Pumpkin Pancakes
These pumpkin pancakes are light, fluffy, and the perfect way to ring in the fall season. Serve them for breakfast, brunch, or even dessert with the rest of your favorite breakfast menu items.
It’s Not Fall Without a Stack of These Pumpkin Pancakes!
Hot, indulgent breakfasts have always felt like a treat. Growing up, I preferred a simple bowl of cereal or some toast with peanut butter and jelly for breakfast instead of fussing over a hot oven or stove. I still eat the same way, but love to make special breakfasts every once in a while consisting of pancakes.
Pumpkin pancakes are one thing that had been missing from my cold-weather breakfast repertoire. After two straight mornings of waking up to a blanket of frost on the grass, I thought now would be as good a time as any to whip them up!
Why I Love These Perfect Pumpkin Pancakes
Like most pancake recipes, this one is quite simple and can be mixed together in less than 10 minutes. Even better, I had everything I needed in the kitchen already.
I love how prominent the pumpkin flavor is in these pancakes, and along with the combination of spices, they taste like fluffy pieces of pumpkin pie. (Next time, I might top them with whipped cream instead of butter and syrup!)
These would make a great Halloween breakfast treat, or even a breakfast-for-dinner meal to fuel you for trick-or-treating.
Do you have any special breakfast traditions for different times of the year? I’d love to hear all about them in the comments!
Key Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Pumpkin pie spice (or individually ground cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg)
- Light brown sugar (or dark if that’s all you have)
- Milk (I prefer whole or 2%, but you can use plant-based milk if you’re dairy-free.)
- Canned pumpkin puree (100% pure pumpkin; not pumpkin pie filling)
- An egg
- Pure vanilla extract (always over the imitation stuff!)
How To Make These Pancakes
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- Make the Pancake Batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin, egg, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients over the flour mixture and whisk gently until completely combined. Set aside for 5 minutes to let them meld together.
- Prep the Griddle: Preheat a griddle to medium heat. Once the griddle comes to temperature, drizzle with vegetable oil and wipe off excess with a paper towel.
- Cook the Pancakes: Ladle ⅓-cup of the batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the edges are set and the bubbles around the edges are open and set. Flip and cook on the second side for an additional 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve immediately, or transfer to an oven-safe dish and keep warm in the oven at a low temperature until ready to serve.
Serving Suggestions
Make these pumpkin pancakes as an accompaniment to your other favorite breakfast or brunch recipes to make them a complete meal!
- Homemade Iced Coffee
- Perfect Quiche Lorraine
- Easy Homemade Granola
- Oven-Baked Bacon or Bourbon Brown Sugar Bacon
- Cheesy Zucchini and Sun-Dried Tomato Scones
- Overnight Chilled Plum Oatmeal
- Cheesy Bacon, Mushroom, and Spinach Strata
- Homemade Greek Yogurt
- Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Casserole
- Bacon or blueberry jam
Storage, Freezing, and Reheating Instructions
- Store: These cooked and cooled pumpkin pancakes can be stored at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container or plastic bag.
- Freeze: You can freeze these pumpkin pancakes for up to 1 month in an airtight, freezer-safe container or plastic bag.
- Reheat: From chilled or frozen in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until warmed through.
More Fall Recipes To Try
- Pumpkin Blondies
- Homemade Caramel Apples
- Perfect Pecan Pie
- Classic French Apple Cake
- All-American Beef Chili
Watch the Pumpkin Pancakes Video:
Pumpkin Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups (156.25 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) ground cloves
- 1 cup (244 ml) milk, whole or 2%
- ½ cup (122.5 g) canned pumpkin
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat a griddle to medium heat.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin, egg, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients over the flour mixture and whisk gently until completely combined. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- Once the griddle comes to temperature, drizzle with vegetable oil and wipe off excess with a paper towel.
- Ladle ⅓-cup of the batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the edges are set and the bubbles around the edges are open and set. Flip and cook on the second side for an additional 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve immediately. Leftover pancakes can be frozen for up to 1 month.
Notes
- Pumpkin Puree: Be sure to purchase 100% pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.
- Store: These cooked and cooled pumpkin pancakes can be stored at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container or plastic bag.
- Freeze: You can freeze these pumpkin pancakes for up to 1 month in an airtight, freezer-safe container or plastic bag.
- Reheat: From chilled or frozen in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until warmed through.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Could I use in regular pancake mix and omit the flour ?
Hi Jamie, Pancake mix also includes leaveners; I wouldn’t be able to advise on whether or not the remaining add-ins (pumpkin, oil, egg, milk, etc.) are the right amount for a mix.
Can you replace the pumpkin with sweet potato?
Yes, I don’t see why not! Let me know how they turn out!
I think these would be good with orange spice butter and syrup. Orange spice butter: https://www.realcaliforniamilk.com/recipe/orange-spice-butter
That sounds amazing!!
