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If your family loves pancakes as much as mine, then these pancake bites are going to be a hit. They have the soft texture of a fluffy pancake with juicy blueberries baked into each bite.
Enjoy them plain or with a drizzle of homemade icing for a fun breakfast.
Easy Pancake Bites
These pancake bites are a yummy tribute to classic blueberry pancakes served in a way that you can enjoy from home or on the go. The batter is the same as my fluffy pancake recipe, but instead of cooking and flipping over on a griddle, the oven does all the work for you.
These bites can also be made ahead and frozen for extra busy mornings when you need something that can be popped in the microwave for a quick breakfast.
Ingredients
Here’s everything you need to make a batch of blueberry pancake bites:
- all-purpose flour: an essential ingredient for pancake bites. Make this a gluten-free option by replacing the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour.
- sugar: is optional, but it’s only a tablespoon and makes the bites slightly sweet, without overdoing it.
- baking powder: helps the batter rise and gives the muffins that fluffy pancake texture.
- salt: to enhance the flavor of the blueberries and other ingredients.
- milk: regular or a non-dairy alternative will work.
- butter: makes these bites super moist.
- egg: binds the ingredients and adds structure to the batter.
- vanilla extract: pairs deliciously with the blueberries.
- lemon zest: goes great with the blueberries and adds a tangy, fresh flavor.
- blueberries: blueberries are high in antioxidants and vitamins, making them a great addition to all sorts of breakfasts and snacks. You can use fresh or frozen.
- powdered sugar: combined with a little milk to create a quick glaze to drizzle over the bites.
How to Make Pancake Bites
Grab those ingredients, and let’s make pancake bites!
- Prep
Preheat the oven to 400F and lightly grease a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. - Sift the dry ingredients
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. - Make the batter
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the milk, butter, egg, vanilla, and lemon zest. Mix until there are no clumps. - Top with blueberries
Divide the muffin batter between the muffin cups, filling them ¾th full. Place 3 blueberries in each cup, pushing them into the batter. - Bake
Bake the pancake bites for 12 to 14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center, comes out with a few moist crumbs. - Make the glaze
In a medium bowl, whisk the powdered sugar with milk until smooth. - Time to eat
Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool down slightly before serving. Drizzle with icing and enjoy.
Make Next: Full-Size Pancake Muffins
More Pancake Bite Mix-Ins
Like regular pancakes, you can add any of your favorite mix-ins to the pancake bite batter. I chose blueberries since I keep them on hand for smoothies, baked goods, and breakfast recipes, but you can swap them out in this recipe for:
- ¾ cup raspberries
- ¾ cup diced strawberries
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
- ½ cup dried cranberries + 1 teaspoon orange zest
- sprinkles
Even the glaze can be replaced with Homemade Blueberry Syrup or a simple Homemade Pancake Syrup. There’s no wrong way to enjoy these for breakfast.
Make-Ahead Pancake Bites
To make these pancake bites ahead, prepare them according to the recipe directions and allow them to cool down to room temperature before placing them in an airtight container and covering them with a paper towel. Store at room temperature for 2 to 4 days.
To freeze, place the cooled pancake bites in a zip bag and freeze for up to 2 months. To reheat, microwave a serving for 1 minute or until heated through and the blueberries are tender.
Blueberry Pancake Bites
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour*
- 1 tablespoon sugar, optional
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
Glaze:
- ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F and grease a 24 mini-muffin pan with butter or spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the middle and add the milk, butter, egg, vanilla, and lemon zest. Mix to combine the batter until there are no clumps.
- Fill each muffin cup ¾th full and top with 3 blueberries each, pushing them slightly down into the batter.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes prior to serving.
- For the glaze, in a small bowl, whisk ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar and 1 ½ teaspoon of milk until smooth. Drizzle over the mini muffins and enjoy.
Notes
- If making this recipe gluten-free, I recommend using a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour mix.
