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Pancake Muffins are the perfect breakfast or brunch! Simple to make with the ease of a muffin and the deliciousness of pancakes! Easy make ahead favorite!
One of my favorite breakfasts to make for my family has always been a large batch of buttermilk pancakes. They always love them and they are just right for a warm, delicious, comforting breakfast. No matter which side of the bed, right or wrong, I got up from, pancakes always seem to perk up my mornings.
But, let me tell you about these pancake muffins. They are similar to ebelskivers, yet you don’t have to worry with standing over the pan on the stovetop and flipping them while they cook. The oven does all of the heavy lifting in this recipe, leaving you free to do other things that need your attention!
Perfect Pancake Muffins Recipe
One recipe will make about 36 pancake muffins, making just the right amount to serve for showers, brunches or when entertaining guests over the weekend. But let me tell you, my favorite part about this recipe is that you can easily freeze these little babies to make your mornings super delicious and super easy.
How to Make Perfect Pancake Muffins
Thankfully, these muffins couldn’t be any quicker or easier to make!
Ingredients
- flour – all-purpose flour is the flour of choice for these muffins. You can use a blend of whole wheat and white, if you prefer.
- sugar – a little sugar is used to sweeten the batter as well as to help give the muffins structure as they bake.
- baking powder – baking powder helps the muffins to rise
- baking soda – baking soda is also used to help the muffins rise since this recipe uses buttermilk.
- salt
- buttermilk – if you do not have buttermilk already on hand, use my simple two ingredient trick for making homemade buttermilk.
- egg – you’ll just need one egg for this recipe
- butter – I like to use melted butter in this recipe. You can also use cooking oil if you prefer.
- maple syrup – warmed maple syrup is perfect for serving with these muffins! However, use whatever syrup you would normally use with your pancakes.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep. Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray a mini-muffin tin with nonstick baking spray and set aside.
Make batter. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, egg, and melted butter in a 2-cup measuring cup. Pour the buttermilk mixture slowly into the flour mixture, stirring to combine as you pour. Allow the batter to rest for about 3 minutes.
Scoop and bake. Scoop the pancake batter and fill each indention of the mini muffin tin about ½ full. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Serve. Then, just dip them into warmed maple syrup and then pop them straight into your mouth! No forks needed for these little babies!
Make Ahead Ideas
They are so practical for those rushed mornings since you can just reheat the number of pancake muffins that you need in the microwave. They store well in an airtight container on the counter overnight or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
How to Freeze
- Cool. Once cooked, allow to cool completely.
- Place in Containers. Portion into an airtight, freezer-safe container(s), label, and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Thaw. Allow to thaw overnight.
- Reheat and Serve. Reheat in oven or microwave until warm and serve.
Here’s my Perfect Pancake Muffins recipe. I hope you love them as much as we do!
Perfect Pancake Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- maple syrup warmed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F oven. Spray a mini-muffin tin with nonstick baking spray. Set aside.
- Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, egg, and melted butter or cooking oil in a 2-cup measuring cup. Pour buttermilk mixture slowly into the flour mixture, stirring to combine as you pour. Allow to rest for about 3 minutes.
- Scoop pancake batter and fill each indention of mini muffin tin about ½ full. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Serve with warmed maple syrup for dipping.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Hi ~ I looove your recipes, can’t wait to make these muffins. I compared thsir ingredients to your chocolate muffins and they had less sugar but the syrup will be added. I am always looking for ways to reduce sugar and white flour in my kids food, do you have any suggestions or recipes. Thanks!
What a fantastic breakfast treat! I need these now!
How cute, and now they are portable. I can see my kids, and husband dipping these pn their way to football practice.
Wow Robyn – these look so good. Thank you and have a great weekend.
Pancake muffins are the best!
I made these this morning for breakfast and my children have declared that these need to be our new Sunday morning tradition! I used regular sized muffin tins and it made 18 muffins – delicious, light, fluffy, tasty and perfect for dipping in maple syrup. Thanks so much for sharing – this is a keeper recipe for me.
