The best sourdough buttermilk pancakes have a fluffy texture and tasty tangy flavor. The perfect weekend breakfast that everyone will love. This easy breakfast can be started the night before making the next day a breeze to whip up some delicious pancakes.
Fluffy sourdough pancakes are always a big hit in our house. I get every burner going with cast iron skillets to make this process super fast. With 9, soon to be 10 people…
That is a lot of pancakes, and a lot of flipping. And no one wants to spend hours flipping. Everyone gets their fill and mom is still sitting there flipping.
This recipe was a huge hit. Super fluffy pancakes with a ton of delicious tangy flavor from not only the fermented grains, but also the buttermilk. Yum.
I love my original sourdough pancake recipe, but in my quest to use up the exorbitant amount of buttermilk we have from all the butter we’ve been making from our cow June’s milk, I’ve been adding it to just about anything that would typically call for water.
Last week I shared this Sourdough Buttermilk Bread. You can also add it to muffins, rolls, biscuits, pretty much any recipe that calls for regular milk or water.
Not only is it a great way to use it up, but it adds such a yummy flavor, and makes them fluffier (this is due to the acidity of the buttermilk which helps activate the baking soda).
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as our family has.
Why you will love this recipe:
Delicious: They are the best pancakes. So light, fluffy, and flavorful. The perfect vessel for all the toppings. This is our new go-to recipe.
Easy: Start them the night before, and add the remaining ingredients in the morning for a pretty easy and filling breakfast.
Healthy: If started the night before to allow to ferment, the grains get broken down decreasing the amount of gluten (better for digestion) and decreasing the amount of anti-nutrient, phytic acid (phytic acid prevents the nutrients in the grain from being absorbed).
Tips:
- Although I like to make an overnight batter to give the flour time to ferment, you can also just make this recipe into quick sourdough pancakes by mixing them up in the morning.
- To know if pancakes are ready to flip, watch the bubbles. Once the bubbles have stopped popping and making new bubbles it is ready to flip.
- When adding blueberries and chocolate chips, I like to place them on the uncooked side while the pancakes are cooking. I find that if you add them to the batter before cooking they tend to stick to the cast iron griddle. If you add them while cooking, they don’t stick.
- I love adding cinnamon or pumpkin spice to this recipe for a fall twist.
- Need a sourdough starter? Learn how to make one from scratch here.
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Ingredients:
Active sourdough starter – Active starter gives a much fluffier pancake than discard. This is an easy way to use excess starter.
Buttermilk – If you don’t have buttermilk, you can substitute for regular milk. It won’t have as much of that tangy flavor, but will still be delicious.
Unbleached all purpose flour
Large eggs
Butter – For the pancakes and for frying. Pancakes cooked in butter are just superior compared to when they are cooked in oil, in my opinion.
Honey – Or substitute for pure maple syrup.
Salt
Baking soda – This is used as the leavening agent. The fluffy texture comes from this rather than from the natural yeast.
Tools you may need:
Whisk
Spatula
Non-stick skillet – I like to use a cast iron skillet or my Caraway pan. These are much healthier options.
How To Make Sourdough Buttermilk Pancakes
The night before, mix together sourdough starter, buttermilk, and flour in a large bowl.
Let the batter ferment at room temperature covered with a lid.
The next morning, heat a large skillet over medium heat. I like to get a couple cast iron pans going.
To the sourdough buttermilk mixture, add the eggs, melted butter, honey, salt, and baking soda. Whisk together well.
Add butter to the skillet.
Pour 1/3 cup of pancake batter onto the hot skillet. Add chocolate chips or different add-ins to the pancake batter. I like to add them now, rather than to the batter, because they stick less.
Cook until all the bubbles have popped and no more bubbles are forming.
Flip and cook for a minute or two more minutes or until cooked through and golden brown.
Transfer to a plate and top with whipped cream, berries, and maple syrup. Or savory toppings (like spinach, caramelized onions, and mushroom), if you are into that type of thing.
FAQ:
Yes, you can use any neutral flavored oil. I have personally used coconut oil and avocado oil with success.
Yes! I have personally used both, with great success.
