Nothing gets us out of bed faster than the smell of a fresh pancakes, and my Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes are truly the best!
Soft and tender, these fluffy pancakes come together from scratch in just 20 minutes. They are perfect for breakfast, and they also freeze super well and reheat quickly right in the toaster!
Quick Look at the Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 mins, Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Method: Electric griddle is best
- Main Ingredients: Buttermilk, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder
- Flavor Profile: Tender, fluffy and soft
- Ideal for: Breakfast, brunch, freezer-friendly
Jump to:
- Quick Look at the Recipe
- Fluffy Pancakes, Made Easy!
- Why Use Buttermilk for These Pancakes
- How to Make a Buttermilk Substitute
- Ingredient Notes
- How To Make Fluffy Pancakes
- Tips for Success
- How to Get Even Color Pancakes
- Recipe FAQs
- Pancakes Are Very Freezer-Friendly!
- Topping Ideas and Variations
- Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes (Easy Recipe!)
Why Use Buttermilk for These Pancakes
The use of buttermilk is pretty much non-negotiable as it contains the acid needed to activate the baking soda, which is what gives them that light and airy texture. Without it, your pancakes may fall flat or turn out dense.
How to Make a Buttermilk Substitute
If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, save yourself a trip to the grocery store and make a quick substitute at home. You need either lemon juice or white vinegar, and milk, preferably whole milk for a richer consistency.
Here’s how: Add 1 tablespoon of either vinegar or lemon juice to a 1 cup measuring cup. Pour in the milk to fill the measuring cup to the rim. Let it sit for 5 minutes until it curdles. Note: This buttermilk pancakes recipe calls for 2 cups, so repeat once more for 2 full cups of buttermilk, or use 2 measuring cups.
Ingredient Notes
- All purpose flour: If you don’t have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. It’s the right amount of leavening agents AND the right amount of flour that determines the texture of the pancakes.
- Baking powder and baking soda: Baking powder produces softness, and baking powder reacts with the acid to produce a light and airy texture.
- Salt and granulated sugar: For balance of flavor. We’re also able to control the amount of salt by adding it ourselves rather than using salted butter.
- Large eggs: For binding the pancakes. Eggs also help to keep the pancakes moist.
- Buttermilk: A creamy, tangy milk that provides a rich consistency to the batter and creates the fluffiest pancakes!
- Unsalted butter: Melt the butter and let it cool before mixing it into the batter. Hot butter may start to “cook” the eggs. Save some for greasing the griddle.
- Maple syrup: For serving.
Quantities are listed in the recipe card down below.
How To Make Fluffy Pancakes
This recipe is so easy! Prepping for pancakes takes just 15 minutes to make the batter, and then the griddle does the rest in no time.
- Dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
- Wet ingredients: In a separate large bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter until combined.
- Mix batter: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. The batter should be lumpy and thick like this; do not overmix.
- Cook on griddle: Add a thin film of butter to an electric grill heated to medium heat. Add ⅓ cup of batter onto the grill for each pancake. Cook until bubbles form and the bottom is golden.
- Flip the pancakes and cook for another minute.
- Serve your buttermilk pancakes with butter and maple syrup, or your favorite toppings. I included topping ideas below!
Tips for Success
- Fresh baking soda and baking powder. Check their expiration date. If they are expired, they won’t fizzle up, which means the pancakes may turn out flat and dense.
- …another trick for checking if the baking soda or powder is still good is to add a little bit of vinegar to it in a bowl. If it fizzles up, you’re good to go.
- Do not overmix the pancake batter. You want there to be lumps in your batter. When the batter is overmixed, pancakes can turn out dense and gummy.
- The griddle I use. I’d highly recommend an electric ceramic nonstick griddle for even heat throughout. Make sure the griddle is preheated to medium heat (350ºF).
- How much batter per pancake: I think ⅓ cup for each is perfect for a decent size pancake that doesn’t feel too small or too large, but ¼ will work too.
- Keep pancakes warm: Place the cooked pancakes on a baking pan or sheet pan, and keep them in the oven on low heat, around 200ºF. You can tent them with foil to keep them from drying out too.
How to Get Even Color Pancakes
I can’t even count how many times my pancakes have turned out with swirls and patterns. I mean, I love it when my pancakes have a nice, uniform golden color…but it’s not that easy.
After testing several times, I found that it all comes down to excess grease (butter) on the griddle. Here’s what I’d recommend:
- Use an electric flat griddle, preferably non-stick ceramic. These have even heat distribution vs. using a griddle pan on the stovetop.
- Add only a thin film of butter, then gently whip any excess grease using paper towel until you can almost no longer see the butter. The pancakes won’t stick if you use a non-stick griddle and if you preheat it properly.
- Use about 350ºF or a little lower for the griddle (medium-low to medium heat). If it’s too hot, the pancakes may stick and burn.
It may take a few tries to get it right! And for some mysterious reason, my second batch on the griddle always turns out better. Does that happen to you too?