I’m so glad your children loved them, Barb! xo
Made these today for my picky kiddos to snack on or pack in school lunches. They are fabulous! So super easy and delicious. Love the crispy, buttery outside. I added some (not too many) mini chocolate chips and they eat them without syrup. Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe!
This recipe is my new go to for pancakes. They come out delicious and oh-so tasty. I made this recipe but as regular pancakes but they come out a tad on the thick side. Any tips on how to make the pancakes thinner? Less flour perhaps?
My kids really love cornbread muffins with a hot dog in them (corn dog muffins). Has anyone tried this and put a sausage link in them? It’d be a pig in a blanket muffin. I’m not sure if the grease from the sausage would be a problem though. Maybe if you cooked the link first? I might try it. Either way, I love the idea of pancake muffins. 🙂
I was wondering if you have to put buttermilk in this recipe. Can you put regular milk instead?
We didn’t have buttermilk, just regular milk, but these still tasted delicious. We like to serve them with a design pressed in with a cookie cutter or cut the top off and then top with butter and pour syrup on, so it gets absorbed right into the muffin. Every bite is scrumptious!
Not only do they taste very good, it is such a great idea too. I am going to freeze them, having wolfed two down already!!
Makes everything much easier when you have them already to just heat for a few seconds….then wolf down!!!!!
Thanks.
Good day, I’m so happy I came across your awesome site. I tried these this morning for my son’s and they were a big hit! Even my husband gobbled them up. I made mine a little bigger and yielded 24. School times right around the corner so these will be made and frozen ahead of time. Thanks again, Jerene. M
Can you post more GlutenFree recipes— please. Thank you !
Will do! Thank so much, Patsy! xo
Do you know what the nutritional value is for these? Counting calories here! Lol
Thanks ☺
If you download an app called my fitness pall it lets you input a recipe and then it asks how many people it will serve. It then gives you the calorie count for the recipe on a per serving basis 🙂 Hope this helps 🙂
I just made these for my husband’s economics class. They’re learning about maple syrup cartels and will eat the pancake muffins with real maple syrup at the end of class. The pancake muffins turned out great! My husband said that maybe they could use a little more salt, though. I placed the batter in a ziplock bag and cut the corner and used it like a pastry bag to fill the little muffin cups. So much less mess! I actually had batter left over after all the muffin cups were filled, so I made tiny pancakes on a crepe pan. My children were jealous they didn’t get any, so we will make these again! Thank you!
Can I make these the night before for a brunch since I will need several batches? Or are they best the day of?
You can definitely make them the night before, Leslie. You can reheat them right before serving if you wish.
Can I replace butter with olive oil or canola oil for your pancake muffins?
Thank you
If I want to add choc chips to recipe, is it better to add in individual cups or to whole batter before putting it in muffin tin?
Can Splenda or something similar be used instead of sugar .watching carbs and sugar intake with my son and if I will be giving carbs I’d like to limit the sugar
Made these today kids loved them I put chocolate chips in mine still taste great thou
Can’t wait to make these. How long do you bake if using a 12 count regular cupcake tin? Thanks so much!
I just made these for my first time! Omg I fell in love!! I’m going to make these instead of pancakes
So glad you liked them! Thanks so much Jennifer!
These were GREAT! It will probably be the only way I make “pancakes” now. It’s so nice to have them all ready at the same time–that’s something I hate about making batches of pancakes on the griddle. This is such a nice solution and they were delicious!
Hi Mama M!
I’m so thrilled that you enjoyed the pancake muffins! Such a great option for breakfast, brunch and parties too! Thanks so much for letting me know you liked them! xo
Just made these this morning. My husband and grandkids loved them. Thank you so much.
So happy your family enjoyed them, Naomi! Thanks so much! xo
These are such a great idea. I love the thought of a portable pancake. I bet they’d be amazing with chocolate chips as an added surprise. I may try them out this weekend.
