Recipe

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A simple recipe for pumpkin pancakes that always turns out delicious.

Grab that canned pumpkin in your pantry and treat yourself to a stack of pumpkin pancakes. You’re about to have the best kind of weekend morning.

stack of pumpkin pancakes topped with whipped cream and syrup on a plate. A slice is cut and pieces through a fork

The Best Pumpkin Pancakes

When fall comes around, I go all in on pumpkin pancakes. I’ve been making this classic fluffy recipe since I first published it here in 2014.

I’ve perfected them over the years. These have just enough pumpkin to make the batter moist, but not too much that you end up with wet pancakes. Their texture is soft and fluffy, which keeps my family asking for more. You’ll also find variations below.

Ingredients

All-purpose flour forms the base of the batter, while brown sugar adds a little sweetness (regular sugar works too). Baking powder makes the pancakes light and fluffy, and a pinch of salt brings all the flavors together. Pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon) adds flavor, and milk (dairy or non-dairy) helps thin the batter to the right consistency. Canned pumpkin (not pie filling) is the star here, an egg to bind everything, and a little melted butter keeps the pancakes soft and tender.

How to Make Pumpkin Pancakes

You’ll find a video in the recipe card showing you how these are made. Here are the highlights and some tips for this recipe:

Measure and mix the wet ingredients in a large bowl to ensure the eggs are whisked well and the pumpkin has a chance to incorporate. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients, ensuring that the flour isn’t packed into the measuring cup.
Make the batter by adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients bowl and mixing until there’s no visible flour left. I like to mix from the outside of the bowl in.
Cook the Pancakes on a hot, well-greased non-stick surface over medium heat. They take 2 minutes per side to cook. You’ll know the pan is too hot when you flip them over too soon because the outsides are browning fast.
Serve them warm, stacked high, drizzled with pancake syrup or cinnamon syrup.

pumpkin pancakes on a plate stacked high and maple syrup being drizzled over the top dripping on the sides

Using a Mix

Follow the directions on the box for 2 cups of pancake mix, keeping the sugar, pumpkin spice, and canned pumpkin here. Or use my tested recipes for pumpkin pancakes with a mix or with Bisquick.

Variations

If pumpkin pancakes are your thing, try these and then come back for banana pumpkin pancakes, ricotta pumpkin pancakes, my high-protein pumpkin pancakes (with cottage cheese), everyone’s favorite chocolate chip pumpkin pancakes, or the classic pumpkin spice pancakes. You deserve it.

Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe (Classic & Fluffy)

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 15

A simple recipe for pumpkin pancakes that always turns out delicious.

5 from 24 votes

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Watch how it’s made:

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, or cinnamon
1 cup milk, any
½ cup canned pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Instructions

Make the pancake batter:

In a large batter bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice and stir to combine.
In another bowl, whisk the milk, pumpkin puree, egg, and melted butter. Mix until you have a smooth liquid mixture.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients bowl, mixing them to make a batter. I mix from the outside of the bowl in and stop when there's no visible flour left.

Cook the pancakes:

Heat a griddle or a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, grease the griddle or pan with butter or oil. Pour or scoop ¼ cup of batter for each pancake. Cook them for about 2 minutes, making sure to wait until bubbles form and edges are defined before flipping them over. Cook them for one more minute on the other side. Remove them from the hot surface onto a plate and repeat the process with the remaining pancake batter.

Serve & storage:

Serve these pumpkin pancakes warm, topped with syrup.
Let the pancakes cool completely before freezing to avoid sogginess. Place them on a parchment-lined pan to freeze individually, then transfer to a zip bag for up to 2 months. To reheat, warm pancakes in the microwave for 15-30 seconds or in a toaster.

Notes

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.