Yummy, fluffy and cooked well-through! I will definitely make these again! Always have mine with 100% Pure Maple Syrup.
These are perfect! Fluffy and tasty. I had a hard time getting one, as they were claimed as soon as they came off of the griddle. A total hit with the whole family. I didn’t have all of the spices on hand so I subbed 1tsp pumpkin pie spice + a couple shakes of cinnamon. Thanks for a great recipe. I will definitely put this one in the dinner rotation!
Outstanding recipe. Top your hot pancakes with Irish butter and hot maple syrup.
Just made these for breakfast-for-dinner tonight. So good! Exactly what I was hoping for out of a pumpkin pancake!
These are absolutely gorgeous!
Hi Michelle! Do you think you could substitute oat flour for the AP flour? I usually make this recipe with the AP and love it but wanting a GF option. Thanks!
If I have left over pumpkin pie filling and I want to make pumpkin pancakes…. can I use the pre-made filling plus some butter or oil and add it to flour, baking powder, and sugar to make the “panckes”?
Hi Bonnie, That SHOULD work, but I haven’t tried it, so couldn’t say the exact quantities you would need to use.
These turned out great! Fluffy and moist, flavor is just perfect. We quadrupled your recipe for our family of 6 and for my five year old to share in a Show and Tell. Thanks for the fall treat!
I made these tasty pancakes this morning! I love pumpkin….surprise surprise :)
They came out really good. The only thing was that the pancake was a little soft throughout the entire pancake. The spice was delicious and it had a strong flavor of pumpkin, which I enjoyed. I would totally make these again but possibly keep them on the griddle longer or thin out the amount poured onto my griddle?
Thank you for your recipe :)
I made these tasty pancakes this morning! I love pumpkin….surprise surprise :)
They came out really good. The only thing was that the pancake was a little soft throughout the entire pancake. The spice was delicious. I would totally make these again but possibly keep them on the griddle longer or thin out the amount poured onto my griddle?
Thank you for your recipe :)
These were easy and delicious. Love everything pumpkin! I used white whole wheat flour and made eight 4″ pancakes. I ate two ( I do try to control myself, sometimes) and froze the rest. Just warm in the microwave for yummy fast breakfast.
I saw this recipe last night and tried it out this morning, and they are the best pancakes I have ever had!. This was my first time making pancakes too, and it was definitely a success! Great recipe!
Quick tip: I modified this recipe substituting 1 cup of eggnog plus 1/4 cup of water as I had it sitting in the fridge. Wonderful recipe!
Very gooey and doughy in the middle. Tried everything to make them light and fluffy but nothing worked. Will not try again. Yuk.
I swear I followed the recipe, with the exception of subbing coconut milk for the dairy milk…and my batter turned out like waffle batter! Any idea why the sub caused this? I will try it later with a lower fat nondairy milk… Really bummed! Otherwise the taste was great! :(
Hi Maggie, I’m actually not sure what you mean because most pancake and waffle batter is very similar in terms of texture. What was wrong with the resulting pancakes? And yes, if there was an issue and you followed the recipe except for using coconut milk, that is most definitely the culprit.
Best Pumpkin Pancake recipe I have found. Yummy
This recipe was great!! Family loved the pancakes.
I made them this morning and they were delicious!
We woke up today, Halloween morning, wanting something … Halloweeny. I googled pumpkin pancakes, read through a LOT and decided yours sounded the best. Wow, I was right! Our family voted that it’s a keeper. Easy to make, so light and fluffy, and so delicious! Right balance of pumpkin flavor and the spices, and not too sweet but sweet enough. It’s now going in our morning rotation :) Thank you!
Excellent recipe for moist and fluffy pancakes – thank you.
I just made these for breakfast, and they were delicious. I used 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour and skim milk (it’s all I buy or have in the house) and they tasted fine to me. The amount of spice is not overpowering, and the pancakes were moist and fluffy.
I just made these, and WOW! Even the ones I burnt were delicious. I doubled the recipe and it still won’t be enough for my family. Thank you!
Is there a particular reason that whole or 2% milk is needed? I only have skim milk, would the result still be the same? Thank you so much! I am a HUGE fan of your blog!!
Hi Juliana, Skim milk doesn’t have enough fat in it for the recipe as written.
They look absolutely superb!
These were sooo delicious! :) Thank you for a great recipe!
Could I just use 1 full cup of puree instead of half and maybe take out half the milk instead of a full cup of that? Thank you for the recipe, and your photos are amazing too :) looks delicious.
Hi Stephanie, If you cut the pumpkin and milk, you should reduce all of the other ingredients by the same amount. I would not recommend changing the ratios of the recipe.
Whoops! A correction to my earlier post. I used 1/2 cup chocolate chips and it was plenty.