Looking for an easy and classic pancake recipe? These are so fluffy and melt-in-your-mouth tender with simple ingredients (no buttermilk required!) and so delicious doused in maple syrup!
As a self-proclaimed pancake lover, I’ve tried dozens of pancake recipes. This is my go-to easy recipe when I want a fluffy, classic pancake with no special ingredients.
These homemade pancakes are the perfect blank canvas for any type of pancake you’re craving. Add blueberries for buttermilk pancakes, chocolate chips for chocolate chip pancakes, or just some fresh fruit on top!
Ingredients for perfect pancakes
- Unsalted butter: I usually start these pancakes by melting the butter first so it has time to cool before incorporating it into the rest of the wet ingredients. You can also swap salted butter in and simply omit the added salt.
- Whole milk: Instead of using buttermilk (which I rarely have on hand), using regular milk and adding a splash of vinegar works just as well. You can use 2% or skim milk, though the results will probably be slightly less rich and tender. I’ve also used half heavy cream and half water, which actually yielded an even more melt-in-your-mouth pancake and was my favorite rendition. Plant-based milk like soy, oat or almond milk also works, but will have a slightly eggier flavor. You’ll need room temperature milk so the melted butter doesn’t seize up in cold milk, so just pop the milk in the microwave for 20 seconds or so to take the chill off.
- Eggs: It’s also important that your egg is room temperature to keep the melted butter from seizing. I never remember to take out my eggs ahead of time, so I’ll just soak an egg in a cup filled with hot water for 5 minutes before adding it to the recipe.
- All-purpose flour: I’ve tried these with all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour and half whole wheat, half all-purpose. All will work–using half whole wheat will yield a thicker pancake since it absorbs a bit more liquid! Using 100% all-purpose flour (as pictured) will yield the best golden appearance.
- Apple cider vinegar: The acid in the vinegar helps activate the baking soda for extra fluffy pancakes. It’s such a small amount that you can use most clear-colored vinegars if you don’t have apple cider on hand–white vinegar, champagne vinegar, white wine vinegar, or even lemon juice will work.
How to make the best fluffy pancakes
This fluffy pancake recipe comes together in six easy steps.
Step 1: Combine all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda) in a bowl.
Step 2: Combine all wet ingredients together (room temperature milk, melted butter, an egg, vinegar).
Step 3: Add the wet mixture into the flour mixture and stir gently to just combine.
Step 4: Your final batter should look lumpy, but all big pockets of dry ingredients should be mixed in.
Step 5: Add batter to a greased, preheated pan over medium heat and cook for 1-2 minutes until bubbles start pop on the surface of the pancake.
Step 6: Use a spatula to carefully flip the pancake over and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Enjoy warm!
Tips for making the best pancakes
Whether you’re making buttermilk pancakes, vegan pancakes or anything in between, a few things always stay the same with the technique:
Don’t overmix the batter
For the fluffiest pancakes, fold the batter just until most of the dry pockets are mixed in but with a few lumps. If you mix the batter until it’s totally smooth, the batter will flatten in the pan. Having lumps helps give the pancake body and keep them thick and fluffy!
Cook them in a generous amount of oil or butter
For years, I’d cook my pancakes in the smallest amount of oil or butter possible. But I finally realized that the key to crispy rings around the edges of your pancakes is a generous amount of fat in the pan.
If you like frying pancakes in butter, using clarified butter or ghee is best to avoid burning the milk solids. But I’ve also fried pancakes in olive oil, coconut oil, vegetable oil and all will work! Just try to keep your heat from getting to high to avoid smoking the oil.
Wait until you see bubbles to flip
When making pancakes, I usually start a large skillet over medium heat and reduce it to medium low if oil starts to smoke or the outsides of the pancakes are browning too quickly. On medium to medium-low heat (and depending how big your pancake is), it should usually take around a minute or two for you to see bubbles starting to erupt on the surface of the pancake. Once the bubbles are bursting and the edges of the pancake are starting to look set, nudge a spatula underneath and flip!
Storage
Store any leftover pancakes in an airtight container. You can reheat pancakes laid out in a single layer on a baking sheet in the oven at 300 degrees or one at a time in a toaster oven for the best crisp.
Classic Fluffy Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter, egg and vinegar until smooth. Pour milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined–you want some lumps at this stage.
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Lightly grease the pan with oil and raise the temperature to medium. Use a quarter cup to measure the batter onto the preheated pan. Cook until bubbles start to appear on the exposed surface of the pancake, about 1-2 minutes. Flip pancake and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes or until golden brown on the underside.
Julie
I have never found out “house pancakes” until I tried this recipe! It is absolute perfection AND doesn’t require buttermilk!
erika
Ahh so glad you enjoyed these Julie!!
