Our best homemade golden and fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes recipe is made from scratch with slightly crisp, buttery edges and a soft, light interior that would satisfy any lumberjack or table full of hungry kids breakfast before school. These pancakes are melt-in-your-mouth good!
Everybody loves a breakfast classic! These buttermilk pancakes are frequently in rotation at our house along with Cinnamon French Toast, Blueberry Muffins, and Belgian Waffles.
I may have a slight pancake obsession. Because I also like to make Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, Toasted Coconut Pancakes, Hoe Cakes [Cornmeal Pancakes], and Fluffy Japanese Pancakes! And that’s not even all of the pancakes recipes on my site!
But the classic, fluffy buttermilk pancakes are the ones my mom made for her family at least once a week while I was growing up. It was one of those recipes that she had memorized and could throw together in no time flat.
These are the most glorious, fluffiest, most perfect buttermilk pancakes ever and they don’t have extra steps like whipping egg whites or dirtying extra bowls. Serve them with classic maple syrup or making a batch of buttermilk syrup for an extra special treat.
Ingredient Notes
- Buttermilk: You can easily freeze buttermilk if you have some leftover or want to always have some on hand so you can make a fresh batch of these pancakes. I recommend freezing it in premeasured cubes. This is a great post on how to freeze buttermilk if you want more info. If you don’t have it on hand, I’ve got a great buttermilk substitute for you below!
- Melted butter: I use melted salted butter in place of oil for these pancakes for better flavor.
- Baking powder and baking soda: These work together to give lift to the pancakes so they rise nice and fluffy. You’ll definitely notice a difference between a box of Krusteaz or Bisquick pancake mix and these homemade pancakes.
How to Make Buttermilk Pancakes
Start by whisking the dry ingredients together in a large bowl to disperse the leavening agents and salt. This is important so you don’t end up with clumps of baking powder or baking soda in your pancake, which can easily happen without whisking since you don’t want to overmix your pancake batter when you add the wet ingredients.
Add the buttermilk, melted butter, and beaten egg. Again, beating the egg before adding it to the pancake batter means it will mix in better without overmixing the buttermilk pancake batter. For the lightest, fluffiest pancakes, you want to stir it as little as possible!
Use a spatula or spoon to stir the batter together by hand. It’s alright if a little lumpy and on the thick side, but if it seems too thick, add a little additional buttermilk, a tablespoon or two at a time.
Once the pancake batter is ready, heat a large frying pan or griddle over medium heat. When hot, add a little butter to the griddle or bottom of the pan and let it melt. Not only will this help prevent the pancakes from sticking, but it also gives crisp buttery edges that really make for the best pancakes ever!
Spoon or pour batter into circles on the hot surface and let them cook until bubbles start to form on the top of the pancake. When those bubbles begin to pop, that’s when the pancake is ready to flip. Cook for another 1-2 minutes on the second side until the pancake is done and no longer doughy inside. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining batter until all of the buttermilk pancakes have been cooked.
If you don’t have a large griddle to cook all of the pancakes at once, you can keep the pancakes hot while cooking the rest of the batter by sticking the finished pancakes in a 200 degree F oven.
Serve them hot with butter and syrup!
FAQ’s
Sweet, syrupy pancakes are best served with a side of salty bacon or sausage and some filling and healthy scrambled eggs. You can also think beyond regular maple syrup and use butter and sugar, jam, or peanut butter and mini chocolate chips! For really special occasions, I will make a batch of homemade whipped cream and serve them with fresh sliced strawberries or raspberries.
Yes, buttermilk pancakes do great in the freezer. Just let them cool completely first, then transfer the pancakes to a freezer-safe bag with a piece of parchment paper between them so they don’t stick. You can reheat them easily in the toaster to serve.
If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make a quick and easy substitute by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a 1 cup measuring cup, then filling it the rest of the way with whole milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes before using. The acid will curdle the milk it makes an easy replacement in any recipe that calls for buttermilk.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overmix the batter. Mixing the batter too vigorously results in flatter, tougher pancakes. Just use a spoon and stir by hand until only a few streaks of flour remain.
- Butter your griddle or pan. This step improves both the flavor and texture of the pancakes and gives them more of that flapjack quality with slightly crisp edges and hint of buttery flavor that you don’t get if you skip the butter.
- Use real buttermilk. A buttermilk substitute works, for sure, but honestly, if you want to do your breakfast (or breakfast-for-dinner!) justice, I highly recommend using the real thing. I have many more recipes that use buttermilk so you are sure to use it all up!
- Blueberry pancakes: Sprinkle fresh or frozen blueberries onto each pancake right after they are poured onto the griddle to make blueberry pancakes.
- Chocolate chip pancakes: Sprinkle regular or mini semisweet chocolate chips onto each pancake right after they are poured onto the griddle to make chocolate chip pancakes.
More Breakfast Recipes You’ll Love
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Fluffy Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups buttermilk (480ml)
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 4 Tablespoons melted butter plus more for the pan
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Add the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter and stir just to combine. Do not overmix the batter – stir just until the streaks of flour are gone. It's okay to have lumpy pancake batter.
- To cook the pancakes, heat a griddle or large frying pan over medium heat. Add a pat of butter to the pan and let it melt, then scoop about ⅓ cup of batter and drop it into the pan to form a pancake.
- Cook the pancakes until small bubbles appear and start to pop on the top, then flip with a large spatula and cook the other side until golden brown, another 1-2 minutes. Repeat with remaining pancake batter.
- Serve the pancakes hot with butter and syrup or jam, peanut butter and mini chocolate chips, or whipped cream and fresh fruit!
Notes
- Substitutions: If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make a quick and easy substitute by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a 1 cup measuring cup, then filling it the rest of the way with whole milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes before using.
- Blueberry pancakes: Sprinkle fresh or frozen blueberries onto each pancake right after they are poured onto the griddle to make blueberry pancakes.
- Chocolate chip pancakes: Sprinkle regular or mini semisweet chocolate chips onto each pancake right after they are poured onto the griddle to make chocolate chip pancakes.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in September, 2016. The photos and content were updated in November, 2021.
These might be our new saturday morning routine! I love fluffy pancakes and these are just perfect!
I’m with the unpopular opinion that pancakes are better than waffles. I love them so much! These did not disappoint. So fluffy and light!
This is the reason I wake up early every weekend! These pancakes are so good and my family loves them, too