Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

I love flat pancakes -said no one ever! So get ready because I cover all the bases here so your stack of fluffy pumpkin spice pancakes makes your weekend breakfast epic.

Jump to:

• Easy Pumpkin Pancakes
• Ingredients
• How to Make Pumpkin Spice Pancakes
• Best Pumpkin Spice Pancake Batter
• Fluffy Pumpkin Pancake Secret
• Pumpkin Spice Pancake Toppings
• Fluffy Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Easy Pumpkin Pancakes

Sometimes I think the internet overcomplicates things when it comes to making great pancake batter. So, if you’re tired of wet, mushy pancakes, I’ve got you covered with this easy pumpkin pancakes recipe.

In fact, I love pumpkin recipes so much, that I keep my pantry stocked with this delicious canned miracle year round. Let’s just say I’m fully ready when pumpkin spice season rolls around, you know?

This post shares things I’ve learned from making many pancake mistakes while testing the many pancake recipes on this website. I even have a video for this recipe so you can get a full visual of each step.

Not only do we get that fall breakfast pumpkin spice fix, but they’re so flavorful that you barely need syrup. But what are pancakes without the drizzles and toppings? More on those good things later!

Since this recipe includes pumpkin puree, it’s important to follow the exact measurements so the batter is just right, not too liquidy, and not too thick.

Ingredients

If you’re prone to making swaps, check this list of ingredients for these pumpkin spice pancakes and the substitutions I’ve already tested. The amounts are in the recipe card further down.

• Flour: regular all-purpose flour is the base for this recipe. Follow this gluten-free pumpkin pancake recipe for gf and this one with coconut flour.
• Brown sugar: a little brown sugar and pumpkin spice makes everything nice.
• Baking powder: it helps the batter rise and creates fluffy pancakes. If you’re out, skip making pumpkin pancakes without it because the batter will be wet and won’t rise. Make these pancakes without baking powder instead.
• Salt: enhances the butter, sugar, and pumpkin flavor.
• Pumpkin pie spice: isn’t this the flavor you came for? If you’re out, use cinnamon.
• Milk: use regular or your favorite non-dairy alternative. If using oat milk for pancakes the batter will be a little thicker. Test one pancake first, then add a tablespoon more if needed.
• Pumpkin puree: canned pumpkin is all the rage. You only need ½ cup so you can use the rest for one of these pumpkin recipes.
• Egg: gives the batter structure and hold it together. I don’t recommend increasing the amount of pumpkin and making the pancakes without eggs. Use a flax egg or commercial egg replacer as an egg substitute for pancakes.
• Butter: or a neutral oil, can be omitted from the recipe.

Have a pancake mix to use up? Here’s how to make delicious pumpkin pancakes using a mix!

How to Make Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

These are my go-to pumpkin spice pancakes when my family wants the real deal. There are some tips that ensure they turn out fluffy and delicious and not wet and undercooked. I’ll share them in the main steps to ensure your success:

1. Measure and mix
   While many of my pancake recipes combine the wet ingredients in one bowl, when it comes to pumpkin, I highly recommend combining the wet ingredients first so the canned pumpkin is whisked with the other liquids before making the batter.
2. Make the batter
   This is where you’ll combine the dry ingredients and the wet in a large bowl. You’ll want to mix them just enough until you see no more clumps, then stop. Overmixing leads to chewy pancakes.
3. Cook the pancakes
   You want to start with a hot, non-stick surface. And then, grease it well. When you scoop or pour the pancakes, use the back of a spoon to spread the batter a little so the middles cook. Wait to flip the pancakes until you see bubbles and defined edges. If your pancakes are burning, reduce the heat. I explain why this happens below.
4. Stack them high
   Keep the pancakes warm while you cook the rest and serve them with your favorite pancake toppings.

Best Pumpkin Spice Pancake Batter

I’m sure you’re tired of reading “Don’t overmix the batter” across the internet; I was, too, until I learned that overmixing tends to make the pancakes chewy because the gluten in flour begins to break down the more you mix.

Ultimately, the best pumpkin spice batter is one that follows the recipe as closely as possible since that yields the best pancake results.

This batter should not be too runny or watery, so don’t go rogue and add a little more pumpkin so it doesn’t get wasted—save that to make pumpkin overnight oats.

Fluffy Pumpkin Pancake Secret

There are a few secrets to the best fluffy pancakes especially when using pumpkin, a wet ingredient in the batter. They’re often simple to fix, with the most common mistake being that they were flipped too early. Other reasons:

Flipping the pancakes too early is one big reason they aren’t as fluffy. This is because the baking powder doesn’t have enough time to activate over the heat. If you flip them and they don’t rise, they were turned over too soon.

Cold pumpkin spice batter is denser than at room temperature so when you cook it, it takes time for it to warm up and then to activate the baking powder (as noted above). Let it sit on the counter until it’s at room temperature.

If the pancake bottoms were burning and you flipped the pancakes before you saw bubbles forming throughout the tops, this means your heat was too hot -or you burned the butter or spray used to cook them.

If your butter or spray burned and you flipped the pancakes too soon and the middles were undercooked and they weren’t as fluffy, this is because you probably greased the pan before it was hot or waited too long to pour the batter.

If you’re using a non-stick surface these pumpkin pancakes should not stick to the pan.

Pumpkin Spice Pancake Toppings

When I photographed this batch of pumpkin spice pancakes, I topped them with whipped cream and warm almond butter. Of course, they’re also the perfect base for your favorite pancake syrups such as homemade sugar syrup like Grandma used to make, maple syrup, or cinnamon syrup.

If you really want to take things up to the next level, serve these pancakes with a big mug of Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate.