Best Buttermilk Pancakes
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My quest for a fabulous pancake recipe has followed a very similar path as my quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Until I found “the one“, I searched high and low. Every recipe claiming to be the best I tried. And I kept trying until that fateful day when it was clear that I never had to try another chocolate chip recipe again. And so it has been for pancakes. I’m not going to lie – I love the Aunt Jemima mix. They come out perfect every time. But I just had to find a pancake recipe that I could make from scratch that was worth the little bit of extra effort. These came close, but I was still searching. I am officially ending the search here and now. And what better time? Valentine’s Day weekend is the perfect excuse for maybe some breakfast in bed, or something a little more fancy than a soggy bowl of cereal!
While the ingredient list is almost identical to the buttermilk pancakes I made previously with the exception of the sour cream in these (maybe that’s the secret ingredient!), these specific ingredients, these quantities, and this method just work. Perfectly. The pancakes cook up light and fluffy in the middle, full of flavor, yet not tasting at all heavy. They are definitely the best pancakes I have ever made. After a huge flop a couple of months ago with a different recipe, I was almost tempted to give up my quest for “the one” when it came to pancakes. I’m glad I didn’t, because it only took one more stop for me to finally find my go-to recipe!
Three years ago: Brown Sugar-Apple Cheesecake
Best Buttermilk Pancakes
Yield: Sixteen 4-inch pancakes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
¼ cup sour cream
2 eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 to 2 teaspoon vegetable oil, for greasing the panDirections:
1. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. In a second medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, eggs and melted butter. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients; gently stir until just combined (batter should remain lumpy with a few streaks of flour). Do not overmix. Allow the batter to sit for 10 minutes before cooking.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon of the vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Using a paper towel, carefully wipe out oil, leaving a thin film of oil on the bottom of the pan. Using ¼ cup measure, portion batter into pan in 4 places. Cook until edges are set, first side is golden brown, and bubbles on surface are just beginning to break, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a thin, wide spatula, flip pancakes and continue to cook until second side is golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Serve pancakes immediately. Repeat with remaining batter, using remaining oil as needed.
*Note 1: This recipe was formulated using lower-protein flour such as Pillsbury and Gold Medal. If you use flour with a little higher protein content like King Arthur, you will need to add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of buttermilk. I forgot about this at first, and when I mixed the batter I saw how thick it was. I added 1½ more tablespoons of buttermilk and the batter was perfect.
*Note 2: If you make these on an electric griddle, preheat it to 350 degrees F.
(Recipe adapted from Cook's Illustrated)
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These look soooo good
I’d love to make these over a weedend brunch with friends
I have a question tough: I live in France and here buttermilk is not available, neither is sour cream; can you provide an alternative ? I know there are many “recipes” for these products on the net but I trust you more than than some random people
You blog is screen-licking-liscious ! Love it. You must be adorable as adorable food is made by adorable people
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Michelle on February 14th, 2011 at 8:01 pm
You can make buttermilk by putting 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar in a liquid measuring cup. Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the 1-cup line. Double if necessary. For the sour cream, you can sub creme fraiche.
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Babou on February 16th, 2011 at 9:14 am
Thank you !
Great breakfast waiting to happen
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Delicious! This might just make my pancake hating husband love pancakes.
I know!! Who hates pancakes.
Not anymore!
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http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/simply-perfect-pancakes-recipe
This link to King Arthur may spark you for yet another attempt. Malted milk powder is subtle and might be the special something you search for. I am always trying to recreate Howard Johnson’s pancakes.They were different and I have no idea how. (Just like ELBY’S chocolate milk shakes are different from everyone.)I am going to increase the malted powder the next time I give them a whirl.
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These look like THE perfect pancakes Michelle. Super super delish.
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I love a really good pancake recipe, but they really are surprisingly hard to find. I’m pretty happy with the one I use now, but I’m not in love with it. I’ll definitely have to try these…they may just bump my current recipe from the box!
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Finding “the best” of something is always a great day! I’ll try these out!
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These do look fabulous! I don’t eat pancakes enough to have the perfect recipe, but these sound like they might be it!
