Fluffiest Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pancakes

The best go-to recipe for the fluffiest old fashioned buttermilk pancakes! Scratch pancakes with pantry ingredients and easy homemade buttermilk!

maple syrup being pored on a stack of buttermilk pancakes.

With 4 boys and a husband at home that are obsessed with breakfast and brunch, I have experimented with many different pancake recipes. This is the recipe for the best and fluffiest old fashioned buttermilk pancakes that I've tried and tweaked and that consistently disappear at my kitchen table every Saturday morning! My favorite part of the weekend is the boys anticipating the delectable stacks of goodness waiting at the table and the way their eyes widen as they examine them to see which of the glorious pancakes will land on their plate!

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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Ingredient Notes
How to Make Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pancakes?
Frequently Asked Questions
Expert Tips
Storage
Recipe
storage

Why You'll Love This Recipe

This recipe is comfort food at its best! You will love:

All of the ingredients to make the recipe are likely in your pantry. You can even make the buttermilk that goes into the recipe with 2 simple ingredients if you don't have buttermilk on hand!
The fluffy cake-like texture.
Crispy salty edges.

Ingredient Notes

ingredients for making pancakes on counter.

Buttermilk you can use storebought or my easy homemade hack using milk and vinegar!
All-Purpose flour.
Eggs, use large eggs.
Vegetable oil
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Salt
Butter for cooking and garnishing.
Real Maple Syrup- please use the best quality you can find! This is our favorite maple syrup but you can check these out as well!

How to Make Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pancakes?

1. Whisk together wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls.

Wet ingredients for buttermilk pancakes being poured into dry ingredients and whisked together.

2. Pour wet ingredients into to dry and mix until combined. Do not over mix!

Pancakes on griddle being cooked and flipped with a spatula.

3. Cook pancakes on a hot griddle!

* Scroll for the complete recipe card below!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between buttermilk pancakes and regular pancakes?

Pancakes that use buttermilk in the recipe tend to be lighter and fluffier due to the chemical reaction between the baking soda and the buttermilk. I always use my homemade buttermilk be could I love the tender crumb that the buttermilk helps to create in the pancakes.

Do you need buttermilk for pancakes?

You can make pancakes with any milk but I highly suggest that you try buttermilk if you never have, the texture really is amazing!

Why are my pancakes not fluffy?

The biggest culprit to pancakes that are not fluffy is usually overmixing. Having a few lumps in your batter is perfectly fine. Letting the batter rest a bit also helps. Some people say that beating your eggs separately is another contributor for fluffy pancakes but I am much too lazy! I always find that as long as the griddle is hot enough and the batter is not overmixed and has rested my pancakes are always perfect!

stack of buttermilk pancakes with berries and butter on the side.

Expert Tips

Do not overmix batter leave some lumps.
Allow batter to rest.
Make sure you griddle is hot! Always make a test pancake to ensure that your griddle is not too hot and the exterior burns before the interior cooks!
Use a cake tester or toothpick to check that pancakes are cooked through.
Do not mix the batter the day before. You can mix dry ingredients in advance and then add the wet ingredients before cooking to save time!
Serve with real maple syrup (always!) and butter.

Storage

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. These pancakes can be frozen in layers separated with parchment paper but I always recommend making and eating them fresh!

Recipe