This Easy Pumpkin Pancakes recipe feeds a crowd, is super fluffy, & incredibly tasty! Whipped cream and maple syrup finishes them off nicely!
Originally published October 24, 2010. Updated on 2/20/2022
After so much work, rushing around, and general stress the past few weeks, we made a pact to engage in NONE of that, this weekend.
No work, no car repairs, no chores, no stress - Awesome!
Of course.. we kind of cheated.
With all of the crisp fall mornings of late - and many visual reminders of the fact that it’s pumpkin season, whenever we leave the house - we’ve been on a bit of a pumpkin kick.
Mentally, anyway. Ever since the Pumpkin Nanaimo Bar creation a couple weeks ago, we’re been craving that fall flavor, and could now finally act on it.
So, this morning I made my delicious pumpkin pancakes AND pumpkin muffins - Two of my favorite things, this time of year!
The pancakes are SO tasty - full of flavor, very fluffy and moist. Really the perfect pumpkin pancakes in general, but an especially great way to enjoy the fall season.
So, I figured I’d share my pumpkin pancake recipe with you. (It’s an easy recipe, no worries!)
First, a few things to go over, to ensure the best results:
Pumpkin Pancakes Ingredients
This recipe mostly uses everyday ingredients that you probably have in your pantry right now... but I do have a few notes for you:
* Flour: I usually use All-Purpose flour for this. If you’re looking to cut back on white flour, you can swap half of it out for whole wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour), buckwheat flour, or even oat flour.
* Canned pumpkin purée - Use real pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling. They are two different things! You can use homemade pumpkin puree if you have it, as long as it’s just pumpkin.
* Buttermilk - If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use 1.5 cups milk, with 1 tablespoon lemon juice mixed in. If you’re dairy free, coconut milk or almond milk are fine. The milk doesn’t add a ton of flavour to this, so swapping it out is no big deal.
* Vegetable oil - You can use melted / liquid coconut oil or MCT oil if you prefer.
* Brown sugar
* Large eggs
* Vanilla extract
* Baking powder
* Salt
Tips & Variations
You can add some chocolate chips to the batter just before cooking, if you’d like. I usually go for mini chocolate chips, when I do.
This recipe can be used for sweet potato pancakes. Just substitute sweet potato puree for the pumpkin puree.
This makes a LOT of pancakes. Let any leftover pancake cool before wrapping and putting them away. I’ll usually store them as a stack of pancakes on a plate, wrapped in plastic.
Leftover pancakes can be reheated in a warm oven, air fryer, or microwave. I find the best way to reheat is in a single layer, as this heats more evenly.
As with all pancake recipes, mixing gently and cooking the batter as soon as possible are key to making fluffy pancakes.
You don’t want to develop the gluten, and you want to cook it while the leavening agents are still active. A gentle, quick hand makes for the fluffiest pancakes.
How to Make Pumpkin Pancakes
The full recipe follows - in the printable recipe card at the end of this post - but here’s a pictorial overview!
In a large bowl, whisk all purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and spices together. Set flour mixture aside.
In a blender process buttermilk, pumpkin puree, egg, oil, and vanilla until smooth. (Note: this can be done in a separate bowl - a medium bowl - and mixed with a whisk, if you prefer)
Pour pumpkin mixture into dry ingredients. Lightly stir, just until combined. You should have a thick batter - clumps are ok.
Use a ¼ cup measure to pour batter onto the hot skillet.
Gently spread batter out into a larger circle, about 4 - 4.5" in diameter. Cook the first side until bubbles start popping through the top of the pancakes, and the edges of the pancake start to look a little more dry / skinned over a bit.
When the pancakes are ready to flip, air bubbles will be rising and popping at the surface, with the pancake surface looking a little drier.
Flip, cook until golden brown and cooked through.
Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup, whipped cream, and a sprinkling of nutmeg!
More Pumpkin Recipes
When fall is here, is there anything better than indulging in some pumpkin goodies? We’re down for all things pumpkin, whether for Halloween, Thanksgiving, or a random Tuesday!
Here are our favourite ways to use the gourd!
Baked Pumpkin Custard
Copycat Pumpkin Spice Latte
Easy Maple Pumpkin Spiced Muffins
Easy Pumpkin Martini
How to Carve a Pumpkin Like a Pro
How to Make Pumpkin Mead
Maple Pumpkin Spice Bagels
Maple Walnut Spiced Pumpkin Buns
Pumpkin Spice Nanaimo Bars
Quick Pumpkin Bread
Traditional Pumpkin Mousse
... and from my other blogs:
Gluten Free Maple Pumpkin Pie
Gluten-free Pumpkin Bread
Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Mini Doughnuts
Gluten-Free Sopaipillas Pasadas
Keto Pumpkin Fat Bombs
Keto Pumpkin Bars
Homemade Pumpkin Chai Latte
Pumpkin Chia Pudding
Share the Love!
Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you post it to Bluesky, be sure to tag us - @CelebrationGen. We're also on Pinterest, so you can save all your favourite recipes to a board!
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Well, the published nonsense, anyway!
Easy Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar Packed
- 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
- 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon Cloves
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ½ Cups Buttermilk*
- 1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
- 2 Large Eggs
- 2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and spices. Set aside.
- In blender, process buttermilk, pumpkin, egg, oil, and vanilla until smooth. Pour into dry ingredients. Lightly stir, just until combined.
- Lightly oil your griddle or frying pan, preheat over medium or medium-low heat. Scoop ¼ cup amounts of batter onto the griddle.
- Gently spread batter out into a larger circle, about 4 – 4.5″ in diameter.
- Cook until bubbles start popping through top surface. Flip, cook until done.
- Serve with maple syrup, whipped cream, and a sprinkling of nutmeg!
Notes
Nutrition
Michelle
You are my favorite person right now. Not only are you going to be making the coolest cake ever in a couple weekends, but you posted a pumpkin pancake recipe! Now I don't have to try and scour the web for a decent one or buy some pre-made mix. Yay!! Hubby and I were just discussing how we needed a recipe for these after a trip to ihop.
Stacey
My daughter and I love the pumpkin pancakes, and I made them again over the weekend while I had a guest. I have two problems with the recipe that I'll mention in case you have time to fool around in the kitchen again sometime. First, it was easy to do this recipe the last two times because I happened to have single cups of pumpkin puree in the freezer from when I rendered a whole pumpkin and froze it. That would not normally be the case, because canned pumpkin does not come in neat 8 oz portions but is, instead, an annoying 15 oz. If there is some way to use a whole can, or to have two complimentary recipes that I can make from one can, that would be way handy. Second, the quantity of pancakes that this recipe makes is far too much for me and my daughter alone to eat. I made the pancakes from one batch for 3 people, 2 days in a row, and for one person a third day, and I still have batter left. For regular pancakes I use an excellent recipe I got from Consumer Reports that is easy to halve, so that works for a small household. If you think this recipe would halve and still work well, that would be fine--I noticed it uses two eggs, and that's often a deciding factor in the halving equation, but it's not the only one.
Whether or not my questions/suggestions can be acted upon, thanks again for a fabulous recipe. 🙂
Kate Madson
Hey Marie - would you consider posting a gluten free version of this recipe?
Shirley
My kids love these (and I did too). Super easy to make and a great way to get some extra fibre and vitamins into a food they love.