Looking for the BEST Fluffy Pancake recipe? You’ve come to the right place! These Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes use a simple trick to create light, airy, diner style pancakes that are perfect for a lazy morning at home or an absolutely epic pancake bar party.
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The Best Fluffy Buttermilk Pancake Recipe
Guys, this is big news. HUGE news.
Like, “we landed on the moon!” huge. Or, “we’re caught up with laundry!” huge.
I’ve finally found it. The most fantastical, delightful, fluffy buttermilk pancake recipe.
It’s been a long road, friends. We’ve eaten a lot of flat pancakes. We’ve consumed more than a few rubbery pancakes. We’ve eaten pancakes salty with the tears of futility (okay, that was perhaps a little dramatic).
But that’s all over now, because we’ve finally found our very own diner style pancake recipe, so we can skip the lines and recreate our own sticky table and weak coffee experience at home.
Diner Pancake Recipe
Let’s talk about what makes perfect restaurant style pancakes, because that’s what these are. Yes, I said it. They are P-E-R-F-E-C-T! Everything I’ve ever wanted in a pancake.
These are:
- Fluffy pancakes.
- Puffy pancakes.
- Buttery pancakes.
- Airy pancakes.
- EASY pancakes!
The best homemade fluffy pancakes are thick but never dense, and flavorful enough they don’t even require butter and syrup.
Of course, that shouldn’t stop you from pouring on the syrup anyway. Let’s face it, the night we’re having pancakes for dinner is not the night to practice restraint.
Adding syrup to diner pancakes really takes them over the top. The syrup soaks into every little nook and cranny so every bite has the perfect balance of puffy, buttery pancakes and sweet, sultry syrup. Nooks and crannies, people. Nooks and crannies in. your. pancakes.
How to Make the Best Fluffy Pancakes
Now that I’ve hyped the heck out of these pancakes let’s talk about how to make them! First, let’s gather our supplies, which are mostly pantry staples.
If you don’t normally buy buttermilk, this post shows you how to freeze buttermilk so you can always have it on hand! You can also use the leftovers to make your own Homemade Buttermilk Syrup!
Ingredients in Homemade Fluffy Pancakes
- All Purpose Flour
- Sugar
- Salt
- Baking soda and powder
- Separated Egg
- Butter
- Buttermilk
- Milk
The Secret to Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes
These pancakes follow the pattern of most pancake recipes, except for one key difference.
- First, whisk together all the dry ingredients.
- Then, whisk together the wet ingredients–the butter, buttermilk, and milk. Here’s the secret–SEPARATE the egg and whisk just the yolk in with the other wet ingredients.
- Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Then, add in the remaining egg white and stir gently until it’s mostly incorporated. It’s ok if some white streaks remain.
- From here, you’re ready to cook! We love to use an electric skillet to make pancakes since you can do so many at once. You can cook pancakes in bacon grease or a neutral oil, but they actually do fine without any oil at all. If you want them really crispy around the edges, use an oil. Otherwise, skip it!
Tips and Tricks for Pancake Success
- Do not skip the separated egg! It’s the key to the fluff factor. I have no idea why, but this trick really works!
- Sometimes the butter forms little solid slivers when it combines with the cold milk. Don’t worry about it! It will melt right back in as the pancakes cook.
- Use a light hand when stirring. Pancake batter should be lumpy and bumpy, not whisked until smooth.
- The buttermilk is key for both the flavor and the fluffiness of these pancakes. We have tried it with buttermilk powder, and while good, it’s not quite the same. The same goes for the milk + lemon juice substitute. It’ll get you by in a pinch, but full fat buttermilk is the absolute best. If you absolutely can’t use buttermilk, I think the next best substitute is plain, full fat yogurt.
- Use a fairly hot skillet for cooking pancakes to get those golden edges! The skillet is ready when a drop of water sizzles and evaporates on contact.
- Flip the pancakes when little bubbles begin to appear on the top side of them.
How to Freeze Pancakes
Buttermilk pancakes freeze very well. Simply cook as usual, allow them to cool, then line them up on a parchment lined baking sheet. Flash freeze for 1 hour, then remove and stack them in a freezer container or bag.
Reheat frozen pancakes in the microwave, pop them in the toaster, or heat in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until warmed through.
More Fluffy Pancake Recipes You Might Enjoy
We’ve used this fluffy pancake recipe as the base for so many of our other favorite specialty pancakes, including Strawberry Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Banana Pancakes, and Apple Nut Pancakes.
You can find loads more toppings ideas in this Pancake Party post!
We love using these pancakes as the base for this Overnight Pancake Casserole, which is a great way to feed pancakes to a crowd!
If you’re looking for something a little different (but don’t want to lose out on the fluffiness!), try these Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes.
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Perfect Fluffy Pancakes
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg (separated)
- 4 Tablespoons butter (melted and cooled)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup milk
- Canola oil
Instructions
- Heat a griddle over medium heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, soda, and baking powder.
- In another medium bowl, whisk together egg yolk, butter, buttermilk, and milk.
- Add yolk mixture to dry mixture and stir gently until barely combined.
- Add egg white to the mixture and stir until a thick, lumpy bumpy batter forms. Stop before the batter smooths out! The egg white may not even be all the way incorporated. That’s okay! We like lumps and bumps in our pancake batter.
- Drop mixture by the half cup full onto the preheated pan. Sprinkle blueberries, chocolate chips, or other mix ins onto the surface of pancakes. Cook until bubbles start to appear on the exposed surface of the pancake. When bubbles appear, flip pancake and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until browned. Keep finished pancakes warm in a single layer on a baking sheet in an oven preheated to 200 degrees or serve immediately with butter and warm real maple syrup. (I know, I know, the real stuff is expensive. But as they say, ain’t nothin like the real thing baby!)
Notes
- Do not skip the separated egg! It’s the key to the fluff factor. I have no idea why, but this trick really works!
- Sometimes the butter forms little solid slivers when it combines with the cold milk. Don’t worry about it! It will melt right back in as the pancakes cook.
- Use a light hand when stirring. Pancake batter should be lumpy and bumpy, not whisked until smooth.
- The buttermilk is key for both the flavor and the fluffiness of these pancakes. We have tried it with buttermilk powder, and while good, it’s not quite the same. The same goes for the milk + lemon juice substitute. It’ll get you by in a pinch, but full fat buttermilk is the absolute best. If you absolutely can’t use buttermilk, I think the next best substitute is plain, full fat yogurt.
Nutrition
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Recipe adapted from The Kitchn
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