Allow the pancakes to cool completely. Then place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper 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 2-3 months or longer.
Reheat them in the oven, toaster oven, microwave, or toaster.
Find More Breakfast Sourdough Recipes:
- Sourdough English Muffins
- Breakfast Strata made with sourdough bread
- Sourdough Waffles
- Sourdough Bagels
- Strawberry Stuffed French Toast
- Sourdough Biscuits
- Mascarpone Stuffed French Toast Casserole
If you try this recipe, let me know by leaving a comment. Love it? Give it a 5 star rating!
Sourdough Buttermilk Pancakes
Ingredients
Night before:
- 1/4 cup sourdough starter
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
Next day:
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
For frying:
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- The night before, mix together sourdough starter, buttermilk, and flour in a large bowl. Let the batter ferment at room temperature covered with a lid.
- The next morning, heat a large skillet over medium heat.
- To the sourdough buttermilk mixture, add the eggs, melted butter, honey, salt, and baking soda. Whisk together well.
- Add butter to the skillet.
- Pour 1/3 cup of pancake batter onto the hot skillet. Add chocolate chips or different add-ins to the pancake batter. I like to add them now, rather than to the batter, because they stick less.
- Cook until all the bubbles have popped and no more bubbles are forming.
- Flip and cook for a minute or two more minutes or until cooked through and golden brown.
- Transfer to a plate and top with whipped cream, berries, and maple syrup.
Notes
- Although I like to make an overnight batter to give the flour time to ferment, you can also just make this recipe into quick sourdough pancakes by mixing them up in the morning.
- To know if pancakes are ready to flip, watch the bubbles. Once the bubbles have stopped popping and making new bubbles it is ready to flip.
- When adding blueberries and chocolate chips, I like to place them on the uncooked side while the pancakes are cooking. I find that if you add them to the batter before cooking they tend to stick to the cast iron griddle. If you add them while cooking, they don’t stick.
- I love adding cinnamon or pumpkin spice to this recipe for a fall twist.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe is so easy and yummy. It’s a new staple in our house, I make this once a week. So I’ve been making this since last June once a week. I always use half and then save half for the next day. The last five times I’ve made this the next day it looks like it has mold on the top. But my sourdough starter does not have mold and no other recipes have this the next day. It’s so odd. A girlfriend said it’s probably just because it needs to be fed and not mold. But it doesn’t have liquid like a hooch. Have you ever seen this if you saved it for the next day? It never had this until recently. I can’t figure it out.
I had some buttermilk to use up following Thanksgiving and decided to give these a try. The starter, flour, buttermilk mixture felt a bit dry when mixing up the night before and had the look of bread dough by morning. Took forever to get the melted butter and eggs to incorporate into that. If I try this again, will prob dial back the all-purpose flour a bit. I used discard straight from the fridge…perhaps it needed to be active starter.
This recipe just says starter. Is it active or discard? I’m fairly new as well. So when it doesn’t say, I really don’t know. I would love to make these they sound amazing!
Active!
I make this recipe all the time and never have a problem. It is very boingy if that’s a work so it’s a process to mix the next day but it’s always fine. I always use active starter. Her recipes specify, discard if you’re supposed to use discard. I’d give it another go.
Can you make this in the morning and put in the fridge and take it out before bedtime for next day pancakes?
That should be just fine.
These are the best tasting pancakes I’ve ever eaten! They were so simple to make and my whole family loved them! I am new to sourdough and this was the first thing I tried making since my starter is just now getting mature. I substituted the honey for pure maple syrup in the recipe, and that’s also what I poured over the top of them! It kinda gave homemade doughnut vibes! It was heavenly! ❤️ I am totally hooked! Now I just did my first round of stretch and folds for my first ever loaf of sourdough bread! 😄 Thank you, Lisa for putting all of this knowledge and these wonderful reccipies out there for all of us to enjoy! I’m sooooo excited! 😃❤️
Can I mix flour, buttermilk & starter together a couple days before making? I accidentally did this and now am wondering if the mix is bad.
Love this recipe, it’s become one of our family’s staples!!! 🙂
That’s fine as long as it was refrigerated.