Miniature pancakes are the adorable bite-sized version of classic soft and fluffy buttermilk pancakes. Made with basic pantry ingredients and buttermilk, each stack is buttery, soft, and has those perfectly crisp edges. They’re a little bigger than the size of a silver dollar, so these 5-minute pancakes make a great snack for little hands and a fun breakfast for everyone!
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Easy Buttermilk Mini Pancakes Recipe
These silver dollar pancakes are made about 2.5 inches in diameter, so they cook faster than regular pancakes, and you can make more of them at a time. They look dainty and elegant on the plate, but they’re also fun to eat!
With just five minutes of prep time, it only takes five minutes of cooking time per batch, so they make a fun little breakfast on any given morning. They’re made with buttermilk which gives them an extra soft texture, and because they’re so good, they don’t need much in the way of toppings.
Although, a drizzle of maple syrup and some fresh fruit on top is always welcome!
Miniature pancakes are a great addition to breakfast boards and an assortment of brunch items like monkey bread muffins blueberry yogurt muffins, sourdough pancakes, and breakfast rolls.
My kids have loved them since they were little because they could easily hold them in their hands and use them as little dippers.
Now that they’re bigger, I still pack them in their lunchboxes!
But don’t just think they’re for kids – these adorable mini pancakes are also perfect for bridal showers, baby showers, and any time you want to have a brunch party!
Why you’ll love this Recipe
- Fancy restaurant-style – Have you ever gone to a fancy restaurant where three tiny little pancakes cost way too much money? Yeah, me too! Thanks to this recipe, none of us ever have to again. Homemade pancakes for the win!
- Not too sweet. They’re soft, buttery, and fluffy. They’re so good that you can even omit the sugar and enjoy them with pure maple syrup (or homemade pancake syrup) and fresh fruit if you really want to!
- Make ahead and freezer-friendly – Like any classic pancake recipe, you can double the batch and store some later. Mini pancakes at the ready are always a good idea.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- All-purpose flour – measure your flour accurately. These little guys can’t handle too much flour. If they’re too dense from too much flour, they’re too small to hide it!
- Granulated sugar – just a bit to sweeten up the batter. If you plan to use a sweet topping like powdered sugar, maple syrup, berries, or any sort of sweet sauce, you can omit the sugar in the batter, if preferred.
- Baking powder – this is what helps the pancakes to become nice and soft. It’s a leavening agent that reacts with the acid in the buttermilk giving them a nice fluffy rise as well.
- Salt – a flavor enhancer that brings out the flavors in the recipe.
- Buttermilk – a tangy, sour, milk that adds richness and added moisture. If you don’t want milk, you could try this pancakes without milk recipe!
- Melted butter, cooled – provides the necessary fat to keep them rich and moist.
- Pure vanilla extract – for extra flavor.
- Egg – to help bind the mini pancakes as they cook so they don’t fall apart.
- Additional butter for coating the pan – so they don’t stick, but it also helps the edges crisp up nicely.
- Optional toppings for serving – fresh fruit, powdered sugar, maple syrup.
How to make Mini Pancakes
If you’ve ever made homemade pancakes, making mini pancakes is pretty much the same thing except we’re going to make them mini! It’s just a batter of making the pancake batter, cooking on a griddle (or skillet), flipping, and cooking until they’re done!
Oh and of course adding all of your favorite toppings!
1 – Make the Mini Pancake Batter
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium or large bowl.
- Combine the buttermilk, melted (and cooled) butter, vanilla extract, and egg together in a separate bowl. Whisk to combine everything together.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix by hand until just incorporated so you don’t have any dry spots left, but make sure not to over mix.
Tip!
If you want super fluffy pancakes and aren’t in a hurry, these are the best if you let the pancake batter sit for 10 minutes after it’s mixed and before you cook them. This allows the baking soda and buttermilk to interact to their fullest and gives you the lightest and fluffiest pancakes possible! You can skip this (they’ll taste fine) if you’re in a hurry, but it’s the best way to go!
2 – Cook the Mini Pancakes
- Heat a large non-stick griddle or skillet over medium-low heat. Melt a little butter on your chosen pan to keep it from sticking.
- Once the pan is hot, pour one tablespoon of the mini pancake batter onto the pan.
- Repeat, spacing the pancakes out enough so that when they cook they don’t run into each other. I found that I could fit 5-7 mini pancakes in a skillet and a lot more than that on an actual griddle.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes or just until the tops begin to bubble (I like to look for the bubbles on top). Use a spatula to carefully flip each of the pancakes over and cook on the other side for about one minute, until the bottom just begins to brown.
- Remove from the hot pan and place on a plate until you’re ready to serve.
Keep them warm!
If you want everyone to sit down to eat pancakes together or want to wait to serve them until after all of the pancakes have been cooked, I recommend covering the plate to keep them warm. Or if it’s going to be a while, you can put them in an oven-safe dish and place in a low-temperature warm oven (mine has a warm setting) to keep them warm until you’re ready to serve.
3 – Serve and Enjoy
Once all of the pancakes are cooked, serve topped with maple syrup, fresh fruit, or even powdered sugar! They’re delicious pretty much every way I’ve made them so far!
The Best Pancake Toppings
If you’re looking for the best things to put on top of your pancakes, some of my personal favorites include:
- Syrup – real maple syrup, fruit syrups, and buttermilk syrup would all be good on these.
