These fully fermented sourdough pancakes are fluffy and tender with irresistible, crispy edges. Made with six simple ingredients, they are not only easy and quick, but also so delicious when topped with butter, maple syrup, raw honey, or fruit topping.
These fluffy sourdough pancakes are deliciously light and fluffy with a little bit of crispiness at the edges and the tangy, delicious flavor of sourdough. Our family is already a huge fan of pancakes, and it’s easy to see why this particular recipe is a family favorite. Add toppings like homemade blueberry sauce or homemade whipped cream with a sprinkling of chocolate chips or fresh berries to make an extra special weekend morning treat.
And while butter, maple syrup, and fresh fruit are always excellent options, you can even go for savory toppings, like an over-easy fried egg or crumbled sausage. Eggs, sausage, and pancakes all pair wonderfully with maple syrup!
If you’re familiar with sourdough, you’re aware that fermented sourdough recipes require some waiting to allow for the fermentation. Recipes like my English muffin recipe, sourdough cinnamon rolls, or sourdough Italian bread are pretty typical examples. It’s always worth the time invested!
If you’re not familiar with sourdough, I have plenty of resources on how to make your own sourdough starter from scratch, how to maintain your starter, and how to use sourdough starter.
However, this delicious recipe requires no waiting. There is no added flour, just the fed, fermented, active, and bubbly starter and a few other ingredients to make the perfect pancakes. As long as you have two cups of starter that was fed in the last 12 hours, you’re good to go!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Simple ingredients – With a mature starter and simple pantry staples, you have the tools for the best homemade sourdough pancakes.
Delicious sourdough flavor – The fed and fermented sourdough starter provides that subtle sourdough taste that works so well in baked goods.
Chewy, fluffy texture – These pancakes are thick and fluffy, perfect for absorbing butter and syrup. Sourdough also yields a chewier texture than regular pancakes.
Ingredients
Sourdough starter – Use a bubbly, active starter that has been fed within 4-12 hours of starting the recipe. While you could use leftover sourdough discard, the pancakes won’t be very fluffy.
Oil – Use a neutral oil or swap it out for melted butter. To make these pancakes dairy-free, stick to a neutral oil.
Honey – You can use sugar or brown sugar in place of honey, if you prefer.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Sourdough Pancakes
Step 1: Mix the sourdough starter, eggs, oil, honey, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the baking soda last and watch the starter foam up.
Step 2: To achieve those crispy pancake edges, preheat a tablespoon of oil or butter in a cast-iron skillet on medium heat. After it is hot enough to produce a sizzle, pour 1/2 cup of batter right onto the hot oil. At this point, turn the stove down to medium-low heat so that the pancake can cook through without the bottom burning. Remember the “flip only one time” rule.
Step 3: After the top is nice and bubbly and no more bubbles are being produced, give the pancake a flip. The first side may take 2 to 3 minutes. After flipping, cook for another 30 seconds to a minute on the second side, until cooked through and golden brown.
Step 4: Keep the cooked pancakes in a warm place as you finish the rest of the batter. You can use a heat-safe dish in the oven on the lowest heat setting. Serve warm with your favorite pancake toppings and enjoy! Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days.
Tips
- The key to those crisp edges is cooking the pancakes in a preheated cast-iron skillet or frying pan with melted oil or butter. Cook on one side for about 30 seconds, flipping only when the top is bubbled. You should only flip once!
- If you plan to add blueberries or chocolate chips, place them into the uncooked side while the cakes are cooking. I find that if the chocolate or blueberries actually make contact with the skillet, the pancakes tend to stick. This is why I don’t stir them into the batter.
- You can prepare this batter the night before, but I recommend waiting until the next morning, just before cooking, to add the baking soda. It’s a great way to get a jumpstart on a healthy and tasty breakfast.
- The first pancake rarely turns out well. No worries. This is the time to adjust the heat to make sure it is not too hot or too cool.
- You can tell a pancake is ready to flip when all the bubbles have popped and no more bubbles are forming.
- If you need a gluten-free option, try this recipe for sourdough buckwheat pancakes.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, just lay the cooled pancakes on a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze them for 1-2 hours. Stack the frozen pancakes and place them in a freezer-safe container or bag. Placing parchment paper between pancakes can be very helpful to prevent them from sticking. Freeze for several months, reheating in the oven, toaster oven, or toaster until warmed through.
Yes. You can make this batter the night before and keep it stored overnight in the refrigerator. However, I would recommend waiting to add the baking soda and whisking it in right before you start cooking. Overnight sourdough pancakes have an even stronger flavor and more fermentation benefits.
