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Best Breakfast Pancakes
Fluffy on the inside and crispy on the surface, these are the best breakfast pancakes you’ll ever try.
Adapted from The New York Times Cookbook, these pancakes are fluffy on the interior and crispy on the exterior. Once you try them, you’ll wonder about all those boxed pancake mixes — these hardly require any more work and they’re twice as good. Plus, I’ll bet you’ve already got all the ingredients on hand.
You may also like
- Banana Pancakes
- Pumpkin Pancakes
- Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes with Blueberry Maple Syrup
- Old-Fashioned Yeasted Waffles
Best Breakfast Pancakes
Fluffy on the inside and crispy on the surface, these are the best breakfast pancakes you’ll ever try.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with back edge of knife
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- Vegetable oil, for cooking
Instructions
- Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix well.
- Beat the egg and milk together in a bowl. In a different bowl, add the milk mixture to the melted butter, stirring constantly with a whisk to blend.
- Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just enough to moisten the flour mixture. It should look a little lumpy. (If you overwork the mixture, the pancakes will be tough.) This is a thick batter but if it seems too thick, add a bit more milk.
- Heat a griddle or nonstick pan over medium heat and coat it with vegetable oil. Drop the batter from a large spoon (about 1/4 cup) and cook until the first side is golden brown, or until the top surface bubbles and is dotted with holes. Flip and cook until the other side is golden brown. This happens quickly so peek after 30 seconds and watch carefully! Adjust the heat setting if necessary. Wipe the griddle totally clean with a paper towel between batches. Serve immediately.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The pancakes can be frozen for up to 3 months. After they are completely cooled, place a sheet of parchment or wax paper between each pancake and stack together. Wrap the stack of pancakes tightly in aluminum foil or place inside a heavy-duty freezer bag. To reheat, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and cover with foil. Bake in a 375°F oven for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until hot.
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Reviews & Comments
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Hi Jen,
Since we are stuck at home here in Montreal, my boyfriend- we are retired- not sure what is the appropriate term-have been cooking a lot. Your recipes are always fun and good.
I have purchased your cookbook and have also sent a copy to each of my sons. We all love your style and everything is doable, some recipe books generate so many dishes that it makes me run for the hot dog stands.
This recipe was good, I can see that I will need to out in more liquid, my fault, I used 10% coffee cream instead of milk, I should have added a bit of water. Taste was delicious, fluffy, and crisp on the outside, next time I will do the banana pancakes.
Can’t wait to see your next book!
Happy Hanukah and Happy Holidays!
Happy holidays to you! 🙂
Can I substitute Greek yogurt for milk?
I’d stick with milk for the best results — sorry!
This is a fantastic pancake recipe! I love how easy it is and it creates great crispy edges. I’ve gone through so many “best pancake” recipes that have been just ok, so I’m very glad to have found yours.
Great recipe. I even added frozen wild blueberries to some and all tasted amazing!
Thank you for this gorgeous pancake recipe! They were as soft as clouds! My family just adored them!🥞
Is the ratio of dry to wet ingredients correct? 1 cup flour to 3/4 cup milk with 1 egg doesn’t produce a thick batter. It was quite thin. Sorry if I am missing something.
Sorry you had a problem with these, Dwight! Is there any chance you made a measuring error?
Hubby & I had these for breakfast this morning. I followed the recipe as written and added a 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. They were easy to make and so delicious! We intend to make them again. Thank you for your recipes.
Have loved every recipe on your site, so I think I did something wrong this morning when I made these (despite it being a seemingly simply recipe to follow). I can’t figure out why, but the pancakes had a bitter taste to them as well as a bitter/sour aftertaste. I followed measurement. I am wondering if it had anything to do with the oil sitting in the pan too long, but otherwise cannot figure it out. Any suggestions for this?
Hi Sarah, Sorry you had a problem with these. Too much baking powder can cause a bitter taste. Is there any chance you may have made a measuring error with it?
Perhaps baking SODA was accidentally used instead of powder. I’ve seen a different pancake recipe with multiple comments about baking soda in a pancake recipe when the recipe actually called for baking powder but many had misread.
