Perfect Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe (2024)

By Alison Roman

Perfect Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe (1)

Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
5(10,787)
Notes
Read community notes

Pancakes are the hero of the breakfast table, and their very taste can even be described as “deeply breakfasty”: eggy, salty, just this side of sweet. A little indulgent and yet still somehow appropriate first thing in the morning, those fluffy stacks with crisped edges, dripping with maple syrup, are everything you want, exactly when you want them. Here is how to get to them right every time, whether it's a lazy Sunday morning or a hurried weekday.

Learn: How to Make Pancakes

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 2cups all-purpose flour
  • 3tablespoons sugar
  • teaspoons baking powder
  • teaspoons baking soda
  • teaspoons kosher salt
  • cups buttermilk
  • 2large eggs
  • 3tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • Vegetable, canola or coconut oil for the pan

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Make the recipe with us

  1. Step

    1

    Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt together in a bowl. Using the whisk, make a well in the center. Pour the buttermilk into the well and crack eggs into buttermilk. Pour the melted butter into the mixture. Starting in the center, whisk everything together, moving towards the outside of the bowl, until all ingredients are incorporated. Do not overbeat (lumps are fine). The batter can be refrigerated for up to one hour.

  2. Step

    2

    Heat a large nonstick griddle or skillet, preferably cast-iron, over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet. Turn heat up to medium–low and using a measuring cup, ladle ⅓ cup batter into the skillet. If you are using a large skillet or a griddle, repeat once or twice, taking care not to crowd the cooking surface.

  3. Flip pancakes after bubbles rise to surface and bottoms brown, about 2 to 4 minutes. Cook until the other sides are lightly browned. Remove pancakes to a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet, and keep in heated oven until all the batter is cooked and you are ready to serve.

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10,787

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

J. Scott Wilson

As with any buttermilk batter recipe, this works best if you let the batter sit at room temperature for about a half-hour. The buttermilk will work its magic and thicken the batter, making for super-fluffy pancakes. By cooking immediately, you're completely defeating the purpose of using the buttermilk.

MMS

Any reason why the eggs aren't lightly beaten before adding to pancake mixture? I thought over mixing was to be avoided, and it seems that mixing whole unbeaten eggs would risk this. Thoughts from the pancake experts?

Stu

A generous teaspoon of Vanilla extract makes a big difference in my experience (or 1-inch+ scraped vanilla bean).

Jean

This is my new go to recipe. I don't make any changes, but I do find that the batter is thicker if you let it sit for about 10 minutes or so after mixing everything together. It spreads like crazy if you cook right away.

JLR

The unibowlness of this is sublime, but with volumetric measurements, it's something of a fallacy! If weighed in the bowl:

250 g APF
38 g sugar
1.5 tsp each of soda, powder and salt (even my drug-dealer scale isn't up to the task of weighing these)
600 g of buttermilk (or, as I did, about 550 g of buttermilk and 50 g milk)
2 eggs
45 g butter, melted in the frying pan or on the griddle

The butter's still on my hands as I type this —delicious!

Greg

This is my "go-to" Saturday morning pancake recipe. I kick it up with two teaspoons of vanilla in the batter.When I die, I want to be buried in a vat filled with Grey Goose vodka and the NYT buttermilk pancake batter.

cw

325? Some if my pancakes were more like cookies by the end. 200 degrees is plenty to keep pancakes warm. (And heat some plates to serve!)

Jane

I regularly cook in both the US and the UK, and I have made these pancakes several times in each place. In my experience, buttermilk can vary a lot in thickness. The buttermilk I purchase in the US is consistently thinner than in the UK. Reading the notes of other cooks, it appears that the thickness varies even within the US, since some cooks comment on the extreme thinness of the batter, while others find the opposite. Start with 1/4 to 1/2 c. less buttermilk, adjusting as necessary.

