The best sourdough pancakes recipe is simple to whip up with just a few basic ingredients. Light and fluffy with a little bit of crispiness it is easy to see why this recipe is our favorite. Add toppings, like blueberries or chocolate chips to make them an extra special weekend morning treat.
If you have been hanging around the old farmhouse a while, you know how I loooove my sourdough starter. I have been nurturing it for over six years now.
I use it to make English muffins, pizza crusts, sourdough skillets, even donuts! But, you know what I make with it more than anything else?
Pancakes. Deliciously fermented, fluffy, crisp around the edges, sourdough pancakes.
“If that’s so, why pray tell has it taken you so dang long to post the recipe??”, you might ask.
I must admit, I have no excuse. I just never got around to it.
Several people on Youtube and Instagram stories asked me about my pancake recipe. Your promptings finally kicked me into gear.
So, here it finally is my friends. Our sourdough pancake recipe. The one I have made every Saturday morning for probably like six years now.
Fast Sourdough Pancakes Recipe
Now, if you have been making recipes with sourdough starter, you may know that usually there is a waiting time to allow for fermentation, like in my sourdough English muffin recipe.
But, the wonderful thing about this recipe is there is no wait. You just need to have two cups of fed excess starter on hand. It doesn’t even have to be room temperature. You can pull your glass bowl of starter out of the fridge, and as long as there is at least two cups of starter, you are good to go!
Now, this is of course assuming that you fed your starter and allowed it to ferment a little before you put it away last time. If you just stirred the flour and water in, and popped it into the fridge straightaway, it will need a little fermenting time.
And if this is all a bunch of jibberish, make sure to visit my post on all the benefits, how to, and why do (just made that up) of sourdough, in this post.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
Tips For Making Sourdough Pancakes:
- If we plan to add blueberries and chocolate chips, we like to put them on the uncooked side while the cakes are cooking. I find that if the chocolate actually makes contact with the skillet, they tend to stick. This is why I don’t stir them into the batter. Same goes for blueberries.
- Cast iron cooking requires some tricks. Find out how to make pancakes not stick below.
- To get the pancakes a little crispy, make sure there a bit of hot oil in your pan.
- You can make this batter ahead of time, but I would recommend waiting until right before cooking to add the baking soda.
- You can tell a pancake is ready to flip when there all the bubbles have popped and there are no more bubbles coming up.
Sourdough Pancake Recipe Video
Tools you may need:
Nutrigrain mill if you want to grain your flour to feed the starter
Large bowl
Cast iron skillet
Measuring cups and spoons
Silicon spatula
Wooden spoon
Spatula
Sourdough Pancake Recipe Ingredients
2 cups fed Sourdough Starter
2 eggs
1/4 cup melted coconut oil – if you don’t have coconut oil, you can swap it out for melted butter.
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Coconut oil for frying
Rules To Cooking Pancakes In Cast Iron Skillet
Although it certainly isn’t a requirement for sourdough pancake makin’, I prefer using cast iron. If you are brand new to cast iron cooking visit this post all about it.
To ensure the cakes don’t stick, you will need to follow two rules.
- Preheat the skillet before letting the batter hit it. A hot griddle plus a little oil produces the little bit of crispiness that makes pancakes so delicious.
- Only flip the pancake one time.
How To Make Sourdough Pancakes
- Mix the starter, eggs, coconut oil, honey and salt in a glass bowl. Add the baking soda last, and watch the starter foam up. That’s my favorite part. 🙂
- I like my sourdough pancakes to have that crispy fried edge. To do this, I start by preheating a tablespoon of coconut oil in my skillet.
- After it is hot enough to produce a sizzle, I pour a ladle full of batter right onto the hot oil. At this point, I turn the stove down a bit so that the pancake has a chance to cook through without the bottom burning. Remember that “flip only one time” rule.
- After the top is nice and bubbly, give it a little flip.
- Allow it to cook another 30 seconds on the other side.
- Repeat. Repeat.
- Serve with butter, maple syrup, or even a bit of homemade whipped cream.
Can you freeze sourdough pancakes?
Line cooled pancakes on a baking sheet in one layer and freeze them for 1-2 hours. Stack and place in a freezer safe container.
