Buttermilk Pancakes
Weekends are made for pancakes, and one of my Saturday morning favorites are a steaming stack of delicious, fluffy, buttermilk pancakes. I have pancake recipes for days, vegan ones too. I love whipping up new pancake recipes but these buttermilk pancakes are a household favorite. Golden crispy edges, soft and light, and incredible buttermilk flavor drenched in pure maple syrup is such a feel good way to start any day. I also provided instructions to veganize this recipe.
Buttermilk is very rich and creamy, I had to incorporate it into a homemade pancake recipe. Buttermilk also helps activate the baking soda/baking powder in the batter resulting in a wonderfully light and fluffy pancake before it even touches heat. The result is soft, buttery, moist pancakes. Need I say more?
What I Love About These Buttermilk Pancakes
I know it’s super easy to pick up a box of pancake mix, but I love making pancakes from scratch. Putting that extra love into a weekend breakfast or just knowing all the ingredients I’m consuming is worth it. Added bonus, it’s so easy to make buttermilk pancakes homemade.
- Like I said, it’s really easy to prepare.
- Cheap ingredients found in every grocery store
- One bowl recipe, i.e. extremely easy cleanup
- Fluffy and delicious melt in your mouth pancakes
How To Make Buttermilk Pancakes From Scratch
Here’s what you need in one grocery list:
- All-purpose, unbleached flour (or flour of choice)
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Light brown sugar (Golden monk fruit sweetener for sugar-free alternative)
- Fine pink Himalayan salt (or salt of choice)
- Vanilla Bean Paste (or pure vanilla extract)
- Eggs (if vegan use flax egg)
- Buttermilk (if vegan use plant-based milk of choice or instructions on how to make vegan buttermilk below)
- Unsalted melted butter (if vegan use vegan butter)
FULL RECIPE PROVIDED IN RECIPE CARD BELOW. Like this recipe? You may also like these Vegan Pancakes and other Quick Bread Recipes. My Easy Vegan Banana Bread Recipe is so delicious. Here are other Breakfast Recipes as well as a full archive of Vegetarian Recipes and Vegan Recipes for you to browse.
Disclaimer & Disclosure: There may be affiliate links in this post. Nothing here should be taken as medical advice. Please consult with a certified dietician or nutritionist about nutritional needs specific to you.
Tips + Tricks To Make This Buttermilk Pancake Recipe Perfect Every Time
It’s all about the batter
If your batter is too thick, your pancakes will be gluey and undercooked. If it’s too runny, forget about flipping them. Here are a few tips that help get these buttermilk pancakes batter done to perfection:
- Use a sieve thru the dry ingredients when incorporating them.
- Mix wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a spoon and after incorporating, use a whisk to get remaining clumps out for a smooth batter.
Flip It Like a Pro
My griddle is my best friend when it comes to pancakes. No griddle? No problem! Use a non-stick pan and in either situation DO NOT grease the pan or griddle.
Heat griddle to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. If stovetop, put the burner on medium heat and pre-heat it for a few minutes so it’s an even temperature before placing batter.
Use the 1/4 measuring cup as your scoop of the batter and your circles won’t be too big for a fluke flip.
Use an extra wide heat resistant spatula to flip. The extra wide helps get enough of the pancake on the spatula to avoid a fluke flip.
Wait for lots of bubbles to pop before flipping! Usually this is 2-3 minutes per side.
How to Freeze Buttermilk
Buttermilk is perfectly useable if frozen. I prefer freezing it to avoid waste. It’s not as thick after thawing, but works just as well. Freeze cubes in an ice cube tray (silicone based ones are best) measuring one cup at a time so you know how many cubes it makes one cup. Thaw overnight or carefully microwave on a low defrost setting.
Are Vegan Buttermilk Pancakes A Thing?
Yes! Not only is buttermilk rich, creamy, and aids in light and fluffy pancakes, it has a unique tangy flavor that is the perfect compliment to a nice dose of maple syrup. To re-create this as a vegan food recipe, here is a quick how to make vegan buttermilk.
For one cup of vegan buttermilk: 1 TBSP fresh squeezed lemon juice or apple cider vinegar plus one cup of soy milk or plant-based milk of choice. My go-to plant-based milk of choice is usually unsweetened vanilla almond milk or unsweetened non-dairy coconut milk (not talking about the canned version here).
Buttermilk Pancakes
Equipment
- griddle or non-stick skillet
- mixing bowl
- whisk or spoon
- wide spatula for flipping
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups All purpose unbleached flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp brown sugar packed golden monk fruit sweetener for sugar-free
- ¼ tsp salt (pink Himalayan salt preferred)
Wet Ingredients
- 2 large eggs (lightly beaten) use 2 flax eggs for vegan
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste or 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups buttermilk see instructions below for vegan buttermilk
- 2 tbsp melted butter (unsalted) or melted vegan butter
Instructions
- Preheat griddle to 250°F
- If using non-stick skillet, heat the skillet on medium heat while making batter
- Combine all wet ingredients first. 1 cup of vegan buttermilk= 1 TBSP fresh squeezed lemon juice or apple cider vinegar plus remainder of one cup fill with soy milk or plant-based milk of choice.
- Add in dry ingredients and mix with spoon. Finish by whisking for a smooth batter.
- Using a ¼ measuring cup, pour batter onto griddle, forming three circular pancakes.
- Once a significant amount of air bubbles forms into batter, flip. This is usually at the 2-3 minutes mark.
- Flip using a large wide spatula and cook other side for another 2-3 minutes.
- Pour on the maple syrup and serve immediately. Enjoy!
GOT QUESTIONS? I’m happy to help. Leave a comment and add some stars to let me know if you enjoyed this recipe. Let me know how you re-created it too. Also, please share it on social media. Tag #thenaturalfoodie. Thanks! -Salei
