Nothing beats a stack of warm, fluffy cast iron pancakes for a simple homemade breakfast from scratch. These thick, fluffy buttermilk pancakes are topped with maple syrup and are perfect for quick weekday breakfasts.
Discover the perfect recipe for homemade pancakes cooked on a cast iron skillet. This recipe omits sugar, relying on pure maple syrup for sweetness.
Quick and easy, the batter requires minimal time to mix and rest, resulting in thick, fluffy pancakes.
In this post, learn essential tips, such as preheating the skillet, achieving the right cooking temperature and using butter to prevent sticking.
Delight in serving options like maple syrup, peanut butter or fresh fruit.
Making mornings memorable with these cast iron skillet pancakes.
Are Cast Iron Pans Good For Pancakes?
Yes, cast iron pans are good for making pancakes. Cast iron pans are known for their ability to distribute heat evenly and retain heat effectively, which is ideal for achieving golden-brown pancakes with a crispy exterior and a fluffy interior.
Why You Will Love this Recipe
- No Sugar: While many pancake recipes call for sugar, this one has no sugar. All the sweetness comes from the amazing flavor of pure maple syrup drizzled over the top.
- Quick and Easy: Only five minutes of your morning will be needed to whip up a large bowl of pancake batter.
- Pantry Ingredients: You probably already have all the ingredients you need in your pantry. If you don’t have buttermilk in your refrigerator, you can easily make your own.
- Fluffy Pancakes: This recipe provides the ideal fluffy pancake recipe in a cast iron skillet,
- Family Favorite: The perfect recipe for starting the day or enjoyed as a simple, comforting dinnertime meal, these pancakes are one of our favorite family’s recipe.
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Kitchen essentials You May Need
Here are some essentials you may need for cooking pancakes on cast iron:
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Small and Large Mixing Bowl
- Dough Whisk
- Large Spatula
Cast Iron Pancakes Ingredients
To make the best pancakes in cast iron, you will need the following ingredients:
- Buttermilk: the special ingredient in this pancake recipe; when combined with baking soda, this makes the pancakes thick and fluffy.
- Large Eggs: I always recommend farm fresh or organic eggs; for this recipe, you will need just one egg.
- Butter: Melt butter first so that it has time to cool a bit before adding it to your buttermilk and eggs.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Combining these two leavening agents will help the buttermilk pancakes rise as they cook to turn out light and fluffy.
- Salt: I always recommend using Celtic Salt.
- Flour: I recommend using organic all-purpose flour. Self-rising flour is not recommended, as the baking powder and salt are already accounted for.
How to Cook Pancakes On Cast Iron
Here are the step-by-step instructions for how to make cast iron pancakes:
Whisk Dry Ingredients
- Whisk together 1 cup of flour, 3/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Whisk Wet Ingredients
- Whisk together 1 cup of buttermilk and one egg in a separate bowl. Add two tablespoons of melted butter to the buttermilk mixture while whisking. Add to the bowl of dry flour mixture ingredients.
Combine All Ingredients
- Very swiftly whisk together the wet and dry ingredients with a few swift strokes. Don’t overmix, and ignore the small lumps that you may see in the batter.
Pour Batter and Cook Pancakes
- Pour 1/3 cup of batter on a preheated hot skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown on each side. See my tips below on how to cook cast iron skillet pancakes.
Serve
- Serve hot buttermilk pancakes with slightly warm maple syrup, a pat of butter, or toppings of choice. Amazing pancakes are even better when topped with fresh fruit or peanut butter on top of the pancake.
- If pancakes are not served immediately, keep them on a baking sheet in a 200-degree oven.
- Never stack individual pancakes one on the other without something between them because the steam they produce will make the pancakes flabby.
Cast Iron Pancakes Cooking Tips
Warm the Cast Iron Pan: preheating your skillet on medium heat before cooking on it is essential to keeping a non-stick cast iron skillet.
Test the Heat: Before cooking pancakes, test the cast iron skillet by dropping a few drops of cold water on it. If the water bounces, the skillet is ready to use. If the drops of water sit, the skillet is not quite hot enough, and if the water vanishes, the skillet is too hot.
