A fool-proof recipe for fluffy Sourdough Pancakes using sourdough starter or sourdough discard that can be made in just 30 minutes (or fermented overnight). Vegan-adaptable.
Thousands of you have been on the sourdough journey with us for the past few years, making your own starter and your own sourdough bread. It’s so exciting, isn’t it?
You’ve been asking for more ways to use up your sourdough starter discard and I thought I share one of the easiest ways I know. Make sourdough pancakes! After testing many variations, we landed on the perfect recipe. The flavor and texture are truly unparalleled!
But what I love BEST about this Sourdough Pancake Recipe is that the overnight rising is optional and the pancakes can be whipped up pretty quickly if need be! It’s nice if you are more of a spontaneous cook like myself. (I do have notes in the recipe card if you would prefer to let this rise overnight in the refrigerator to ferment the pancake batter.)
Sourdough Pancakes Video
Sourdough pancake ingredients:
- Sourdough starter (or sourdough discard) Use hungry starter or fed starter.
- Flour– feel free to experiment here! All-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, Spelt, Einkorn, Bread Flour, etc.
- Milk: use you milk of choice- regular milk, plant-based milk or even buttermilk.
- Eggs- or sub a flax egg for a vegan option!
- Melted butter or Oil (olive oil, avocado, melted coconut oil)
- Maple syrup– for sweetness.
- Vanilla Extract – use real for the best flavor!
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Salt
How to make Sourdough Pancakes
The recipe is so quick and easy!
Step 1. Mix the wet ingredients together in a large bowl, then whisk in the dry ingredients. Let stand 15 minutes (or make an overnight sponge -see recipe notes).
Step 2. Heat a cast iron skillet ( or use a hot griddle) over medium-low heat until very very hot. Add oil or a combo of oil and butter to the skillet and swirl.
Step 3. Ladle in a 1/2 cup batter (to make a 6-inch pancake). Flip when golden and small bubbles appear at the surface. Cook until middle puffs in the center, lowering heat if necessary.
Step 4. Keep the sourdough discard pancakes in a warm oven or cover with foil. Repeat with the remaining pancakes.
Sourdough Pancakes Recipe Tips
- If letting the pancake batter sit overnight in the fridge, wait to add the baking soda and baking powder until right before cooking.
- Wholegrain flours are typically “thirstier” than all-white AP flour, so feel free to add a little more milk if needed to loosen the pancake batter.
Optional Banana Pecan Topping
These maple-glazed bananas and pecans are one of my favorite pancake toppings- a tasty option if you’re keen. Fresh berries are always nice too.
To make the Banana Pecan topping, add butter to the same skillet. Add pecans and a pinch of salt. Saute for 3-4 minutes over medium heat until toasted. Move to one side. Add the bananas. Sear each side of the banana 2-3 minutes, or until golden.
Once the bananas are golden brown, pour the maple syrup over the bananas and pecans, give a stir, turn the heat off and remove the pan from the burner.
Serve the pancakes and top with a spoonful of the Banana Pecan Topping. To me, they taste heavenly!
Serving Suggestions and Storage
The sourdough pancakes can also be served very simply with maple syrup and a pat of butter. Add a sprinkling of cinnamon or nutmeg if you like. Or serve with fresh berries and vanilla whipped cream.
Leftover sourdough pancakes can be frigerated for up to 4 days and reheated in a toaster oven, or place them in the freezer for later.
Variations
Feel free to fold in fresh blueberries or chocolate chips to the sourdough pancake batter, right before cooking the pancakes.
More sourdough discard Recipes!
*See all our best sourdough recipes here!
Enjoy the sourdough pancakes and keep in mind, pancakes are for any time of the week, day or night. No rules! We just had them for dinner last night! So good!
Hope you are having a good week, staying well & staying grounded.
xoxo
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Easy Sourdough Pancake Recipe
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 pancakes
- Category: breakfast, sourdough,
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A quick and easy recipe for fluffy Sourdough Pancakes using sourdough starter or discard that can be made in just 30 minutes (or ferment overnight).
Ingredients
- 2/3 cups sourdough starter (bubbly or hungry, stirred down) 140 grams (room temp is easiest to work with here).
- 2/3 cup milk (or plant-based milk) 140 grams, add more to the desired consistency
- 1 large egg, beaten ( or sub a flax egg, see notes)
- 1 tablespoon oil or melted butter (10 grams)
- 1–2 tablespoons maple syrup (10–20 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (3 grams)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (120 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (4 grams)
- Butter or oil for skillet or griddle
- Maple syrup for drizzling
Banana Pecan Topping (optional)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup pecans
- pinch salt
- 1 firm banana, sliced
- 2–3 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
- Whisk wet ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- Mix dry ingredients together in a small bowl. (* see notes if fermenting overnight)
- Gradually add flour mixture to wet mixture, whisking until just combined. If the batter feels thick (wholegrain flours are “thirstier” than white flour), add a little more milk to thin to the desired consistency. (It should pour slowly out of the bowl. ) Let sit 15 minutes.
- Heat a dry skillet over medium-low heat until very very hot. Add oil or a combo of oil and butter to the skillet and swirl. Ladle in a 1/2 cup batter (to make a 6-inch pancake). Flip when golden and small bubbles appear at the surface. Cook until middle puffs in the center, lowering heat if necessary.
- Keep in a warm oven or cover with foil. Repeat with the remaining 5 pancakes.
Maple Banana Pecan Topping
- Add butter to the same skillet. Add pecans and a pinch of salt. Saute for 3-4 minutes over medium heat until toasted. Move to one side. Add the bananas. Sear each side of the banana 2-3 minutes, or until golden.