Katie

These didn't turn out right for me--too thin and liquidy. I feel fairly certain that was due to an excess of milk. Looking at other pancake recipes I regularly use, the quantity of flour and milk is the same, but here there's a 1/2 cup more of buttermilk. If I try these again I'd reduce the milk.

sarnor

I always beat the eggs and combine with the melted butter and buttermilk then add to the dry ingredients. If you read the "How to Make Pancakes" article cited above, the reason they are added directly to the dry ingredients is so there is one less bowl to clean.

Nuschler

Sorry, but as an MD I had to laugh. You don’t want butter, but you recommend “generous amount” of coconut oil?

Coconut oil is 92% saturated fat! We use fresh coconut oil right of husks for laxatives here in Hawai’i.

Stan

I have tried many recipes for pancakes, including some others from NY Times Cooking. This is by far the best-fluffy and full of flavor. I made the recipe for 2 people and added blueberries and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Beautiful and delicious.

Dave Smucker

I fix a lot of pancakes - once a week breakfast for high school boys at church and Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper too. Want better lighter pancakes - change the flour. Use unbleached self-rising biscuit flour, not all purpose. You want soft wheat flour, not hard wheat flour. Want to make them really bad use bread flour. We use 10 percent sugar, and lots of butter. (That is about 160 pancakes each Thursday morning, and 1600 for Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper).

rose

Excellent recipe. My go-to for pancakes has always been the one in Joy of Cooking, which requires you to separate the whites from the egg yokes and then make an almost-meringue, before folding everything back into the batter. The result was unfailingly fluffy cakes. Was VERY skeptical about this method, but the result were amazing. This method is so much quicker, since there's no need to beat the egg whites.

Jen

I used yogurt for some of the buttermilk, and the pancakes were fantastic.Great with orange zest, marmalade and vanilla in the batter.

LL

Wow. So good and practically mistake proof.

Alana

Sub buttermilk with 1 part milk and 1 part yogurt

Gary S

Great recipe, as thousands have declared. Just be mindful of the salt. A bit less will not hurt.

C

This is my go-to pancake recipe! Most of the time, I have followed directions exactly and they are thick and fluffy. Today I didn't have buttermilk and substituted with 2% milk and 2.5 tblspns of vinegar (that I let sit for 15 minutes) as well as added 1 tablespoon flaxseed and although the results weren't as thick and fluffy, they still tasted amazing.

Tony

Silly thing to note but if you do not like eggs you probably will not like this. My partner hates eggs and could not get into it, me however loved it, its a great pancake base.

PMac

Great recipe in general but keeping these pancakes in 325-degree oven until every batch is finished cooking meant that every batch aside from the last one ended up completely dried out and deflated. I’m surprised no one else has mentioned this!!!

Dennis

This is a fool proof recipe. I have made it many times. Big, fluffy and they freeze very well.

CLewis

Crunch on the outside! Yum. I added 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. With the vanilla in, some family members skip syrup.

fluffy pancakes

I didn’t have buttermilk, so I used 1.5 cups of plain yogurt and a cup of milk. They turned out very fluffy and delicious. I think the 325 oven is intended to cook the pancakes through, if they haven’t cooked through on the stove top. I put my stove on low instead and kept them warm in a 200 degree oven. Probably takes a little longer this way.

sunny

Used 1 1/4 cup sour cream mixed with 1 1/4 cup water instead of buttermilk and used batter for waffles instead of pancakes and they came out fantastic. Froze extras and reheated for the next morning and they are just as great. Highly recommend!

adaption

ExcellentUsed 1/2 whole wheat flour Added one overripe banana Added blueberriesDouble next time

stella

The best pancakes ever. Easy to make. My kids and husband love them

Sean B.

This recipe is nails. Thank you to J. Scott Wilson for his tip on letting the batter sit for 30 minutes before cooking, too.

Mark

I don’t know who has been feeding Alison salty pancakes, but the recipe as written has enough salt to choke a horse. I dial back the salt to 1/2 tsp or even 1/4 tsp, and I’ll add another tablespoon of sugar and the batter still stays balanced. You can also dial back the buttermilk to 2 cups and the recipe turns out fine, as it’s easiest to find buttermilk in the store in pint-size (2 cup) containers.

