Mini Pancakes Recipe

This Mini Pancakes Recipe turns regular pancakes into a plate of cute bite-sized breakfast pancakes, made with butter and buttermilk for extra flavor, and topped with a choice of fresh fruit, powdered sugar, and a drizzle of maple syrup!

Close up of a plate with mini pancakes, drizzled maple syrup, and freshly slices strawberries and banana.

Why settle for ordinary pancakes when you can make these adorable mini pancakes? Like my Valentines Pancake Recipe, this mini pancakes recipe offers a fun twist to regular pancakes.  They’re thick and fluffy, and easy to skewer onto your fork in one go! 

They aren’t overly sweet – making them perfect to pair with maple syrup, honey, freshly sliced fruit, and powdered sugar.  

a close up view of mini pancakes garnished with sliced bananas and strawberries and a glass of milk

🌟 WHY THIS MINI PANCAKES RECIPE WORKS

The pancake batter for these mini pancakes is no different to regular pancake batter. If you’ve made pancakes from scratch before, this is going to be an absolute breeze, and if you haven’t, I’ve provided fail-proof steps that guarantee a scrumptious result!

Easily adapt this recipe with various ingredient swaps or add-ins to suit your dietary and taste preferences. 

These mini pancakes can be enjoyed for breakfast, brunch, or even a “breakfast dinner”!

🍽 KEY INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for mini pancakes recipe on a marble countertop.

Dry ingredients – Combine all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. 

Wet ingredients – This consists of melted butter, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and egg.

Recommended toppings – Freshly sliced fruit, maple syrup, and powdered sugar.

Swaps

Flour – Use Bob’s Red Mill flour for gluten-free pancakes. 
Butter – I usually use unsalted butter in recipes. If you use salted butter, make sure to omit the salt from the list of ingredients. Oil, such as vegetable oil, canola oil, or coconut oil, can also be used instead of butter. 
Buttermilk – If you don’t have buttermilk, combine 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar for every cup of buttermilk required. Low-fat buttermilk will also work for this pancake recipe.

🥣 EQUIPMENT

You’ll need a large non-stick skillet or griddle, two mixing bowls, whisk or spoon, and spatula.

🔪 HOW TO MAKE

Ditch the packaged pancake mix! These mini pancakes are so easy to make with standard pancake ingredients, a hot skillet, and your favorite pancake toppings. Follow these simple steps to enjoy a plate of thick and fluffy pancakes in just 10 minutes!

Preparations

Melt the butter and allow it to cool. Let other ingredients such as the egg reach room temperature.

Cooking Instructions

Step 1
Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, and set aside.

Mixing bowl with flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar with a metal spoon.

Step 2
Combine the wet ingredients in a separate mixing bowl.

Mixing bowl with melted butter, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and egg.

Step 3
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

Mixing bowl with wet and dry ingredients on a marble countertop.

Step 4
Mix until just incorporated, but don’t overmix the batter.

Mixing bowl with incorporated pancake batter on a marble countertop.

Step 5
Melt some butter in a large non-stick skillet or griddle over medium-low heat to coat it. Once hot, drop 1 tablespoon of batter per mini pancake into the pan, making sure that there is enough space between each pancake so they don’t touch. You should be able to fit 5-7 pancakes at a time, depending on the size of the pan used. 

Cook the pancakes for 2-3 minutes or until the tops start to bubble. Once bubbling, use a spatula to flip the pancakes and allow them to cook on the other side for another minute or until the bottom turns a light brown. 

Once cooked, transfer the mini pancakes to a plate and cover to keep them warm while you continue to cook more.

Mini pancakes cooking in a heated skillet with bubbles forming on the tops.

💭 COOKING TIPS

It’s important to allow the melted butter to cool before mixing it with the other ingredients, otherwise it can start cooking ingredients in the mixing bowl. 

Never overmix the pancake batter. For thick and fluffy pancakes, mix the ingredients until just incorporated, even if a few flour streaks remain. 

Mini pancakes cook at a much faster rate than regular pancakes. Check on them often and reduce the heat to low if required. 

a close up view of mini pancakes garnished with sliced bananas and strawberries off to the side

📖 RECIPE VARIATIONS

These mini pancakes are not overly sweet as they are intended to be served with maple syrup. You can easily adjust the amount of sugar for sweeter-tasting pancakes, if you wish.   

For added convenience, use a box pancake mix and add the additional ingredients called for on the box. 

Add a touch of decadence to these pancakes by folding in some chocolate chips into the batter.  

Add warmth to the pancake batter by mixing some ground cinnamon into the dry ingredients. 

