Joanna Gaines pancake recipe truly is the best! They're light, fluffy, and perfectly sweet. These pancakes are freezer-friendly too. Enjoy for breakfast, brunch, or a busy weekday morning.
Best Buttermilk Pancakes:
I tend to be skeptical of "best pancake ever" recipes. After all, not every pancake recipe is the best.
I lucked out at the library last month, displayed at the top of the New Books section stood Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines. 
It’s no secret how much I adore her. She’s dignified, beautiful, and seems to genuinely love her brood. She inspires others to do what they love, which I love.
And as it turns out Joanna Gaines's go-to buttermilk pancake recipe really is the best ever! It’s magical what a stick of butter can do! (It's clearly not low fat.) They are thick, fluffy, and delicious.
I would stake my right pinky on how good these pancakes are.
Why You'll Love it:
These buttermilk pancakes are life-changing! At least for breakfast lovers! I make them bi-weekly.
- Thick and fluffy: They are thick, not dense! The generous amount of baking powder creates a super fluffy texture.
- Freezer-friendly: You can meal prep these! Cook, freeze, then pop in the microwave for a 30-second hot breakfast.
- Easy to make: No special equipment or ingredients necessary. Whipping egg whites is for the birds.
Key Ingredients:
- All-purpose flour - The base of any good buttermilk pancake! I don't recommend swapping it with another kind of flour.
- Sugar - Not too much. The pancakes should have a subtle sweetness. Maple syrup will handle the rest!
- Baking powder & soda - This recipe calls for a generous amount of leavening. It's not a typo! Most people don't notice it. If you're sensitive to the soapy taste it produces, decrease the leavening by ½ teaspoon each.
- Kosher salt - If you only have table salt, decrease the amount by half. Table salt has smaller granules, so less is literally more!
- Buttermilk - Buttermilk isn't just for the tang! It's for the texture. Buttermilk's acidity reacts with the baking soda to create a light and fluffy pancake. I don't recommend homemade buttermilk. It works in a pinch, but it doesn't create the same fluffy results!
- Butter - Fat is essential for a light texture. You can use butter or vegetable oil, but butter adds the best flavor and optimal fluffiness.
- Eggs - For binding and structure!
How to Make Buttermilk Pancakes:
- Mix the dry: In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Mix the wet: In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter. Whisk to combine. If the butter curdles a little, don't worry about it.
- Combine: Pour the wet into the dry and mix until a batter forms. Don't beat it to death. You can overmix it! Overmixing can result in less than fluffy pancakes.
- Let it sit: Let the batter sit for 20 minutes! Resist the urge to skip this step. The baking powder activates and creates air bubbles which results in super fluffy pancakes.
- Heat the skillet: Let the pan heat up for 5 minutes, then add the oil. Do not add the pancake batter until the pan is up to temperature.
- Cook: The size is up to you! Scoop the batter into the skillet and let them cook for 4 minutes. You should see a generous amount of bubbles popping on top and the bottoms should be golden brown.
- Flip: Use a thin-set spatula to carefully flip the pancakes over. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the pancakes to a plate and repeat with the rest of the batter.
Make-Ahead Tips:
If you have neither the time nor energy to make buttermilk pancakes from scratch in the morning, here me out.
Before you reduce your pancake relationship to exclusively Bisquick, know these pancakes are easy AND freezer-friendly!
- Make the pancakes on a Saturday morning, or whenever you have some bum around time.
- Lay the cooled pancakes on a sheet pan and pop in the freezer for 30 minutes. No worries if it's for longer. You can leave them in there a full day without them tasting like the freezer.
- Pull them out and throw them in a gallon sized bag. Voila, pancakes all week long.
- Just microwave each pancake in 20-second increments until warm throughout. Enjoy!
Variations:
- Gluten-free - Just swap all-purpose flour with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour. It's my all-time favorite gluten-free flour and it works like a dream! You can find it at Walmart, Target, or on Amazon.
- Blueberry - Only use fresh blueberries. Frozen blueberries release too much liquid!
