Best Breakfast Pancakes
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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
- Dutch Baby
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
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ¾ 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 ¼ 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.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I make these often and always add a tsp of vanilla. So good. Your banana pancakes are delicious too,, Thanks, Jenn
Has anyone noticed a change with this recipe? Not the recipe itself, but the batter is not as thick as it used to be when I first started making it. Before it make super fluffy cakes that I could watch rise. Now, using the same measurements and even cutting out the 2 extra tablespoons of milk, I have a much more runny batter and they don’t get as thick. Still delicious, though.
Hi Scott, Sorry that you’ve been having a problem with these! Did you by any chance change the brand of flour you’re using? Is your baking powder really old or expired?
I’ve been having the exact same problem recently. I make these almost every Saturday. In the past the batter was thick and the pancakes fluffy. Now the batter is very runny and the pancakes are super thin. I use King Arthur flour and have for some time now. I measured out one cup and weighed it in grams and it matches the recipe: 130g. My baking powder doesn’t expire until for another year and a half and I even tested it with boiling water to make sure it isn’t dead. I’ve at this same new issue with the pumpkin pancake recipe. What could be going wrong? Are the eggs and milk supposed to be cold or at room temperature or does that not matter?
Hi Wendi, That is so strange! Did you change the type of milk? Is it particularly humid where you live? Did you try adding a bit less milk to start? The temperature of milk and butter shouldn’t matter here.
This is the only recipe I’ve been using for years, and I have tried so many. My family LOVES IT. They are indeed perfect, soft and fluffy. I have to double the recipe as they are very ‘morish’ . It’s Good Friday today and I’ll be making these delicious pancakes for breakfast. Thank you so much and Happy Easter !!
Wow. After making these 10+ times I had to leave a review (although I rarely do!)… they are that good! So fluffy but also dense? And marvelously crispy? Can’t do any wrong with this recipe. Best pancakes in my memory that I’ve had at home or in a restaurant.
Yummmm…. Perfect! (Momma told me not to talk with my mouth full!)
I am a big fan of this website, and use the recipes here a lot, but I am very sorry to say but this was the absolute WORST pancake recipe I have ever tried. My husband and I only ate 1, or 2, and threw away the entire batch. I followed the recipe precisely, but the end result was very bad.
I tried this recipe for the first time this morning with no changes. WOW. It’s worlds better than the recipe I was using before. The taste is fantastic — there’s a hint of butter and the sweetness level is just right. My hubby and I started nibbling on the first few straight out of the pan while cooking the rest 😄🙈 I doubled the recipe so I’ll be sure to freeze the leftovers using your directions. Thanks so much, Jenn!
Hello, I loved this recipe! I made a few times a while ago. I couldn’t remember if I used 1 cup (250gms in Aus) or 1/2 cup (125gms same as the metric you have. Would you be able to confirm please? 🙂
Hi Amy, you’ll want to use 125 g. (I’m actually slowly updating recipes that have all-purpose flour in them as I’ve come to determine that it weighs closer to 130 g, so I’d use that measurement.) Hope you enjoy the pancakes!
Thank you so much for getting back to me so fast! I’m making this morning. 🙏🏼
This is my family’s favorite, we make them every weekend!
I used to buy the store bought mix , but I’ve been trying to get away from the pre packaged stuff with all the chemicals and what not. I found this while searching for a “crispy pancake” recipe. Both my wife, (and daughter who eats them plain) commented they don’t taste as sweet as store bought, but they both liked them. I thought they were tasty too so I bookmarked the recipe and started making them at breafast time more often. I ended up quadrupling the dry ingredients, premixing them and storing in a container so it was easier to make quickly. Almost like store bought, but wayyy better! Even my dogs like them, but they’re biased. They like all people food. 🙂
Thank you Jenn!
Hi Jenifer!
We love the recipe. No more boxed pancake mix for us .
Many thanks
Kathy Pacifici
Thank you for a great recipe, Jenn!
For those extra lazy (or very rushed) mornings this recipe can be doubled and baked in a quarter sheet pan at 425F for about 12-14 minutes (as one gigantic pancake for slicing, that is). The top and bottom doesn’t get as golden and crisp as individual ones would in a pan but the saved time is worth it for us. 🙂
Made these for the first time 5 years ago, for my husband’s first Father’s Day. They were so good that they became the offical Father’s Day breakfast but now that my kids are older and have tried them, it’s pancakes every Sunday morning! Thanks for the recipe and the family tradition!
I have made them 1million times. I drop the eggs and use water instead of milk and vegetable oil in place of butter but still amazing
I made these pancakes with my eight year old granddaughter for Sunday breakfast. They were delicious and very easy to make. This recipe will be my go to for pancakes. Thank you Jenn for sharing.
The recipe is fantastic, however, no matter which pancake recipe I make, mine always turns out way flatter than than the pics. I follow the recipe but I must be doing something wrong. Any thoughts?
Hi Paula, What brand of flour do you use?
King Arthur
That’s the flour I would recommend. If you find that your pancakes are consistently thin, I’d cut back just a bit on the liquid you’re using. Hope that helps!
check the date on your baking powder
Make these. These are the best pancakes I have ever made. Every other recipe I tried has a baking soda aftertaste! Also, I love that the recipe is already in metrics.
Hi, I love this recipe but the batch is too small for my family. I’ve been trying to double this recipe but have failed multiple times. Can you help me?
Hi Esther, Happy to try to help. What kind of problems have you experienced when doubling the recipe? Are you sure you’ve doubled all the ingredients?
Delicious! We make these every Sunday morning
Jenn, I made these pancakes for my husband’s Valentine’s breakfast. He took one bite and said, “I wish Valentine’s Day breakfast was every morning!” Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes. I have tried a number of your recipes and they are delicious!
Thanks so much for this recipe, I have been using it for years with a lot of joy.
These are my adaptations:
flour+baking powder: sub with selfraising flour
sugar: sub with brown sugar, but only 1 tbsp
add 1 large tbsp sour cream
add a few frozen berries to each pancake while baking
This recipe is everything you want in a pancake! Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside! They are nice and thick without being heavy. They are delicious with syrup, cream, fruit, chocolate chips…really any topping you can think of… and to be honest, they are so tasty they don’t even need anything else. I suggest doubling the recipe because you will definitely eat them all and if for some reason you don’t, they are delicious cold as well! We like to eat ours with eggs and hash browns!
My kids and I love these pancakes! I make them without any sugar since we top them with fruit and maple syrup and they are delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!
This is now my all the time pancake recipe. They are exactly how my partner likes them: a little squishy on the inside, and crispy outside. 🙂
This is our go-to recipe for easy fluffy pancakes. I typically make a batch and freeze any leftovers to reheat in the toaster on busy weekdays for my children.