Say goodbye to box mixes and make your own homemade pancake mix. It only requires 5 simple ingredients to make your own. Store in the pantry and make soft and fluffy pancakes in just a matter of minutes!
Love breakfast recipes? Don’t miss my buttermilk pancakes and breakfast casserole.
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Homemade Pancake Mix
While my chocolate chip pancakes are still my favorite, this recipe is our back up for a quick breakfast. It’s easy for the kids to make with just a few simple ingredients. They are soft, fluffy and delicious!!
You only need 5 ingredients to make this pancake mix and then when you’re ready to make homemade pancakes, you’ll just add milk and eggs.
We love topping them with homemade buttermilk syrup or maple syrup and serving with bacon and scrambled eggs.
Recipe Ingredients
Combining these pantry staples saves so much time on a busy morning.
Find the full printable recipe with measurements below.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is best to use.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar adds the perfect amount of sweetness.
- Baking powder: This helps lift the batter and create extra fluffy pancakes.
- Baking soda: Also used as a leavening agent and helps the pancakes brown.
- Salt: Added to enhance the flavor and help balance out the sweetness from the sugar.
How to Make Pancake Mix
It’s as simple as stirring to have the perfect pancake mix on hand whenever you need a quick breakfast.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into a large jar and store in the pantry until ready to mix with wet ingredients.
Expert Tips
- If you don’t have milk or eggs on hand, simply use 1 1/2 cups water instead. The taste and texture will change a bit, but this method does work as a cooking substitution.
- If you don’t have baking powder on hand, you can make your own by using a mixture of cream of tartar, baking soda and cornstarch. Use 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar and 1 teaspoon cornstarch to make about 1 Tablespoon of baking powder.
- If you want to add in extras like chocolate chips, nuts or blueberries, simply fold those in after you’ve mixed the batter.
- Don’t over mix the batter or else the pancakes won’t be as soft. A few small lumps are okay.
- For an extra fluffy texture, let the batter rest for a few minutes before cooking.
- 1 cup of pancake mix makes about 4 pancakes, if you make mini pancakes that number doubles!
Cooking the Pancakes
Keep this simple pancake recipe on hand when ready to make a few batches of the best pancakes ever (or at least a really good pancake, in my opinion).
- Warm the griddle or skillet. Preheat a griddle to 325°F, or a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Make batter. Pour 2 cups of the pancake mix in a large bowl along with the milk and egg. Add of splash of vanilla if preferred. Then use a wooden spoon to mix until the batter is smooth.
- Cook the pancakes. Butter your heated griddle or skillet, then pour 1/4 cup of the batter on the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the top starts to get bubbly. Flip and cook for about 1 more minute until the other side is lightly browned.
TIP: Did you know you can also make crepes with pancake mix? That’s just one more reason to have this homemade mix handy. Especially when you’re craving strawberry crepes or savory breakfast crepes!
Favorite Pancake Toppings
- Melted butter
- Fresh berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries)
- Caramelized bananas
- Buttermilk syrup
- Homemade maple syrup
- Cinnamon pancake syrup
- Strawberry sauce or blueberry sauce
- Homemade whipped cream
- Nutella
- Nut butter
- Chocolate chips
Recipe FAQs
Nope. It is so much more than that. This pancake mix recipe combines a little sweetness, a touch of salt for balance, and leavening agents to make the pancakes extra airy and light.
Of course, however the texture will be slightly different. I would suggest a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour (cup 4 cup is my preference). When cooking the pancakes, add 1 large egg.
Absolutely! I have tried the recipe using water in its place and it still works. You can also try it with oat milk, almond milk, soy milk, or any nut milk you prefer.
Storing, Freezing + Reheating
- Storing the pancake mix: The great thing about this easy pancake mix is that the dry ingredients will stay fresh for up to 6 months if stored in an airtight jar. You can even extend it’s shelf life to 1 year by storing the mixture in the freezer.
- Freezing cooked pancakes: Once you’ve cooked the pancakes, you can store those in the freezer as well. Let them cool completely, then place in a zip top bag and freeze for use within 2 to 3 months.
- Reheating: When ready to eat, reheat in the microwave or toaster oven for 30 seconds.
Want even more breakfast recipe ideas? Try breakfast cookies, crescent roll breakfast casserole, or easy breakfast muffins.
