These easy pancakes are perfectly delicious and excellent for feeding a crowd. You can even make this basic pancake recipe as a mix or as a freezer meal!
Love these? Try our other 20+ Pancake Recipes.
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From tortillas and lefse to crêpes and pita, flatbreads are popular in every culture. And for good reason!
Not only are they quick to prepare and simple to eat, they are also very satisfying. This makes them winners for a family menu.
Economical and easily made from scratch, they can also feed a crowd with very little work. Plus, they taste great!
In the United States, pancakes or flapjacks are the name of the game. If you’ve never made pancakes from scratch, today is the day to learn something new!
Homemade pancakes require a handful of ingredients and take just minutes to mix up.
One thing that I love about this basic pancake recipe is that although they are so simple, I can vary the batter recipe as well as the toppings to suit my mood or whatever’s in the pantry.
Basic pancake recipe ingredients
- milk – Any milk will work in this recipe: low-fat, skim, whole, or even almond milk would work as well! For thicker, fluffy pancakes, use buttermilk.
- eggs – Two eggs help to give this recipe structure and bind your ingredients together. Out of eggs? Be sure to try my Eggless Pancakes.
- oil – The oil provides fat and richness to the recipe.
- flour – I use unbleached all-purpose flour, but you can substitute whole wheat pastry flour if you want to make them more nutritious.
- sugar – You can use granulated white sugar or sucanat (natural cane sugar), but try substituting brown sugar (they will be a little moister).
- baking powder and baking soda – these are leaveners to add height to your pancakes.
- salt – I use 1 teaspoon fine sea salt. A little salt helps to balance the sugar in this recipe.
- butter (for frying) – Frying these in melted butter adds some great flavor!
How to make these easy pancakes
- Combine all ingredients, except butter, in a large mixing bowl, stirring until smooth. I like to use a dough whisk. There may be a few lumps, but that is fine.
- Heat large skillet or griddle until droplets of water sizzle when sprinkled onto cooking surface. Brush griddle with melted butter.
- Pour batter, about ⅓ cup at a time onto griddle. This thin batter should spread itself into a medium circle. Cook until bubbles form in batter and start to pop. Flip with a pancake turner. Brush the cooked tops of cakes with more melted butter. Cook a minute or two more. Stack on a plate until all are cooked. This should make about 24 pancakes.
- If preparing this as a mix to use later, place the dry ingredients in an airtight container such as a quart-sized mason jar or a ziplock bag. Mark the container with the wet ingredients to add later and cooking instructions. Store in pantry or freezer until ready to use.
- For freezing: Either prepare the recipe as a mix (dry ingredients only) and store in the freezer for longest shelf life OR bake and cool the pancakes. Bundle them in stacks of three to four, wrap with plastic wrap and store in a ziptop freezer bag in the freezer.
Tips for making pancakes:
- While it lends itself toward a heavy carbo load, a pancake dinner doesn’t have to be junky. Try buckwheat or whole wheat if you’d like to use a whole grain. Use yogurt or ricotta cheese to beef up the protein content. Top it with fresh fruit instead of syrups.
- Baking powder typically present in pancakes reacts twice – once when liquid is added and once when baked. For the lightest pancakes, don’t mix the batter too far in advance of cooking. For the thickest, fluffiest, use buttermilk instead of milk.
- You can make a baking mix for pancakes in advance, though. Simply assemble the dry ingredients in a bowl, jar, or bag. Keep it dry until you’re ready to mix it up.
- Of course, if you don’t want your pancakes laden with butter and eggs, that’s okay too! You can use flax-seed meal instead of eggs. You can also try swapping some applesauce for oil or melted butter.
- One of the great things about pancakes is that they’re pretty versatile. Experiment with adding different flavors with fresh fruit (diced or pureed), spices (think cinnamon or nutmeg), or even flavored extracts. The possibilities are endless. Get creative and see what winning combinations you can create.
How to make pancakes ahead of time
For over twenty years, pancakes have been a regular on our family menu. However, here’s a little secret, after awhile this mama got a little tired of measuring after being up all night with a baby and up early with hungry toddlers. I needed a way to make pancakes and keep my sanity, too.