- Chocolate chip or sprinkle - When making chocolate chip or sprinkle pancakes, it's important to bury them in the batter. Drop the chocolate chips onto the pancake, then gently press on them with your fingers until they sink into the pancake. If you don't do this, they will burn against the hot skillet when you flip the pancake over.
Can I use regular milk?
I've made these buttermilk pancakes without buttermilk. When I'm out of a vital ingredient, I experiment.
I will tell you that you can make your own buttermilk with milk and vinegar, but the thickness is not the same. The pancake batter will be a bit too thin. To remedy this, just add a tablespoon or two of flour. Just keep adding, a little bit at a time until the thickness is right.
Alternatively you can add less of the homemade buttermilk. Use ¾ cup of homemade buttermilk and keep the rest of the ingredients the same.
You can always "sacrifice" one for the good of the batch to make sure it comes out right.
More Pancake Recipes:
- Thin & Crispy Pancakes
- Honey Pancakes
- Fluffy Gluten Free Pancakes
- Cassava Flour Pancakes [Paleo & Gluten Free]
- Paleo Sweet Potato Pancakes
Joanna Gaines Buttermilk Pancake Recipe
Equipment
- Large nonstick skillet
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour Note 1
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 1 T. baking powder
- 2 t. baking soda
- 1 t. kosher salt
- 2 cups buttermilk Note 2
- 10 T. butter melted but cool, Note 3
- 2 large eggs
- Neutral oil such as vegetable or canola
- Butter
- Maple syrup
Instructions
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well with a fork or whisk.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, and eggs.
- Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Let your pancake batter sit for 20 minutes. Don’t skip this step! This allows the baking powder to activate, giving you fluffy pancakes.
- Heat your skillet over medium-low heat. Let your skillet heat up for 5 minutes, then add 1 tablespoon of oil.
- I use a portion scoop to place the batter into my hot skillet. The size of your pancakes are entirely up to you. I recommend ½ cup for large pancakes.
- Your aim is for each side to be golden brown. To achieve this, wait until the top of your pancake is creating small bubbles, around 4 minutes. Use a thin-set spatula to flip the pancakes over, then cook for 3 to 4 more minutes.
- Repeat until all your batter is gone, adding more oil as needed.
Vay
This seriously made some of the best pancakes I've ever had. Thanks for sharing!
Carolyn
I'm so glad! There's not much better than sharing the joy of amazing pancakes!
LESA SIMS
Made these today for the grandkids. Fabulous!
CDS
Have been making this excellent recipe for sometime now… This little ‘storage’ trick works great… Put 2-4 cooked and completely cooled pancakes into a zip lock bag. Seal well, being sure to get all the air out. Store in freezer. Thaw overnight in fridge and pop them in the toaster for a cycle on low. Heats the pancakes perfectly and gives them a very subtle crispiness on the top and bottom.
Lori
These are the best pancakes I have ver had. I will never be able to eat regular pancakes again. Thanks for sharing.
Kelly
These are the best I ever made. Huge hit with the family!!
Sara
These pancakes are great! Using oil definitely gives these pancakes a crispy top with a touch of golden brown. I used a small pat of butter and a small amount of avocado oil when frying the pancakes. I 'halfed' the recipe as well. This is totally a recipe that is 'halfable' if that makes any sense.. made about 4 medium sized pancakes. Absolutely tasty and using buttermilk is always a keeper.
Carolyn
Totally! I half it all the time. 🙂 Thanks for your input.
Amy Stipe
Does anyone have a tip to thin the batter? It’s always so thick and i use buttermilk to thin. The taste is amazing but they are heavy and hard to cook through due to thickness.
Carolyn
Hmm, Do you let it sit for 20 minutes? If you would like to thin it out just a little I would add a little whole milk instead of buttermilk since whole milk is thinner. Just do it a tiny bit at a time so you don't accidentally make it too thin.
