The Best Pancake Recipe

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The Best Pancake Recipe – This tasty pancake recipe is easy and has a secret ingredient that gives them the perfect fluffy pancake consistency.

Three sour cream pancakes stacked on a plate

My whole family loves this pancake recipe.  This has become my go-to when we want pancakes for breakfast on the weekends.

What’s the secret ingredient that makes these pancakes the best?  Sour cream.  It may sound strange but it really works!

These sour cream pancakes have a butter crisp outside and the inside is so soft it’s almost creamy.  To balance the flavor of the sour cream, I added more sugar.  So these are actually sweeter pancakes than most.  So good!

The pancake batter is made in one bowl, making this pancake recipe easy!

Close up of the soft fluffy insides of three stacked pancakes

How to make pancakes:

  • In a large bowl, add milk and sour cream.
  • Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
  • Whisk together.

A mixing bowl with milk, sour cream, sugar, eggs, and vanilla for the best pancake recipe

  • Add flour, baking powder, and salt.
  • Stir until just combined (this batter will be VERY lumpy).

A mixing bowl with the dry ingredients on top of the wet ingredients for the best pancake recipe

  • Melt butter in a skillet over medium-low heat.
  • Pour pancake batter into the skillet (about ¼ cup for each pancake).

The best pancake batter being poured into a hot buttered skillet

  • Cook 3-4 minutes (bubbles will form on the top of the pancakes).
  • Flip and cook 1-2 minutes.

Bubbles forming on the top of pancake batter before flipping over

Top with maple syrup, fresh fruit, fruit syrup, nuts, chocolate chips, etc.

The best pancakes stacked with butter and maple syrup on them

Looking for more great breakfast recipes?  Try these:

Watch the step by step video for The Best Pancake Recipe below:

Find more of my recipes on TikTok

Close up of the soft fluffy insides of three stacked pancakes

The Best Pancake Recipe

5 from 132 votes
Best Pancake Recipe - This tasty pancake recipe is easy and has a secret ingredient that gives them the perfect fluffy pancake consistency.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Video

Servings 12 pancakes
Calories 113 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Butter for greasing the pan -about 3 tablespoons
  • Maple syrup for serving

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, add the milk, sour cream, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until combined. It’s ok to have small lumps of sour cream.
  • Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir just until no large clumps of dry flour remain, trying not to over mix. The batter should be very lumpy.
  • Melt about ½ tablespoon of butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat until lightly bubbling and light brown.
  • Ladle the batter into the skillet making 3-4 pancakes (about ¼ cup of batter each). Cook 3-4 minutes, until bubbles form on top of each pancake and the bottoms are golden brown.
  • Flip the pancakes. Cook 1-2 minutes, until the bottoms are golden brown.
  • Carefully wipe out any excess browned butter with paper towels. Repeat with the remaining butter and pancake batter.
  • Serve warm with maple syrup.

Notes

Nutrition information does not include butter for cooking or toppings.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/12th of the recipe | Calories: 113kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 222mg | Potassium: 138mg | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 145IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 0.9mg
Course Breakfast, brunch
Keyword best pancake recipe, how to make pancakes, pancake recipe easy
Cuisine American
Author Amanda Finks
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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Love this recipe! Delicious! I usually make waffles because The pancake recipes i try, are a disappointment.. too dry, not sweet enough, no flavor, too fluffy or not fluffy enough.. this recipe has flavor, it’s perfectly fluffy. The batter threw me off because all I could smell was the sour cream but once it’s cooked then you won’t notice the sour cream.

  2. I think a 1/2 a tablespoon isn’t enough butter. I used 2 tablespoons and the pancakes got crispy on the outside and cakey on the inside.

  3. Taste great…but no fluffiness😢 They stayed flat as a crèpe😳
    Followed measurements to a “T”!
    Use lactosefree milk…

    ??????

    1. You might need new baking powder if you’re not getting any rise. Using something like Lactaid shouldn’t make any difference with pancakes.

    2. Did you check the date on your baking powder? If your baking powder is past the expiration date then you need to get new baking powder.

    3. Sometimes I let the batter sit for about 5 or 10 minutes before cooking. Also don’t over mix it. It’s okay to have a few small lumps.
      Hope this helps.

    4. 5 stars
      hi Patricia,

      Just problem solving for you because they turned out great for me (nothing like crepes which I make regularly)… perhaps your baking powder is old. Also, I added a good 1/4 tsp baking soda because that usually accompanies sours (vinegar, sour cream, etc). Other probs could be overmixing (keep it lumpy and dry flour barely gone) as well as letting batter sit too long before cooking.

  4. 5 stars
    Hi there!
    I made these for my first time to make pancakes ever and they were absolutely delicious! Easy straightforward recipe, and the pictures made it helpful for first time pancake-makers like me to make sure we’re on the right track as we went along. I only had light sour cream and, in the spirit of quarantine, just used that and they were still fantastic! Absolutely delicious! I’m adding them to my recipe binder now. Thank you so much for sharing! Always a thrill to find delicious, easy go-to recipes! 🙂
    Debbie

    1. And I sub out 1/2 cup wheat bran fir flour, add a few Tablespoons of vegetable oil, and increase milk little till it’s thin as I like. Out of this world!

  5. I followed the the recipe exactly as stated but I thought that they were too eggy for my taste. Like thick crepes. Sorry

  6. This recipe uses baking powder, does it not require baking soda as well? I’m only inquiring because usually the two items are paired together in recipes.

  7. 5 stars
    I was sceptical making this recipe, but in fact it’s fantastic. Probably my favourite pancake recipe so far. Not to mention how easy is it to make.

  8. I struggled a little with the fluffiness. The first time I whisked it too much. It had no lumps so it turned into a very tasty crepe. LOL I did it again today and the lumps had flour in them and the pancakes were still crepe-like. Any suggestions?

  9. 5 stars
    I just wanted to say, I found this pancake recipe a couple years ago and I make them almost every Saturday. My kids don’t like any other recipe if I try to mix it up. It’s great! Thank you!

About Amanda Finks

I’m a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist living in Zionsville, IN. I’m an avid cook, travel nerd, & lover of good food! I’m trained in Food Science & recipe development. It’s my mission to bring you the BEST recipes your whole family will love!

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