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Home Breakfast

Pancakes – Fluffy, quick, no-fail

By Nagi Maehashi
424 Comments
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Published16 Jun '17 Updated7 Dec '25
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Simple, soft, fluffy pancakes, an essential that everyone should know. You’ve been good all week. Go on. You deserve freshly made homemade pancakes for breakfast tomorrow!

Stack of the best easy soft, fluffy pancakes

Pancakes recipe

Homemade 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!

Simple, fluffy pancakes. What will you top yours with? recipetineats.com

What goes in homemade pancakes

This is what you need:

  • flour

  • baking powder

  • sugar

  • egg

  • milk

  • vanilla extract – optional

No buttermilk, no baking soda / bi carb, no yoghurt. You only need baking soda for an extra fluff boost when you have add ins in pancakes, like Blueberry Pancakes, because it weighs the batter down.

And of course TOPPINGS! Why limit yourself to just butter and maple syrup? See below for all sorts of ideas!

Simple, fluffy pancakes. What will you top yours with? recipetineats.com

Pancakes Toppings – what to put on pancakes

  • Butter and maple syrup – the classic!

  • Maple syrup alternatives – honey, golden syrup and other sweet syrups suitable for eating raw

  • Lemon and sugar – one of my favourites! Light sprinkle of sugar and a squeeze of lemon

  • Strawberries and cream! Pictured below – layer it up like a cake, sandwiching the pancakes with whipped cream and sliced strawberries, then finish with a dusting of icing sugar / powdered sugar;

  • Sinfully rich sauces – like caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, butterscotch sauce, peanut sauce, anything!

  • Lemon curd, fruit compotes and sauces – like blueberry sauce (try the one in this Blueberry Cheesecake), Strawberry Sauce (use the one in this Strawberry Cheesecake) or try the warm apple topping in this Apple French Toast

  • BACON and maple syrup – YES!

  • Sprinkle of nuts

  • Fresh fruit – chop it, pile over pancakes with cream!

  • Ice cream – add a scoop onto a stack and drizzle with maple syrup, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce. Don’t forget the whipped cream!

  • Dusting of cinnamon and sugar

Pro tip: Keep a 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 above, 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!

Simple, fluffy pancakes. What will you top yours with? recipetineats.com

Homemade Fluffy Pancakes

Now, go forth and elevate your morning by making a big stack of these soft, fluffy, golden pancakes! TELL ME what you top YOURS with! – Nagi xx


Watch How To Make It

Simple Fluffy Pancakes recipe video!

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Homemade Fluffy Pancakes

Simple, Fluffy Pancakes

Author: Nagi
Prep: 5 minutes mins
Cook: 15 minutes mins
Total: 20 minutes mins
4.91 from 180 votes
Servings13 pancakes
Tap or hover to scale
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Recipe video above. 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.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups plain / all purpose flour (Note 1)
  • 4 tsp baking powder NOT baking soda / bi-carb (Note 1)
  • 1/4 cup white sugar (caster / super fine is best but not essential)
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 large egg (~50g / 2oz in shell)
  • 1 3/4 cups cups milk (any type, any fat %)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
  • 4 tsp butter , for cooking
Prevent screen from sleeping

Instructions

  • Whisk dry – Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl, whisk to combine.
  • Add wet ingredients – Add egg, milk and vanilla. Whisk until lump free – no longer than 30 seconds.
  • Melt then wipe off most butter – Heat a non-stick pan – 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).
  • Cook – 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.
  • Keep warm and repeat – Remove the pancake 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: 108cal (5%)
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

More pancake recipes

  • Extra Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes

  • Nutella Stuffed Pancakes

  • Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes

  • Giant Pancakes – to share!

  • Pikelets – mini pancakes!


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!

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424 Comments

  1. Zahirah Motala says

    December 7, 2025 at 9:19 pm

    I made these and they turned out.amazing its a 1 bowl 1 whisk 1 measuring cup do easy clean up for Sunday morning brekkie perfection I even hit a miss and added 1/4 cup extra milk so added a bit more flour to get the right consistency and no one was the wiser!

    Reply
  2. marie Garrubba says

    November 30, 2025 at 8:57 am

    my kids loved your pancakes so I’m definitely making them again

    Reply
  3. Leila Leon says

    November 23, 2025 at 3:06 am

    Love love love this recipe, pancakes were amazing! I just added a little more than a pinch of salt for better flavor – but wow I will be using this pancake recipe from now on! Thank you!

    Reply
  4. alex says

    November 17, 2025 at 6:28 pm

    5 stars
    Best pancake recipe! never fails!

    Reply
  5. william says

    November 16, 2025 at 12:18 pm

    5 stars
    This is the Best pancake i ever had!

    Reply
  6. william says

    November 16, 2025 at 12:17 pm

    5 stars
    Best pancake i ever had

    Reply
  7. Ron says

    November 16, 2025 at 10:06 am

    1 star
    Rubbish, wrong measurements. Making pancakes not scones 🤬

    Reply
  8. Anna says

    November 14, 2025 at 6:10 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe is perfect! I can’t even get packet mix to work but these turn out perfectly everytime!

    Reply
  9. Braidie says

    November 6, 2025 at 10:10 am

    4 stars
    These were the fluffiest pancakes I’ve ever made!! I added a banana and they were so good! In future I would only do 3 tsp of baking powder or use self raising flour instead as it was a bit too bicarb tasting

    Reply
  10. Noname says

    November 5, 2025 at 10:17 pm

    5 stars
    Amazing this is the first time ive ever made perfect pancakes.

    Reply
  11. Katelyn says

    November 4, 2025 at 9:47 am

    5 stars
    Best tasting recipe I’ve made in a long time. I also used a little bit of sourdough starter discard for a deeper flavour. These are so fluffy and made so many!

    Reply
  12. Rachelle Concepcion says

    November 2, 2025 at 10:32 am

    Pancakes were very fluffy, however the bicarb made it taste quite bitter. Will definitely use the self raising flour option next time 🙂

    Reply
  13. Alan Napier says

    October 24, 2025 at 4:03 pm

    Windbag

    Reply
  14. C Webster says

    October 20, 2025 at 4:00 pm

    5 stars
    Oh give one to Dozer oxo

    Reply
  15. c.l says

    October 18, 2025 at 12:24 pm

    This was a terrible recipe- the pancakes wernt fluffy and were hard

    Reply
  16. Romain says

    October 17, 2025 at 11:27 am

    5 stars
    This is probably the quickest way to get fluffy pancakes. The Japanese way is perfect but takes a while. And cooking 3 at a time on the crepe pan makes it even quicker. The kids loved them with butter and raspberry jam and that’s the most important.

    Reply
  17. Karis says

    October 16, 2025 at 1:39 pm

    5 stars
    Very good and soft. Thank you.

    Reply
  18. Angelika Flores says

    October 12, 2025 at 1:48 am

    Hi can i store the lefover batter in the fridge to be use the next day?

    Reply
  19. Lottie Wilson says

    October 6, 2025 at 8:51 am

    5 stars
    Love them they are delicious

    Reply
  20. Julia Kinsella says

    September 30, 2025 at 3:26 pm

    Our batter ended up way too thick idk why but it made a dough instead we cut them into circles and baked them they ended up turning into the best scones.

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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