Ruth

Just made these for International Pancake Day and they did not disappoint. So easy, so fluffy, so delicious. Much too good to save for once a year. They will now be on full “Breakfast for Dinner “ duty!!

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Perfect Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why are my buttermilk pancakes not fluffy? ›

Making pancake and waffle batter ahead of time is a huge no-no and will lead to flat, dense results every time. Even letting your batter hang out for just a few minutes after you've mixed it before you start ladling it onto the griddle will lead to less fluffy results.

Why baking soda in buttermilk pancakes? ›

Not only does buttermilk react with the baking soda to give the pancakes extra height, but it also helps to break down the gluten in the flour for pancakes that turn out nice and tender, not tough or rubbery.

What is the trick to fluffy pancakes? ›

The tip, via Food52, relies on relaxed egg whites, aka unbeaten whites that have been allowed to sit for a bit. The pancake technique calls for the eggs to be separated and for the yolks to be mixed into a buttermilk, milk, and melted butter mixture.

What are 3 things that are discouraged when making pancakes? ›

10 Common Mistakes You Should Avoid If You Want Perfect Pancakes
  • You're overmixing the batter. ...
  • You ignore the heat during cooking. ...
  • You're using the inappropriate utensils. ...
  • You've been using the wrong pan. ...
  • You're cooking too many pancakes at once. ...
  • You flip your pancakes too soon. ...
  • You don't use salt or sugar.

What makes restaurant pancakes taste so good? ›

Restaurants tend to use real, farm-fresh eggs and real milk when making their pancakes, which as you might guess, adds to a richer, higher-quality eating experience.

Should you let buttermilk pancake batter rest? ›

Resting the batter gives the milk (or water, or buttermilk) time to soften the flour and dissolve any remaining lumps. While the batter is resting, the liquid helps release some of the starches and proteins in the flour that will give the pancakes lift without making them tough.

What happens if you add an extra egg to pancake mix? ›

Eggs are a crucial ingredient. They provide the cakes with the structure to hold light bubbles. Eggs also give the batter additional, richer flavor from the yolk fat. If you add too many eggs, you'll have “pancakes” that look more like custard or crepes.

How long should you leave pancake batter to rest? ›

A – If you are going to let your batter rest, leave it for at least 30 minutes in the fridge. If you've got time, leave it for longer – even overnight in the fridge. Some say that there is no point in letting the batter rest and there's certainly no harm in using it straight away. Go ahead if you're in a rush.

Is baking soda or powder better for pancakes? ›

Baking soda is essential for baked goods, but baking powder is really what makes pancakes and biscuits rise and become so super fluffy. Double-acting baking powder, which is the kind that you'll find in the grocery store, produces bubbles in two ways: when it is mixed with wet ingredients and then when it gets heated.

Should I use baking soda or powder in pancakes? ›

Baking powder is most often used in pancakes because regular pancake batter doesn't contain acid that would activate baking soda. However, this fluffy pancake recipe uses both baking powder and baking soda. The baking soda is activated with the acid in the buttermilk.

Is it better to add milk or water to pancake mix? ›

Pancake lovers' biggest complaint when adding water instead of milk is that the flavor seems to change. Pancakes aren't as richly flavored with water. There are a few ways to improve your batter when you've used water, including: Add extra butter.

What can I add to pancake mix to make it better? ›

Baking soda or another leavening agent will enhance that old boxed mix that's been sitting in your cupboard for a few weeks (or months), leaving your pancakes with a yummy, fluffy texture. If your boxed mix doesn't already call for it, you can also add in a few eggs.

What is the most important ingredient in pancakes? ›

Flour is the main ingredient to any pancake. It provides the structure. Different types of flours alter the structure because some flours absorb more moisture or create more gluten (which binds the structure together) than others.

What can I add to my pancake mix to make it better? ›

Baking soda or another leavening agent will enhance that old boxed mix that's been sitting in your cupboard for a few weeks (or months), leaving your pancakes with a yummy, fluffy texture. If your boxed mix doesn't already call for it, you can also add in a few eggs.

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