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The BEST Homemade Pancake Recipe From Scratch

4.81 from 166 votes
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This is the best homemade pancakes recipe from scratch. You can fool around with all sorts of other ingredients when it comes to pancakes, but in the end it’s always Grandma’s recipe that rules them all.

This was my Grandma’s and then my Mom’s recipe and now it’s all that I use for my family anymore! It’s perfect every time! I also have a great Belgian Waffles recipe if you want to try those as well.

Table of Contents
  1. How to Make Pancakes from Scratch
  2. How to Make Fluffy Pancakes
  3. Making Pancakes From Scratch Tips & Tricks
  4. How to Make Cake Flour
  5. The BEST Homemade Pancake Recipe From Scratch Recipe
  6. Pin this recipe to your BREAKFAST BOARD and Remember to FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST!
A stack of pancakes on a white plate with butter and syrup on top

How to Make Pancakes from Scratch

Making these is easier than you think. Here’s how to get started:

  1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, white sugar and salt in a medium bowl. (see the recipe card below for measurements)
  2. In another bowl, combine milk, eggs, oil and vanilla.
  3. Make a well in the dry ingredients, then pour in the wet ones, whisking until smooth.
  4. Start heating your griddle (medium heat) then take a scoop of batter and pour onto the preheated griddle. Flip when slightly bubbled and golden brown underneath. Cook until golden brown.
  5. Serve and enjoy!

Variations

  1. Whole Wheat: You can substitute whole wheat flour easily (just add another 1/2 tsp of baking powder to compensate for the heaviness).
  2. Cake Flour: If you want your pancakes to be fluffier, follow the instructions below and use cake flour!
Close up stack of pancakes with butter on top
Homemade Pancakes with Butter on Top

How to Make Fluffy Pancakes

I have a whole post on how to make fluffy pancakes, so make sure to read that! I suggest letting the batter sit for a while ( 5-10 minutes) and let the chemical reactions start working. I’ve also found that waiting to heat your griddle AFTER you make the pancakes gives you that time to let the batter sit.

Making Pancakes From Scratch Tips & Tricks

  • Use a hot griddle. Not as hot as a lot of recipes tell you, because then you just burn the outside of the pancake and the inside is raw. Try using a medium-high heat setting.
  • Get a wide spatula/flipper. This will help you lift the pancake properly and turn it over. I like flippers.
  • Serve this with my Homemade Brown Sugar Sauce (that’s what is in the photos)
  • If you want lighter, fluffier pancakes use the cake flour, but the end product pancakes do soak up the syrup more than the all purpose flour pancake recipe does. I personally like it better, and will keep a bag of cake flour on hand for pancakes.
  • Don’t have cake flour? See below for instructions!

IMPORTANT NOTE

IF YOU ARE USING SIFTED FLOUR, adjust your liquid measurements! I do NOT use sifted flour and that is why your batter will be too runny. Don’t sift your flour!

A stack of pancakes with brown sugar sauce being poured over top
Homemade Pancakes with Butter & Brown Sugar Sauce

How to Make Cake Flour

Making your own cake flour is so easy it’s not even funny! I just happened to have a bag of it, but when I make pancakes and don’t have that bag anymore (because obviously I am bad at remembering to buy flour) I will make some cake flour. All you have to do is:

  1. For every cup of all-purpose flour that you use, you are going to remove 2 tbsp of the flour, then replace it with 2 tbsp of cornstarch and whisk in.
  2. So for example, scoop 4 cups of all-purpose flour into a bowl. You will then remove 8 tbsp ( which is 1/2 cup) of the all-purpose flour and put it back in the bag. Then you will get 1/2 cup of cor
    nstarch and add that into the bowl of flour. Take a whisk and whisk it all together.
  3. Voila! Cake flour!

homemade pancake syrup, a stack of pancake on background

This is the recipe that my mom used while we were growing up as she always made pancakes from scratch. She would freeze then and then we would eat them during the week for a quick breakfast! Try my Overnight Cinnamon French Toast Casserole or my Best Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins for more great breakfast and brunch recipes!