This is most likely an issue with the cooking process. Under-cooking the pancakes can cause them to be gummy, as well as the pan being too hot. If the pan is too hot, the outside of the pancakes will cook much faster than the inside.
Sourdough starter is perfect for baking sourdough bread, desserts, breakfasts, and more. Here are some of our favorite ways to use sourdough starter.
Pizza crust
Flatbread
Whole wheat bread
Chicken pot pie
Biscuits
Waffles or blueberry pancakes
Baked donuts
Sourdough discard is generally more runny in consistency, which results in flatter pancakes. When I make sourdough discard pancakes, I add flour to the batter, which changes the other ingredients, as well.
More Sourdough Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Sourdough Orange Cinnamon Rolls
- Sourdough Cinnamon Star Bread
- Sourdough Croissant Bread
- Sourdough Bundt Cake
- Sourdough Lemon Cake
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
The Best Sourdough Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups active sourdough starter
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup neutral oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- neutral oil for frying
Instructions
- Mix the sourdough starter, eggs, oil, honey, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the baking soda last and watch the starter foam up.
- To achieve those crispy pancake edges, preheat a tablespoon of oil or butter in a cast-iron skillet on medium heat. After it is hot enough to produce a sizzle, pour 1/2 cup of batter right onto the hot oil. At this point, turn the stove down to medium-low heat so that the pancake can cook through without the bottom burning. Remember the “flip only one time” rule.
- After the top is nice and bubbly and no more bubbles are being produced, give the pancake a flip. This may take 2 to 3 minutes. After flipping, cook for another 30 seconds to a minute, until cooked through and golden brown.
- Keep the cooked pancakes in a warm place as you finish the rest of the batter. You can use a heat-safe dish in the oven on the lowest heat setting. Serve pancakes warm with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Notes
- The key to crisp edges is cooking the pancakes in a preheated cast-iron skillet with melted oil or butter. Only flip them once!
- If you plan to add blueberries or chocolate chips, place them into the uncooked side while the cakes are cooking.
- You can prepare this batter the night before, but I recommend waiting until the next morning, just before cooking, to add the baking soda.
- The first pancake rarely turns out well. No worries. This is the time to adjust the heat to make sure it is not too hot or too cool.
- You can tell a pancake is ready to flip when all the bubbles have popped and no more bubbles are forming.
- If you need a gluten-free option, try this recipe for sourdough buckwheat pancakes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I don’t think we can go back to regular pancakes anymore. I just started my sourdough journey a few weeks ago and these have been a hit in my home. My oldest daughter craves these as an afterschool snack.
That is amazing! Glad you enjoy them.
I love this recipe because it’s like a base recipe for me. Of my starter is looser, after I mix it all up I add some flour. Any kind works. I sometimes add cinnamon. I use whatever oil is available, olive, butter, etc Always chocolate chips as they are cooking. I usually halve it since we are a small family but it is easy to halve. Absolutely my go to.I build up starter for this and got the English muffins and for crepes. Crepes are 1c starter to 3 or 4 eggs, plus some salt. Amazing.
I love how you can make it your own and it still works great!
Best pancakes I’ve ever had! Thanks Lisa!
So glad you enjoyed them!
Made these pancakes last night and my family loved them! I didn’t really measure the ingredients but they still turned out great. It’s an easy way to put “throw away” starter to good use. We’ll be making this again.
That is great to hear. Glad you enjoyed them.
Just letting everyone know, I’m forgetful when I cook at times, so this morning I made these pancakes and I forgot the eggs! Oops but the pancakes were delicious, so if you don’t have eggs, this recipe will work also.
Ha! That is great to hear. Glad they were still tasty.
We made these for breakfast to get a good start to our homeschooling/work day! We added cinnamon applesauce for our topping! So delicious!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them.
We frequent this recipe a lot in our house. It is definitely a crowd pleaser and often share your recipes with friends and family. My oldest runs around telling pancake day!
That is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing.
Can you substitute the coconut oil for butter or another fat source such as duck fat/tallow?
Yes. I’ve never tried duck fat or tallow, so I’m not sure how that would change the flavor.
Tried this recipe twice and the pancakes did not rise at all. They had a good taster but were as flat as crepes. Did I miss the flour in the recipe? Any advice?
Oh no. I’m not sure. Was your starter active? Did you use newer baking soda.
I made these this morning and they turned out great! I didn’t have enough starter so I added 1/2 cup einkorn flour and it worked beautifully. Thank you for the recipe.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!