Pancakes Sticking: Add a small amount of butter to the skillet to avoid cast iron pancakes sticking to the skillet.
Round Pancakes: For a well-rounded pancake, don’t drop the batter from on high, but instead, let the batter pour from the tip of a spoon or measuring cup.
Mix the Wet Ingredients with the Dry Ingredients: Wet ingredients should be mixed in a separate medium bowl and then added to the dry ingredients. This helps prevent over-mixing the batter, which results in flat tough pancakes.
Don’t Squish the Pancakes. Resist the urge to use the spatula to flatten the pancakes while cooking. This results in squishing the air pockets that make the pancakes fluffy.
Don’t Skip the Buttermilk: Buttermilk is a special ingredient in making thick pancakes. The buttermilk is acidic and helps to activate the baking soda in the pancake batter. Buttermilk also helps to break down the gluten in the flour, which results in tender pancakes.
Lumpy Pancake Batter: Ignore the small lumps, and rest assured that you don’t want to overbeat the batter. Give the batter a few simple turns with a wooden spoon to barely moisten the dry ingredients. Mix until the flour streaks have disappeared, leaving the batter lumpy. Having lumpy batter results in taller, fluffier pancakes.
Best Toppings for Pancakes
The possibilities are unlimited if you want to add more flavor to the pancakes, whether classic, sweet, or savory. Here are a few choices that taste delightful on top of a short stack:
- Maple Syrup: Forget about using pancake syrup, which is usually filled with artificial ingredients. Nothing stacks up to classic pure maple syrup drizzled over the top of warm pancakes.
- Peanut Butter: this is our family’s favorite way of eating pancakes. Slather peanut butter on each pancake and stack them high before drizzling them with warm maple syrup.
- Fresh Fruit: slices of sweet bananas, juicy peaches, and fresh berries or a little seasonal fruit make a delicious pancake topping.
- Whipped Cream: if you have time, whip up a batch of homemade whipped cream to serve on top of pancakes.
- Chocolate Chips: if you love chocolate, you can not go wrong with a few chocolate chips sprinkled on the top of a stack of pancakes.
How to Store Leftover Pancakes
- Refrigerator: If you have any leftover pancakes, they will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days if sealed in freezer bags.
- Frozen: Pancakes can be frozen, let them cool completely and then stack them between parchment paper before storing them in a zip-top freezer bag.
- Re-Heat: To reheat pancakes, defrost frozen pancakes in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat pancakes in the oven or pop them in a toaster.
Recipe FAQs
Does Pancake Batter Need to Rest?
Let the batter rest for at least 20 minutes for the fluffiest stack of pancakes. The resting period allows the gluten in the flour to relax, making the pancakes light and fluffy.
How Do You Keep Pancakes from Sticking to Cast Iron?
To prevent pancakes sticking to cast iron, preheat the skillet over medium heat. Add a small amount of cooking fat like butter or oil and wait until it’s heated. Then pour the pancake batter onto the skillet.
What Does Buttermilk Do In Pancakes
Buttermilk is acidic, and when mixed with baking soda, it aids in adding extra height to the batter and the browning process. Buttermilk also helps break down the gluten, resulting in a soft, moist, and tender pancake.
Should You Cook Pancakes in Butter or Oil?
Butter adds a rich buttery flavor to pancakes, which many people find delicious. It can enhance the overall taste of the pancakes and provide a slight crispiness to the edges.
How to Know When To Flip Pancakes
You will know you need to flip the pancakes when air bubbles appear on the surface of the pancakes. Before the bubbles break, lift them with a spatula and gently flip them.
Turn the pancakes once and continue cooking until the second side is finished. Cooking the second side takes about half as long as the first.
What Temp Should Cast Iron Griddle be for Pancakes?
The ideal griddle temperature for pancakes is 375°F, or a medium setting for gas stovetop burners.
What to Serve With Cast Iron Pancakes
Here are some delicious sides to serve with this cast iron pancakes recipe:
- Enjoy crispy pan-fried bacon alongside your fluffy buttermilk pancakes.