You can also place a piece of parchment paper between each pancake and freeze. While you could freeze them in a stack without paper, they will freeze together in a big clump.
They will keep well in the freezer for a few months… If they last that long.
Reheat them in the oven, toaster oven, or toaster.
Is pancake batter good overnight?
You can make this the night before and keep it stored overnight in the refrigerator. I would recommend waiting to add the baking soda until you are ready to cook.
What else can you do with sourdough starter?
So glad you asked! There are so many things to make with sourdough starter.
- Pizza Crust
- Flatbread
- Pumpkin Cobbler
- Best Chicken Pot Pie
- Biscuits
- Waffles
- Cinnamon Maple Apple Pie
- Whole Wheat Bread
- Donuts
Sourdough Pancakes Recipe
If you try this recipe, let me know by leaving a comment. Love it? Give it a 5 star rating!
Sourdough Pancakes
Our favorite sourdough pancakes recipe is simple to whip up with just a few basic ingredients. Add toppings, like blueberries or chocolate chips to make them an extra special weekend morning treat.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Sourdough Starter, fed
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- coconut oil for frying
Instructions
- To ensure the cakes don’t stick, you will need to follow two rules:
- Preheat the skillet before letting the batter hit it.
- Only flip the pancake one time.
- Mix the starter, eggs, coconut oil, honey and salt in a glass bowl. Add the baking soda last, and watch the starter foam up.
- Preheat a tablespoon of coconut oil in a skillet.
- After it is hot enough o produce a sizzle, pour a ladle full of batter right onto the hot oil. At this point, turn the stove down a bit so that the pancake has a chance to cook through without the bottom burning. Remember that “flip only one time” rule.
- After the top is nice and bubbly, give it a little flip.
- Allow it to cook another 30 seconds on the other side.
- And that's it!
Pin it for later
This post was updated November 2019.
Dacie says
Lisa, these are awesome! I recently added grains back into my diet and I’m in love with all of your sourdough recipes! Just made pancakes this morning and they were perfect! Thanks for sharing!
Lisa says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them!
Kelly says
I was searching for straight-forward information about storing and using sourdough starter and came across this web site and this recipe for pancakes. Without a doubt, these are the best pancakes I have ever made. Thank you for sharing!
Hope says
I make these ALL the time. They’re amazing!! Thanks Lisa for the great recipe.
Allison says
Love! I left the starter out a little too long for my kids. I had to add some sweetness, but once I did (and the baking soda 🤪) my 7 year old loved it and wants more tomorrow 😊
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
I’ve never had pancakes like this! Thank you so much for the yummy idea!
Tanya says
Now I want pancakes!! I love the sourdough!
Lindsay Cotter says
The hubby loved these for breakfast! Thanks for the easy recipe!
Joy says
Best recipe ever! I have a great starter and for the two of us I often have so much excess I end up throwing it out. I know, that’s a sin! No more, pancakes, pizza (and bread with cooler temps) will keep my starter busy!
Kim says
We tried your recipe months ago and it has now become our favorite! Your tutorials are always so easy to follow & delicious! Thank you
Lindsay Cotter says
These were a delicious breakfast over the weekend! Everyone loved them!
Susan D Bevington says
I know this sounds silly, but I’m a first time sourdough maker, once you use 2 cups of your starter for pancakes do you add a cup of flour and water back into your starter and sit it on your counter to go through the process again? Or do you add what you took out? So 2 cups starter then add 2 cups flour and water?? Sorry if this is a silly question… Thank you
Beth F says
It depends on how much starter you have left. I like to keep my starter at about a 1:1:1 ratio, so 1 cup of starter: 1 cup flour : 1 cup water.
Let’s say you started with 3 cups of starter, total. Separate your starter into two containers. The one for the pancake recipe (the “discard”) will be 2 cups. The one for future recipes (“active starter”) will be 1 cup. If your active starter amounts to about a cup, then you only need to add one cup flour and one cup water.
If the bowl with active starter has 2 cups in it, then add 2 cups flour and 2 cups water. It’s not an exact science though, you can mess around with it and see what works!