- Nutrition information is calculated without the glaze.
- Use the right baking powder: Since pancake batter naturally has a mild, neutral flavor, it’s important to use aluminum-free baking powder. The metallic flavor will ruin the taste, especially in fluffy pancake recipes that call for 2 or more teaspoons. Trust me on this one.
Faith says
How can I make these without an egg?
Laura Fuentes says
you can make a flax egg (ground flax seed + warm water)
Theresa says
I put these in my daughter’s lunch they were yummy!
Jessica says
these were amazing, even after taking them out of the freezer and warming them up for 20 seconds in the microwave.
Chanel says
Do you store them in a container in the fridge or at room temperature?
Laura Fuentes says
Once cooked, in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container. They freeze beautifully too! To freeze, I place them in a freezer-safe bag up to 30 days.
Elizabeth says
My mom let me make these this weekend for my brothers and sister. they were easy and fun and the blueberries were yummy.
Shonda says
These.were.awesome
Troy says
As a single dad of 2 boys, I appreciate your simple recipes Laura! My boys loved these. Thank you
Sylvia says
I made these over the weekend. THEY WERE GREAT!
Michelle says
Loving your mission and how you make cooking so much easier for mommies. I’d love to see recipes with whole grains versus the refined white flours. I think we all would love to give our children tasty options but on the sideline making them healthier and with less sugar. I am a health coach that works with busy moms and love referring them to sites that offer healthy but fun meals and snacks. I’d love to refer them to your site as well as the few others I use often. Thanks for sharing your amazing recipes! Looking forward to more.
Laura Fuentes says
I made these with white whole wheat or soft white wheat. However, whenever I list that in the ingredients I receive a dozen emails asking about what is the difference between flours etc. These work great with regular whole wheat flour as well. Thank you for reading my blog and browsing through my recipes Michelle! 🙂
Christina says
Super! This is what I wanted to know. I plan to try it with half whole wheat and half unbleached white flour. If I used all whole wheat, would I need more milk??
Laura Fuentes says
If you used all whole wheat you don’t need more milk, just know that the texture will be a denser pancake bite. Enjoy!
Michele says
How well would these work if they were made ahead, baked & then frozen???
Laura Fuentes says
to perfection!
Tom says
Frozen blueberries are so good
Gina says
You always come up with the greatest everyday recipes laura!
Sue says
I made the batter last night and these are in the oven now! My kids are going to love these!!
Patrice says
I love frozen blueberries mixed with cottage cheese.
Hannah says
I use frozen blueberries for so many things!! Fresh are often expensive so I pretty much only eat frozen
Tara Walsh says
I made these last night for the kids. They LVED them
Leanne says
Do these work w GF flour? Does your son still eat GF?
Laura Fuentes says
These work very well with a 1:1 gluten-free flour. We’ve slowly introduced gluten back into his diet but it’s very limited. He mostly still eats gluten-free.
Danielle says
How would you change this to be dairy-free? Is that possible?
Laura Fuentes says
Danielle, you can use ghee and a dairy-free milk alternative to replace the butter and milk. Enjoy!
Jessica says
Anything bite sized is a winner in my house! Looks like I will be making these this weekend.
Loren says
We love blueberry pancakes! Time to make these bitesized ones.
Jayden says
I pack them frozen in the lunch box so they are just right at lunch time.
Liza says
Baking with frozen blueberries always makes my treats taste better. I must try these mini pancakes though. Super cute and I am sure my kids will love them.
JoAnn says
I like to use them in salads, right before serving. This way they don’t get mushy and keep the other ingredients cool and fresh.
Steffany says
Only in smoothies. I freeze all my fruit for smoothies 🙂
Ana says
i was going to make muffins this morning and then i opened my inbox when my coffee was brewing. OMG. just made these so good! perfect timing and so delicious!
Enrietta says
these look so yummy! we too keep frozen blueberries in the fridge because they come in so handy.