Easy Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

These homemade buttermilk pancakes are fluffy, buttery, and have the most tender texture in the middle. Buttermilk adds a lovely tangy flavor to the pancakes. If you do not have access to buttermilk, don’t worry, we have provided a note in the recipe sharing how to make buttermilk at home.

Stack of fluffy buttermilk pancakes with syrup and berries

Related: We use buttermilk to make these banana buttermilk pancakes!

What Does Buttermilk Do When Added to Pancakes?

We’ve shared many pancake recipes here on Inspired Taste, and almost every time someone asks if they can use buttermilk to make them. So we thought it was about time to add a simple and straight-forward buttermilk pancakes recipe.

This is our go-to recipe. They are quick and simple to make, call for the fewest ingredients possible, and taste incredible. I also love the texture. Thanks to the buttermilk, these are tangy, fluffy, and very tender in the middle.

We don’t cook all that often with buttermilk, but when it comes to pancakes, it’s a super star. Here’s why:

  • Buttermilk adds a lovely tangy flavor to pancakes, which is incredibly delicious, especially when combined with something sweet (like syrup).
  • It kickstarts the baking soda into action, helping the pancakes cook up to be light and fluffy.
  • Buttermilk helps to breakdown the gluten in the pancake batter, which means buttermilk pancakes are extra tender, fluffy, and soft in the middle.
Stack of buttermilk pancakes with a fork, syrup and berries

What If I Don’t Have Buttermilk?

Don’t worry! You can make your own buttermilk at home. Simply mix milk (dairy or non-dairy) with an acid like white vinegar or lemon juice and set the mixture aside for 10 to 15 minutes. In this time, the mixture will start to curdle (not the prettiest, but it does the trick).

For our recipe below, we call for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk. That means that you will need to mix the following:

  • 1 1/2 cups milk (dairy or non-dairy)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar or lemon juice

Tips for Mixing Pancake Batter

We’ve talked about mixing pancake batter a few times on the blog (see our whole wheat pancakes or these everyday pancakes). It’s really important not to over mix your batter. Over mixing can make the pancakes flat and heavy when cooked.

To avoid over mixing, we have a simple solution: Mix your dry ingredients as much as you like in one bowl. Then mix your wet ingredients until well blended in another.

When you have the two mixtures, gently combine them with a whisk, spatula or fork. You don’t need to mix until all the lumps are gone — they disappear when the pancakes cook. Just mix until you no longer see streaks of flour.

As for consistency, if you pull your whisk out of the batter and it slowly falls back into the bowl, the pancake batter is perfect. If it’s too thick, which is pretty common, simply add a splash more buttermilk to thin it out.

Drizzling maple syrup over a stack of buttermilk pancakes

More Pancake Recipes

Easy Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

  • PREP
  • COOK
  • TOTAL

These buttermilk pancakes are fluffy, buttery, and have the most tender texture in the middle. Buttermilk adds a lovely tangy flavor to the pancakes. If you do not have access to buttermilk, don’t worry, we have provided a note below sharing how to make buttermilk at home (all you need is dairy or non-dairy milk and acid like white vinegar or lemon juice).

Buttermilk tends to vary in how thick it is so we provide a recommended range of how much buttermilk to add to the batter. You might find that you need all or more buttermilk to achieve the right batter consistency. A visual cue is shared in the recipe below so you can get it just right.

Makes about 10 pancakes

You Will Need

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for skillet

1 ½ cups (195 grams) all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine sea or table salt

1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups (295 ml to 354 ml) buttermilk, see notes for substitute

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

Directions

  • Make Pancake Batter
  • 1Melt three tablespoons of butter, and then set aside.

    2In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and the salt together until well blended.

    3In a medium bowl, whisk 1 1/4 cups of the buttermilk and eggs together.

    4Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture, and then pour in the buttermilk and egg mixture. Stir a few times, and then add the melted butter. Use a whisk or fork to stir until you no longer see clumps of flour. It is okay if the batter has small lumps – it is important not to over-mix the batter.

    5When you lift the whisk or fork out from the batter, it should slowly run down back into the bowl. If this does not happen and the batter is too thick, add additional buttermilk.

  • Cook Pancakes
  • 1Heat a large skillet (or use griddle) over medium heat. The pan is ready if when you splatter a little water onto the pan surface, the water dances around the pan and eventually evaporates.

    2Lightly brush the skillet with melted butter. Use a 1/4-cup measuring cup to spoon batter onto skillet. Gently spread the batter into a 5-inch circle.

    3When the edges look dry, and bubbles start to appear and pop on the top surfaces of the pancake, turn over. This takes 1 to 2 minutes. Once flipped, cook another 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked in the middle. Serve immediately with warm syrup, butter, and berries.

  • Keeping Larger Batches Warm
  • 1For larger batches of pancakes, before cooking the pancakes, heat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and place a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat inside. As the pancakes cook, carefully place them onto the baking sheet in the oven to keep warm.

  • Make Ahead
  • 1Buttermilk pancakes freeze well. Place the cooked pancakes onto a parchment lined baking sheet and slide into the freezer. Freeze until frozen, about 1 hour. When the pancakes are frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze up to 2 months. Reheat in the oven or toaster.

Adam and Joanne's Tips

  • Homemade buttermilk: To make 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk, combine 1 1/2 cups of milk (dairy or non-dairy) with 1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar or lemon juice. Set aside for 10 minutes before using in the recipe above.
  • Nutrition Facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.

If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste

Nutrition Per Serving Serving Size 1 pancake (10 total) / Calories 147 / Total Fat 5.8g / Saturated Fat 3.2g / Cholesterol 50.4mg / Sodium 296.7mg / Total Carbohydrate 19.2g / Dietary Fiber 0.5g / Total Sugars 4.4g / Protein 4.4g
AUTHOR:  Adam and Joanne Gallagher
Inspired Taste Newsletter Signup
6 comments… Leave a Review
  • David September 10, 2023, 3:08 pm

    Makes 3 cups batter. I make 3 big thick pancakes at 400, 6 min in air fryer. Love’em love’em

    Reply
  • Patricia Hobson February 21, 2021, 4:39 am

    Just made these amazing pancakes. The recipe is simple and they turn out really well. It made 6 thick fluffy ones.Had them with blueberries, banana and maple syrup. Thank you for your lovely recipe.

    Reply
  • SY September 15, 2020, 10:17 am

    Just as described – soft, fluffy, and buttery 🙂 Had it with maple syrup, cream cheese and figs and was soooo yum! Thank you so much!

    Reply
  • Michel Thibodeau June 4, 2020, 4:04 pm

    I tried this recipe today and they’re great!!!! Thank for sharing!!!

    Reply
  • Jenni April 28, 2020, 6:42 pm

    These were the best and easiest to make pancakes!!! So good they did not even need syrup! This is by far the best recipe I have ever tried for pancakes.

    Reply
  • Mary H April 19, 2020, 3:36 pm

    I’ve been trying to get pancakes right for as long as I can remember. Mix; scratch; using a recipe; eyeballing the ingredients; nothing has ever worked. Pancakes I make have always ended up heavy, wet/half raw, and unappealing. I’d come to believe I had an unconscious preference for non-fluffy cakes. Until this morning. I found a recipe that works for me! Fluffy and flavorful!

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Patricia Hobson Cancel reply

Leave a Review

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe!

 

All comments are moderated before appearing on the site. Thank you so much for waiting. First time commenting? Please review our comment guidelines. You must be at least 16 years old to post a comment. All comments are governed by our Privacy Policy & Terms.

Previous Post: Next Post: