Simple, soft, fluffy pancakes, an essential that everyone should know. You’ve been good all week. Go on. You deserve freshly made homemade pancakes for breakfast tomorrow!
Pancakes recipe
Homemade pancakes shouldn’t be complicated. It doesn’t matter if they come out wonky or with a splotchy surface instead of being a beautiful, even golden brown – after all, they’ll get smothered in toppings.
But they should be soft and fluffy. And in my world, not too sweet. Because….you know. Toppings. Load up on toppings!
Any day starting with homemade pancakes is a GREAT day!
What goes in homemade pancakes
This is what you need:
flour
baking powder
sugar
egg
milk
vanilla extract – optional
No buttermilk, no baking soda / bi carb, no yoghurt. You only need baking soda for an extra fluff boost when you have add ins in pancakes, like Blueberry Pancakes, because it weighs the batter down.
And of course TOPPINGS! Why limit yourself to just butter and maple syrup? See below for all sorts of ideas!
Pancakes Toppings – what to put on pancakes
Butter and maple syrup – the classic!
Maple syrup alternatives – honey, golden syrup and other sweet syrups suitable for eating raw
Lemon and sugar – one of my favourites! Light sprinkle of sugar and a squeeze of lemon
Strawberries and cream! Pictured below – layer it up like a cake, sandwiching the pancakes with whipped cream and sliced strawberries, then finish with a dusting of icing sugar / powdered sugar;
Sinfully rich sauces – like caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, butterscotch sauce, peanut sauce, anything!
Lemon curd, fruit compotes and sauces – like blueberry sauce (try the one in this Blueberry Cheesecake), Strawberry Sauce (use the one in this Strawberry Cheesecake) or try the warm apple topping in this Apple French Toast
BACON and maple syrup – YES!
Sprinkle of nuts
Fresh fruit – chop it, pile over pancakes with cream!
Ice cream – add a scoop onto a stack and drizzle with maple syrup, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce. Don’t forget the whipped cream!
Dusting of cinnamon and sugar
Pro tip: Keep a STANDBY PANCAKE MIX!
Homemade pancakes aren’t complicated to make, but sometimes it’s that much more appealing if there’s a ready made mix in the cupboard, just like the ones you can buy at the store!
Just measure out the dry ingredients and pop them in a ziplock bag, jar or airtight container, then when you want to make fresh pancakes, just add the wet ingredients!
To make a handy shake ‘n pour bottle like pictured above, you’ll need a 1.5L/1.5Qt+ bottle to leave enough headroom for the required liquids + shaking. I mix the wet ingredients in a jug then pour it in then shake away!
Now, go forth and elevate your morning by making a big stack of these soft, fluffy, golden pancakes! TELL ME what you top YOURS with! – Nagi xx
Watch How To Make It
Simple Fluffy Pancakes recipe video!
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Simple, Fluffy Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups plain / all purpose flour (Note 1)
- 4 tsp baking powder NOT baking soda / bi-carb (Note 1)
- 1/4 cup white sugar (caster / super fine is best but not essential)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 large egg (~50g / 2oz in shell)
- 1 3/4 cups cups milk (any type, any fat %)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
- 4 tsp butter , for cooking
Instructions
- Whisk dry – Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl, whisk to combine.
- Add wet ingredients – Add egg, milk and vanilla. Whisk until lump free – no longer than 30 seconds.
- Melt then wipe off most butter – Heat a non-stick pan – use medium heat if you have a strong stove, medium high if you have a weak one. Add a tiny bit of butter (about 1/2 tsp) and swirl to melt. Use paper towel to mostly wipe the butter off (this is the trick to avoid a dodgy 1st pancake).
- Pour 1/4 cup batter into the middle of the fry pan (I use a slightly heaped ice cream scoop with lever, standard is 1/4 cup).
- Cook – Swirl pan lightly to spread or use the ice cream scoop edge to spread into 11cm / 4.5" circle (ruler is a must) (joking!). When bubbles rise to the surface (see video), flip and cook the other side until golden.
- Keep warm and repeat – Remove the pancake and keep warm in a low oven. Use more butter every 2 to 3 pancakes – depends how good your non stick coating is.
- Serve with toppings of choice!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More pancake recipes
Giant Pancakes – to share!
Pikelets – mini pancakes!
Life of Dozer
I’m surprised there isn’t a massive drool hanging from his mouth.
Oh wait. I don’t want to gross you out, but after I wrote this post, I almost slipped on a puddle of drool when I was cleaning that area. Ewwwwww!