Diva
Could be that you’re using more flour then I needed. Try spooning the flour into your measuring cup rather than scooping it
Lori
Can you use this recipe to make a big batch! Would it be 21/4 c mix for each batch?
Carolyn
I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you referring to the flour?
Lori
Yes. I want to mix up a big batch to use at a later date. Can this recipe be tripled or quadrupled for just the flour mix? And will you only use 21/4 c mix for each batch? Thanks! I hope that is more clear to you. Sorry.
Carolyn
I think I understand your question. I have not tripled or quadrupled the recipe before but I would guess you could easily triple it with a big enough bowl. You could also make them ahead of time and freeze the pancakes if you prefer.
You can triple just the dry ingredients and put in a sealed container until you are ready to make the whole recipe. Just triple the rest of the ingredients when you make it. So the flour would be 6 cups, the sugar would be 3/4 cup, 3 T baking powder, 2 T. baking soda and 1 T. kosher salt.
Does this answer your question?
jaylen
how much butter
Carolyn
10 Tablespoons which is the same as 1 1/4 stick or 5 oz.
Ansley
These are the pancakes dreams are made of. I did not know I could make such amazing pancakes myself at home. I don't think I could even order pancakes at a restaurant again because they are never as good as these are.
Chef Modern Dad
Can you use this to make waffles?
Carolyn
I have not tried it but pancake recipes don't always convert well into waffles. I will give it a try next time I make them and post back here.
Ella
I loved the fluffiness of the pancake but there’s an aftertaste that I can’t put my finger on. I think it maybe the taste of the baking powder? Or too much butter? I’ve made these twice and it is a no from the family. 😔
Carolyn
I'm so sorry to hear that! This recipe does have quite a bit of leavener and I find some are more sensitive to it than others. Mostly my friends and kids love it but every now and then someone will say it has an odd flavor from the baking powder.
Anne
We really enjoyed these pancakes. Because of letting them rest and breaking down the leavening I didn't have a stomach ache after eating them like I typically do after eating pancakes.
Laura T
I have always been the worst at making pancakes and finally gave up going to French toast instead. After blueberry picking this summer I was craving blueberry pancakes. My friend recommended THIS recipe and I can now say that I make great pancakes! I’m so happy! Thank you for sharing this recipe! My question is, when adding blueberries to the recipe should I add them before the 20 minute rising period or after?
Carolyn
I'm so glad to hear it! Add the blueberries to each pancake right after you put some batter into the pan. Also it sounds like you are using fresh picked blueberries which is amazing. It's also great because frozen blueberries let out a lot of water which will deflate your batter some.
Nikole Cornett
How many pancakes can you make with one batch? Having brunch and want to figure out if I need to double the recipe.
Carolyn
It depends on the size of your pancakes but it makes enough for about 4 people.
Erika S. Petras
I make 1 1/2 times the recipe, pour it into a greased 1/2 sheet pan and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, cut into squares and you have 20 pancakes in just minutes! This really is a great recipe...fun to adapt with pecans, mini choc. chips and fruit.
Carolyn
Great idea! I'm going to do that this week.
Suzanne Toth
Can I use white lily self rising flour for these pancakes? Thanks- Sue T
Carolyn
I have not tried it with self rising flour so I can't say for certain but I would think you could sub it in for the flour and omit the baking powder and salt.
Amy F
This is the best recipe I've ever used for pancakes, however, I think the ratio of milk to flour is wrong- it's way too liquidy if I use equal amounts of each. Could it be that I used milk with vinegar instead of buttermilk? I never have buttermilk so I use the DIY method. And 10T of butter?
It works, it's just not a cheap recipe to make these days. haha!
What I love about this is using it the next day or 2 for a quick, fresh pancake for breakfast. The batter only gets better as it sits.
Carolyn
Yes! Milk with vinegar has a much thinner consistency than buttermilk. I've tried it both ways and can testify that it was the substitute. If I use milk with vinegar I decrease the amount to 1 1/2 cups.
Cindy Edmiston
So delicious! Absolute winner in my house. This will become a staple. Thank you for sharing with my family.