- Once the bananas are golden, pour the maple syrup over the bananas and pecans, give a stir, turn the heat off and remove the pan from the burner.
- Serve the pancakes and top with the Maple Glazed Bananas and Pecans.
Notes
Overnight: If you want to let the batter ferment overnight, simply leave out the baking soda and baking powder, and then add this to the batter in the morning right before cooking. I like to sprinkle them through a fine mesh strainer, (to prevent any clumps) over the batter, then whisk in. The batter will be light and airy.
Consistency: Depending on the flour you use, the batter can get overly thick. Feel free to loosen with more milk. If pancakes seem too thin, feel free to add a few tablespoons more flour. The batter should be thick-ish but able to pour out of the bowl slowly. It’s a pretty forgiving recipe.
Flax Egg: Mix 1 tablespoon ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons water.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 x 6-inch pancakes – without any toppings
- Calories: 418
- Sugar: 8.6 g
- Sodium: 657.2 mg
- Fat: 17.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 58.5 g
- Fiber: 7.2 g
- Protein: 11.2 g
- Cholesterol: 62 mg
I made these for breakfast yesterday, including the pecans and bananas topping. Super yummy! The pancakes are spongy light and have a hint of sourdough scent. Really delicious and I’ll do them again and again. I will experiment with adding wheat flour, too, for extra nutrition. Thank you for a great recipe.
Thanks Lynne!
Made my holiday special Eggnog pancakes using the starter recipe by substituting eggnog for the milk. Yummy!
Yum Marty!
This is my go-to recipe for using sourdough discard when I feed my starter each week. Love it for both dinner and breakfast pancakes. So yummy!
thanks so much!
Delicious! These were fluffy and simple enough to make with my 15-month old. We added some chocolate chips to some while cooking. Yum!
Love it! So happy they liked it!
These pancakes are wonderful. My go-to sourdough recipe for sure.
Just a heads up that the conversion tables are off a little bit on the grams. For example, 1X flour is 1 cup, 120g and 2X is 2 cups but still reads 120g instead of 240g. Once I had that figured out, my 2X batches were perfect too!
Thanks for the recipe
Thanks so much- yes, unfortunatly, the converter can be off sometimes.
I’ve never liked pancakes until using this recipe! I had them two days in a row they are so good!
Awesome, happy you gave them a go!
Just perfect 🙂
awesome!
Omg these pancakes are DIVINE!!! I can’t get over it. I put blueberries in mine. Thank you for an amazing recipe!
thanks Angeli- happy you liked them!
These are amazing. First time making sourdough pancakes with my discard. These will be our go to pancakes 🥞 in the future. Thank you for sharing!
Yay! Great to hear Shelley!
I fed my starter, which I made following your instructions, and used the discard to make this recipe. My husband and I agree that these are simply the best pancakes we’ve ever had!
Thank you!
Awesome Monica!
My family LOVES this pancake recipe! I make it every Tuesday when I feed my starter. It’s definitely a keeper and a great way to utilize the discarded starter.
Perfect Rhonda! Great to hear.
I think my starter is ready to use! I am so excited! Can I use buttermilk? I would think so. I always have some on hand. I love it in pancakes and cakes and well…bisquits!
Yes Christy! Perhaps water it down a little if batter is too thick!
Can we freeze the (yummy) cooked pancakes?
Yes you can Tracey!
Amazing Pancakes. We are all in love. To get my family of six to agree isn’t easy, but these are fantastic. Another reason to love sourdough and this site!!!
Yay Janet!
Perfect! Fluffy and flavorful! Don’t need to look for another pancake recipe now. We used leftover batter the next day with some pumpkin butter mixed in and spiced apples on top. Fall on a plate. Wonderfully versatile recipe.
Love it Amanda!
I just made this batter and one pancake. It was delicious!! How long do you think the batter will keep and be good for?
hi Mimi! I think the batter would keep for several days in the fridge!
Thanks so much, Sylvia! I’ve just started making sourdough bread from your recipe. Your videos for that recipe were so helpful especially for someone who is completely new to Sourdough starters and bread baking! Very grateful for your recipes and lovely blog!
Best,
Mimi
Thanks so much Mimi!
Made the sourdough-pancakes this morning. This is my first try with sourdough, tasted just like my grandmother’s flapjacks 60 yrs ago. We will be making these on a regular bases. Great taste, fixture and favor.. cant wait to try the Biscuits..
Great to hear and glad you enjoyed!
Can I substitute the egg for something else? Looking to make a vegan version.
Perhaps try some baking powder? 1-2 teaspoons?
Do you think I could make the batter the night before?
Yes!
This is a fantastic recipe! It’s my go to for discard pancakes. Thank you for sharing it with us.
These are literally the BEST PANCAKES EVER!!! Super easy, fluffy and tasty! No more boxed pancake mix for this girl :).
Please give grams weight as well as cups for we poor old English cooks.
Hi Keith, Sorry about that. I will as soon as I make these again!
Thanks for posting the grams! Made life much easier for me too.
Welcome! I just hope it is accurate!
Hi Sylvia, I have just made the pancakes this morning. They were so fluffy and delicious. I love that your recipe doesn’t use buttermilk. I added pecans and cocoa powder in the dough. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Delish level: 10 10 10.
ps. 2/3 cup SD starter = 150 grams. Turned out great.
For the pancakes….
Is it ok to use a starter 180 mg from the fridge while it’s very cold? Or shall I get it out and put it in room temp?
It is fine used cold. 🙂
Grams for all ingredients would be awesome. So much easier to bake with.
These are SO good! I made them with spelt flour and added ground flaxseed. This is a keeper, and I will definitely be making these again!! Thank you for the great recipe!