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I’ll have to give these a try. My kids LOVE pancakes. Like you, I’ve been on the quest for the perfect pancake for years. Recently, I had narrowed it down to two recipes. One morning, we decided to have a “throw down” and name the ultimate winner. I made both recipes and served them to the kids. They had no idea which pancake was which (other than #1 or #2) and each child voted anonymously. Wouldn’t you guess, 50% of the family preferred #1 and 50% preferred #2!
Looks like we’ll be having another throw down! With three contenders, we won’t have to worry about a tie!
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These look nearly identical to my “best” buttermilk pancakes from Fine Cooking except for the sour cream- I bet that adds a LOT! I love a good pancake with REAL maple syrup!!
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I’m the same way with everything I cook. My poor hubby is asked so many questions during something as simple as a pancake breakfast like this “what do you think of them?” “is there anything at all you’d change?” “if I make them again, what should I do differently?” I was a little underwhelmed with my last scratch pancakce attempt, so maybe I should give these a go. They look so fluffy and amazing!
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yum! I love pancakes and make them all the time. My recipe is similar but with no sour cream. Thanks for the recipe, heart shaped pancakes maybe this weekend?
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I need to use this recipe. I’m a failure at pancakes!
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Eating cereal and wishing I had pancakes!
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Ok, these do look like the best pancakes ever! Yummy!
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There is really nothing like a great pancake! My favorite breakfast food!
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I agree with Penny, malted milk powder in pancakes is great. Look for the recipe from either America’s Test Kitchen or Cook’s Country for their “best pancakes”. It also has malt powder.
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I am always on the quest for a new pancake recipe…love the addition of sour cream!
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Mmm, I love the idea of sour cream in pancakes! I think I might add in a little honey, too. Yum!
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I love that you have done all of the hard work for us in finding the perfect pancake recipe! I cannot wait to try this tomorrow morning!
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Those look awesome!
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There is nothing quite like the perfect pancake. I am looking forward to trying these.
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I was totally craving pancakes this morning. Gonna have to make these over the weekend!
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Looks like you found the one! What a Valentine’s Day! =)
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Nice touch with the sour cream. These look absolutely delicious… I am so HUNGRY now!
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LOVING THESE!!! They sound SO fluffy and decadent, I can’t wait to try them!
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These are almost identical to my recipe, but yours are 2/3 smaller. The only difference between ours is you invite sour cream to the party, and mine have vanilla. I am definitely going to add a bit of sour cream next time (but I will keep the vanilla).
Not overmixing is very important. Lumpy makes fluffy.
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This is the recipe I use, too, and it is definitely the best pancake recipe I’ve ever tried. LOVE homemade pancakes. They also freeze well!
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Ooh, what a great recipe! I’ll have to make these for my hunny this weekend. Thanks for sharing, Michelle!
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These are some BEAUTIFUL pancakes!
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They look good. Real good. Yum!
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Thanks so much for posting these, now I know what I’m serving for Valentine Day’s breakfast!
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Pancakes make frequent appearances in our household! So excited to try this recipe! In fact I just might try them tonight!
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Now I want pancakes for dinner! Those sound great!
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I’ve been on a quest for the perfect “scratch” recipe for pancakes also. I will surely try this one and let you know how it turns out. Yours look so fluffy!
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yum. i loveeeee pancakes. probably one of my all time favorite meals. i’ll have to try this recipe!
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This morning, my husband asked if he could make me pancakes for once, normally I make them but he really wanted to do something for me (nice!) and this recipe came in handy. It was really really good and probably the best thing was that I could sit directly down at the table and enjoy them! They were fluffy and tasty – just perfect! Thank you so much for the recipe!
To the reader in France who can’t find buttermilk or sour cream: On our last vacation in France, we used a lebanese fermented milk in stead, lait fermente or something similar, and sour cream is called creme fraiche acidulee and you should be able to find that almost everywhere. Hope this helps!
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Big, fluffy pancakes have been a request from my boyfriend for awhile now. I’ve tried multiple recipes and while some have been good, very good even, none have been perfect. I am putting my money on this one!
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perfect for pancake tuesday coming up in march!
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Mmmm perfect brunch food!
