Throughout my childhood, many of our weekends began with Mom’s pancakes. With the recipe basically memorized, she mixed up the batter while my brother and I watched an episode of cartoons on TV and Dad quietly turned the pages of the local newspaper.
Because our favorite brunch restaurant served Mickey Mouse pancakes, my brother and I always requested those shapes. Mom would cook in two pans so we were fed at the same time, and she set out the faux maple syrup for us to pour all over the pancakes.
After adding blueberries to the bowl for her and Dad (no fruit in ours, thanks!), she poured out the rest of the batter into regular circles for the two of them and served theirs hot with a pat of butter and real maple syrup. We almost never ended up with leftovers!
In her recipe, Mom always used regular milk since that’s all we kept in the fridge. It wasn’t until I reached high school that I realized “buttermilk” pancakes were the most iconic kind.
And recently, with my guy and I going out for breakfast every so often, we started sampling the buttermilk pancakes offered by various restaurants in town. Upon feeling sluggish after one too many of those heavier recipes, I decided to create my own back at home.
After lots of flipping and mixing and flipping some more, I finally came up with a recipe for The Ultimate Healthy Buttermilk Pancakes! They’re light and fluffy and full of buttermilk flavor, and we both think that they’re better than any restaurant’s that we’ve eaten.
Nerd alert!
Because I was an organic chemist before a baking blogger, I wanted to share a little bit of the food science behind what makes these the best lightened-up buttermilk pancakes you’ll ever try. Each of the ingredients plays a key role in creating their taste and texture, so let’s go over that briefly!
Buttermilk. In addition to its iconic flavor, buttermilk is more acidic than regular milk. This acidity reacts with the leavener (hang tight, that’s coming next!) to make the pancakes light and fluffy on the inside.
If you don’t keep buttermilk in the fridge very often, I recommend these two options. (a) Powdered buttermilk. It’s a pale yellow powder that’s shelf-stable and keeps for ages. Mix it with water and you’re all set! (b) Vinegar and milk. This won’t produce the same classic buttermilk taste, but it’ll add the acidity you need.
Leavener. In this recipe, we use more baking soda than baking powder. Baking soda is stronger and reacts better with the buttermilk. When you mix those two together, they release air bubbles, which makes the pancakes fluffy.
Egg. The yolk of the egg provides tenderness, while the white acts as the binder that holds the pancakes together and gives them structure.
Butter and Greek yogurt. The butter provides both flavor and a more tender texture. (We just use a tiny bit, so don’t skip it!) The Greek yogurt adds more moisture to the batter, and it also adds a little extra tangy taste to enhance that of the buttermilk.
Vanilla. This is my secret weapon! Extra vanilla enhances the flavor of butter, so these pancakes taste much more indulgent than they really are. I know 1 ½ teaspoons looks like a lot for pancakes, but trust me. You won’t want to use any less!
Now with the batter mixed up, let’s talk about how to cook your pancakes! For the best results, use a nonstick pan or electric griddle. The griddle will yield the most even golden coloring, but with my tiny kitchen, I don’t have the space to store one. So pans it is for me! However, do not use stainless steel cookware because it will burn your pancakes. (Lesson learned the hard way!)
To make each pancake, pour a dollop of 2 tablespoons of batter onto your cooking surface lightly coated with nonstick spray. Wait until the edges near the bottom look as if they’re forming a slight skin and the tops start showing bubbles that pop; then take a peek underneath. The bottom should be golden brown!
To flip the pancakes, slide a spatula underneath, lift your hand, and just turn your wrist. Do not use your elbow or your entire arm! If you do, the pancake will skid a little in the pan as it lands and form that lacey-looking “pancake skirt.” (They’ll still taste the same; they just don’t look as pretty!)
Now all that’s left is to serve yourself a big stack with real maple syrup, fresh fruit, and anything else your heart desires!
| The Ultimate Healthy Buttermilk Pancakes | | Print |
- 1 c + 2 tbsp (135g) all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour flour (measured correctly)
- 1 tsp (3g) baking soda
- ½ tsp (2g) baking powder
- ¼ tsp (2g) salt
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ tsp (8mL) vanilla extract
- ½ c (120mL) low-fat buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 tsp (5mL) pure maple syrup
- ¼ c (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, and vanilla. Whisk in the buttermilk and maple syrup. Stir in the yogurt until no large lumps remain. Add in the flour mixture, and stir until just incorporated.
- Lightly coat a large pan or griddle with nonstick cooking spray, and preheat over low heat.
- Using 2 tablespoons of batter for each pancake, dollop onto the hot pan, and spread into a circular shape if desired. Let the pancakes cook for 2-3 minutes, or until a slight skin starts to form around the edges and the bottom is light golden brown. Slide a spatula underneath, and flip. Continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes or until light golden brown on both sides. Serve hot.
You must use buttermilk in this recipe. It’s more acidic than regular milk, which is required to react with the baking soda and baking powder.
