Pumpkin Pancakes

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

Today is day 2 of my "mental health weekend" with my husband.

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.

Free time means I'm freed up to play around in the kitchen.. which means I can experiment, make home cooked meals... etc.

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:

Jump to Recipe

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.

* Spices - I use cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, but you can use 1 ½ tablespoon pumpkin pie spice if you’d prefer not to measure them out individually.

* 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

Actual recipe follows, 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.

Lightly grease your nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet with a little bit of oil, butter, or cooking spray. Preheat over medium heat or medium-low heat.

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.

Flip, cook until golden brown and cooked through.

Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup, whipped cream, and a sprinkling of nutmeg!