I personally use a scrapings method. I keep 2 Mason jars in my fridge, one with active starter and one with discard for future pancakes. In the first I’ll put 1/4 cup active starter to 1/4 flour and 1/4 water and leave that on my counter, and keep the discard jar in the fridge.
Jody says
These were a huge hit with my adult sons. Thank you !!
Heather says
We’ve made these EVERY DAY this week! 🙂 I’m trying to invigorate my newly made starter, and I can’t stand the thought of throwing half down the drain or feeding it to my already-well-fed chickies. We LOVE these pancakes! I love that it doesn’t use extra flour–just the discarded starter. We also made your pizza dough this week (which had a super chewy, interesting texture.) We’re on to the next thing, which will be English muffins. Thanks so much for posting recipes and videos. Lots of hard work, but you’re preserving food traditions that are dying off. Thank you!!! 🙂
Beth F says
Maybe try a mashed banana in for eggs? I might try it myself sometime soon!
Beth F says
I meant to respond to the comment below (by Breanna) instead of yours, sorry!
Breanna says
We make this every week in our home and love it! Thank you! I’m wondering if applesauce would be a good replacement for the eggs in this recipe? Sadly, I have to cut them out for a bit as my breastfed infant may be allergic. Well, I’ll give it a try!
Beth F says
I make these all the time. I’ve started lowering the hydration in my starter just so my discard will be thicker for pancakes! This recipe is basically bulletproof. Typically I use starter straight from the fridge. I often replace the coconut oil with butter or leave it out altogether. I used applesauce instead once (and cut out the honey so my baby could eat it), and it was really good!
Thanks for converting me to cast iron, too. It took a few months for me to get used to using cast iron but now I don’t think I’ll ever go back.
Kathleen says
If you don’t have honey on hand can you substitute sugar in it’s place?
Lisa says
Yes!
Abby says
Love this recipe and so does the rest of the family! I love how it is reminiscent of donuts with the outside of the pancake. Thanks for all the knowledge of sourdough! Our family made it through the end of the year with no sickness, thank the Lord!
Amanda says
Dear Lisa,
I had a question about the 2 cups fed Sourdough Starter.
I made the pancakes last night and my family loved them but I am starting to think I might have messed up. I did feed my big starter that morning and let it sit for 7 hours before starting pancakes…I just scooped out 2 cups from my big starter and followed recipe.
Would it have been better if I took 2 cups of starter and put in a different glass bowl…then added a cup of water and cup of flour and let it sit for a couple hours before adding the rest of the ingredients? Let me know when you have time. Thanks so much.
Brandi says
Hi! Tried these this morning and they were super flat.. once all the ingredients are mixed how long do you let it sit? Thanks so much!! But they tasted great!
Ruthie says
This is the best sourdough pancake recipe. My 18 month old daughter and husband love it. We mash a very ripe banana if we need to use them up and my husband loves chocolate chips added to his. One of our favorite ways to use our starter!
Therese says
This recipe was great. Super simple even for a lazy person like me. I just used my starter straight didn’t even bother feeding it. Just added an extra half cup of flour to thicken it up. Best of ever recipe will save this for every weekend. Thanks!
Mariah says
You weren’t kidding when you titled these “The Best Sourdough Pancakes!” I have just started using sourdough starter… these pancakes were an absolute hit at my house! Thank you for sharing and making your recipe so easy to follow!!
Ann says
I made these this morning and totally forgot to add in the oil. Still delicious!! Thank you!
Lisa says
Good to know! Thanks Ann!
Rebecca says
Thanks for the great recipe, Lisa. I’ve always been a buttermilk pancake maker, but you’ve changed my mind. Love the crispy outside with tender inside, just the best! Worth keeping starter in my frig. i just began my journey with sourdough starter and am so happy to have some simple recipes to follow, because some of the websites are sooooo serious about their methods its a little intimidating. And yours are completed with a baby bundled and a very lovely assistant. Thanks again, and God bless.
ETHEL RENNER says
Mine tasted great but were more like a crepe than a pancake. Any hints on why? I have a lot of starter and was looking forward to using it for pancakes and waffles.
Lisa says
Your sourdough starter was probably a little thin. Thicken it up with a bit more flour at the next feeding.