Happy cooking!

Karlynn

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The BEST Homemade Pancake Recipe From Scratch

How to make simple but delicious pancakes from scratch, my family's favorite easy recipe!  This pancake recipe yields incredibly light and fluffy pancakes.
4.81 from 166 votes
stack of Homemade Pancakes with Butter & Brown Sugar Sauce
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Total Time
10 minutes
Course
Breakfast Meals
Cuisine
American
Servings
14 pancakes
Calories
201
Author
Karlynn Johnston

Ingredients
 

  • 2 2/3 cups all-purpose or cake flour
  • 2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 cups milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 6 tablespoons oil or melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl or a large 16 cup capacity liquid measuring cup, whisk together the flour, baking powder, white sugar and salt. 
  •  In another large capacity liquid measuring cup, combine 2 1/2 cups of milk, eggs, oil and vanilla. Mix until combined. If you need to, add more milk until the batter reaches desired consistency.
  • Make a well in the dry ingredients, and pour the egg mixture in. Whisk together until the batter is smooth with only a few flour chunks – it doesn’t have to be completely smooth. 
  • If you have a griddle start it heating now on medium heat. I have a cast iron one that I adore, but it takes a while for it to heat up uniformly. If not, heat the largest pan that you have. 
  • To make the pancakes I use a muffin batter scoop, which is called a #8 disher scoop. This is one of my favourite kitchen hacks, that scoop! It measures out muffins, pancakes, extra large cookies, you name it! 
  • Take one scoop of batter and pour onto your already heated griddle, fitting on as many as you can at once.  Flip your pancakes when they are slightly bubbled on the surface and golden brown underneath. The key is a medium heat that is ready and raring to go, so they instantly sizzle when you place them on the surface, but not so hot they burn.
  • Continue to cook all of the batter, placing cooked pancakes on a covered plate when cooked. 

Recipe Video

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1pancake, Calories: 201kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 28mg, Sodium: 61mg, Potassium: 276mg, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 120IU, Calcium: 140mg, Iron: 1.4mg

All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

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How to make simple but delicious pancakes from scratch, my family's favorite easy recipe!  This pancake recipe yields incredibly light and fluffy pancakes.

Karlynn Johnston

I’m a busy mom of two, wife & cookbook author who loves creating fast, fresh meals for my little family on the Canadian prairies. Karlynn Facts: I'm allergic to broccoli. I've never met a cocktail that I didn't like. I would rather burn down my house than clean it. Most of all, I love helping YOU get dinner ready because there's nothing more important than connecting with our loved ones around the dinner table!

Learn more about me

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Reader Interactions

Comments & Recipe Tips Share a tip or comment!

  1. Amanda says

    Hi Karlynn! Wow ! I have a comment and a tip !!
    Finally a perfect pancake recipe ! My kids want pancakes almost every morning and I’ve tried numerous pancake recipes that are great at all.
    This recipe turned out amazing with the homemade cake flour! I followed the recipe exactly and these were so fluffy and pillowy and densely delicious, like restaurant style!
    However the next day I tried making them I forgot I didn’t have milk ( I used water instead) and used baking flour that was close to expiration instead of the newer stuff and they did turn out watery and thin…. But still tasty like a crepe!

    So my tip is too follow the exact recipe and make sure you have FRESH exact ingredients!!! ❤️ Hands down best pancake recipe Ever!!! 🙂5 stars

  2. Anna says

    I don’t normally leave reviews but this recipe is terrible. I have a lot of experience with pancakes and they should NEVER be runny. It was so thin. I had to doctor it and ended up using about a full extra cup of flour. I do not recommend.1 star

    • Cheryl says

      Same exact experience! I had to keep adding flour, then more baking powder hoping for fluffiness, but with no success. flat and rubbery.1 star

    • Neil Galeano says

      The original poster said it’s the BEST, but this the WORST pancake recipe I’ve ever tried!