Loved the pancakes. Super easy and delicious- I added chocolate chips and we ate them without maple syrup. Def will be making these again!
Great recipe for pancakes. So light and fluffy. I’ll try the banana pancake recipe next.
My three favorite pancake recipes in the whole world are this one and your banana and blueberry pancake recipes. (I just haven’t tried the pumpkin recipe yet.) Have been making pancakes for decades, but these are the best! However, despite having made this recipe many times and memorizing it, I got distracted today and apparently added the salt, then got the tablespoon and accidentally added MORE salt instead of the sugar. Yikes! That is not a tasty revision – in fact they were not edible and I don’t recommend trying ANY variations to this recipe. I’ve learned a lesson about attentiveness. Thanks for all you do!
Would I face any problems using self raising flour? Thanks
Hi Tracy, I haven’t made these with self-rising flour, so I can’t say for sure. Here’s some more info that may help. Please LMK how the pancakes turn out if you try them with self-rising flour!
Thank you Jenn!! Your “tried and perfected” recipes are a Godsend. They always work. I doubled the recipe, my kids and husband devoured them immediately they got off the pan. And as usual, there were no such thing as leftovers. Thank you 🙂
Any modifications to this recipe if using high gluten flour? Thanks!
Hi Christine, I’m not familiar with high gluten flour, so I don’t’ know if any adjustments would be needed. I’m sorry!
I would love to know ingredient amounts and baking instructions to make this in a 17X11 sheet pan.
Sounds like a great idea, but not really sure how to convert it. You may want to look for a recipe that’s designed to be baked in a sheet pan. (But if you happen to try this in a sheet pan, please LMK how it turns out!)
My niece bakes pancakes in a sheet pan. She said to reduce the liquid and you will get a thicker batter. Start with 1/2 c of milk and gradually add one tablespoon at a time. If you are adding fruit, be mindful of the liquid the fruit will naturally release when baked/cooked.
I’ve made these pancakes literally more than a hundred times and they turn out great every single time. I made them for guests this morning for breakfast and they were blown away. Thank you so much!
These turned out good but I added vanilla as well. I noticed a slight spongy consistency so I would add a little less baking powder next time.
These were everything a pancake should be! Simple, light, fluffy, crisp around the edges and delicious!! I added a little vanilla flavoring, strawberries and used buttermilk.This is my go to recipe, no need to look any further! Simply delicious!
It was a bit hard to flip them, but overall easy, quick, and delicious!
I loved these. Made exactly except used buttermilk powder and water instead of milk, just because I had it. Thanks, perfect texture and flavor. Added a little vanilla too. Yum!
Absolutely amazing! A way to make it more flavorful is to cook it in lard.
idk. Mixed everything and the moisture was like water. Added a bit flour, and inside of the pancake was like rubber…
This is my go to pancake recipe. It’s so perfect! I healthified it a bit this morning by replacing 1/2 cup AP flour with whole wheat pastry flour. I also added 1/4 cup apple sauce and ground 1/4 cup rolled oats. I threw in the ground oats to the mixture at the very end. The apple sauce I just added to the egg mixture. Pancakes still came out great!
We love your pumpkin and banana pancakes!!!! Now I’d like a good chocolate chip pancake recipe, (my daughter’s request) but I’m hesitant to try other sites. Could I convert this recipe to chocolate chip pancakes by simply adding chocolate chips?
Yes, A.Lo, you can definitely add chocolate chips to these. Hope your daughter enjoys! 🙂
This recipe wa the first time my pancakes came out absolutely perfect! Crispy on the outside, light and fluffy in the inside. Delicious!
Metric doesn’t work-would be easier for flour. Thanks!
Sorry about that, Jen – I just fixed it. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
These pancakes are PERFECT! They are fluffy and have great height (normally mine end up flat). They get nice and crisp on the outside which is sooo yummy! Great recipe!
Very delicious and fluffy. I have been trying different recipes and this one is the best so far. I followed the recipe exactly and it made 8 yummy thick (but light) pancakes.
