Nothing says breakfast quite like a stack of pancakes – that is, until you bring out a plate of pancakes with a slice or two of bacon on the side – now that’s a winning plate for sure.
Pancakes (as well as oatmeal) are breakfast staples at our house. With a house full of little kids, pancakes – not just for breakfast, but also for the occasional easy dinner on those extra hectic days – is always a win.
Served with a drizzle of honey, maple syrup, or homemade fruit and berry syrups. Or decorated with fresh fruit, frozen berries, or a stewed assortment of berries and fruit. And topped with a dallop of whipped cream or perhaps a splosh of unwhipped cream – however you choose to eat them, they just always taste delicious.
The Recipe
I like to keep my pancake batter pretty basic. You will notice that my Basic Pancake Recipe doesn’t call for any sugar, honey, or other sweetener. That is because I like to top my pancake with deliciously sweet thing, so I don’t need the batter itself to be sweet – just fluffy and delicious. Oh, and filling!
This recipe is a simple 4 ingredient recipe that is super simple to remember. It’s simply one of everything – 1 cup flour, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, 1 egg, and 1 cup milk.
So when you’re still trying to rub the sleep out of your eyes as your bustling to make breakfast – don’t stress! All you have to remember is “1-1-1-1.”
Batter Variations
This Basic Pancake recipe is a great base batter for all your pancake batter needs. If you prefer whole wheat pancakes to white flour pancakes, then simply use whole wheat flour in this recipe.
At our home, my kids all prefer white floured pancakes, but my husband and I prefer whole wheat, so we usually end up splitting the difference and doing half white, half whole wheat flour in a double batch of batter (because we eat a LOT of pancakes in our house).
I’ve tried this recipe using white flour, whole wheat flour, a combination of white and whole wheat flours, buckwheat flour, oat flour, a combination of white and buckwheat flour — you get the idea. It’s a basic recipe ready for you to jazz up as you like.
Seasonal – If it’s fall and you’re wanting to add a little autumn flavor to your favorite breakfast dish – simply add a pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon (or both!) to the batter.
Berries – For a refreshing flavor, add fresh or frozen blueberries or huckleberries to the batter for a classic summertime kick.
Calling all chocolate lovers – you can add any value of chocolate chips you want to the batter. Or, if you’d rather not waste time scraping melted chocolate off the bottom of your pan, you can skip the chocolate chips in the batter, and opt for a drizzle of Nutella on top of your pancake instead.
On the Side
At our house, it’s not uncommon for the kids to request pancakes for breakfast 7 days in a single week. What can I say? We just love our pancakes.
But as much as we love eating pancakes, I have learned over the years that pancakes completely on their own don’t fill me up all the way. If all I eat is a single pancake drizzled with maple syrup for breakfast, I find I’m on the prowl for a snack an hour or two later. Not to mention the occasional heartburn that comes with eating solely pancakes.
In short, I need something more.
And that something doesn’t have to be a lot. Even a little bit of something else magically works with my beloved stack of pancakes to fill me through until lunch or my next meal. And there’s no heartburn.
Some easy sides to go with that stack of beautiful buttery pancakes can be:
- Sunny side egg
- Scrambled egg
- Slice of bacon
- Sausage link
- Yogurt
- Cottage Cheese
- Applesauce
- Refreshing smoothie
- Fresh, stewed, or frozen fruits and berries.
I have found that a heavy layer of fruit topped on my pancake with cream of butter gives me just enough extra to count as a “side” to my breakfast.
Really, a side for any pancake breakfast could by anything! Though I highly recommend adding a non-flour focused side to your already flour-focused breakfast cuisine. Flour with flour is just, well, a lot of flour.
All right ways to eat a Pancake
There really in no wrong way to eat a pancake. So pick your flour, select your toppings, and eat that breakfast!
Basic Pancake Recipe
This basic pancake recipe uses just four basic ingredients and is easy to remember on those still-half-asleep mornings. Take this recipe anywhere with some seasonal flavorings and a happy selection of toppings to complete that plate of pancakes.
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 Tbl baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk (see note)
Directions
- Heat butter or oil in a large pan or skillet over medium heat.
- Meanwhile, mix together dry ingredients (flour and baking powder).
- Add egg and milk, and beat batter until smooth.
- Pour batter onto heated pan. Once bubbles form on pancake, flip pancake. Cook until both sides are cooked as desired.
- Top with butter, syrup, honey, berries, cream — whatever makes you happy.
Notes
- Add up to 1 1/2 cups of milk for a thinner batter, resulting in thinner pancakes.
