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!
Nada
The buttermilk to flour ratio is off I did half of the recipe, so I put half the amount of flour 125g and half of the buttermilk amount which is 265 ml, and the batter was too runny. I think I needed around 180 ml of buttermilk only
and I am sure of my measurements since I was using a scale
Sam
I’m so sorry this has happened, Nada! I have actually personally halved it many times without issue. Sometimes the batter comes out a bit thin and I don’t really have an explanation for that as it can just happen, but the pancakes typically still turn out great. 🙂
Laura
Hi, could I make this batter the night before and store in the fridge to cook in the morning? Thanks
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Laura! You sure can. Just make sure to wrap it tightly 😊
Nikki
I halved the recipe and added a half cup of frozen blueberries. DELICIOUS!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yum! Thanks for trying the recipe, Nikki 😋
J Woolington
Best pancakes I’ve ever made!
Susan
Super delicious!!! The flavor is fantastic! We will definitely save this recipe!
I added a little more buttermilk as we like our pancakes a little thinner. For sure heat up the griddle first and add a little butter before each pancake to give it a crispy edge. Yum!
Sam
Thank you so much for trying my recipe, and for the feedback, Susan! I’m so happy you enjoyed the pancakes!
John Kalil
Awesome
Mae
I have not made buttermilk pancakes in a very long time.
This recipe does not disappoint!! I let the batter rest a bit to rise, which it good perfect! They were fluffy, not heavy and very tasty. Definitely will be using this recipe again.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you gave them a try, Mae! Thanks for choosing our recipe 😊
Bruce Edwards
These pancakes are fantastic. For awesome results. Have all ingredients rest to room temperature. Mix wet ingredients first, and add dry ingredients and mix just enough for dry ingredients to be fully coated,and allow batter to sit for over 20 minutes (consistency will change and batter will rise beautifully) preheat the griddle (a must) and lightly oil griddle before each time you place more batter down. take time to cook pancakes at medium-low temp. Should be two to three minutes on each side. Pancakes will rise beautifully and texture will be light and fluffy. Flavor is fantastic.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you like them, Bruce! Thanks for the review 😊
Star
This recipe is great! My pancakes came out nice and fluffy! I was worried I’d over mixed and my butter wasn’t really melted before combining. However, flavor and consistency were still great afterwards. I will continue to use this recipe.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you gave it a try, Star! Thanks for the review ❤️
Megan
Could I substitute the sugar with maple syrup? I do this often for my muffins
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Megan! We haven’t tried it, but it wouldn’t be quite as easy as a 1 to 1 substitute. You’d likely have to play with the flour a little bit.
Aditi Dhara
My go to recipe for buttermilk pancakes. Everyone in my family loves it. Thank you so much for sharing!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for the review, Aditi! ❤️
Simran Sandhar
As described, an excellent recipe.
Tina Cain
I have tried many other pancake recipes in my life and this one TRULY IS THE BEST!
Ash
Would the proportions stay the same if I halved the recipe?
Sam
Yes. You will want to reduce everything proportionately. I used to do this all the time when it was just two of us in the house. 🙂
Kerry Jean Uson
Not a fan. I usually love all the recipes from this site, but these pancakes were not fluffy and did not taste good.
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this, Kerry! Is it possible that your baking powder or soda was bad? If either of those are bad it could cause these issues. 🙁
Tracy Haer
Made these for Father’s Day and they were amazing!!!!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wonderful! Thanks for using our recipe, Tracy 😊
Esya
Hi, can I substitute sugar with honey? Thank you 🙏🏽
Sam
Hi Esya! I haven’t tried it. It wouldn’t be quite as easy as a 1 to 1 substitute. You’d likely have to play with the flour a little bit. Without having tried it I can’t say for sure how to do it.