Old-Fashioned Pancakes

There's no more a universally crowd-pleasing breakfast staple than good old-fashioned pancakes: fluffy, buttery, golden brown, and classically sweet. And these tried-and-true basics are so easy to make—using only the ingredients you probably already have in your pantry right now.

Serve them with eggs, bacon, and sausage. Or just serve all on their own, topped with butter and syrup (or even fresh berries and vanilla whipped cream, to get fancy for company). Pair with a glass of cold orange juice or a steaming cup of coffee. Perfection!

And if you have any leftovers, use them for a pancake casserole the next day. (But we wouldn’t be surprised if these all disappear in a hurry.)

Old-Fashioned Pancakes Ingredients

To make old-fashioned pancakes, you will need all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, kosher salt, baking soda, cinnamon, whole milk, unsalted butter (or vegetable oil), vanilla extract, and eggs.

For serving, you’ll need salted butter and maple syrup. All ingredients are readily available at any conventional grocery store.

How To Make Pancakes From Scratch

The full recipe for these old-fashioned pancakes is below, but here's a brief recap:

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Then, stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture to combine, and let sit until slightly thickened.

Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-low, and coat with unsalted butter (or vegetable oil). Scoop a quarter cup per pancake at a time into the skillet, and cook until bubbles begin to form on the surface. Then, flip and cook until golden brown. Serve right away with salted butter and maple syrup.

What Is the Secret to Good Pancakes?

When making these old-fashioned pancakes, make sure milk and eggs are at room temperature to keep the butter from hardening. Or, if you prefer, avoid encountering this issue at all by swapping vegetable oil for butter. (You may miss the butter flavor this way, but you still get fluffy golden brown pancakes.) 

Generally, make sure you use only fresh ingredients. And make sure you start with a hot, pre-greased surface before pouring in any batter.

A medium-low heat and wiping the skillet between batches before adding more oil is key to a golden brown color without burning. Note that if you forgo the oil between batches, the pancake surface results change to a more even browning, whereas when you start out each batch with oil, you get more of a hot cake sear effect.

Why Are Restaurant Pancakes So Fluffy?

You can get restaurant-quality fluffy results when making old-fashioned pancakes at home. After preparing the batter, let it sit for 30 minutes. This helps develop the flavor—you’ll see it start to bubble on its own—and get a nice fluffy rise on the pancakes.

And make sure not to over-stir the batter before cooking, as doing so can lead to a tougher consistency when the goal is light and fluffy.

Pancake Recipe Variations

• Blueberry Pancake Breakfast Casserole Recipe
• Pancake Bake with Cinnamon Streusel Recipe
• Bacon Pancakes
• Pancake Casserole

Additional reporting by Alesandra Dubin.