I do hope you give them a try, Amanda. They are delicious! Thanks! xo
Love this idea for weekend brunches, Robyn! And I love that they can be frozen for a quick grab-and-go breakfast, too.
They are great for brunches and for those mornings on the go! I hope you enjoy them, Kelly! Thanks so much! xo
Hi Robin,
Do you thinks chopped, cooked bacon would work in the muffins or would that make them too greasy?
Hi Margaret,
I’ve not tried chopped bacon in these muffins before, so I can’t say how they’d turn out. I do think these muffins are delicious though and hope you enjoy them! Thanks!
Sorry, I did not proof read before I sent my message, that should be think instead of thinks.
Who won’t love muffins? In fact, I was overcome by nostalgia after reading this recipe!
I hope you love them, Kirti! Thanks so much! xo
This recipe was really valued one.because this kind of recipes is less to find out.Thanks a lot for sharing this with us.
If you freeze them, how do you recommend reheating them? How long in the microwave? Thank you in advance for your reply!
Hi Lori,
When I freeze these muffins, I reheat in my microwave. Microwave ovens vary, so the time will vary with them as well. You can try using your reheat setting or at 50 to 60% power and heating the frozen muffin in 20 second intervals until warm. I hope this helps. Enjoy your muffins! Thanks! xo
Made these delicious beauties today and my husband would not stop raving about them!!! I sprinkled a cinnamon/sugar mix on top of each mini-muffin before baking-a recipe my husband makes in big batches for when he makes his homemade cinnamon rolls-more cinnamon than sugar! I even added some of the cinnamon/sugar mix to the warm syrup…YUMMY!!! After he left to work I made another batch of them to freeze since it was so easy, fast, and scrumptious!!!
I’m so glad you and your husband both love them, Cathy! They are definitely easy little things to whip up and I love having them in my freezer for busy mornings! xo
I don’t want to rate the recipe as written because I made a dairy free version due to a milk alllergy in the family. I substituted coconut oil for butter, almond ‘butter milk’ for buttermilk and used 1/2 c whole wheat flour + 11/2 c all purpose. The texture and flavor are a bit underwhelming to say the least. I love the idea and I’m sure the recipe as written is lovely but my dairy free version was a bit of a failure. My advice is to stick to the recipe if you don’t haveto make the required dietary adjustments that my family does.
So, i guess i didn’t get the mini muffins part, i made regular…now 15 min later they are still not done. Waiting patiently.
I hope you enjoy them, Njeri. The recipe is written for mini muffins, so they will need to cook longer if you make them as regular sized muffins. Thanks!
I made these this morning for my toddlers. Even my husband who does not like pancakes liked them. Great recipe. I added blueberries, put them in big muffin tins and baked @350 for 20 mins. Will be making these again .
Try putting 3-5 blueberries in each mini muffin or a small piece of cooked sausage.
All my grandchildren LOVE these. Have made them many times!
I’m so happy your grandchildren love these, Jane. My son and I always had so much fun making these when he was younger.
I have made these amazing muffin pancakes for the grandkids when they come over. They love them. I add a swirl of syrup to the top before baking them. That way there are no sticky hands.
Delicious! Made them as written (oil instead of butter per recipe) and did mix ins including colorful sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, or blue berries (the kids had a blast helping with this) and I made some with turkey sausage precooked links, cut into small pieces and dropped into the center of each pancake “muffin” to make “pigs in a blanket.” They were a hit. This recipe was a perfect base for these mix ins. Easy school day breakfast – make them on a weekend, they reheat well in the microwave, and kids jump out of bed for them. Keeper!
Erica, I’m so glad that your children seem to love these pancake muffins as much as my son did when he was little. He loved to help me make them, too. They are great reheated for a quick school day breakfast.
have you ever made this with Bisquick?
Debbie, I haven’t used Bisquick with this recipe.