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.
These are delicious! I added a few fresh blueberries before flipping. Amazing. Thank you!
Yum! I love to add blueberries as well.
I have been using a gluten free sour dough starter with some of your recipes and have super enjoyed it! I nake a lot of discard recipies and was wondering if adding baking soda or powder affect the health benefits of the sour dough?
No, it does not interfere with the health benefits of the sourdough. It just helps get a rise!
Thank you! Going to make soon!
Absolutely delicious! We can’t go to a restaurant for pancakes anymore because these are beyond what any restaurant makes!!!
So my sourdough isn’t ready to be used yet and I didn’t have buttermilk. I used sour cream and milk with a splash of vinegar to substitute those 2 items. This recipe is amazing. Even my picky eaters ate a bunch. I also doubled the recipe to feed 5 kids and 2 adults and only had 3 pancakes left over. I used 1/4 cup for each pancake and got 40 pancakes out of the double recipe. My youngest son was like “make sure you write this recipe down so you can do it again”
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Yum!
Since buttermilk needs to be refrigerated, is it okay to leave the batter out overnight? I use store bought buttermilk.
That will be up to how comfortable you are. We use raw buttermilk from our own cows so I feel totally comfortable.
Thanks to your website and guidance, I have finally made a successful sourdough starter. He’s a month old this weekend (his name is Fernandough, because there was something in the air that night). Last weekend I made these buttermilk pancakes. I used powdered buttermilk since I keep these on hand. We are now officially obsessed with these pancakes. They are officially better than restaurant quality. SOOOOO GOOOOOODD!!
Wowww what a compliment. So glad you are enjoying them!
Can the starter be discard?
Yes, but they won’t be as fluffy.
Hands down – best pancakes ever. Sent some frozen home with my sister and she called me to tell me how amazing they were. Did the overnight ferment and followed the recipe as written – excellent tasty fluffy and downright delicious. Thank you Lisa!
So glad you and your sister enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for sharing!
I made this recipe with white kamut flour recently and they came out super delicious again 🙂 How would this recipe work for waffles? Your waffle recipe is very different so wasn’t sure how this would translate – are waffles that different from pancakes?
Just FYI – I made this recipe as is with white kamut flour and cooked in my waffle maker and they came out so freaking delicious. I’ll double up next time and freeze for amazing waffles any time!
That is great to hear!
Thank you for this. I do want to ferment my einkorn to get the most from it. I never thot to make it the night before. Can’t wait to try it. How about an all einkorn / sourdough cookbook? There isn’t one out there that has recipes using both einkorn and sourdough.