This secret ingredient is used by many popular diners and restaurants to make the fluffiest tastiest pancakes on the planet.
If you love those thick, soft, restaurant-style pancakes like your favorite diner or IHOP's, this easy homemade copycat recipe is exactly what you need.
These pancakes are golden on the outside, cloud-like on the inside, and made with simple pantry ingredients—no box mix required.
Best of all, you can customize them with popular restaurant-style flavors right at home.
You may also like to try my homemade buttermilk pork sausage recipe with these pancakes; they're a perfect side dish!
Why You Will Love This Recipe for Copycat Restaurant Style Pancakes(with secret ingredient)
- Great Copycat Recipe – soft, tall, and fluffy every time
- Easy to make with basic ingredients
- Secret ingredient included for that restaurant texture
- Perfect base recipe for blueberry, chocolate chip, banana, and more
- Freezer-friendly for a quick breakfast
Delicious Topping Suggestions
- Butter & warm maple syrup
- Whipped cream
- Fresh berries or sliced bananas
- Chocolate syrup or hot fudge
- Powdered sugar
- Peanut butter or Nutella
- Strawberry or blueberry compote
Popular Add-ins
- Blueberry Pancakes: 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- Chocolate Chip Pancakes:1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Banana Pancakes:1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
- Strawberry Pancakes: 1/2 cup diced strawberries
- Cinnamon Roll Pancakes: 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + swirl of icing on top
Buttermilk and Pancake Tips
- If you don’t have buttermilk, mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice with milk and let it sit for 5 minutes
- Use medium heat; too hot will brown outside too fast
- Keep pancakes warm in a 200-degree oven until serving
- Use a good-grade store-bought buttermilk when available
- Cooking sprays flavored with butter are a good option for greasing
- Make sure you preheat the griddle
- Cook one pancake to make sure they cook evenly, golden brown
- Make sure you wait for the bubbles on top to flip
- Don't overmix; the lumps are supposed to be in there
- You can substitute sugar-free products for syrup or use a puree with fresh fruits
Don't worry if they don't look perfect!
You can pour them from a spouted mixing bowl, a large spoon, or whatever you have.I happen to use a gravy ladle or an ice cream scoop.
Don't worry if they are different shapes or sizes, they all taste the same!
I have even made these using metal cookie-cutter shapes for the kids!
The batter is perfect to make different shapes on the griddle!
Make sure you heat the pan!
You will want to heat the pan to low to medium heat; these cook fast.
Just remember to test one before making the rest of your batter to ensure the heat is correctly cooking the pancakes to a nice brown top.
Cook one just to make sure!
Once you try making one pancake and it's golden brown when you flip it, then you know that griddle or pan is the perfect heat.
Keep an eye on them.
Remember to wait for the edges to set and bubbles to form before flipping.
I usually eat the first one myself when it's not the perfect color to serve everyone!
Set up a breakfast pancake bar. You will need:
- Sliced strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Banana slices, Pineapple tidbits, Warm apples with cinnamon Mixed fruit salad
- Syrups & Sauces Classic maple syrup, Flavored syrups (blueberry, strawberry, butter pecan), Honey, Agave or maple butter, Chocolate syrup, Caramel sauce, Hot fudge sauce, Vanilla glaze or icing drizzle
- Creamy & Spreadable, Whipped butter, Cinnamon butter, Honey butter, Cream cheese (plain or sweetened), Peanut butter, Almond butter, Nutella, Cookie butter
- Sweet Crunch & Extras, Chocolate chips (milk, dark, or white), Mini chocolate candies, Toffee bits, Crushed cookies (Oreos, vanilla wafers), Graham cracker crumbs, Coconut flakes, Sprinkles
- Nuts & Seeds: Chopped pecans, Walnuts, Sliced almonds, Candied nuts, Sunflower seeds, Chia seeds
- Warm Toppings (Great in Slow Cookers): Cinnamon apple topping, Blueberry compote, Strawberry sauce, Peach topping, Warm berry mix.
- Savory & Sweet-Savory Options: Crispy bacon crumbles.Candied bacon, Breakfast sausage bits, Fried eggs, Cheddar cheese shreds, Maple butter with bacon
- Fun & Dessert-Style Whipped cream, Marshmallow fluff, Ice cream (for brunch or special occasions), Cheesecake bites, Lemon curd
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Keeping them warm
These buttermilk pancakes are best served right away.