Enter: the homemade pancake mix.
Yep, you read that right. I no longer mix up pancakes on the spot. I prep a bulk batch of pancake mixes to stash in the cupboard. I mark on the bag the wet ingredients that need to be added, so that I don’t even have to look up the recipe again.
Why are my pancakes not fluffy?
We all want fluffy pancakes, am I right? The secret to getting fluffy pancakes is to make sure to not overmix your batter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and then stir together just until combined. The batter should be lumpy. Don’t worry they will cook out.
Made with milk, this recipe results in thin, tender pancakes. If you want the best fluffiest pancakes, use buttermilk.
And, I’ve been known to prepare them for a quick pickup dinner when my other plans don’t pan out. Talk about the perfect item to add to your Pantry Challenge menu!
Can I freeze pancakes?
Absolutely you can! Pancakes are one of the baked goods that I love to freeze. You can have them on hand for a last minute dinner, or a busy morning. To freeze them, alow them to cool completely and then transfer them to a freezer plastic bag and freeze.
To reheat pancakes, thaw completely, reheat in a skillet on low heat.
Pancake variations
Don’t forget to read my Tips for Making Pancake Night a Success. And check out these other pancake recipes.
:: Multi-Grain Blueberry Pancakes
:: 5-Grain Pancakes with Flax
:: Pancakes with Apples and Whipped Maple Butter
Tools I use to make this recipe:
If you prepare this recipe, be sure to share a picture on social media and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up!
Basic Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cup milk OR 3 ½ cups buttermilk
- 2 egg
- ⅓ cup neutral oil
- 3 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- melted butter for frying the pancakes
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients, except butter, in a large mixing bowl, whisking until smooth. There may be a few lumps, but that is fine.
- Heat large skillet or griddle until droplets of water sizzle when sprinkled onto cooking surface. Brush griddle with melted butter. Pour batter, about ⅓ cup at a time onto griddle. This should spread itself into a medium circle. Cook until bubbles form in batter and start to pop. Flip with a pancake turner. Brush the cooked tops of cakes with more melted butter. Cook a minute or two more. Stack on a plate until all are cooked. This should make about 24 pancakes.
- If preparing this as a mix to use later, place the dry ingredients in an airtight container such as a quart-sized mason jar or a ziplock bag. Mark the container with the wet ingredients to add later and cooking instructions. Store in pantry or freezer until ready to use.
- For freezing: Either prepare the recipe as a mix (dry ingredients onland store in the freezer for longest shelf life OR bake and cool the pancakes. Bundle them in stacks of three to four, wrap with plastic wrap and store in a ziptop freezer bag in the freezer.
Notes
Nutrition
Jess
I enjoyed the flavour and texture of the pancakes, however I found the batter was so sticky that no matter how much butter or oil was used they wouldn’t budge from the bottom of the pan! I ended up putting 1/3c scoops onto a baking tray and cooking them in the oven on non stick paper. They didn’t get that lovely golden colour, but they tasted good!
Jessica Fisher
Huh. How hot was the pan? That could be the issue. It needs to be sizzling hot.
Jess
It wasn’t my first time making pancakes… I made some 2 days ago with a different recipe and has no issues whatsoever
Jessica Fisher
Were both recipes American recipes or was the other New Zealand? I’m kinda curious if the ingredients are different between countries? Regardless, I’m sorry you had trouble. These are a go-to at our house.
Cassy
These came out dense and thin. It is a recipe I was very unhappy. I followed the recipe and had to order more baking powder and they were still dense.
Jessica Fisher
I’m sorry you were disappointed. This is a longtime family favorite of ours.
TSandy
Have you tried Alton Brown’s pancake recipe? I’ve used it as my go to recipe for a couple years now. His pancakes are every bit as light and fluffy as the box mixes without all the nasty ingredients. What I love is he has a bulk mix recipe that can be stored on the pantry shelf and then you can pull out the pre-made mix whenever you want to make pancakes. It cuts the time down from start to finish. I rarely have fresh buttermilk so I use the milk/lemon juice trick to sour milk.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/instant-pancake-mix-recipe.html
Ellisa
I just made these pancakes for our family this morning. Everyone LOVED them and said they had way more flavor than Bisquick mix. I’ll be adding these into the rotation now. Thank you 🙂
Traci Cundall
How long can you store your mixes in the freezer?
