Nothing says cozy fall morning like a stack of fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes! Light, tender, and fragrant with warming spices, these are made with pumpkin puree, yogurt, and a touch of maple syrup. Delicious with toasted pecans or pumpkin seeds, they’re easy to make, freezer-friendly, and vegan and gluten-free adaptable!
These fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes taste like fall! Light, tender, and fragrant with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, they’re everything I crave on a chilly autumn morning.
A little yogurt is my secret to keeping them wonderfully fluffy, while pumpkin puree adds moisture and maple syrup brings just the right touch of sweetness.
These are my favorite fall breakfast-or dinner, if I’m being honest! My husband Brian will eat these for dinner anytime! Serve with warm maple syrup and toasted pecans or pumpkin seeds. They freeze beautifully, too, making busy mornings a little cozier.
Made these this morning. Unbelievable. Best pancakes ever.
Why you’ll love these Pumpkin pancakes!
Light and fluffy: Yogurt creates a wonderfully tender texture without excess flour.
Full of fall flavor: Pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg make them warm and fragrant.
Easy and adaptable: Simple pantry ingredients, with vegan and gluten-free options.
Freezer-friendly: Perfect for making ahead and reheating on busy mornings.
Pumpkin Pancake Recipe Ingredients
- Pumpkin purée: For the easiest, fastest method, use store-bought canned pumpkin puree, or if so inclined, make your own pumpkin puree. You can also substitute other winter squash purees – butternut squash, acorn, Hubbard, delicata- or even sweet potato purée!
- All-purpose flour: You can also substitute white whole wheat flour. We only use just enough flour to form a batter. Too much flour, and your pancakes will be stodgy! Feel free to substitute a gluten-free flour blend.
- Baking powder and baking soda: Both are chemical leavening agents that are essential for making pancakes rise and become fluffy. If making vegan pancakes, increase the baking powder to 1 tablespoon and leave out the eggs.
- Salt: Salt is added to enhance the overall flavor of the pancakes.
- Spices: Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg (or cardamom-or both!) are added to give that cozy pumpkin spice flavor. These warming spices add a subtle bite and sweetness.
- Yogurt: Yogurt thickens the batter without making it too solid or heavy. The yogurt creates fluffy pancakes! You can use plant-based yogurt here if desired, or in a pinch, leave it out and use all milk or buttermilk.
- Milk: Milk is used to create the batter- for vegan pancakes use non-dairy milk- soy milk, oak milk, almond milk, etc.
- Eggs: Eggs give the pancake batter structure to hold light bubbles when formed into pancakes on the griddle. The fat in eggs provides a rich flavor too. These pancakes can be made vegan without the eggs-be sure to read the recipe notes for vegan instructions.
- Maple syrup: We mix maple syrup into the batter for an extra indulgent and sweet addition! You can sub brown sugar fi need be.
- Vanilla extract: This extract is added to weave in vanilla, which helps create the perfect dessert-like flavor.
- Melted butter, ghee, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, or melted vegan butter: This is added to the batter for rich flavor, but is also used to cook the pancakes. A combination or butter and oil works well for frying the pancakes.
How to Make the Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes
Step one: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg together until well combined.
Step two: Gather a medium bowl, and whisk the yogurt with the milk, pumpkin puree, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla.
Step three: Slowly drizzle in the melted butter (or alternative), whisking until smooth.
Step four: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and stir to incorporate well.
Tip: Be careful not to over-mix the batter here.
Step five: Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. Grease with the oil or butter of your choice. I find that a combination of butter and olive oil works well here, or use straight coconut oil or ghee.
Step six: Spoon ¼ cup portions of pancake batter onto the skillet or griddle, with plenty of space for spreading. I recommend doing one tester pancake to get the temperature right.
Step seven: Cook for roughly 2-3 minutes or until golden, gently flip each pancake, then cook for 2-3 minutes more. The pancakes are done when they are puffed in the middle.
Tip: If they are getting too dark before they’re cooked through, lower the heat or pull them a little early and finish cooking them on a sheet pan in a 300F oven.
Serving Suggestions
Either serve as you make them or keep them warm in a 300F oven until serving. Serve with butter and real maple syrup, whipped cream, maple glazed pecans, maple glazed pumpkin seeds, toasted coconut, sautéed apples or bananas, freshly grated nutmeg, or fresh orange zest.
Chef’s Tips
- Don’t overmix. Stir the batter just until combined; a few lumps are perfectly fine. Let it rest for a few minutes while the skillet heats.
- Use a heavy skillet. A cast iron skillet or sturdy griddle distributes heat evenly and prevents scorching.