Other Delicious Variations
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Homemade Pancake Mix
Video
Ingredients
Pancake Mix
- 4 cups (520 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
For Cooking Pancakes
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 egg
- Dash vanilla extract , optional
For serving: Butter, Syrup, Fresh berries
Instructions
Pancake Mix
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Transfer to a large jar and store up to 6 months at room temperature or up to 1 year in the freezer.
For Cooking Pancakes
- When ready to make pancakes, preheat a griddle to 325°F or heat a skillet over medium-high heat.
- In a large bowl, mix 2 cups (or 260 grams) pancake mix, milk, egg, and vanilla, if desired, with a wooden spoon just until most of the lumps are gone and the batter is smooth. If it's too thick, add a little bit more milk
- Coat the griddle (or skillet) with butter and pour 1/4 cup batter in circles. Cook 2 minutes, or until bubbles appear. Flip and cook 1 minute, or just until lightly browned.
- Serve immediately or place pancakes on a baking sheet in the oven at 175°F to keep warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Breakfast, Freezer-Friendly, Kid-Friendly, Make Ahead, Sweet Breakfast
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
We loved these. I did the variation without the egg and did half water/half milk, adding the splash of vanilla. (I don’t care for egg in my pancake mix). So good! I will definitely be making up a big batch to store on my shelf!
So glad you enjoyed them and the homemade mix!
Can I do waffles with this mix?
It has not been tested but it may work, you will need to add some melted butter or vegetable oil when getting ready to cook them (2-3 Tablespoons) or use my belgian waffles recipe instead!
The pancakes came out fluffy but I didn’t enjoy the taste of the baking soda in the recipe.
All taste buds are a little different, I would swap from regular milk to buttermilk next time as that can help neutralize the baking soda.
Best birthday breakfast, candles and all! Love the mix idea, and the pancakes were delicious. I had a little batter left this morning, so will use it for scrambled egg and cheddar crepes for lunch :) Once again, thanks so much for all you share!
This recipe is really good but some tips..
My kids don’t like it with the cracked egg. It’s very eggy! I tried doing double the mix and one egg and they still didn’t like it, we did it without the egg and they turned out perfect! They are not very sweet so keep that in mind!! Thanks for the recipe!
Love this recipe! It’s so simple and the pancakes taste great! I use it at home and camping. If you forget or don’t have vanilla some maple syrup in the batter also tastes amazing!! I make a large batch and store it in the pantry. I’ve made this quite a few times now.
Hi, just to clarify, how many pancakes will the total amount of mix (4 cups flour) make?
Thank you
X
About 1 cup of pancake mix makes about 4 pancakes. It also depends on how big or small you make your pancakes too.
Can l make this pancake mix w self rising flour? I’m concerned that baking powder & soda wil not mix evenly!
I haven’t tried it with self rising flour. This is a great pancake mix that works well together. Let me know when you try it!
Easy to make and the pancakes are so fluffy and delicious. I make it in double batches to store.
Sorry but I wanted to clarify the quantities. For 2 cups of mix, add 1-1/2 cups milk & an egg. Double that for all 4 cups? I know someone asked that but when I went to adjust the serving size from 16 to 8 it also halved the milk and egg. Thank you.
Yes that is correct. 1 1/2 cups of milk and an egg per 2 cups of flour. Sorry if that was confusing. Here’s another favorite recipe: https://www.iheartnaptime.net/buttermilk-pancakes/
Amazing and great to make ahead
Thanks for your comment and review, Emily :)
Is the 1 1/2c. of milk & 1 egg per 2cups of mix or per 1 cup of mix? I am thinking 2 but somewhere it mentioned 1cup wil make 4 pancakes which is all I want sometimes but it is difficult to divide an egg. Thanks
It’s per 2 cups of mix :) You could always freeze the extras for an easy breakfast!
Yeah, that is a good idea! Thank you.
The kids go crazy over these because it’s such an easy recipe for them to make too! Delish!
Excellent pancake mix. Just the right ratios!
These turned out delicious!! I ran out of boxed mix but wanted to make my daughters some heart shaped pancakes for Valentine’s Day and these were perfect!! I won’t buy the box mix again!!! It did make a ton of pancakes since I made smaller ones for my toddlers but they were delicious and I can freeze the extra! Thank you!
Heart shaped pancakes are so fun for Valentine’s Day – love it! I’m so glad your family loved them, Kati!
These were perfect fluffy pancakes!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
This is so easy to mix up and great to have on hand. It makes the best light and fluffy pancakes!
Was looking for a pancake recipe as the kids are asking for them almost daily. Delicious¡