These fluffy sourdough pancakes are super simple to whip up with just a few basic ingredients. Light and fluffy with a little bit of crispiness, it is easy to see why this recipe is our favorite. Add toppings like blueberries or chocolate chips to make an extra special weekend morning treat.
If you have been hanging around the old farmhouse a while, you know how I loooove my sourdough starter. I have been nurturing it for over six years now.
I use it to make English muffins, pizza crusts, sourdough skillets, sourdough bread, even donuts! But, you know what I make with it more than anything else?
Pancakes. Deliciously fermented, fluffy, crisp around the edges, tangy pancakes.
Several people on Youtube and Instagram stories asked me about my pancake recipe. Your promptings finally kicked me into gear.
I must admit, I had no excuse. I just never got around to it.
So, here it finally is, my friends. The favorite homemade sourdough pancakes that the whole family loves. The one I have made every Saturday morning for probably, like, six years now.
Quick Sourdough Pancakes Recipe
Now, if you have been making recipes with sourdough starter, you may know that usually there is a waiting time to allow for fermentation, like in my sourdough English muffin recipe.
But, the wonderful thing about this recipe is, there is no wait. You just need to have two cups of fed excess starter on hand. It doesn’t even have to be room temperature.
You can pull your glass bowl of starter out of the fridge, and as long as you have at least two cups of starter, you’re good to go!
Now, this is of course assuming that you fed your starter and allowed it to ferment a little before you put it away last time. If you just stirred the flour and water in, and popped it into the fridge straight away, it will need a little fermenting time.
And if this is all a bunch of gibberish, make sure to visit my post on all the benefits, how to, and why do (just made that up) of sourdough, or this post on caring for your starter once you have it going.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
Tips For Making Sourdough Pancakes:
- If we plan to add blueberries and chocolate chips, we like to place them on the uncooked side while the cakes are cooking. I find that if the chocolate actually makes contact with the skillet, the pancakes tend to stick. This is why I don’t stir them into the batter. Same goes for blueberries.
- Totally new to sourdough? Check out how to make your own sourdough starter recipe here.
- To get the pancakes a little crispy, make sure there is a bit of hot oil in your pan.
- You can make this batter the night before, but I would recommend waiting until the next morning, right before cooking, to add the baking soda.
- The first pancake rarely turns out well. No worries. This is the time to adjust the heat to make sure it is not too hot or too cool.
- Want some gluten free pancakes? Try this recipe.
- You can tell a pancake is ready to flip when all the bubbles have popped and there are no more bubbles coming up.
Tools you may need:
Grain mill (optional- if you want to grind your flour to feed the starter)
Large bowl – When the baking soda hits the sourdough starter it will expand a lot.
Cast-iron skillet or another type of non-stick pan. I really like my Caraway pans.
Measuring cups and spoons
Silicone spatula
Wooden spoon
Ingredients
Fed Sourdough Starter – This is a bubbly active starter that has been fed within 4-12 hours before starting the recipe. While you could use leftover sourdough discard, they won’t be very fluffy pancakes.
Eggs
Coconut oil – if you don’t have coconut oil, you can swap it out for melted butter.
Honey or maple syrup
Salt
Baking soda
Butter or oil for frying
Rules For Cooking Pancakes In Cast Iron Skillets
Although it certainly isn’t a requirement for sourdough pancake makin’, I prefer using cast iron. If you are brand new to cast iron cooking, visit this post all about it.
To ensure the cakes don’t stick, you will need to follow two rules:
Preheat the skillet before letting the batter hit it. A hot griddle plus a little oil produces the little bit of crispness that makes pancakes so delicious.
Only flip the pancake one time.
How To Make Sourdough Pancakes
Mix the starter, eggs, melted coconut oil, honey, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Add the baking soda last, and watch the starter foam up.
I like my sourdough pancakes to have that crispy fried edge. To do this, preheat a tablespoon of coconut oil in my cast iron skillet on medium heat.
After it is hot enough to produce a sizzle, pour 1/2 cup batter right onto the hot oil. At this point, I turn the stove down to medium-low heat so that the pancake has a chance to cook through without the bottom burning. Remember that “flip only one time” rule.
After the top is nice and bubbly, and no more bubbles are being produced, give the pancake a flip. About 2-3 minutes.
Cook the second side for another 30 seconds to a minute on the other side, or until cooked through and golden brown.
Set aside as you continue to cook
Serve with butter, maple syrup, fresh fruit, homemade whipped cream, or even savory toppings.
FAQ
Can you freeze sourdough pancakes?
Lay the cooled pancakes on a baking sheet in one layer and freeze them for 1-2 hours. Stack and place in a freezer safe container.
You can also place a piece of parchment paper between each pancake and freeze. While you could freeze them in a stack without paper, they will freeze together in a big clump.
They will keep well in the freezer for a few months… if they last that long.
Reheat them in the oven, toaster oven, or toaster.
Is pancake batter good overnight?
You can make this the night before and keep it stored overnight in the refrigerator, but I would recommend waiting to add the baking soda until you are ready to cook.
Why are my sourdough pancakes gummy?
This is most likely due to cooking them not long enough, the pan being too hot, or another cooking issue.
What else can you do with sourdough starter?
So glad you asked! There are so many sourdough recipes to make.