As a buttermilk substitute, I highly recommend this powdered buttermilk. It’s shelf-stable and keeps for ages. Simply mix 2 tablespoons with ½ cup of water to yield the buttermilk required by this recipe. Alternatively, measure out 1 ½ teaspoons of vinegar into a measuring cup, and pour in regular milk (skim, 1%, or 2%) until you reach the ½-cup mark. However, this second method will not yield the same iconic buttermilk flavor.
For tips on the type of pan to use and how to properly flip pancakes, see the text in the blog post above.
If the batter is too thick to pour and spread easily in the pan, stir in up to 4 additional tablespoons of buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches a normal pancake batter consistency.
This recipe is easily doubled to make more. If you have any leftovers, they freeze really well too!
{clean eating optional, low fat, low calorie}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
HI Amy, I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. I’m also a UCD chemistry alum, class of 2002. I currently live in the Bay Area. I actually don’t bake that often, but I do have a basic understanding of how leavening works. My question is why does the recipe require a full teaspoon of baking soda to leaven 1 cup of flour with ~ 3/4 cup of acid. Could I use less leavening and the recipe would still work?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Dianna! You’re welcome to try less baking soda if you’d like. I haven’t done that experiment because I loved the way the pancakes turned out as written. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these pancakes!
I am going to order the powdered buttermilk product you recommended and ill let you know how it goes! .
Yay!! I can’t wait Dianna! 🙂
I used sour cream instead of the yogurt ( I didn’t have yogurt) , and added a tablespoon of sugar. I creamed the sugar with the butter and the recipe was FANTASTIC! Such a great recipe Amy I enjoyed every bite
I’m so glad you enjoyed these pancakes Jessica! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!! 🙂
Hi I made these with almond milk instead and made buttermilk with it, I also didn’t need the extra 2 tbsp flour as the batter was thick enough for my liking. I also used honey in place of maple syrup because it’s what I had on hand. I used a 1/4 to pour the batter and yielded 9 pancakes.
Next time I will use a flax egg in place of egg. These puffed up perfectly, and is totally the recipe I’ve been looking for. I needed to test out a batch tonight because I’m making some tomorrow for the kiddo. Usually the recipes I try the pancakes are so flat, and I wanted something from scratch that was equivalent to the box stuff. I also love to freeze pancakes for an easy breakfast in the mornings.
I have some frozen mixed berries and I’ll make a sauce to go over the pancakes for the morning.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these pancakes Ashy! That means the world to me that you’d call this the recipe you’ve been looking for. Thank you so much — that’s the best kind of compliment!! 🙂 I really hope your kiddo enjoys these pancakes too! (And I love the sound of a mixed berry sauce for them! Yum!)
One of the best, healthiest pancake recipes I’ve done. Maybe even the best. The pancakes didn’t fall apart, didn’t burn, didn’t stick to the pan,… They also taste amazingly with homemade jam, I recommend for a quick and healthy meal 👌
I’m so glad you loved these pancakes Mana! That means the world to me that you’d call them one of the best pancake recipes you’ve ever tried — I’m truly honored! Thank you for sharing that with me!! 🙂
Just made this but they didn’t come out that good. I am used to making buttermilk pancakes from Joy Of Cooking on the cast iron pan and they come out soft and fluffy. These were soft but using mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat pastry flour didn’t give right texture.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Bobby! That sounds disappointing and not like how these pancakes are supposed to turn out, so I’d love to work with you to solve the issues you experienced. 🙂 Did you make any other modifications to the recipe, including those in the Notes section, aside from the all-purpose and whole wheat pastry flour? Did you use a cast iron or nonstick pan (or something else)? Also, how did you measure the flour — with a kitchen scale or measuring cups?
I baked these never tasted pancakes like them I had to use full fat buttermilk as couldn’t get light. But congratulations they are amazing I also sliced two bananas in half and dry fried them 👍
I’m so glad you enjoyed these pancakes Jennifer! Thanks for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
It all started with an electric griddle to tide us over until our replacement range arrived… Box pancake mixes are a health no-go, so after a few unacceptable recipes, I found your excellent pancake one! Light, fluffy, flavorful. A few minor alterations: the batter was too thick, so I add 2T of milk. The melted butter was hot enough to cook the egg a bit, so I melt it in the microwave as the first step, giving it time to cool before adding the egg. This recipe is added to my fridge magnet Hall of Fame for Sunday pancakes. Looking forward to trying your other recipes.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these pancakes Diana! That means the world to me that you’d consider making them again — and putting the recipe on your fridge! That’s the sweetest compliment ever. I’m truly honored!! 🙂
Hi Amy. These look yummy! I’m wondering if you can substitute almond flour for the all purpose flour, and if so, how much would you use? Thanks!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Patty! I typically don’t recommend almond flour in these pancakes because they’ll turn out denser. However, if you don’t mind that denser texture, then you can substitute it for the whole wheat pastry flour! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these pancakes!