Pancakes From Scratch

This classic American breakfast is a household staple and luckily it is so easy to make Pancakes From Scratch. Using simple ingredients this recipe for Pancakes from Scratch results is fluffy homemade pancakes your family will be asking for again and again.

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This post was originally published March 14, 2017 and has been updated July 2, 2019. The post has been updated with new information, refined recipe, and new photos. 

Homemade Pancakes From Scratch

I originally published this pancake recipe over two years ago and this is still one of my favorite recipes on my blog. If someone were to ask which of my recipe I actually make most often I would probably choose this one. We make a stack of fluffy homemade pancakes almost every weekend. Sometimes we make plain, sometimes we add chocolate chips or blueberries but this recipe is my go-to that I make on a weekly basis. 

And you could guess after making it approximately 116 times since I originally published it I have some added wisdom about making Pancakes From Scratch that I want to share. So I will be adding all of these tidbits and tips and then my original post will start underneath then followed by the updated recipe.

I also have a lot of other fun flavored pancakes for you to try like Pumpkin Spice Pancakes, Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes, and Spinach Oatmeal Pancakes. And for the most fun purple pancakes try making Ube Pancakes.

Ingredients Matter: Pancakes From Scratch Ingredients 

The biggest thing I have learned after making these pancakes so many times is that just like making an actual cake the flour you use can have a big impact. 

Flour contains protein which is essentially the amount of gluten in the flour, and with different brands the amount of proteins can vary A LOT. You can learn more about flour on the King Arthur Flour website, Here.

But essentially what I want to point out is that different brands (especially cheaper vs. more expensive brands) will have a difference on your batter thickness. So if your batter becomes to thick it might be due to the flour you used and/or over stirring (which we will get to), in that case gently stir in a little more milk to get to a good consistency. 

The next ingredient I would like to point out is butter. I think butter is what makes the best pancake, you could use a neutral oil in a pinch, like canola or melted coconut but butter hands down makes the best tasting pancakes. 

For the butter I recommend using unsalted. Why? Because you have full control over the salt content in what you are making. So if all you have is salted butter at your house, make sure to cut down the amount of salt you add to the batter. 

The rest of the ingredients are pretty common place baking powder, salt, egg, milk, and vanilla. 

How To Make Pancakes From Scratch

To begin, I recommend using an electronic griddle for maximum pancake production. If you don’t have one yet a large skillet or stove top griddle will work just great but you might want to hint to someone how nice of a present an electronic griddle would be ;).

Pre-heat your griddle (or skillet) to medium-high heat. I set my electronic griddle slightly below 350ºF, but griddles do vary, especially if yours has certain hot spot you have to keep an eye on.  

Lightly grease griddle. I recommend using just a little bit of butter, the griddle doesn’t have to be overly greased since the pancakes do contain quite a bit of butter. So you will just need to grease one time and not in between batches. 

To make your batter you will need two mixing bowls. In your first bowl add and stir together your dry ingredients, the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. (Make sure you are using a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup and leveling even with the back of a knife to get a proper measurement.)

In your second bowl whisk together your wet ingredients the egg, milk, butter, and vanilla.

Add the flour mixture into the wet mixture. Gently mix together until combined but do not over stir, some lumps are completely normal. Over-stirring will result in too much gluten build up and your pancakes won’t be airy or fluffy. Like when I was talking about thick batter above because of flours over stirring might also make your batter too thick, again if this happens you can add a dash more milk to thin it out. 

Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup measure out the pancake batter. Add a scoop of the batter to the griddle, spreading slightly if needed gently into a circle. Continue scooping the batter until the griddle/skillet is full.

Cook pancakes about 2-3 minutes on each side. Most importantly you will want to flip your pancakes when you start seeing little air bubbles starting to pop in the center of each pancake, that is when you should flip. 

Repeat in batches until your batter is gone, Mine usually takes me 2 batches. Serve immediately, best with butter and maple syrup.

Looking for more breakfast recipes? Check out my Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes or my Double Batch Egg Muffins. If you are looking for something to go with your pancakes I would like to recommend my Creamy Scrambled Eggs!

And make sure you are following me on TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest, for all the latest recipes!

Original post…

So my husband Matt and I were in a vicious fight the other morning… about the rankings of everyone’s favorite breakfasts foods; pancakes, waffles, and french toast. In my opinion the order goes waffles, pancakes, and then french toast, in Matt’s wrong opinion he said french toast, pancakes, and the waffles. We joked about how all the marriage prep classes should make you rank them before you get married to know how compatible you really are. Jokes aside we end up having pancakes in our house most often, because they are so stinking easy to make, and because let’s face it they are delicious. So today I am sharing with you the recipe I have worked a really long time on developing to make them as perfect as I could, I introduce to you my Pancakes From Scratch.

Pancakes from scratch are the most perfect thing to make on a Saturday morning. The ingredients are simple and no one can resist them. They go great with bacon and eggs, topped with maple syrup and butter along with a warm cup of coffee. These pancakes are also nice and thick so they are perfect for add ins if you wish, they would be great with a small hand full of chocolate chips or blueberries. So I wish you a happy weekend and delicious pancakes 😉