Best Basic Pancake Recipe
For years, I used a box mix to make pancakes. It was easy — just add water (and maybe an egg, depending on the fanciness of the mix) and pour the batter on the griddle. Then the internet came along and showed me that I could make pancakes from scratch and at a fraction of the cost of a mix.
And, surprise! The pancakes actually taste better.
First, we must master the basic pancake. And while whipping up a batch takes no time at all, there are some rules to pancake creation to make sure your pancakes turn out fluffy and delicious every time:
Make sure your ingredients are fresh. For instance, your baking powder should be less than 6 months old.
Mix the wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls and then combine them right before you’re ready to start cooking.
Don’t overmix your batter, as stirring too much will make your pancakes chewy instead of fluffy. Leave the lumps. The streaks of flour will even out during cooking.
Don’t mix your chocolate chips or berries into the batter. Instead, add them one at a time right after you pour the batter. This will make sure they are in the center of the pancake.
Wait to flip your pancake until the batter bubbles actually pop and the bottom is golden brown.
Use a flat spatula (or another thin spatula like this OXO Good Grips Flexible Spatula) for your flipping to avoid messy pancake flip.
Don’t pat your pancakes! Leave them alone while cooking. I’m still trying to teach this to my young kitchen helpers that love to smack the tops of cooking pancakes.
I’ve also found that the right supplies will make the pancake making job easier. Here’s what we have in our home:
A large electric griddle — we eat a lot of pancakes during a meal, and nothing is more annoying than everyone waiting for 6 pancakes to cook at a time. We have moved to a giant electric griddle and can now crank out tons of cakes in minimal time.
Batter Spoons — I don’t know how I did life before these spoons. Now I get the same sized pancakes and not near the mess. These spoons are also perfect for pouring cake batter into cupcake pans. They’re also awesome sand box scoops.
Real Maple Syrup — This beats the high fructose stuff every time. You can get a “good deal” at WinCo, Costco, Trader Joe’s, and Amazon, but understand that it’s spendy compared to the regular stuff. And totally worth it.
Once you have the pancake rules down and supplies in hand, it’s time to master a basic pancake recipe. Tweak it to suit your taste and then start adding chocolate chips, berries, flax seed, nuts, and other ingredients to jazz things up.
The BEST Basic Pancake Recipe
Makes 8-12 pancakes
*Small t. = teaspoon, large T. = tablespoon
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 T. baking powder
2-3 T. white sugar
1/2 t. salt
2 eggs
1.5 cups milk (if batter is too thick, add a little extra milk to thin)
2 t. vanilla
2 T. melted butter, vegetable oil or coconut oil + more for cooking
- Preheat a griddle. If you’re using an electric griddle, preheat to 350 degrees.
- In a mixing bowl add flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Mix well.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add eggs, milk, vanilla, and butter/oil. Stir to combine. Remember, don’t overmix!
- On a hot griddle, add butter to coat pan to keep pancakes from sticking.
- Pour batter onto hot griddle, about 1/2 cup per pancake. More or less depending on the size you prefer. Let cook about 3 minutes, until bubbles begin to pop on the batter, and edges are brown. Flip pancake and cook other side for about 2 minutes.
- Serve hot with butter and maple syrup.
Looking for more pancake inspiration?
Looking for more delicious breakfast ideas?
Follow Frugal Living NW on Pinterest!
Fantastic range of boards from best recipes and tips for frugal living to gardening and budgeting help.
This post may contain affiliate links. See the disclosure policy for more information.
My first batch were flat and dry, I added about a tsp more baking powder and smashed a ripe banana into the batter and they were much better
This recipe has become a staple in our household! My kids love them and they come out perfect everytime!
Can you make the batter ahead of time, for instance the night before?
I have used this recipe multiple times without fail. My 14 month old loves these pancakes.
Y’all realize right under “makes 8-12 pancakes ” it says t=teaspoon and T=Tablespoon?!!! I turned 60 years old on 2/2/2021. I was taught at 11 years old in middle school home economics that small t was teaspoon and lg T was tablespoon. This was just starting to be the standard way to write.
Baking powder measurement needs to be 1 Tablespoon! I made these twice because the first time they never rose. They were dense and flat. I looked around at other recipes to get some comparisons and the bottom line-this recipe needs more baking powder. After that fix, they were great. Light and fluffy. Simple fix and worth making again.
I wish I had read the comments before I made these! Very rubbery and flat, dense :(. Definitely won’t use again. The simple act of writing out tablespoon and teaspoon would have saved a lot of confusion also.
I’m glad some people had success, but that was not the case with me.
I must’ve done something wrong. My pancakes are flat
You must have left out baking powder😏 if u feel like it try again
I made this today and they were perfect and yummy. Followed recipe to the tee.
Ya, this recipe totally blew.
Wasted precious flour on this. Lol!
Made funny family videos tho and had great laughs!
I just spent time and money fixing these pancakes and they are the worst pancakes I’ve ever put in my mouth. Tasted like rubber! I am so mad that I spent my morning making these and my family can’t even eat them they’re so horrible. Don’t waste your time. Very disappointing and ruined our Saturday morning breakfast. Did you even taste them before you wrote a whole blog about them?