- Keep the heat medium-low. Pumpkin pancakes need a little extra time to cook through. Make one test pancake to get the temperature right.
- Flip gently. Wait until bubbles appear and the edges begin to set, then flip once. Avoid pressing down with your spatula.
- Elevate with chocolate chips or orange zest!
- Vegan Option. For vegan pumpkin pancakes, omit the eggs, increase the baking powder to 1 tablespoon, and use plant-based milk and yogurt.
Storage & Freezing
Place any leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the pancakes if you wish. Let them cool completely before wrapping them tightly in plastic wrap. Store them in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. To reheat, put the pancakes in the toaster or use a microwave to warm for 30-60 seconds.
What to Serve with Pumpkin Pancakes
These fluffy pancakes are perfectly satisfying with a pat of butter and real maple syrup. But if you want to dress them up even more, sautéed and maple glazed pecans, maple glazed pumpkin seeds, toasted coconut, sautéed apples or bananas, freshly grated nutmeg, or fresh orange zest are all great options!
More Fall Pumpkin Recipes
Enjoy! xoxo Sylvia. Please remember to rate the recipe for us!
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Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 16 pancakes 1x
- Category: breakfast, brunch
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These fluffy pumpkin pancakes are perfect for cozy fall weekend mornings. Loaded with pumpkin and warming spices, they are flavorful and comforting. Vegan-adaptable and GF-adaptable!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups AP flour (or sub-white whole wheat flour)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (see notes for vegan)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger (or use freshly grated ginger for the best flavor)
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg or 1/4 teaspoon cardamom (or both!)
- 3/4 cup plain yogurt ( or use plant-based yogurt)
- 3/4 cup milk (or use plant-based milk)
- 3/4 cup pumpkin purée ( or sub-sweet potato puree!)
- 2 eggs (see notes for vegan)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons melted butter, ghee, melted coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil or melted vegan butter, more for cooking.
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the yogurt with the milk, pumpkin puree, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla. Slowly drizzle in the melted butter (or alternative), whisking until smooth.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, folding to incorporate well.
- Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. Grease with the oil or butter of your choice. ( I find a combo of butter and olive oil works well ( or use straight coconut oil, or ghee).
- Spoon ¼ cup portions with space for spreading. I recommend doing one tester pancake to get the temperature right. Cook for roughly 2-3 minutes, gently flip, then cook for 2-3 minutes more, until puffed and cooked through. If they are getting too dark before cooking all the way through, lower the heat or pull them a little early and finish cooking them through on a sheet pan in the 300F oven. Either serve as you make them or keep them warm in a 300F oven until serving.
Notes
Optional additions: chopped pecans or walnuts, chocolate chips, *orange zest. The orange zest is fabulous here but not essential.
Serving suggestions: serve with butter and real maple syrup, sauteed and maple glazed pecans, maple glazed pumpkin seeds, toasted coconut, sauteed apples or bananas, fresh grated nutmeg, or fresh orange zest.
Vegan: If making this vegan, increase the baking powder to 1 tablespoon and leave out the eggs. Use vegan milk and vegan yogurt or just all plant-based milk.
Gluten Free: Feel free to use a gluten-free flour blend, 1 to 1. (I like Arrow Mills organic GF flour blend.)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 pancakes
- Calories: 175
- Sugar: 2.8 g
- Sodium: 325.1 mg
- Fat: 6.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 23.3 g
- Fiber: 1.7 g
- Protein: 6.1 g
- Cholesterol: 25.6 mg
This recipe has become the family favourite for our waffle maker… we roast our own pumpkin to make purée for the winter, use a heavy pour for the fall spices, and we bread chicken drumsticks and bake in the oven to pile on top of the waffles, adding maple syrup over the whole stack. One of our favourite ‘treat’ meals that all of us love. Also, we double the recipe and cook all the batter, the waffles are a great grab and go snack thru the week cold, and reheat nicely in the toaster from the freezer.
Wow, that sounds amazing Corey!
Absolutely DELICIOUS!!!
I made a half recipe and for anyone interested, 3/8C is 6 tablespoons 🤩.
Ha! That is good to know. 🙂 I have a handy measurement app that is so helpful. Glad you enjoyed these!
Made these this morning. Unbelievable. Best pancakes ever. Used maple brown sugar butter instead of maple syrup on top.
Awesome to hear Julie- glad you enjoyed them!
Was very excited to make these. They are really tasty thanks! I had some blueberries and raw pecans with mine.
So glad you enjoyed Kristen!
This sounds wonderful. I bake with sourdough & will substitute sourdough discard for the yogurt.