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Hi
If i wish to make this into a Banana Pancake (trying to include fruit into my daughter’s breakfast)…..do i need to change the proportion of any other ingredient in your recipe (would this reduce the amount of buttermilk or eggs or anything)
Your reply will be very helpful.
Thanks so much for sharing your recipes with us. It means a lot.
- Rupa
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Michelle on February 14th, 2011 at 8:05 pm
Hi Rupa, You can leave the recipe as is and fold chopped or sliced banana into the batter. Enjoy!
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Mmmmmm, these look delish. I went out and got buttermilk today so I can make them tomorrow, I cant wait!
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these look awesome. I’m a bit pancake-challenged, but love eating them, so I’ll have to give this recipe a try – maybe it’s the solution I’ve been waiting for!
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I have been craving some homemade pancakes myself lately, and though I was looking for a recipe with yogurt, I LOVE how thick and fluffy yours look! Glad your quest was successful.
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Oh my goodness! These were delicious. And an added benefit – I have found a pancake that holds up to my WilliamsSonoma Star Wars molds. My plan was to save the extras to see how they freeze and toast up. However, there were no extras to be had!
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I made these this morning for Valentine’s breakfast…they were SO good!!! Thanks for the recipe
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Just made these for breakfast, and they really hit the spot! I swapped a 1/2 cup of the flour for whole wheat flour for a little more oomph, and it turned out really well.
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I too have been searching for the perfect pancake recipe and have been unsuccessful in getting the light, fluffy consistency I crave. I will definitely try this recipe. It looks great!
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The other day I was in a hurry and made some ‘Shake’n'Make’ pancakes by Betty Croker. I thought that I would add buttermilk instead of regular milk – I poured it in and shook the bottle for 2 minutes as directed. I placed the bottle down and oiled the frying pan. When I removed the lid the pancake mix exploded all over me and my clean kitchen! Not so simple and quick pancakes
Shari from http://www.goodfoodweek.blogspot.com
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The “best” pancake recipe has got to be the one from Fine Cooking magazine from the Dec 09/Jan10 issue! You must try it!
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These look perfect – so golden and fluffy!
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I found a recipe for IHOP’s pancakes many years ago and adapted it to fit our tastes and I have been making them ever since BUT every once in awhile I find another recipe I want to try. The last one was Alton Brown’s recipe from Good Eats. We liked it but I wasn’t that happy with it. What is it with pancakes? You find a recipe you are happy with BUT not happy enough to stop searching for another. Weird.
I will try this one soon.
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Everyone should have a recipe like this in their arsenal!
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Yes, it’s true. She did not lie. These are the best pancakes I have ever made. Yum!
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Yum… I’m suddenly craving pancakes, and I can’t imagine why! If you claim that these are the best, then I have no excuse not to give them a try!
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Mmmm For the past two months I’ve been CRAVING pancakes like crazy! I’ve been to IHOP like 5 times, pregnancy cravings are ridiculous! These look so good!! Hopefully I’ll be up for cooking again soon cuz these look AMAZING!!!
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so i made these pancakes this morning…and oh em geeee!!! they simply are theeeee best. i’ve tried many a pancake recipe and they never turned out as perfect as these. danke! =D
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This recipe looks delicious. I am always looking for a better pancake recipe. I will try these soon and let you know what we thought.
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What a great recipe. I made these this morning for the kids. Everyone loved them. Thanks
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These look fantastic! I really want to make them.
I’m curious… what percentage was your sour cream? I am a student, at home my mom uses a very low-fat sour cream and it’s quite runny. At my place my boyfriend prefers a more fattier sour-cream, and it’s ridiculously thick in comparison. Which do you suggest using for this recipe? I can only really find 0%, 5% and then a big jump to like 15% sour cream, or some variant in those percentages. So they are either very runny or very thick.
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Michelle on February 27th, 2011 at 4:09 pm
Hi Sara, I always use full-fat sour cream for baking recipes. Here the only options are “regular” (full fat) sour cream, reduced fat and non-fat.
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hi michelle,
your recipes and your blog is beautiful and great! I share your link on my blog in german and turkish (www.canansculinaria) language.
greetings,
canan
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Thank you for pointing out those extra tips. I would not have considered those. I know how to jazz up my almond pancake recipe now. Cheers!