- Enjoy a filling and hearty meal by serving homemade biscuits and sausage gravy with pancakes.
Crafting a stack of warm, fluffy cast iron skillet pancakes is a delightful way to create a simple homemade breakfast from scratch.
The unique qualities of cast iron skillets make them the perfect tool for achieving the perfect golden-brown exterior and fluffy interior of these pancakes.
Printable Cast Iron Pancake Recipe Card
Cast Iron Pancakes
Buttermilk pancakes are the comfort of a simple homemade breakfast from scratch. A freshly-cooked stack of buttery pancakes, drizzled with real maple syrup, this buttermilk pancake recipe will cook up perfectly every time.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- Whisk together 1 cup of flour, 3/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Whisk together 1 cup of buttermilk and 1 egg in a separate bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of melted butter into the buttermilk mixture while whisking. Add to the bowl of dry ingredients.
- Very swiftly whisk together the wet and dry ingredients with a few swift strokes. Don’t overmix and ignore the small lumps that you may see in the batter.
- Pour 1/3 cup of the batter on a preheated hot griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown on each side. See my tips below on how to cook pancakes.
- Serve hot buttermilk pancakes with slightly warm maple syrup, a pat of butter, or toppings of choice. If pancakes will not be served right away, keep them on a baking sheet in a 200-degree oven. Never stack pancakes one on the other without something between them because the steam they produce will make the pancakes flabby.
Notes
This recipe, as written, makes 6-7 small pancakes. If you wish to make a larger batch, double or triple the recipe.
- Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Wet ingredients should be mixed in a separate medium bowl and then added to the dry ingredients. This helps prevent over mixing the batter which results in flat tough pancakes.
- Don’t pat down the pancakes. Resist the urge to use the spatula to flatten the pancakes while they are cooking. This results in squishing the air pockets that make the pancakes fluffy.
- Don’t skip the buttermilk: Buttermilk is the key ingredient to making thick pancakes. The buttermilk is acidic and helps to activate the baking soda in the pancake batter. Buttermilk also helps to break down the gluten in flour which results in tender pancakes.
- Don’t overmix: Ignore the lumps and rest assured that you don’t want to overbeat the batter. Give the batter just a few simple turns with a wooden spoon to barely moisten the dry ingredients.
- Rest the batter: Superior results are achieved if most pancake batter is mixed and then covered and rested for 3 to 6 hours. Now, I rarely make the batter up that far in advance but I generally let mine rest for at least 30 minutes.
HOW TO COOK BUTTERMILK PANCAKES
Before cooking, test the griddle by dropping a few drops of cold water on it. If the water bounces, the griddle is ready to use. If the drops of water sit and boil, the griddle is not quite hot enough, and if the water vanishes the griddle is too hot.
To keep the pancakes from sticking, add a small amount of butter or other choices of oil to the large skillet. If the butter gets too brown between batches, you may have to wipe it out before cooking the next batch of pancakes.
For a well-rounded pancake, don’t drop the batter from on high but instead, let it pour pancake batter from the tip of a ladle or measuring cup.
After you pour the 1/3 cup batter onto the skillet or griddle, let the pancakes cook for 2-3 minutes before flipping. When air bubbles appear on the upper surfaces, but before they break, lift the pancakes with a spatula to see how well they have browned.
Turn the pancakes once and continue cooking until the second is done. Cooking the second side only takes about half as long as the first side. The second side will not brown as evenly as the first.
About the Author
Sarah is the author behind Rocky Hedge Farm. With a passion for simple, healthy recipes, gardening, and remodeling her manufactured home, she shares her experiences and knowledge to inspire others. Go here to read her story, “Living a Life of Contentment and Joy: Simple Living at Rocky Hedge Farm.” If you want to message Sarah, visit her contact page here.
Your pancakes look so delicious! And all your photos are fabulous!
They look wonderful! Anxious to try them. I usually put a little vanilla and sugar in my pancakes. These will be fun to try,