- Fresh berries – raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries all make great pancake toppings! I do not recommend frozen berries unless you want to make something like a raspberry sauce.
- Soft fruits – other soft fruits like bananas or peaches are great too!
- Spreads – pancakes are great topped with things like Nutella, peanut butter, Biscoff (although sometimes it can be a little too sweet), and almond butter. Jams are also a great option!
- Whipped toppings – homemade whipped cream, Cool Whip, or even something like our blueberry whipped cream would be good. Oh and of course, ice cream is good on dessert pancakes!
- Toppings – caramel, chocolate, melted chocolate chips, or butterscotch syrup (or even this homemade hot fudge) would also be delicious if you want more of a sweet dessert pancake breakfast.
How to Store Mini Pancakes
Store any leftover pancakes in an airtight container (or zipper top bag) in the fridge for up to four days.
These also freeze great! Place one layer of mini pancakes in an airtight container or freezer safe zipper top bag, add a layer of parchment paper (to keep them from sticking together when they freeze), add another layer, and repeat until you fill up the bag.
Reheat pancakes by placing them on a baking sheet in the cold oven, turning the oven on to 350 degrees, and allowing the mini pancakes to warm up with the oven. Remove and enjoy once warm!
Expert Tips & Storage Information
Low-fat buttermilk works in a pinch. I recommend regular buttermilk, but if low fat is what you’ve got, it will work in this recipe. You can also use a buttermilk substitute with milk and lemon juice (or vinegar).
If you are going to use regular milk instead of buttermilk, use whole milk.
Cool the butter. Adding the melted butter while it’s hot may start to cook the eggs and the rest of the batter. We don’t want that!
Do not over mix the batter. Doing so will release the trapped air and bubbles we want to make fluffy mini pancakes. If you want the fluffy pancake texture, don’t over mix!
Cook over low heat. Mini pancakes cook quickly, much faster than regular pancakes. Cook over medium-low heat and check on them often. You may even need to turn down the heat between batches so you don’t end up with a griddle that’s too hot!
Stack mini pancakes on a skewer or with toothpick and serve in stacks for a pretty presentation! This works great for things like brunches, baby showers, and bridal showers!
Recipe FAQs
Can I use this recipe to make regular-sized pancakes?
If you don’t want mini pancakes, you can easily use this recipe for regular-sized pancakes as well. Not as cute but just as delicious! You can probably get about 6-8 pancakes from this recipe. As mentioned above, you can easily double the recipe to make more. Keep the temperature the same, but increase the cooking time. Once the bubbles start to appear, flip them over to cook for an extra minute or two.
What else can I serve on top of mini pancakes?
Whatever you enjoy on your regular pancakes, you can serve on top of mini pancakes. If you’re setting up a pancake bar, it’s always nice to have an assortment of toppings for everyone to pick and choose from. Caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, blueberry sauce, and any other kind of compote you can think of!
Sprinkles and whipped cream for a special birthday, syrup and a pat of butter for the classic choice, and maybe some yogurt for something a little lighter.
The sky’s the limit.
What if I don’t have buttermilk?
If you don’t have any buttermilk, any kind of milk will technically work. Or if you’re interested in making a buttermilk substitute, add one1 Tablespoon of either lemon juice or vinegar (not both) into a one cup measuring cup. Fill the remaining cup to the rim with any kind of milk. Allow it to sit for 10 minutes until it starts to curdle. Now, it’s ready to use as needed as a replacement for buttermilk in the recipe.
More Easy Breakfast Recipes
If you’re looking for some other great breakfast or brunch recipes, these are some of our readers’ favorites!
- White sausage gravy – is there anything better than biscuits and gravy? Pair this gravy with these drop biscuits for a breakfast match made in heaven!
- Nutella muffins – these Nutella stuffed muffins are perfect for a decadent brunch treat that’s also breakfast!
- Breakfast muffins – egg muffins with bacon and a hash brown crust, it’s like a full breakfast meal in one bite-sized snack!
- Ham and egg casserole – this breakfast casserole combines ham, egg, and cheese in a great brunch dish!
- Breakfast rolls – everything you want for breakfast all wrapped in a cute little roll, one of the best breakfast appetizers!
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Mini Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 TBS granulated sugar
- 1 TBS baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
- 2 TBS melted butter cooled
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 TBS butter for coating the pan
Instructions
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium or large bowl.1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 3 TBS granulated sugar, 1 TBS baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt
- Combine the buttermilk, melted (and cooled) butter, vanilla extract, and 1 egg together in a separate bowl. Whisk to combine everything together.1 1/4 cups buttermilk, 2 TBS melted butter, 2 tsp pure vanilla extract, 1 egg
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix by hand until just incorporated so you don’t have any dry spots left, but make sure not to over mix. Allow batter to sit for 10 minutes before cooking (if possible).
- Heat a large non-stick griddle or skillet over medium-low heat. Melt a little butter on your chosen pan to keep it from sticking.1 TBS butter
- Once the pan is hot, pour one tablespoon of the mini pancake batter onto the pan. Repeat, spacing the pancakes out enough so that when they cook they don’t run into each other.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes or just until the tops begin to bubble. Use a spatula to carefully flip each of the pancakes over and cook on the other side for about one minute, until the bottom just begins to brown.
- Remove from the hot pan and place on a plate until you’re ready to serve. Serve with your favorite pancake toppings while warm.
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