Perfect Fluffy Pancakes from Scratch {EASY!}

In today’s post: These fluffy pancakes are easy to make with just seven common ingredients and they taste absolutely amazing! You’ll never used a boxed pancake mix again.

Pancakes don’t get enough credit, in my opinion. They’re super quick to whip up, ridiculously cheap to make, and work perfectly for breakfast or dinner (add some scrambled eggs and fruit and you have a pretty great meal!). Plus, if you have the right recipe (this one) they taste really, really good. They’re light, fluffy, buttery, and just plain delicious. I always have the ingredients for pancakes on hand – you probably do too! – and it’s a great way to feed a bunch of hungry kids or teens.

Find 35 more easy dinner ideas right here

Better than Boxed Mix

Now, for many many years I made pancakes from a boxed mix. It’s hard to beat the convenience of just stirring water into a mix…

…but it turns out that homemade pancakes only take about 5 minutes to make and they taste SO MUCH BETTER! And don’t worry, you won’t need any unusual ingredients for these, just your pantry basics:

• flour
• sugar
• salt
• baking powder
• milk
• large egg
• butter

That’s it. No buttermilk, no whipped egg whites, none of that! And there’s nothing difficult about mixing it up either. These pancakes are basically foolproof. Plus they’re FLUFFY!

How to make Fluffy Pancakes from scratch

Want to see them fluff? Just watch my video below to see them actually fluff up on the griddle. Then keep reading for the recipe and all my pancake making tips.

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Fluffy Pancake Recipe

Please note that one batch of the recipe below makes a dozen 4-5 inch pancakes or about seven 6 inch pancakes. The recipe can easily be doubled or triple (or more!) depending on how many people you are feeding. For my family of 7 we always double the recipe, even if serving with eggs and fruit.

Tips for making Perfect Pancakes

Ok, pancakes are pretty darn simple, but there are some things that will ensure they turn out perfect every time.

Make sure you are using baking powder, not baking soda. If you mix these two ingredients up, your pancakes will be way too salty, so check to make sure you are using baking powder.

Mix ingredients in this order: First whisk together the dry ingredients in a bowl, then add the milk and egg to the flour mixture, and THEN stir in the melted butter. If you try to stir in the melted butter and milk in one step the cold milk can chill the butter in tiny pieces, which won’t mix into the batter evenly. And don’t mix too much – it’s totally fine for the batter to have some lumps in it.

If your batter seems too thick, add more milk. If your flour is packed down, you may end up with a batter that is too thick. But don’t worry – just add a little more milk until it’s the same consistency you see in my video.

Allow the batter to rest about 10 minutes before cooking. This will give you maximum fluffiness!

Use a measuring cup to pour out the batter. Measuring out the batter ensures your pancakes are a uniform size and doesn’t take any extra time at all. Just use the measuring cup to scoop up the batter and then pour it on the griddle. If you use a 1/4 cup measure you’ll end up with pancakes about 4 inches across, which is a great size for kids. Or you can use a 1/2 cup measure for nice big pancakes, like the ones you see in these photos.

Pour the batter straight down on the pan or griddle for circular pancakes. You do not need to pour the batter in a circle or try to smooth the batter out once it’s on the griddle; just pour it all out and let it do it’s thing.

Cook pancakes on a griddle for best results. Pancakes cook best on a nonstick electric griddle because you can control the heat and keep it at an even 350 degrees F. Griddles are also generally nonstick so you don’t need to use any cooking spray. You can absolutely cook pancakes on a large skillet on the stove, but it’s a bit harder to tell how hot your skillet actually is. Heat the skillet up on medium heat for a few moments. Sprinkle a little water on the skillet and if the water immediately dances and sizzles you know it’s hot enough to start cooking pancakes. If the pancakes are getting too dark before they are ready to flip you’ll know you need to turn the heat down a bit.

Know when it’s time to flip your pancakes, and for fluffy pancakes only flip once. Pancakes are ready to flip when they having started to puff and bubbles are forming. Wait until a couple bubbles have popped and the edges are starting to look dry (this will take 2-3 minutes on a 350 degree griddle). Flip the pancake and let it cook 2-3 more minutes – and DO NOT press it down with the spatula. If your temp is consistent you’ll have perfectly cooked pancakes that are golden brown on both sides and soft and fluffy in the middle.

Variations

One fun thing about pancakes is that it’s easy to change them up a bit by mixing in a few extra ingredients. Here are some of our favorite variations:

• Chocolate Chip Pancakes: You can just stir a handful of chocolate chips into the batter, but I actually prefer to pour out the pancake batter onto the griddle, then drop a few chocolate chips directly onto the pancakes and cook as directed above. This lets you evenly distribute them so you get a little chocolate in every bite! For extra chocolatey pancakes, replace a few tablespoons of the flour with baking cocoa (unsweetened cocoa powder).
• Blueberry Pancakes: Either fold fresh blueberries into the batter or drop them onto the pancake batter once it’s been poured onto the griddle. You can use frozen blueberries in a pinch, but you should thaw and drain them first, and be aware that the juice will turn the pancakes a bit purple.
• Banana Pancakes: Pour the batter onto the griddle and slice bananas on top, then cook as directed.
• Nutella Supreme Pancakes: Cook pancakes as directed in the recipe, then top with a smear of nutella and sliced bananas and strawberries.
• Very Vanilla Pancakes: Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the batter. Top with butter and maple syrup or fresh berries or jam.

How to Store/Freeze Pancakes

One thing we really love about pancakes is that they store and freeze beautifully! Allow them to cool completely, and then store them in a plastic zip top bag in the fridge for a few days. Reheat in the microwave or toaster, or place them all on a baking sheet, cover well with foil, and place them in a 200 degree oven until warmed through.

Pancakes freeze well too! To make sure they don’t stick together in the freezer you can place a small piece of parchment paper in between each pancakes and freeze them in a ziptop bag. Alternately, you can lay them out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze until hard, and then transfer to a bag. Enjoy!