Name: Simple, Fluffy Pancakes
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 13 pancakes
Ingredients: 2 cups / 300g plain / all purpose flour ((Note 1)); 4 tsp baking powder ((Note 1)); 1/4 cup / 55g white sugar ((caster / super fine is best but not essential)); Pinch of salt; 1 egg; 1 3/4 cups / 435 ml cups milk ((any type, any fat %)); 1 tsp vanilla extract or essence; 4 tsp butter (, for cooking)

Simple, soft, fluffy pancakes, an essential that everyone should know. You’ve been good all week. Go on. You deserve these for brekki tomorrow!

Pancakes recipe

Pancakes shouldn’t be complicated. It doesn’t matter if they come out wonky or with a splotchy surface instead of being a beautiful, even golden brown – after all, they’ll get smothered in toppings.

But they should be soft and fluffy. And in my world, not too sweet. Because….you know. Toppings. Load up on toppings!

Any day starting with homemade pancakes is a GREAT day!

STANDBY PANCAKE MIX!

Homemade pancakes aren’t complicated to make, but sometimes it’s that much more appealing if there’s a ready made mix in the cupboard, just like the ones you can buy at the store!

Just measure out the dry ingredients and pop them in a ziplock bag, jar or airtight container, then when you want to make fresh pancakes, just add the wet ingredients!

To make a handy shake ‘n pour bottle like pictured below, you’ll need a 1.5L/1.5Qt+ bottle to leave enough headroom for the required liquids + shaking. I mix the wet ingredients in a jug then pour it in then shake away!

There are many pancake recipes in this world, and this one is a fuss free one that you can make with pantry essentials. It’s made with just flour, baking powder (or self raising flour), sugar, milk, eggs and vanilla. No buttermilk, no baking soda / bi carb, no yoghurt. I know you can make “better” ones that are ultra thick, but this is my go-to that I make 99% of the time because it’s simple, I always have the ingredients, it’s soft and fluffy enough for me (too thick gets a bit much, in my opinion).

Some will come out beautifully golden, like you see in the photos above. Some will come out splotchy. It doesn’t matter! See? Can’t even tell what colour these pancakes are…..↓↓↓ – Nagi xx

Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes

Homemade Pancakes
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

Simple Fluffy Pancakes recipe video!

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Simple, Fluffy Pancakes

Author: Nagi

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 15 mins

Total: 20 mins

4.97 from 33 votes

Servings pancakes

Simple, fluffy pancakes made from scratch, an essential that everyone should know! These are soft and fluffy, easy to make, and not too sweet so you can go wild with toppings. The key is getting the batter consistency right so it is easy to spread but doesn't spread too thinly so you get nice fluffy pancakes. Recipe video below, and topping suggestions below.

Ingredients

2 cups / 300g plain / all purpose flour (Note 1)
4 tsp baking powder (Note 1)
1/4 cup / 55g white sugar (caster / super fine is best but not essential)
Pinch of salt
1 egg
1 3/4 cups / 435 ml cups milk (any type, any fat %)
1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
4 tsp butter , for cooking

Instructions

Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl, whisk to combine.
Add egg, milk and vanilla. Whisk until lump free - no longer than 30 seconds.
Heat a non stick skillet - use medium heat if you have a strong stove, medium high if you have a weak one. Add a tiny bit of butter (about 1/2 tsp) and swirl to melt. Use paper towel to mostly wipe the butter off (this is the trick to avoid a dodgy 1st pancake).
Pour 1/4 cup batter into the middle of the fry pan (I use a slightly heaped ice cream scoop with lever, standard is 1/4 cup).
Swirl pan lightly to spread or use the ice cream scoop edge to spread into 11cm / 4.5" circle (ruler is a must) (joking!).
When bubbles rise to the surface (see video), flip and cook the other side until golden.
Remove and keep warm in a low oven.
Use more butter every 2 to 3 pancakes - depends how good your non stick coating is.
Serve with toppings of choice!

Recipe Notes:

1. Flour: The flour and baking powder can be replaced with 2 cups + 1 tbsp self raising flour. The flour can also be substituted with whole wheat flour.

2. STOVE TEMP: The trick with pancakes is getting the stove temp perfect - it should take 30 seconds for the bubbles to appear then 30 - 45 seconds on the other side until golden, 1 minute per pancake. So adjust as you cook, and if you're impatient like me, get 2 pans going at the same time!

3. Some TOPPINGS: Butter, maple syrup, fruit sauces, jam, cream, lemon juice + sugar (this is terrific), bacon + maple syrup (heart attack risk is worth it), yoghurt, macerated strawberries (1 cup chopped strawberries tossed with 1 tbsp white sugar, leave for 10 minutes = strawberries in red juice, see photo in post).

4. PRE-MADE PANCAKE MIX: Place the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar in a ziplock bag, large jar or bottle. Then add the egg, vanilla and milk when you want to make up a batch of pancakes! If you want to be able to add the liquids into the jar or bottle then pour the batter straight into the pan, it will need to be 1.5L/1.5Qt or greater. The bottled pictured in post is a 2 litre milk carton (only dry ingredients are in it).