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This CI pancake recipe is our family stand by, too. I make ‘em every week. Never had better.
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I just discovered your site via EverydayReading.blogspot.com and I am in love! I’ve also just about worn out my printer, picking out recipes that look delicious. Can’t wait to try them! I have a book blog and I’ve added your site to my foodie blogroll so I will definitely be back soon. Pancakes are one of my favorite foods ever. I made PW’s sour cream pancakes last weekend (so good!) and love buttermilk ones so I can’t wait to try these tomorrow morning
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Hey, I just tried these pancakes and they are AMAZING! They do beat the other recipe I was using for buttermilk pancakes, (my other recipe called for 1 stick of melted butter! ah!) so I feel healthier when eating these, haha.
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I made these today, but I had to adapt the recipe a little because I didn’t have the sour cream. I also added blueberries. Fantastic! I mixed some butter, blood orange marmalade and powdered sugar together and spread that on them! No need for syrup Yum! Thanks so much for this recipe.
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there are absolutely amazing. i’ve finished my search for the perfect pancake recipe, thanks to you!
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Until I came across this recipe I had never made homemade pancakes, which is surprising because I am such a believer in homemade baked goods. These were amazing . . . there’s no going back to a box mix now. Thank you for this recipe. My entire family loved it.
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So easy to make up and even eaiser to cook. I too had been a search to find that one pancake recipe that beat out the rest. I can finally say it’s over for these are by far the most perfect ones I have made. I actually like to fry mine in brown butter and put a couple of bluerries in for a treat.
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Really awesome pancakes!! So fluffy, probably best I’ve ever made !
I didn’t have sour cream so I used natural yoghurt instead and I think it really helped to lighten the mixture, thank you for the recipe!
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o my gosh! these look amazingly delicious!!!!
can’t wait to try them!
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Hi
How do I know if I’ve over-mixed the batter?
Thanks
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I love buttermilk pancakes….and urs looks so delicious
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I have used this recipe numerous times and the pancakes are to die for. They also freeze very well. As a matter of fact, I had two for breakfast this morning from my freezer. I like to add blueberries to them while they’re cooking. Thank you so much for this recipe!
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I am so excited to try this recipe! The only thing is everytime I buy buttermilk I’ll use a cup before the rest expires. I read your comment below about milk and lemon juice and was wondering if It would work with Skim milk? Thats the only milk we buy and my husband doesnt like when I waste with my experiments lol
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Michelle on October 24th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Most buttermilk is lowfat, so I think a 1% or 2% would work, I’m not sure about skim though, I never buy it or use it for baking, so I couldn’t say for sure.
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danielle on February 14th, 2013 at 3:21 pm
i am making these for the first time and zoomed to the last comments to see any helpful info. so 18 months later, here’s an FYI that you can freeze buttermilk (in ice cube trays). works great! (i read it recently on a cooking blog after years of wasting buttermilk.)
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Looks delicious, but why would pancakes need sour cream? Doesn’t sounds good but sure does looks tasty.
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Michelle on October 23rd, 2012 at 11:02 pm
Hi Natasha, The sour cream works in conjunction with the buttermilk, creating extremely moist and fluffy pancakes.
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natasha on October 26th, 2012 at 1:43 am
Okay, thanks my 2 little daughters love pancakes. I will most definitely will make this in the morning before they are off to preschool & kindergarten.
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Hi There,
My whole family loves your buttermilk pancakes so much I blogged about it – hope you don’t mind here’s the link – http://thetravellingchaplins.blogspot.com/2012/10/sunday-breakfast-pancakes.html
thanks for a wonderful recipe
Karen
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Made these this morning and they were perfect. I added a little vanilla and sliced a very ripe banana that got all caramelized and yummy. This is my new favorite pancake recipe. A real keeper.
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Thank you so very much for the tip about the King Arthur Flour! I have been baking for years and I only use King Arthur Flour. ( I am a loyal Vermonter.) I finally know now the reason I have always had to add more liquids to recipes. I guessed that flours must differ in some way. Thanks for the detail you give. I learn so much from the recipes you provide.
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