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These Buttermilk Pancakes produce light, fluffy and tender pancakes with crispy edges. They're perfect for breakfast or dinner.
Here are some more delicious pancake recipes: Chocolate Pancakes, Peach Pancakes, Blueberry Pancakes, Sweet Potato Pancakes, Southern Hoecakes, and Banana Pancakes.
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The basic homemade buttermilk pancakes I grew up on always had crispy edges. I didn't know that they made them any other way until my first visit on a family vacation to IHOP (International House of Pancakes). I wasn't a fan of their pancakes for a long time because they didn't have those crispy edges.
Crispy pancakes need to get as much love as fluffy pancakes because they're amazing! I truly believe that crispy edges are the calling card of home cooking. Sometimes the heat's too high, so they come out a little dark and vice versa, but they never get thrown away.
I'm going to show you how to make the perfect buttermilk crispy pancakes that may not be pretty enough for a pancake commercial but are delicious enough for breakfast, lunch, or dinner for your family.
Key Ingredients
Here are the main ingredients you'll need for these crispy pancakes.
All-Purpose Flour
I always use unbleached flour to make sure I'm consuming the least processed flour possible.
Sugar
A little sugar goes a long way.
Baking Powder and Baking Soda
Some people use one or the other, but the combination helps create perfect crispy edges.
Buttermilk
I only eat homemade pancakes if they have buttermilk in them, and I love the slight tang and tenderness it adds.
Oil
A little oil is needed to keep the pancakes from drying out.
Egg
One egg is all that's needed to make enough pancakes to feed 8 people.
Maple Syrup
I love the flavor of real maple syrup, so grade A is all I use.
How To Make Crispy Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe
I want my crispy pancakes to be fun, tasty, and not as complicated as you thought. The key to getting crispy edges is frying the pancakes in oil, and the pancakes will absorb quite a bit of the oil as they fry up, but the results are incredible.
Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt in a large bowl and stir together.
Mix oil, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and egg in a medium bowl. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir until smooth. Some small lumps are okay. Let batter rest for 5 minutes.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of oil, and pour ¼ cup of pancake batter per pancake; cook pancakes until the top batter has small bubbles form, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for another 1 minute 30 seconds until golden brown. Depending on the size of your skillet, I wouldn't cook more than 3 pancakes at a time.
Repeat with the remaining batter. You can keep pancakes warm in a warm oven and serve them warm with room-temperature unsalted butter and maple syrup.
How To Store Crispy Thin Pancakes
Pancakes are best eaten immediately, but they will remain fresh for 3 days in the fridge.
Freeze pancakes in a freezer-safe container and freeze them for 2 months. I like to wrap them in plastic wrap, three at a time.
Reheat the pancakes in the microwave for 15 seconds.
Pro Recipe Tips & Tricks
Keep these tips in mind while you're whipping these crispy pancakes.
- The more batches you make, the hotter your skillet will get, so be sure to reduce your heat to keep your pancakes from burning.
- You can use a griddle instead of a skillet.
- A cast iron skillet makes the best crispy pancakes.
- Do NOT skip the step of letting the batter rest. This allows the flour to absorb the liquids creating a lighter pancake.
- Feel free to use gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour.
- You can use any milk you have at home instead of buttermilk. Almond milk or whole milk will work.
- I don't recommend a buttermilk substitute using lemon juice.
- Use equal parts of sour cream instead of buttermilk to make sour cream pancakes.
- Use an oil with a high smoke point like canola oil, vegetable, grapeseed, or avocado.
- Top pancakes with fresh fruit or whipped cream.
FAQs
Here are the top questions readers have about making homemade pancakes.
Your pancakes may be getting crispy from the amount of oil and the high temperature your cooking them. If you do not want them crispy, cook your pancakes in unsalted butter at a lower temperature.
Proper pancake batter should be thick. A thin batter means you've added too much liquid or not enough flour.
Crispy pancakes happen by frying the pancakes in oil over medium-high heat.
The best way to achieve thin pancakes with crispy edges is to use a skillet that holds heat well, like a cast iron skillet. You also want to cook them in oil, not butter. Finally, cook your pancakes over medium-high heat, depending on your stove. For gas, use medium heat; for other stovetops, use medium-high heat.
You don't have to cook your pancakes in oil. You can use melted butter or ghee(clarified butter) for some incredible pancakes!
More Breakfast Recipes
If you need more breakfast or brunch recipes, I know you'll love these recipes!
- Breakfast Potatoes Hash
- Buttermilk Biscuits and White Sausage Gravy
- Sweet Potato Hash
- Fried Chicken and Waffles
- Grillades and Grits
- Blueberry Waffles
Before You Begin
Here are my steps for getting organized before I start anything.
Step 1: Get all ingredients for the best buttermilk pancakes on the counter.
Step 2: Measure everything out into bowls.
Step 3: Follow this easy recipe for the best homemade pancakes.
The best pancake recipe is lightly browned with a crispy edge. I hope you'll give them a try, and if you do, please leave a comment and star rating below.
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📖 Recipe
Crispy Thin Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons oil plus more for cooking
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt and stir together.
- In a medium bowl, combine oil, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and egg. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir until smooth. Some small lumps are okay. Let batter rest for 5 minutes.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of oil, and pour ¼ cup of pancake batter per pancake; cook pancakes until the top batter has small air bubbles form, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for another 1 minute 30 seconds until golden brown. Depending on the size of your skillet, I wouldn't cook more than 3 pancakes at a time.
- Repeat with the remaining batter. You can keep pancakes warm in a warm oven. Serve with room temperature butter and maple syrup.
Notes
- The more batches you make, the hotter your skillet will get, so be sure to reduce your heat to keep your pancakes from burning.
- You can use a griddle instead of a skillet.
- A cast iron skillet makes the best crispy pancakes.
- Do NOT skip the step of letting the batter rest. This allows the flour to absorb the liquids creating a lighter pancake.
- Feel free to use gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour.
- You can use any milk you have at home instead of buttermilk. Almond milk or whole milk will work.
- I don't recommend a buttermilk substitute using lemon juice.
- Use equal parts of sour cream instead of buttermilk to make sour cream pancakes.
- Use an oil with a high smoke point like canola oil, vegetable, grapeseed, or avocado.
- Top pancakes with fresh fruit or whipped cream.
Heather McLaughlin says
very very close to my grandmother's. just a little bit puffier. The taste was right on though. I'm going to cut the levening by half next time and possibly add a touch more liquid. I used 1 teaspoon vanilla and added 2 tablespoons of cornstarch for extra crunch. I didn't have liquid buttermilk so I used Now Real Food buttermilk powder reconstitued with water. I will also try them with soy milk, and if that works, will give them to some friends who have milk allergies.
MizFahrenheit says
These pancakes cane out dense and cakey... Exact opposite of the title. I found if I added some melted butter and a splash of water to the batter (that was way too thick) I got a better result, but they still had a strange taste.
Kenneth Temple says
I'm sorry you had that experience; however, everyone else who has tried them has found them to be light, crispy and thin, not dense and cakey.
KT says
Great recipe. Tender and flavorful. I definitely had to keep turning the heat down as I was cooking as the cast iron pan really holds the heat. Added a little extra buttermilk as I like my pancakes on the thinner side.