These are perfect for quickly whipping up fluffy pancakes. It was my first time making them today and this recipe will now be my go to. Thank Nagi and team!
I totally failed this but it still tasted great! How? The magic of Nagi and Recipetineats.
I tried this because I ran out of my go to box mix, which is very good. I will not be buying it in the future. This receipe is so easy. I didn’t have vanilla but substituted almond. My husband loved these pancakes. Definitely will be keeping this receipe. Just looked up a waffle receipe and that is next to try.
Tried these for the first time and they are perfect! Quick to throw together and super fluffy in texture. These will be our only pancake recipe from now on.
This did not work it made dough not batter… fooled recipe to t…
Absolutely the best pancake recipe ever! It is a perfect recipe for a midweek breakfast for dinner meal. Or for a Sunday breakfast surprise for someone. So easy and the pancakes were so light and fluffy my husband and I didn’t even add anything except western NY homemade maple syrup. I cooked some breakfast sausages while I made the batter. Perfect amount of time. When the sausages were done, did a wipe down of the pan and started the pancakes. We got 9 but I always use a ladle for our pancakes and they cooked up beautifully. Thanks Nagi for another awesome recipe. This will be a staple in our house for now on.
Hi
Been making pancakes for over 25 years and these are like rubber. Not sue why. maybe the flour I keep in plastic bowl. Hope I can get answer thanks lovely lady !
Hi, can i use self-raising flour instead? To substitute for flour and baking powder?
These are delicious! I have made them so many times as requested by my kids and they are always devoured. Lately I have been adding the butter melted to the mix, then cooking the batter in mini muffin tins for 10 mins and they come out delicious little pancake bites, the kids love them warm or cold dipped in syrup!
These are sooo yummy! Can’t believe how easy and tasty these pancakes are. They are (dare I say it) almost too fluffy 😂
Bought myself an electric pancake waffle maker and had been dying to use it, found this recipe for breakfast pancakes and finally made them today, sandwiched with some sliced banana, couple rashers of bacon and maple syrup. Was surprised how easy they were to cook (used the ice cream scoop) and delicious will definately make again using this recipe. 😊👍
I am planning to make these! I’ve prepped the flour mix ahead of time. After adding the egg/milk/vanilla can you store any unused batter in the fridge for the next day? I am thinking I will not use all the batter but want to make fresh pancakes the next day!
Wow this is a super way to make icing…using it for a smash cake for one year ols!
Absolute perfection, Nagi 👍 I’ve lost track of how often I’ve made these, but they’re perfect every single time. Lately I’ve added mashed ripe banana to the mixture and the pancakes are another flavour sensation. Thank you, Nagi 👏
Wow!! I have tried soooooo many American style pancake recipes over the years. This is a clear winner. No faffing around with melted butter or separating eggs. They are the fluffiest pancakes, slightly sweet and soooo tasty. They never last long in my house. I make around 18 to a batch using a large spoon as a measure. Won’t be looking back from this recipe for sure.
Hi Nagi, absolutely fantastic recipe, so light and fluffy! 😋 my partner and stepson both said these are the best pancakes they’ve ever had!! Just wondering if oat flour could be used instead? If so would it need more baking powder?
Absolute perfection! Followed the recipe as it says and turned out great. My 3 year old helped me flip them – we had a wonderful time together making these pancakes (little one requested jam, butter and maple syrup) xoxo Thank you Nagi
I tried these for Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Day and they were a big hit! Made a couple weeks later and they were more like crepes. 🤔 Realised today I’d used metric the first time and measured by cups second time. I tested my theory and sure enough, my 2 cups were barely 250g flour – nearly 1/2 cup less than the 300g!!! I tried again using metric and it was spot on. Perhaps our cups are different sizes??
Yes, if you’re in America they are. Australian cups are 250mls. Hope that helps.
This pancake recipie is devine, every time I have made it the pancakes have turned out perfect!
Thankyou for sharing
Recipetineats rarely misses for me, but unfortunately this one does. In my opinion, pancakes are all about texture. They should provide minimal flavour on their own, and be little more than a vehicle for toppings. I like them crispy around the edges, and very light and fluffy on the inside. While these are OK in the flavour department, they always come out a little too dense for me to enjoy. I prefer the Allrecipes Good Old-Fashioned Pancakes or the NYT Perfect Buttermilk Pancakes, for what I consider to be the best pancakes I’ve ever made.
Just made these.. pure perfection. Juuuuust enough sugar to not be overly sweet because you put toppings on anyway as mentioned. Thank you Nagi!!!! With love and gratitude 💜