Click here for printable instruction labels (nothing fancy but does the job!).

5. Nutrition per pancake assuming only half the butter is consumed (because most is wiped off), excluding toppings because I cannot be held responsible for how much you load up your pancakes! And yes, this recipe makes 13 pancakes. Because it's just how my recipes seem to go - always a weird number.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 62gCalories: 108kcal (5%)

Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

LIFE OF DOZER

I’m surprised there isn’t a massive drool hanging from his mouth.

Oh wait. I don’t want to gross you out, but after I wrote this post, I almost slipped on a puddle of drool when I was cleaning that area. Ewwwwww!

111 Comments

Abigail says
September 7, 2019 at 7:55 pm
Any Chance this couKS be made gluten free?
- Nagi says
  September 8, 2019 at 6:45 pm
  I haven’t tried just yet Abigail although I find that gluten free flour is much more dense – N x
Gia says
August 14, 2019 at 1:00 am
I didn’t make this yet because I just feel like four tsp of baking powder isn’t right so I just want to check ty
- Nagi says
  August 14, 2019 at 8:57 am
  Yep it’s correct, you’ll get the best fluffy pancakes Gia – N x
patty says
March 18, 2019 at 7:06 pm
Yummmm! Great pancake recipe. Also the gift idea is nice too. Thanks for sharing.
- Nagi says
  March 19, 2019 at 7:52 am
  Thanks so much Patty!
Cassidhe Lusk says
February 28, 2019 at 9:52 pm

Every single recipe you post is so amazing. Thanks for sharing!
- Nagi says
  March 1, 2019 at 10:10 am
  Thanks so much Cassidhe!!
Julie says
January 27, 2019 at 10:00 am

Thankyou so much for this awesome recipe! The kids devoured them. I will never buy store bought again. Fluffiest pancakes ever! 😊
- Nagi says
  January 28, 2019 at 9:30 am
  You won’t look back! I’m so glad you’re kids love them!
Mellisa says
December 5, 2018 at 2:19 am

I ran out of my usual store bought pancake mix so I found this and decided to give it a try. They turned out wonderfully! I think I’ll skip the store bought from now on and just make these! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Sal says
December 3, 2018 at 3:21 am

Excellent- I had never been able to make them so round and golden! Thanks Nagi!
- Nagi Maehashi says
  December 4, 2018 at 1:18 pm
  You’re so welcome! x
Kat says
October 16, 2018 at 3:32 am

Wow so easy and delicious! We ran out of our normal store bought mix and then I thought, Nagi will have these on her blog! You never fail to deliver. Thanks for sharing. Delicious!
MaggieMay says
September 4, 2018 at 12:00 am

Great pancakes! Texture was perfect. Next time I would add a little more salt. Otherwise, excellent recipe and easy to make! Thank you 🙂
Jamie says
July 31, 2018 at 12:03 am
These were a total hit at our house! They had awesome fluff and great flavor. Even my little guy with sensory difficulties loved them. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
- Nagi says
  August 1, 2018 at 9:34 pm
  You’re so welcome Jamie! Glad you and your little guy enjoyed it 🙂 N x
Sheila says
July 9, 2018 at 9:07 pm

Made this pancake today Nagi. It is very good 😍. thanks again for the recipe.
- Nagi says
  July 9, 2018 at 11:00 pm
  That’s terrific Sheila! Drowned in maple?? 👻
Alyssa says
July 1, 2018 at 2:14 pm

I’ve tried it with all-purpose flour this is a truly phenomenal recipe! My parents are flying in tomorrow morning so I’m planning on making a second batch with whole wheat flour! Will for sure let everyone know how it goes!
P.s. they freeze like a charm <3
Casey says
April 23, 2018 at 1:20 am

These pancakes get 5 stars for being super fluffy and have a great mouth-feel. However, they are too sweet for my taste. Can the sugar be reduced without compromising the fluffiness?
- Nagi says
  April 23, 2018 at 10:06 pm
  So glad you liked these Casey! Absolutely just reduce sugar to your taste 🙂 N xx
Shaki says
March 24, 2018 at 2:39 pm

This was the first time I tried to do fluffy pancakes 🥞
N they turned out perfectly 😃😃
I add some chopped bananas to d mixture too..
Thankuu very much for the recipe 👍👍
- Nagi says
  March 26, 2018 at 6:20 pm
  LOVE HEARING THAT Shaki! N x ❤️
Yy says
February 20, 2018 at 12:32 pm

It’s was prefect !!! looking for fluffy pancake without buttermilk for ages, this one is the best! my baby girl loves it so much too! Thanks Nagi!!
- Nagi says
  February 21, 2018 at 2:00 pm
  So glad you both enjoyed this Yy! Thanks for letting me know! N x