Recipe FAQs
You can let it rest for about 5-10 minutes, if you’d like. It’ll give it that extra time to bubble up a bit (this means the baking soda/powder are creating that airy magic in the batter). However, don’t let it sit for any longer than that, or it will eventually start to lose the trapped air.
Yes! You just want a thin film of melted butter to help create a nonstick surface, but also to help it brown evenly on both sides.
You’ll see air bubbles forming on the surface, and the edges will start to turn golden brown.
Pancakes Are Very Freezer-Friendly!
Cook all the pancakes, allow them to cool, and store them for later. Whether you’re putting them in the fridge or freezing them for up to 2 months, keep them separated with layers of parchment paper so they don’t stick together.
Reheating pancakes from frozen: Take as many out as you need at a time, and reheat them straight from frozen. I always pop them in my toaster, or in the microwave for just 20-50 seconds or until warmed through.
Topping Ideas and Variations
- Keep your fluffy buttermilk pancakes simple with just butter and a generous drizzle of maple syrup.
- Add fresh fruit! This is my favorite way, with strawberries and blueberries. Bananas are great too.
- My second favorite pancake toppings: Strawberries, bananas, and nutella!
- Caramel, warm chocolate fudge.
- Make a Dutch baby pancake! If you’ve never tried Dutch baby pancakes, you have to. They are very easy to make and puff up majestically in the oven.
- Cooked apples, like in my Apple Pancakes recipe.
- For a flavor variation, try my Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. They are lemony and so tender!
More Sweet Breakfast Recipes
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Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes (Easy Recipe!)
Equipment
- Electric griddle nonstick ceramic
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour - spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled - plus more for griddle
Toppings for serving
- Maple syrup
- Butter
- Berries - or any fruit you like!
Instructions
- Dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and granulated sugar.
- Wet ingredients: In another large bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter until evenly combined.
- Mix batter: Add the prepared dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined and no pockets of flour remain. Do not overmix. The batter should be lumpy and thick. Note: overmixing can cause too much gluten to develop, which can make pancakes gummy and dense.
- Heat an electric griddle to about 350ºF or a little lower (medium-low to medium heat). Add a bit of butter and lightly wipe it so only a thin film of grease remains. Note: If there's too much grease, the color of the pancakes will be uneven with patterns.
- Cook pancakes: Pour about ¼ or ⅓ cup of batter (I do ⅓ cup always) for each pancake onto the preheated griddle. Once you see bubbles formed on top begin to pop and the bottom edges are golden brown, they are ready to flip. Once flipped, cook for another 2 minutes on the other side or until cooked through and fluffy.
- Serve with maple syrup, butter, and all your favorite toppings!
Notes
- Freshness check: Ensure your baking powder and baking soda are fresh. Check the expiration date. To test them, add a little vinegar to a small amount in a bowl; if it fizzles, it is good to use. Expired leaveners will cause dense, flat pancakes.
- Do not overmix the batter. This is my number 1 advice! Combine until just mixed. The batter should remain thick and lumpy. Overmixing activates too much gluten, making the pancakes gummy and dense.
- Melted butter temperature: Melt your unsalted butter and let it cool before whisking it into the wet ingredients.
- How to get even-colored, golden pancakes: Use a non-stick electric flat griddle heated to about 350ºF or a little lowe (or medium-low heat) for even heat distribution. Apply a thin film of butter, then gently wipe away any excess grease with a paper towel until it is barely visible.
- When to flip pancakes: Wait until you see air bubbles forming across the surface and the edges begin to turn a light golden brown.
- How to keep pancakes warm: Place them on a sheet pan in the oven set to a low heat of 200ºF. Tent them with foil to prevent them from drying out.
- Freezing (Up to 3 Months): Let the cooked pancakes cool completely. Stack them with layers of parchment paper in between each pancake to prevent sticking and freeze.
- Reheat the pancakes directly from frozen. Pop them straight into a toaster, or place them in the microwave for 20 to 50 seconds until warmed through.
- Buttermilk Substitute: If you do not have store-bought buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to a 1-cup measuring cup, then fill the rest of the cup to the rim with milk (whole milk is preferred for richness). Let it sit for 5 minutes until curdled and thickened. Repeat a second time to get the 2 cups needed for this recipe.
- Do not substitute the baking soda or baking powder.
- My personal favorite: Fresh fruits like strawberries, blueberries, or bananas.
- My second personal favorite: Strawberries, bananas, and Nutella!
- Keep it simple with just maple syrup and butter!
- Caramel or warm chocolate fudge.
- Cooked apples (similar to my Apple Cinnamon Pancakes recipe).
Diane says
SO FLUFFY!! Best recipe and advice!!
Julie says
These are truly delicious and fluffy as promised! I didn’t have buttermilk, so I used a combo of regular milk and squeeze of lemon juice, and it worked well. Also, it was so much fun to make on a lazy Saturday morning with my kids – they were amazed watching the egg whites transform into a fluffy white peaks. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!
Tania says
Thank you so much, Julie! That’s great to hear!! So glad the kids had fun making this 🙂