Katie
I made these as part of your “Make Ahead Breakfasts” menu (thank you!), but found the batter to be really thin, like a Swedish pancake, not thick like the ones in your picture. I went over the ingredients to make sure I was accurate and everything seems to be correct. I checked my Betty Crocker pancake recipe and it uses 3/4 c milk for 1 cup flour. I’m thinking instead of 3 1/3 cups milk, I will try 2 1/4 cups next time and I think it will turn out more like your picture. They were still good today–just thin.
Jessica Fisher
They do make a thinner pancake from time to time. I think it has something to do with the baking powder and soda. I often make it with buttermilk instead. That’s how I changed the recipe for the Not Your Mother’s book. I prefer it that way. But these photos taken a million years ago were made with milk, so I don’t know what to say. I hope it worked out okay for you!
Jessica
I love this recipe. I have used it since I saw this post. In my last blog post I wrote about a variation of your recipe…
http://whatwedidtodayblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/sunday-morning-apple-pie-pancakes.html
Cristy
I must have messed something up on this because we found these pancakes to be extremely dry. St strange because they sure look fluffy in the pictures! :-/
Jessica Fisher
That’s disappointing. 🙁 we’ve never had too dry. Sometimes too moist for some of my kids.
Angela
Going to mix up this recipe this weekend.
Jennifer
Have you ever tried to mix powdered milk into your mix so you only need to add water? Pancakes are sometimes a breakfast for the days when we run out of milk. 🙂
Jessica
@Jennifer, you could totally do that. Different powdered milks have different measurements, so I don’t think I could add that to the recipe, but that should work, provided that you have instant dry milk. The kind I have isn’t instant, so I think it might need to be mixed with water first.
Michelle
Jessica – Do you have a reccomendation for using whole wheat flour for pancakes? We use white whole wheat. Thanks!
Jessica
I usually use whole wheat pastry flour as it’s got a more delicate texture for pancakes. I know that I’ve used white whole wheat, but that was quite some time ago. I would start with half and half and see how you like it.
STL
Jessica, I’m really enjoying your blog–thanks for the good tips. I think similarly, but you have done this a lot longer and more thoroughly, so I’m getting lots of good ideas. Anyway, my favorite pancake recipe is found at the Hillbilly Housewife site, below. I use it almost exclusively, unless I have no bananas, which is hardly ever since I freeze them when they’re going soft. Thanks, Stacy
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/bananapancakes.htm
Jessica
Thanks for the tip! I read HHW back in the get-out-of-debt days. Great ideas there.
STL
You can also find egg-free pancake recipes online.
Dina
since I am vegan, do you suggest any substitute for egg? I have tried flaxseed and water thingy (for other pancake recipe) but my pancake does not puffed (not even bubble) up as much. Thanks.
Jessica
That’s all I got. You could try Egg Replacer. It’s a powder in the baking aisle.
Dina
@Jessica, Thanks….but which store carry that? Target, walmart or sprouts? that are the only store I visit. It is hard to shop with two under 2!
Jessica
@Dina, don’t I know it. I have seen it at Henry’s, now called Sprouts.
Mara ~ Kosher on a Budget
Just made these for brunch to rave reviews. Most of my pancake recipes require buttermilk, but these were just as good, if not better, with regular milk. Thanks!
Sarah G
Made some this morning…yummy! So easy! I don’t mind serving these since I know exactly what went in them, unlike the pre-mixes. Added some frozen b blueberries to the mix as well…delish!
Amy
Made these this morning and they were a huge hit!!
Bridgette
Can you mix the wet and dry and then seal in a ziplock and freeze? Or do you suggest just freezing the dry and adding the wet when you make the pancakes?
Jessica
I have never done that, so I don’t recommend it. I would just premeasure the dry. Add the wet when you bake them.
FishMama
I store it in the freezer for longer shelf life and to avoid bugs or rodents. Not that we have had them, but I don't wanna! 😉
sabrina
Do you store this mix in the pantry or freezer?