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Home Breakfast

Pancakes – Fluffy, quick, no-fail

By Nagi Maehashi
450 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 200 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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450 Comments

  1. Kelly says

    February 25, 2026 at 9:45 am

    5 stars
    These are the BEST pancakes, the only ones i make. I add grated apple and chopped spinach for my toddler and she inhales them!!! Thanks Nagi

    Reply
  2. Mel says

    February 20, 2026 at 9:00 am

    5 stars
    The best pancakes ever! Always turn out beautifully fluffy and delicious.

    Reply
  3. Grace says

    February 18, 2026 at 6:07 am

    Made this tonight, but used a lot of different things not in the recipe 🙂

    I used gluten free flour, lactose free milk, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, and added melted lactose free butter in the mixture. I’ve never liked using with gluten free flour so I was quite nervous but I had to. It’s important to let the batter rest to help remove the weird texture of the GF flour (15 minutes did it for me).

    Let me just thank you for this, Nagi! I have always wanted to make good pancakes with GF flour (tried another recipe once, but was a disaster!) and yours fit so well. 🙂

    Reply
    • Grace says

      February 18, 2026 at 6:12 am

      5 stars
      PS: Sending you hugs Nagi. I saw what happened to Dozer and has been following your updates. May God take away your pain and may He embrace Dozer wholly. Love and light x

      Reply
  4. Ra says

    February 17, 2026 at 6:20 pm

    5 stars
    Wow these are so good

    Reply
  5. Carol says

    February 15, 2026 at 8:05 am

    5 stars
    Super easy – light and fluffy pancakes. I made these with my granddaughter for breakfast and we both loved them.❤️

    Reply
  6. Dave says

    February 14, 2026 at 7:46 pm

    5 stars
    I usually don’t have baking powder, rather I use baking soda. I add 1 tablespoon of greek yoghurt to activate the soda. I saute’ mixed berries and banana in butter with 1 Tsp of iron bark honey. This tops off my Sunday breakfast

    Reply
  7. Kelly says

    February 14, 2026 at 7:28 am

    I have never been able to make decent pancakes. Always sticking to the pan, stodgy and underwhelming. This was my first triumph. Even managed with my two year old and three year old helping to make the batter. Thank you Nagi, God bless you for all you share with us and praying for the peace of the Lord to be with you as you grieve Dozer’s passing <3

    Reply
  8. kay lloyd says

    February 11, 2026 at 4:24 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely everyone was full of compliments

    Reply
  9. zidane says

    February 7, 2026 at 6:15 am

    Delicate and comforting, Pannkakor are perfect with berries, jam, or cream

    Reply
  10. Alissa Larsen says

    January 16, 2026 at 1:54 am

    5 stars
    As someone who doesn’t have a microwave and lives in Europe, finding a pancake recipe WITHOUT melted butter was so helpful! And they turned out absolutely perfect, I’ll definitely make them again 😊

    Reply
  11. Vic says

    January 15, 2026 at 1:20 pm

    5 stars
    And another great recipe from you, Nagi. Thank you so much!
    Had a tooth extraction last week and made yesterday your beautiful zucchini soup and today, for a treat, the pancakes. So grateful for soft food recipes.
    I didn’t use all the batter today. Storing in the fridge until tomorrow okay? An answer would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply
  12. Sharon Jackson says

    January 12, 2026 at 1:35 am

    5 stars
    Thank you they turned out wonderful. Your warmer suggestion was brilliant. I always wondered how I could keep the hot.

    Reply
  13. Alfredo Bertoglio says

    January 3, 2026 at 1:47 pm

    5 stars
    These pancakes recipe is the best!!! I have tried them for the first time and they were just perfect, fluffy and exactly as expected! We love you Nagi and your recipes!!

    Reply
  14. augy.ay says

    December 29, 2025 at 12:19 am

    5 stars
    after failing spectacularly to make basic chocolate chip cookies (TWICE) this recipe saved my ego like nothing else. I’ll readily admit that i can’t boil a pot of water with a gun to my head but these pancakes came out great! ok the first five were basically burnt but by the end i had three little stacks of smaller pancakes that were fluffy and addictive. Thank you so much for sharing!!

    Reply
  15. Maha says

    December 25, 2025 at 7:04 am

    5 stars
    Really yummy pancakes! They tasted great with Nutella! 10/10

    Reply
  16. Pauline Callanan says

    December 22, 2025 at 3:03 pm

    5 stars
    Best pancakes I have ever made!❤️❤️❤️❤️

    Reply
  17. bob says

    December 18, 2025 at 7:38 am

    5 stars
    I like it very much it good recipe

    Reply
  18. bob says

    December 18, 2025 at 7:37 am

    5 stars
    I like it very much

    Reply
  19. bob says

    December 18, 2025 at 7:37 am

    5 stars
    I like it

    Reply
  20. Maddy says

    December 12, 2025 at 10:54 pm

    5 stars
    I have been making this recipe every Saturday for about a year now. Perfect every single time. I have also subbed the milk with water a few times and it still comes out perfect.

    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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