🥗 WHAT TO SERVE WITH MINI PANCAKES

You can have a lot of fun mixing things up by serving these mini pancakes with different toppings, depending on whether you are serving them for breakfast, brunch, or as a breakfast-inspired dinner.

These mini pancakes are great topped with fresh fruit, a sprinkle of powdered sugar, or a drizzle of maple syrup.

For added decadence, you could also serve these mini pancakes with salted caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, a scoop of ice cream, or a sprinkle of chopped nuts. 

a close up view of mini pancakes garnished with sliced bananas and strawberries

🙋 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

IS IT BETTER TO COOK PANCAKES WITH BUTTER OR OIL?

You can make pancakes with butter or oil, depending on your preference. That said, the butter does add delicious flavor to the pancake batter.

SHOULD PANCAKE BATTER BE THICK OR THIN?

Pancake batter should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon but still be pourable. The batter shouldn’t be watery or thin as the pancakes will spread too much while cooking in the pan.

WHAT TYPE OF FLOUR IS BEST FOR PANCAKES?

All-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, or a combination is good. When making pancake batter from scratch instead of using pancake mix, be sure to add baking powder so that the pancakes become fluffy. 

CAN I MAKE THE PANCAKE BATTER AHEAD OF TIME?

I don’t recommend this as it can lead to the batter becoming flat and dense and your pancakes will not turn out fluffy.

horizontal overhead shot of mini pancakessliced bananas and strawberries

🧊 STORING AND ♨️ REHEATING

FRIDGE

Store leftover mini pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. They are best stored without any toppings since these can turn them soggy.

FREEZER

You can also freeze these mini pancakes once they have cooled completely. Place sheets of parchment paper between the pancakes when stacking them so that they don’t stick together once frozen. They can be stored in an airtight container or a Ziploc bag. Thaw on the countertop or overnight in the fridge. 

REHEAT

Reheat leftover mini pancakes in the microwave. Place them on a plate and reheat in 10-second increments until heated through. 

🍳 MORE BREAKFAST RECIPES TO TRY

syrup pouring on top of mini sliced bananas and strawberries

👪 SERVING SIZE

This recipe makes about 12 – 14 mini pancakes. You can make 6-8 regular-sized pancakes with this same pancake batter if you’d prefer but you will need to adjust the cooking time. Flip the regular pancakes over once they start to bubble and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes per side until a light golden brown. 

Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟 rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.

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📋 RECIPE

Yield: 30 mini pancakes

Mini Pancakes Recipe

Mini Pancakes Recipe

Mini Pancakes Recipe turns are cute bite-sized alternatives to regular pancakes, topped with fresh fruit, maple syrup, and powdered sugar.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Additional Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter, cooled
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • Additional butter for coating the pan

Optional serving suggestions:

  • Fresh fruit, powdered sugar, maple syrup

Instructions

    1.In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
    2.In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, melted and cooled butter, vanilla extract, and egg. Whisk together until egg is incorporated.
    3.Make the batter by combining the wet and dry ingredients together. Mix until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
    4.Heat a large non-stick skillet or griddle over medium-low heat and melt a little butter to coat the pan. Once the skillet is hot, drop 1 tablespoonful of batter for each mini pancake onto the pan. Make sure to space them out enough so they don’t stick to each other. You should be able to fit 5-7 pancakes depending on the size pan you use.
    5.Cook for 2-3 minutes, or just until the tops begin to bubble. Then use a spatula to flip the mini pancakes over and cook the other side for an additional 1 minute, until the bottom lightly browns.
    6.Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Repeat with the rest of the pancake batter.
    7.Serve with fresh fruit, powdered sugar, and a little maple syrup. Enjoy!

Notes

When you melt the butter for the batter, make sure it cools down before mixing it in with the other ingredients. You don’t want it to start the cooking process in the mixing bowl.

Do not overmix the batter as it will change the consistency of your pancakes. To keep it thick and fluffy, mix until the ingredients are just incorporated. A few streaks of flour in the batter are ok.

The pancakes are not very sweet at all as they will be served with maple syrup. You can alter the sugar to your liking or omit it entirely.

Low-fat buttermilk will work in this recipe.

Cook on a medium-low heat. Mini pancakes will cook much quicker than regular sized pancakes. Check on it often and lower the heat a little if you need to.

This recipe will also work to make regular sized pancakes. It should make about 6-8 large pancakes. You may have to alter the cooking times but you should still cook on a medium-low heat and flip it over once the tops begin to bubble. Cook the other side for an additional 1-2 minutes until lightly browned.

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