These old fashioned buttermilk pancakes are the fluffiest pancakes that are perfect for a Saturday morning. Not only are they simple to put together, but they are delicious to eat. Top them with maple syrup or fresh fruit for the best pancakes you've ever had.
If you love fluffy pancakes, then these Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pancakes are for you. It's no secret, that our family loves breakfast. We regularly have breakfast for dinner and this easy pancake recipe makes its appearance in our house at least once a week.
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🥞 Ingredient notes
- Buttermilk - If you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute it with 1 ¼ cups of whole milk mixed with 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice. Let the mixture sit for a little bit before adding it to the other wet ingredients. It will thicken up and look a little bit curdled, but that's ok.
- Melted butter - Make sure to let your butter cool after melting it so it doesn't scramble the egg.
🥣 Step by step instructions
First, heat up a griddle pan or electric griddle on medium heat. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl with a whisk and set aside. Then mix the wet ingredients together in a small bowl.
Next, mix together your wet ingredients with your dry ingredients and whisk the batter thoroughly until there are no lumps.
Grease your pan or griddle with a bit of butter and use a ladle or measuring cup to pour about ¼ cup of the batter onto the pan for each pancake.
Cook for 45-60 seconds on the first side and then flip and cook an additional 30-45 seconds on the other side. Both sides should be browned and the middle should be cooked through. If the pancakes are browning before the middle is cooked, lower heat to medium low.
If you ever don't recognize a tool or skill that I mention, be sure to look it up in the Glossary of Cooking Terms and Definitions for more information.
⭐ Top tip
Don't cook the pancakes over too high of heat, otherwise, they will be browned on the outside but not cooked on the inside. Medium or medium low seems to work best, depending on your stove and the pan you are using.
📋 Variations
- Chocolate chips - add ½ cup of chocolate chips (white or milk) to the batter for a fun sweet version
- Berries - add ½ cup of frozen or fresh blueberries, chopped strawberries or raspberries for a fruity addition
- Sprinkles - add 2 Tablespoons of sprinkles to the batter for a birthday surprise
- Dairy free - Swap out the buttermilk and melted butter for your favorite dairy free or plant based milk and butter substitutes.
💭 Frequently asked questions
The acid in buttermilk helps activate the baking powder to give an extra boost for those fluffy pancakes you want. It also gives the pancakes a nice subtle tang that is expected from buttermilk pancakes.
No. Once you mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, the baking powder is activated and will slowly lose its power over time. Instead, mix the dry ingredients ahead and time and store them in an air tight container. Then when it's time to cook the pancakes, mix together the wet ingredients and add them to the pre-mixed dry ingredients to make the batter.
If your pancakes are browned on the outside and gooey in the middle, the pan is too hot. Reduce the heat to allow slower cooking.
For a quick overview of this recipe, check out my web story for these Old Fashioned Pancakes.
🍳 More weekend breakfast ideas
If you enjoyed this old fashioned buttermilk pancake recipe, check out these other tasty weekend breakfast ideas that I know you will love.
- Nutella Pancakes
- Brown Sugar Cinnamon French Toast
- Ham and Cheese Drop Biscuits
- Maple Bacon Cinnamon Rolls
📖 Recipe
Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ⅓ cups buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled (plus extra for greasing the pan)
Instructions
- Preheat griddle pan or electric griddle on medium heat.
- In a mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- In a small bowl combine buttermilk, egg, and butter and whisk to combine.
- Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk together until no lumps remain.
- Grease pan or griddle with butter and using a ladle or measuring cup, pour ¼ cup of the batter onto the pan for each pancake. Cook for 45 - 60 seconds until bubbles start to form and pop and underside is golden brown. Flip pancakes over and cook an additional 30 seconds until the other side is browned as well. Repeat with remaining batter until all pancakes have been cooked.
Daylea
Absolutely delicious. Fluffy with a nice tang from the buttermilk. Super easy to make.
Amanda
Excellent! So glad you liked them, thank you for trying them!
Janine
I loved this recipe! I plan to use this one from now on because the one I would previously use would often give me one round of fluffy pancakes and then the rest would be flat. These produced an entire batch of fluffy pancakes. I added chocolate chips to them because my kids prefer pancakes that way, and they were great! Highly recommend!
Amanda
Thank you so much for trying the recipe, I'm so glad you loved them!