- Pizza Crust
- Flatbread
- Pumpkin Cobbler
- Best Chicken Pot Pie
- Biscuits
- Waffles
- Cinnamon Maple Apple Pie
- Whole Wheat Bread
- Donuts
- Sourdough Waffles
- Buttermilk pancakes
If you try this recipe, let me know by leaving a comment. Love it? Give it a 5 star rating!
The Best Sourdough Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups active sourdough starter
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- coconut oil for frying
Instructions
- Mix the starter, eggs, melted coconut oil, honey, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the baking soda last, and watch the starter foam up.
Preheat a tablespoon of coconut oil in my cast iron skillet on medium heat. - After it is hot enough to produce a sizzle, pour 1/2 cup batter right onto the hot oil. At this point, I turn the stove down to medium-low heat so that the pancake has a chance to cook through without the bottom burning. Remember that "flip only one time" rule.
- After the top is nice and bubbly, and no more bubbles are being produced, give the pancake a flip. About 2-3 minutes.
- Cook the second side for another 30 seconds to a minute on the other side, or until cooked through and golden brown.
- Set aside as you continue to cook
- Serve with butter, maple syrup, fresh fruit, homemade whipped cream, or even savory toppings.
Notes
- Active sourdouhg starter is a starter that has been fed 4-12 hours before making this recipe.
- If we plan to add blueberries and chocolate chips, we like to place them on the uncooked side while the cakes are cooking. I find that if the chocolate actually makes contact with the skillet, the pancakes tend to stick. This is why I don't stir them into the batter. Same goes for blueberries.
- To get the pancakes a little crispy, make sure there is a bit of hot oil in your pan.
- You can make this batter the night before, but I would recommend waiting until the next.
- You can tell a pancake is ready to flip when all the bubbles have popped and there are no more bubbles coming up.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love Farmhouse on Boone and I love this recipe! My daughter and I made these this morning. They were perfect! Light and airy. We put mini chocolate chips in the batter and we were afraid they would stick but they didn’t. I can’t wait to try other recipes!
Great recipe as a base! I wanted to start making more use of my sourdough if it’s going to be hanging around the house indefinitely. I love the health aspect of using sourdough instead of plain flour. The first bite had a strong “tang” but after that it tasted just like our normal homemade pancakes. The one difference was that these were flatter – which I knew they would be working with just sourdough – but no one cared about that. These made about 15 muffin scoop sized cakes (about 1/4 cup each). Next time, if I want them fluffier I will try adding either flour or more leavening agent’s, but I just wanted a recipe to try for the first time, and Farmhouse on Boone is my go-to for easy, simple, and good sourdough recipes – just like the sourdough sandwich bread! Thank you for the time and sharing of this recipe!
I made one batch for my husband and daughter. They wanted more so made a second batch. Fantastic recipe! Thank you
These are probably the best homemade pancakes I have ever made, but I did feel the amount oil was a little too much. I will probably cut back a bit next time and see how they do.
Delightful pancakes, these made just enough 5-in pancakes for our family of five!
I did accidentally forget the salt, so I added it after and whisked the batter again and it completely exploded with bubbles and deflated and turned into a puddle. So my first pancakes looked like crepes, then I decided to add more flour until it was back to pancake batter consistency. This worked fine. I will make sure to make this in the proper order next time and probably add some cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter as well!
The recipe is good but I think my starter isn’t quite right. The pancakes were more like delicious crepes even though they foamed with the baking soda. I fed my starter last night at 6pm , stirred it again about 10 pm and then made the pancakes at 7:30 am.
I keep my starter in a jar in the counter with a cloth cover. I feed it twice a day either 1/4-1/2 cup flour and water.
In my experience sourdough does not rise and become fluffy (in pancakes, at least) like traditional cakes with more leavening agents. Had it not been for the baking soda these would have turned out like crepes. Sourdough “fluffy” is going to be a step above crepes, but not nearly as fluffy as traditional. Next time, I’m going to try baking soda and baking powder.
Wonderful yummy recipe. Thanks so much for all you do!
New to sourdough . And all of
Your recipes are so easy to follow, my family loved these pancakes , they are so good. I’ve booked mark this recipes for future. Thank you
Honestly, these are pretty flavorless. Other recipes are great but this is a miss altogether. It’s very wet and I assumed it would be with the 2C starter and nothing else so it makes the flattest pancakes ever…more akin to a crepe than a pancake both in texture and taste.
I had the same outcome in the 1st two I made. Then I added more flour untill I got the consistency I like for batter and the ey turned out fine. I also noticed that the pancakes are thinner in the pictures.
I had similar issue as you u tiki learned to make the starter very thick. I have learned to have the mix of flour amd water equal and then whatever volume those two are, add 1/5 the amount of starter. I also add vanilla for flavour. My family loves these pancakes. I suggest you try it again with this mix and you will be happy with the pancakes!
I had to make it once, then again, to get it right. The first time might also were more like crepes. I am thinking the amount of soda and also the condition of the starter are what helps. So, maybe try it when your starter is very active – fed just a few hours before and bubbly. And add maybe 1/2 tsp extra baking soda. The batter should get very bubbly when you add the soda at the end before frying. I hope that might help! They are worth another try.
Wonderful and easy recipe! Great for the Blackstone!