Sunita
Hi there, I am always looking for healthy alternative snacks for my ALWAYS HUNGRY 10y old son. I wonder if you can tell me what the nutritional values are of these pancakes and the storage options eg freezing. Thanks.
erika
Hi Sunita–you can definitely refrigerate these pancakes for about a week (highly recommend reheating them on the stovetop) or freeze them (first freeze them individually on a cookie sheet, then add to a bag) for probably up to a month!
Sam H
Erika! these are still my go-to weekend pancakes. I brag to folks that I know the pancake princess and that she gave me her magic recipe.
erika
Oh my goshh day MADE. You can tell people I developed it especially for you.
Muna Kenny
Hi Erika, love the pancakes, they look so fluffy and delicious! I am pancake crazy, I play with the recipe so much that my sister keep reminding me to stop posting pancakes on my blog, I guess she had enough 🙂
I’m so happy to visit your blog, there are many goodies here!
erika
Thanks Muna! These buttermilk ones are actually one of my all-time favorites 🙂 I say you can never have too many pancakes, so please keep posting!! Your gingerbread ones looked fantastic 🙂 Thanks so much for visiting and for the kind comment!
Alessandra
Found your website recently and boy am I glad I did! I love pancakes too but had suffered from numerous pancake fails … just did this recipe for the classic buttermilk recipe and need to look further no more! This was perfect, fluffy, and just a great canvas for whatever top pings you want! I wanted to thank you for such a great site and leading me to discover pancake NIRVANA!!!
erika
Alessandra! Thanks so much for the sweet comment! I’m SO glad you tried + liked these pancakes–I’ve been thinking about re-doing this post since the photos really don’t do the recipe justice. Much love <3
Mandy @ lady and pups
OK, I don’t know if this ever happens to anybody… but I have question regarding general pancake batters. Is it just me or the baking powder always start “acting up” before the batter even hits the pan? I mean they are just bubbling away in the batter, and before it really has a chance to puff up in the pan, the batter has lost all its leavening power…
Just me?….
erika
Huh. I can’t say that’s ever really happened to me…so you end up with flat pancakes? Do you mix the wet and dry ingredients separately and then mix them together? And then cook them right away? Normally, the maximum lag time between mixing the wet + dry and cooking is, for me, around 15 minutes and I’ve never had a problem with flat pancakes.
Hmm…maybe this is because I think I only use double-acting baking powder. So some of the power is released when the batter is heated + cooked.
Sorry…I’m totally befuddled by this! But also intrigued.
Mandy
I usually use aluminum-free baking powder… I mean I can see the batter getting “foamy” while I heat up the pan or during the cooking of the first batch. And at the nd of the last batch, the batter normally isn’t foamy anymore. The pancakes still has some lift but I’ve always wondered if they could be taller if the baking powder has lost some of its leavening power…. Maybe I should chill my wet ingredients first? Weird….
erika
Hmm…I’m going to have to watch my batter more closely the next time I make pancakes! I’ve never noticed that and (I think) my pancakes usually come out pretty consistently throughout the batch.
Clearly you’re going to have to visit someday so you can show me how you make pancakes!
Heather Elicker
I wish I would have known about your blog when I bwgan my search for the perfect pancake. I wouldn’t have wasted my time on awful recipes. Your buttermilk pancakes are a mazing. Thanks for sharing with us such a gem. 🙂
Lilly Sue
Uh, these are beautiful and look absolutely AWESOME!!!! Can you come make me pancakes?!? 😀
cookingactress
OMG these pancakes all look so fluffy and perfect! And I adore the powdered sugar designs.
Nicole @ Culinary Cool
Those Cinnamon pancakes would have been great for Christmas morning. I made French Toast Muffins instead.
erika
Wow, that sounds amazing! I’d love to try that sometime. I’m heading over to your blog to look for the recipe now! (Although if it’s not on your blog, what recipe did you use?)
yummychunklet
Tasty and cute!
Christine (@cookingcrusade)
I love the stencilling on top! Classic pancakes are awesome. Always. Plus probs better during Christmas because of the gingerbread overload for every other meal 😛 hehe
erika
We are totally on the same wavelength 🙂
gottagetbaked
Erika, I could easily devour stacks of both pancakes, no problem! A good buttermilk pancake is always a welcome classic. I hope you had a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones, filled with good food and lots of booze! I look forward to drooling over more of your fabulous recipes in 2013 🙂
petit4chocolatier
The pancakes are incredible! Buttermilk pancakes sound so good right now. The cakey cinnamon sound great too! Decisions, decisions!! Your brother is pretty creative too with the confectioners’ sugar designing 🙂 Happy Holidays!!
The Healthy Flavor
Haha Erica! I posted my Gingersnap pancakes the other day because I’m obsessed with ginger so I laughed when you said you were all gingered out! 🙂 I can’t get enough of them. I love these cinnamon ones…my post is my old cinnamon recipe that I turned into a Gingersnap cookie pancake. I’m loving the buttermilk ones…they look so classic and so delicious as your pancakes always do!! Gorgeous and salivating!!