Recipe

Made with simple pancake ingredients and just a few drops of food coloring, these red, white, and blue pancakes are an easy way to make your Fourth of July breakfast feel extra special.

These red, white, and blue pancakes are guaranteed to steal the show at your Fourth of July breakfast. They're every bit as soft and fluffy as you’d expect, with a patriotic twist that's surprisingly easy to make.

Patriotic Pancakes

Laura fuentes holding a skillet of food standing in front of a blue door

When my kids were younger, we'd spend many 4th of July weekends at the beach, and these red, white, and blue pancakes became one of our little traditions. They're made with my best pancake recipe, so they’re guaranteed to be fluffy and delicious. The only extra step is coloring part of the batter, and before you know it, you've got a patriotic pancake stack they’ll talk about for years to come.

What You Need

You only need classic pancake ingredients, like flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, egg, butter, and vanilla, plus a few drops of red and blue food coloring to transform the batter. Make it from scratch or use your favorite pancake mix (see recipe notes) for an even quicker Fourth of July breakfast.

How to Make Red, White, and Blue Pancakes

Make the pancake batter.
Mix the pancake batter until just combined. Overmixing develops gluten and makes pancakes chewy rather than fluffy.
Color the batter.
Divide the batter into three bowls. Leave one bowl plain, then color one bowl red and the other blue using a few drops of food coloring. Add more color a drop or two at a time until you're happy with the shade.

3 image collage. On left, is a bowl of red pancake batter. In the middle is a bowl of white pancake batter, on the right is a bowl with blue pancake batter.

Cook the pancakes.
Cook the pancakes over medium heat until bubbles form and the edges begin to set before flipping. Don't press them down with the spatula or you'll lose their fluffy texture.
Stack and serve.
Layer one red, one white, and one blue pancake on each plate, then pile on your favorite patriotic toppings.

Customize Your 4th of July Pancakes

Make these even more festive with fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, whipped cream, or a dusting of powdered sugar. For an extra-special breakfast, drizzle my strawberry syrup (red) or my blueberry syrup (blue) over your stack.

Easy Red White & Blue Pancakes

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 15

Made with simple pancake ingredients and just a few drops of food coloring, these red, white, and blue pancakes are an easy way to make your Fourth of July breakfast feel extra special.

No ratings yet

Print Pin

Ingredients

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder, aluminum-free
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ cups milk, any
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3-4 drops red and blue food coloring

Instructions

Make the batter:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Move the flour to the sides and make a well in the middle. Pour the milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Break up the egg first with a fork, then mix it with the liquid ingredients. Then combine the liquid with the flour in the bowl, working from the outside in, until just combined and mostly smooth. Stop mixing when you no longer see flour to avoid chewy pancakes.
Measure out 1 cup of the white batter into a medium bowl. Add 3-4 drops of red food coloring and gently mix to turn the batter red. Intensity of color varies by brand; adjust the color 1-2 drops at a time. Measure out another 1 cup of batter into another bowl, add 3-4 drops of blue food coloring, and mix. These are your red and blue batter colors; the original batter bowl is the white.

Cook the pancakes:

You can cook all the batter of a single color at a time, or one batch of each pancake color.
Heat a non-stick griddle or large pan over medium heat. Once hot, grease, spray, or melt butter. Immediately, pour ¼ cup of batter (any color). This batter doesn't spread, so use the back of a spoon or the scoop to shape it.
Cook the first side of the pancakes for about 2 minutes, until the edges begin to look defined and bubbles form. Flip the pancakes over and cook the second side for a little less time. Avoid pressing down on the pancake with the spatula after flipping; this will make the pancakes dense by eliminating the air pockets and/or cause the batter to ooze out on the sides and remain undercooked.
Remove the cooked pancakes from the pan and repeat the process with the remaining batter and colors, serving the pancakes as you go or keeping them warm on a sheet pan in a 200F oven.

Serve:

Place one red, one white, and one blue pancake on a plate. Top with berries, whipped cream, or your favorite toppings and syrups.

Notes

Using a mix:

Measure 2 cups of pancake mix into a bowl. Then, follow the amounts listed in the box (of just water or other ingredients, depending on the type you have) to make pancake batter.

Homemade batter tips:

If your batter is too thick, you likely added too much flour into the cup (or omitted the butter). Add 2 more tablespoons of milk to thin it, then mix gently.
If your batter is too runny, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more flour, mix gently, and wait 5 minutes before cooking.
If your pancakes are flat, your baking powder is no longer active (gone bad), and it happens when it’s been opened for more than 9-12 months. This ingredient cannot be omitted.

The recommendations below may include affiliate links.