Sounds good! Let us know how it turns out. 🙂
I’ve made these before but completely forgot about them until the email reminder today. Delicious! Used some kabocha squash purée I had in the freezer. Served w/ a small dollop of homemade yogurt & a drizzle of syrup spread over top, and some sautéed fruit (w/ Sylvia’s guidance from another pancake recipe, I used fuyu persimmon, apples from our tree, thick sliced bananas), and made some pumpkin seed/pecan toasted nuts using Sylvia’s recipe as a guide, adding a pinch of homemade cayenne. All this lightly piled on top a 3 stack and it was fabulous for this cloudy, cool Seattle Saturday morning. Thanks for the reminder!
Oh my goodness Deb, sounds dreamy! Appreciate you taking time to review. 🥰
I love pumpkin pancakes I will enjoy eating these with my grand children on Sunday thank you so much for your wonderful recipes
Love to hear what you all think Mary!
Thanks for leaving a gluten-free version. Can’t wait to try these!
Love to hear how they turn out Heather!
Hmm, sooo good! Thank you!
Awesome Dana!
WOW! I don’t know how I can go back to regular pancakes! I used fresh grated ginger. FABULOUS SYLVIA THANK YOU!
Glad you enjoyed these Faye! Fresh ginger sounds lovely!
Delicious! I used spelt flour, as I do in all my baked goods and both cardamom and nutmeg (although I thin the nutmeg overpowers the cardamom). So good with some toasted pecans and pure maple syrup!
Appreciate the feed back Josie. Glad you enjoyed overall!
I made these delicious pancakes this morning as we set the clocks back and I had a bit more time and energy early in the day. As usual, it’s a Sylvia recipe so it does not disappoint! Lightly crisp on the outside, fluffy and soft on the inside. I used the cardamom instead of nutmeg and did the olive oil/butter in the pan. I also used avocado oil, oat milk and Fage 2% Greek yogurt in the batter. My family raved about how well the pure maple syrup compliments the flavors of the pancakes and makes the spices stand out. Next time, I’ll use the orange zest. Thank you Sylvia for your wonderful recipes that cook up and taste exactly as you describe. #sundayfunday
Love it Benita, and YES to the cardamom! Thanks for the helpful details. 🙂
Could I substitute almond flour for AP flour?
Almond flour does not always swap out with the same results. You would have to play around with this one.
I made the vegan version, my only slight tweak was making crepe style pancakes as I’m more familiar with these and was having a bit of a situation with cooking through the middle in the pan (that could have been my extremely minimalistic oil use in the earlier attempts though…). Anyway, they were delicious and appreciated by all. Thank you!!
Glad you made them work Bel. Could be the heat was too high?
Delicious as usual! I’m so thankful I found your website, you are the only person I use at this point. I can trust that it will always turn out delicious ❤️
Thanks Rayanne, so happy you enjoyed this! Thanks so much for circling back and leaving a review, very appreciated!
Wonderful recipe, thank you. Family loved it. Will definitely make again.
Nice! Thanks so much for letting us know!
These are SO, SO good!
Thanks so much Rain!
I made these again for my sister-in-law who is recently gluten free. I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free pancake mix in place of the prescribed flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt amounts. Still used 1.5 cups. It works and was really delicious! She was really grateful, because she loves pancakes!!
Great to hear Angeli!
I made these delicious and fluffy pancakes for a family brunch today, served with roasted pecans and honey on the side, huge hit with everyone, thank you.
Great to hear Carole!
The best pancakes I’ve ever had! My 8 month old daughter is equally as obsessed!
Nice to hear Mackenzie!
I was wondering if I could make them in advance and freeze them?
I haven’t tried this but my guess is yes? I freeze waffles.. and they seem fine!?
I am going to try these this week. They look and sound so tasty.
Awesome- I am not a huge pumpkin fan, but really really liked these!
I love these pancakes! They are fluffy, light, and perfectly spiced. I used whole wheat flour bc I didn’t have AP, I loved it! I just told my best friend about these, and she says we gotta make them next time she visits 😉 thank you so much for another amazing recipe!! Sending lots of love xoxo
Whole wheat sounds yummy! So glad you loved them and yay for sharing.❤️
These pancakes turned out beautifully. Very fluffy and the spice level is just right. I served these with ripe pears and maple syrup. I just wish I had time to make candied pecans, they would have gone perfectly with this!
Sounds perfect! The pecans would definitely take it to another level!
Fabulous pumpkin pancakes! Perfect flavor, just added a bit more milk to thin them but oh so good! 5 star! Wouldn’t let me select stars!
Thanks so much Shirley Glad you enjoyed!