We’re so sorry you had a bad experience! That is so frustrating to spend so much time and not be able to enjoy them for breakfast.
Obviously we have tried and tested these multiple times (we wouldn’t post about them otherwise) and we have comments from many readers that love them, so I’m not really sure what to tell you. Hope you found another pancake recipe you enjoy!
My 10 year old used this recipe, it was his first time cooking unsepervised; they came out great! Everyone was so impressed.
That’s so awesome!! Thank you for sharing with us.
They came out great. I did add a little more milk as my batter was a bit thick. Also using a traditional griddle over a gas flame, I found little need for the butter…even though ,” everything tastes better with butter “😋
Love this recipe! My daughter wants pancakes all the time.
Waaaay too much baking powder. I’m guessing you mean ya t and not T? Bitter tasting and gross
It is written as a “t”.
These were really dense. I would recommend one less egg.
I adjusted the recipe to make them vegan and they have turned out great everytime. I use Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer and almond milk to make it vegan. Thanks for the easy recipe!
I have tried several pancake recipes and this is the best!
2 TABLESPOONS of powder? My guess is 2 tsp?
Where is it written 2tablespoons of powder 🤨
My batter was too thick…I must have done something wrong. Any suggestions? Can I just add more milk to thin it out?
Yes. I added some more milk to get the consistency that I like.
I was looking for a quick, no-brainer pancake base. I halved the recipe, used coconut sugar and coconut oil, and added a shake of flax meal for iron (and a little extra milk). While cooking on first side, I added some thawed frozen berry mixture and some chopped, grated lemon zest. 12 year old son just inhaled three of the little pancakes that I was planning on putting in his lunch. Made 9 4-inch pancakes with half a recipe.
I used lactose free milk . Deliciously healthy😚!
Easy recipe! I can’t exactly review the taste because I belatedly realized we were out of milk so I had to sub water. The taste was a bit off with that, though my kids didn’t notice a bit and wolfed them down. They were super fluffy though! I got about 12 good sized pancakes out of the batch. Thanks! I’ll be trying this again when I have milk. 😀
I made a double batch this morning and they turned out great! I followed the recipe exactly as written!! Thanks!!
Made a double batch this morning to store and take camping this week. Used coconut oil as my oil and almond milk (because I ran out of milk). I too was questioning the powder vs. soda. They turned out perfect- fluffy and just enough sweetness to necessitate maple syrup 😉
Are those T’s teaspoons or tablespoons?
Tablespoon
I had the same baking powder vs. soda question that Claudia had, but ended up going with what the recipe said & used powder. I followed it & ended up with super runny batter & super flat pancakes. I am actually a baker so I am pretty sure the baking powder was fresh, but perhaps not. I would imagine if the baking powder was bad that would show up only when it’s cooked, not in the form of runny batter. It was like I missed a cup of flour but I measured 2 out! Also I didn’t know if super high Georgia summer humidity played a role in changing the batter consistency. They are very tasty for sure but I so wanted them thick like in the photo! Will give another shot maybe in the fall when it isn’t so humid & with new baking powder.
I had the same result in Colorado. Very thin, flat pancakes.
I made these a couple of days ago for a breakfast-for-dinner night. They are so delicious and perfect!
I used my blend of gluten free flour and I found that they needed about 1/2 cup more of milk. It could be just my flour blend, but if the batter looks like it could be runnier, it certainly won’t hurt to add more milk.
They came out perfectly on my stove top griddle. Baked up thick and fluffy just like the picture. The best part is that they taste like true HOTCAKES, not the southern variety most commonly served here in TX that taste sour and just… too buttermilk-y.
Thank you and this is my go to pancake recipe! I hadn’t found one I liked since going gluten free but this is perfect. I kept all measurements and everything totally the same except for adding extra milk.
Oh and don’t leave them too long on the griddle or else they can dry out.
Grade B maple syrup — I’m a fan as well and use Coombs Family Farms in the glass bottle 🙂
This turned out so perfectly perfect! Definitely the best recipe I’ve ever used. I’m normally not the best cook when it comes to pancakes from scratch, but I followed your idea of mixing dry and liquid separate. (I didn’t make a well in the dry ingredients as the directions suggested, instead I beat the eggs/milk/vanilla/olive oil in a separate bowl then mixed it with dry.) The different tips were really helpful. I have never had even box recipes come out so fluffy and tasty as these did. My family loved them! This will be my go to recipe from now on. Thanks so much!!!
What does T. Stand for? Tablespoon or Teaspoon? knowing that is key to a successful recipe. Thanks
T = Tablespoon
t = teaspoon
Natalie:
t = teaspoon
T = tablespoon
Do you have a bulk recipe so it can be kept on hand?
I’m going to mix together a bunch of the dry & just tell my family to scoop out 2 cups to make batter. I’ll also attach the recipe to the container with a waffle variation to make mixing it easier.
I loved the recipe. Have made several times. What a difference from scratch as opposed to the box. I have no complaints.