reheat pancakes, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the pancakes on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Place them in the warm oven to heat them through, just a few minutes for thawed pancakes and 5-10 minutes for frozen pancakes.
- Freeze: Once the pancakes are fully cooked, place them in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag. To keep them from sticking, you can place a small piece of parchment or wax paper between each pancake. They will stay good for 2-3 months.
Frequent Questions
To make 2 cups of buttermilk, pour the milk into a measuring cup, stopping 2 tablespoons short of 2 cups. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or white vinegar. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes so that it just starts to curdle. Use as usual for this recipe.
It takes about 3 minutes to cook pancakes. You want to cook them on one side until bubbles form and the edges start to dry out. Then you flip them and cook for another 20-30 seconds, until the bottoms are a deep golden brown all over.
Yes. If you want to save part of your batch of pancakes for later, you can freeze them in an airtight plastic bag. If you want to use this delicious pancake recipe for meal prep, you can double the batter to eat half now and freeze half for later.
Yes, after mixing the wet and dry ingredients, the pancake batter will be fairly thick. When you add it to the hot skillet, it will still spread slightly. The thickness makes it so the batter doesn’t spread too thin.
Variations
You can add a variety of mix-ins to this basic pancake recipe to make it just how you want!
- Blueberry Pancakes: Blueberries are classic breakfast mix-ins that taste amazing in this Buttermilk Pancake recipe. Toss 1 cup of fresh blueberries with a little bit of flour, then fold them into the batter. If you want some crunch to go with the delicious fruit flavor, you could also add chopped nuts like pecans. Blueberry pecan pancakes taste especially amazing with a pat of butter and cinnamon sugar topping.
- Fruit: There are plenty of other fresh fruit mix-ins you can try. Berries like raspberries and chopped strawberries would taste great. Slice bananas to mix into the batter or serve them over top.
- Chocolate Chip Pancakes: Adding melty chocolate chips is another easy way to change up this recipe, and it’s a favorite pancake recipe with kids. I like using 1 cup of mini chocolate chips in the batter, though you could also use regular-sized chocolate if you prefer. Use semisweet, milk, or dark chocolate chips depending on your preference.
- More Mix-ins: There’s no end to the fun ways that you can experiment with your homemade Buttermilk Pancakes. For a few other fun mix-ins, you could add toffee chips, peanut butter chips, coconut flakes, walnuts, macadamia nuts, and M&M’s.
- Spices: You could also make delicious flavor additions with a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice. Try one or two of the spices together, or you could go all out with Pumpkin Pie Spice for a tasty fall pancake recipe.
More Delicious Pancake Recipes
These buttermilk pancakes are an absolute hit! They turn out fluffy, golden, and perfect every time.
So glad you enjoyed your Buttermilk Pancakes! We have many Breakfast recipes to enjoy. Check’em out sometime Igor!!