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Make your holiday breakfast a lot of fun with this recipe for Grinch pancakes. They're festive, bright, and totally unforgettable.

A few drops of green food coloring transformed my famous pancake batter into Grinch pancakes, making them a holiday tradition!

large stack of green pancakes with glazed topping and red sprinkles

Green Grinch Pancakes

There was a stretch when my youngest watched The Grinch nonstop, so of course I had to bring the movie magic to breakfast. The first time I made these green Grinch pancakes on Christmas morning, his face lit up, and now they're a holiday tradition.

The magic is in the batter, which is the same as my famous fluffy pancakes. You can use regular or natural food coloring, or make pancakes with spinach or matcha pancakes, which are also green.

Ingredients

These fun pancakes use classic pantry staples: all-purpose flour as the base, baking powder for lift, a pinch of salt, and a little sugar for balanced flavor. Milk (any kind) plus an egg to bind everything together. Melted butter adds moisture and richness, vanilla adds a hint of sweetness, and a few drops of green food coloring transform the batter into full Grinch mode.

How to Make Grinch Pancakes

You’ll find a short video showing how to cook these perfectly in the recipe card. Here is an overview with some tips:

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, always making sure not to pack the measuring cup. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl, whisking the egg first with a fork so it mixes well, then mix to combine until there’s no visible flour left.
Color them green with 3 to 4 drops of food coloring (I start with 3) and mix it into the batter gently, using a silicone spatula.
Cook the pancakes over medium heat on a greased surface for about 2 minutes per side. If the pancakes are burning before you see bubbles forming, your heat is too high. Rinse the pan under cool water, reduce the heat, grease, and cook another batch.
Serve them warm, topped with the sugary glaze made with powdered sugar and milk. Sprinkles too! Why not.

closeup of glaze poured over green pancakes

These go great with a mug of classic hot cocoa or a big mug of Christmas hot chocolate. Add these fruity Grinch kabobs for a full themed breakfast experience.

More Christmas Breakfast Ideas

If Christmas day breakfast recipes are your jam, you’re going to love Santa pancakes, eggnog pancakes, gingerbread pancakes, and my recipe for giant cinnamon rolls. You can always use this recipe for baked cranberry oatmeal if you have people coming over.

Green Grinch Pancakes (So Fluffy!)

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 20

Make your holiday breakfast a lot of fun with this recipe for Grinch pancakes. They're festive, bright, and totally unforgettable.

5 from 6 votes

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Watch how it’s made:

Ingredients

For the pancakes:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ¼ cups milk, any
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3-4 drops green food coloring

Pancake glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 ½ teaspoons milk

Instructions

Make the batter:

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
Make a well in the middle and pour in the milk, egg, butter, and vanilla. Use a fork to break up the egg in the middle of the bowl and then slowly mix it with the milk and other ingredients, always mixing from the outside of the bowl in until all clumps are gone.
Add the food coloring and, with a spatula, gently fold in the batter until it reaches the desired shade of green. I start with 3, then add one more (sometimes you can squeeze too much).

Cook:

Heat a non-stick griddle or large pan over medium heat. Once hot, grease it and immediately pour ¼ cup of batter for each pancake. Cook for about 2 minutes and wait until bubbles form to flip. Continue cooking for an additional minute or two until they're done. Remove them from the pan or griddle and keep warm while you cook the rest. If your first side is cooking fast (burning) and you flip them over before you see bubbles, cool the pan, and lower the heat.