This is now my standard pancake recipe—so thick, puffy and delicious! I’ve done them with many different add-ins—do yourself a huge favor and make them with a big fistful of sweetened shredded coconut! Sublime.
Great every time we have it. They really are the “Best Breakfeast Pancakes!”
Soooo light and fluffy with a wonderful taste!!! I substituted mine with heavy cream and light brown sugar since that’s all I had at the time and it still came out great.
Love the pancakes. They’re light, fluffy and delicious. It’s a staple for mornings in my house hold.
This is my go-to pancake recipe, my whole family loves them and they freeze really well. I have a question – Has anyone tried any healthier variations of this recipe? I doubled the recipe and substituted 1/2 cup of the AP flour with WW flour (so 3 to 1 ratio). The pancakes came out great! I’m wondering if anyone else has had success with other healthy swaps? I would love to know details. Maybe adding in some oat flour would be good? I’m thinking of adding 1/2 slightly ground up rolled oats & maybe roasting them before adding them to the batter.
I often do a half flour and half with oat meal, for any pancake recipe, tastes delicious and much healthier!
Hi Jenn,
I’m on a mission to make pancakes for about 60 people and would like to adapt your recipe (based on the glorious reviews :D). I would like to make big batches in one go. Can you please let me know if I could make say 5-7 batches in one go? Will the recipe work for this? Also I’m assuming you would recommend making the batter just before use, and not the night before (refrigerated)? Many thanks, Hunny 😀
You can put all the dry ingredients together ahead a few days, the wet ingredients together few days before and mix everything the day of to ensure you get maximum height.
These pancakes are great – and I love the cookbook too! Last few times I’ve made them, though, the batter has not been consistent. The pancakes have been coming out too “thick” and the batter is very airy. I’m using the exact same ingredients/measurements. Thank you!
Hi Christine, There’s always a little variation with pancake batter (and this is a thicker one) but if it seems too thick, go ahead and add a few more tablespoons of milk.
This recipe has become our failproof pancake recipe. Love it!
So good, this will be our new fave recipe from now on.
Hi Jenn
Firstly thank you! I’ve made this pancake recipe regularly for about a year and it always works beautifully.
I’d like to make ricotta pancakes – has this recipe been tested by just adding ricotta? Would I need to change anything?
Many thanks in advance
Gemma
So glad you like these Gemma! No, I’ve never made these using ricotta, so I can’t say how it would impact them. Please let me know how they turn out if you try it!
Hi Jenn
Thanks for your response. Tried making the recipe with ricotta – it turned out great! I put in about half a cup – next time I think I’ll reduce as it makes the pancake a bit wetter. They still came out fluffy though!
Good to know, Gemma – thanks so much for the follow-up. (I’m sure other readers will appreciate knowing about the alternative!) 🙂
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. I’m curious if anyone has mentioned having luck making these with GF flour? I’ve subbed Bob’s Redmill 1:1 in several of your muffin recipes with great results. This will be the first using it for your pancakes. Wish me luck!
Hi Emily, there is one reader who commented that the didn’t have luck with gluten-free flour when she made these (but that was back in 2013 and I know that these flours have probably improved since then). If you do end up trying them, I’d love to hear how they turn out!
Best pancake recipe ever! Super easy. Way better than boxed mix. Thanks again Jenn for another perfect recipe. Can’t wait for your cookbook to arrive on my doorstep.
Just made your pancakes for breakfast and they were wonderful! So light and fluffy, absolutely delicious! And so easy to make. Definitely satisfied my craving for pancakes and I will be making them again often. Pre-ordered your cookbook too. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes Jenn! Love your website!
Glad you like the recipes, Debbie! And thanks for your support with the cookbook. 🙂
Very simple recipe. Turned out very good.
Made these this morning with your blueberry maple syrup for a nice Sunday breakfast. It was delicious! Will make again.
I used almond milk and added blueberries to this pancake recipe and…. BEST HOMEMADE PANCAKES EVER! I don’t usually even like pancakes, but these were crispy on the outside and fluffy inside and so delicious without being too sweet (I halved the sugar). I am so hooked!