If you make a large batch, place them on a cookie sheet in a single layer on parchment paper and put the oven on 200 degrees until they are all completed in cooking.
If you have leftovers, stack them between sheets of parchment and place in a resealable plastic bag in the freezer.
Pop them in the toaster when you want a quick breakfast!
Other Favorite Buttermilk Recipes
Strawberry Skillet Buttermilk Shortcake
Breakfast Homemade Buttermilk Sausages
Whole Wheat Blueberry Scones
Butter Pecan Loaf
Browned Butter Apple Cake
Are You Ready To Try Them?
Hopefully, these step-by-step instructions on how to make the best buttermilk pancakes gave you the confidence!I just love this recipe and they are simple and my go-to recipe.
Enjoy and hope your family loves them as much as we do.
Yield: 18
Best Buttermilk Pancakes
If you have never made homemade pancakes, this is the first copycat recipe and last recipe you will ever make. These are light and fluffy, full of flavor, and so easy to make with a few pantry ingredients.
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 6 MinTotal time: 16 Min
Ingredients
- 1 - 1/4 cups AP flour
- 1 - 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 - 1/4 cups buttermilk (see secret ingredients below)
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Secret Ingredient: 2 tablespoons club soda
Instructions
- Heat and grease your griddle to medium-low heat.
- In a bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients ( flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar).
- In a separate clean bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla.
- Gently fold in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined.
- The batter will be lumpy.
- Fold in the secret ingredient, club soda last, do not overmix.
- Let batter rest for 5 minutes.
- When the griddle is heated, ladle one pancake to ensure it's ready.
- Cook pancakes until you see the bubbles form, then flip and cook on the other side.
- Serve with favorite toppings.
Notes
Delicious Topping Suggestions
- Butter & warm maple syrup
- Whipped cream
- Fresh berries or sliced bananas
- Chocolate syrup or hot fudge
- Powdered sugar
- Peanut butter or Nutella
- Strawberry or blueberry compote
Popular Add-ins
- Blueberry Pancakes – 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- Chocolate Chip Pancakes –1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Banana Pancakes – 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
- Strawberry Pancakes 1/2ccup diced strawberries
- Cinnamon Roll Pancakes –1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + swirl of icing on top
Buttermilk and Pancake Tips
- If you don’t have buttermilk, mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice with milk and let it sit for 5 minutes
- Use medium heat—too hot will brown outside too fast
- Keep pancakes warm in a 200-degree oven until serving
- Use a good-grade store-bought buttermilk when available
- Cooking sprays flavored with butter are a good option for greasing
- Make sure you preheat the griddle
- Cook one pancake to make sure they cook evenly, golden brown
- Make sure you wait for the bubbles on top to flip
- Don't overmix; the lumps are supposed to be in there
- You can substitute sugar-free products for syrup or use a puree with fresh fruits
Set up a breakfast pancake bar. You will need:
- Sliced strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Banana slices, Pineapple tidbits, Warm apples with cinnamon Mixed fruit salad
- Syrups & Sauces Classic maple syrup, Flavored syrups (blueberry, strawberry, butter pecan), Honey, Agave or maple butter, Chocolate syrup, Caramel sauce, Hot fudge sauce, Vanilla glaze or icing drizzle
- Creamy & Spreadable, Whipped butter, Cinnamon butter, Honey butter, Cream cheese (plain or sweetened), Peanut butter, Almond butter, Nutella, Cookie butter
- Sweet Crunch & Extras, Chocolate chips (milk, dark, or white), Mini chocolate candies, Toffee bits, Crushed cookies (Oreos, vanilla wafers), Graham cracker crumbs, Coconut flakes, Sprinkles
- Nuts & Seeds: Chopped pecans, Walnuts, Sliced almonds, Candied nuts, Sunflower seeds, Chia seeds
- Warm Toppings (Great in Slow Cookers): Cinnamon apple topping, Blueberry compote, Strawberry sauce, Peach topping, Warm berry mix.
- Savory & Sweet-Savory Options: Crispy bacon crumbles.Candied bacon, Breakfast sausage bits, Fried eggs, Cheddar cheese shreds, Maple butter with bacon
- Fun & Dessert-Style Whipped cream, Marshmallow fluff, Ice cream (for brunch or special occasions), Cheesecake bites, Lemon curd
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