      I don’t try to post recipes to get clicks. She or the admin should take this down! I don’t know about the fake “best” replies but this is the worst! Tried it 3x, followed the ingredients and directions EXACTLY! Even down to the iron skillet, but no success. Please please don’t follow this recipe. It’s just wasteful and bad with all the oils/butter. I ended up going to McDonald’s.1 star

  3. Corrie says

    In the video, you used 3 eggs. Your written recipe, it has 2 eggs. Which is which?

  4. elaine says

    I just finished making these again. Great recipe. I only made half a batch and threw a few blueberries into the batter. Thanks for sharing the recipe. All your measurements are perfect.5 stars

  5. Barbara Ann Sandoval says

    anxious to try this, but I recently got a waffle iron. can this be made into a waffle mix?

  6. John Callas says

    Question? My mother always greased her griddle with oil before frying. Is this really necessary?

    • Mr. Kitchen Magpie says

      Depends on the griddle. We have a large one that we do not have to grease, it’s one that plugs in. I would think in most instances it wouldn’t be necessary.

  7. John says

    Horrible recipe that wasn’t checked by the poster before she uploaded it.

    Ingredient measurements are way off.1 star

  8. Theresa says

    These were great! I made half a batch, I used cake flour and melted butter instead of oil. At first the batter seemed very thin, but I let it sit for about 5 minutes and it thickened up nicely. Without disturbing the batter as much as possible I scooped out about 1/3 cup and put on my griddle and they started to rise nicely and even more when I flipped them over. This will be my go to pancake recipe from now on! Loved them, thanks for posting!!!5 stars

  9. Sandra says

    Literally the worst pancakes I’ve ever made.
    The liquid amount is way too much and no, I didn’t sift my dry ingredients.
    These turned out like oily crepes.

  10. Nikki says

    i halved the recipe and these came out so good! I used all purpose flour and they were still very airy and fluffy. I ended up just scooping to measure my flour and I thought it was the perfect thickness.

    has anyone tried making these and freezing them, then cooking in the toaster? I may just try it anyways! thanks for a great recipe!5 stars

  11. Vi says

    Waaaaaayyyyy too thin, had to add a lot of extra dry ingredients, and they still did not come out thick and fluffy.2 stars

  12. Kelly says

    I just halved the recipe because I thought it would be another disappointing fluffy pancake recipe, and I was so wrong, wrong, wrong. Delicious and fluffiest pancakes I have ever made at home. Thank you for posting!5 stars

  13. Rachel says

    Hi there,
    I don’t know if somone else has mentioned that in your video, you add 3 eggs in the milk. The written recipe calls for 2. Could you clarify?
    Thanks

  14. Natalie says

    These were the fluffiest pancakes we have had in a long time. Your recipe is point on! No issues with the batter. Recipe worked to a tea. I made a hot strawberry slurry of sort for our topping. Thank you for this recipe. This is our new pancake mix!5 stars

    • Christian T says

      I typically make pancakes using regular flour but I tried your suggestion using cake flour and they were very airy and fluffy. Family absolutely loved them. Thank you.5 stars

  15. Charlene A says

    This was amazing. Thank you for the recipe. The best pancakes recipes I’ve ever made and super simple and super fluffy. I used cake flour and it was perfect. I didn’t have the issue some others have reported about runny batter. Once the batter sits for about five minutes it starts to thicken up.

  16. Dawn says

    Best pancakes I’ve ever made. So simple. Makes a batch big enough to last me 5 days and they are literally perfect every time! Love this recipe.

  17. Emma says

    Great recipe! I was running low on all purpose flour so I used cake flour and they were so light and fluffy! I used about 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract instead of 1 and the flavor was amazing! I highly recommend!4 stars

  18. Noor says

    Tooo much milk in the recipe. Pancakes mixture was way too runny. Didn’t have any more flour otherwise would have added that. Didn’t turn out as fluffy as they’re shown in the picture. I think I will keep looking for another plain pancake recipe.4 stars

    • Farrah says

      Same experience. I had to double the dry ingredients and they were still not that thick and fluffy. 😞 they tasted good, but I love thick and fluffy pancakes. I’ll keep trying to adjust.

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