Name: Fluffiest Pumpkin Spice Pancakes for Two (or a Crowd)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or 00 flour) (125g); 3 1/2 ounces (slightly less than 1/2 cup) pumpkin purée (or canned pumpkin) (100g); 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (7g); 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (0.25g); 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (1g); 1 tablespoon sugar (15g); 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (3g); 3/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature (185g) *see recipe notes for making an easy buttermilk substitute.; 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (3g); 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (25g); 2 large eggs, room temperature (100g)

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This homemade pumpkin pancake recipe is without a doubt one of our all-time favorite pancakes to eat -- super fluffy, crispy buttery-edged, and topped with melted butter, roasted chestnuts, and drizzled with pure maple syrup!

Pumpkin spice pancakes with a dollop of melting butter on top with maple syrup drizzling down the sides and toasted chestnuts sprinkled all over (with a wedge cut out of the stack).

If you're looking for a small-batch pumpkin pancake recipe for two people or a small family this is the perfect recipe! Feel free to double or triple the recipe if you need to feed a crowd or entertain company for the holidays.

Jump to:

Pumpkin Pancake Video Tutorial
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Pancake Batter Too Thick or Too Thin? Here's How to Fix it.
Ingredients
Instructions-- Measure, Mix, Fold & Scoop
Ways to Customize Pancakes
Pro Tips & Techniques (Make Better Pumpkin Pancakes)
Troubleshooting Pancakes -- What's Wrong With My Pancakes?
More Pumpkin Recipes & Brunch Classics Everyone Will Love
📖 Recipe

pumpkin pancake cooking in a crêpe pan with bubbles

a pumpkin pancake cooking in a crepe pan after being flipped over to reveal a golden brown pumpkin pancake.

Pumpkin Pancake Video Tutorial

Here's a quick look at just how simple and easy these pancakes are to make!

a small'ish round deep bright red-orange Hokkaido pumpkin cut in half revealing it's large pumpkin seeds and bright orange flesh

top down view of widemouth mason jar filled with bright orange homemade pumpkin purée sitting on top of a dark grey linen apron.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Super soft and fluffy (and SOOO good!)
Ready in minutes
Full of fall pumpkin spiced flavors with this easy homemade pumpkin pie spice
Works with homemade pumpkin purée or canned pumpkin
Kid-friendly pancake recipe
A great breakfast-for-dinner recipe
Great meal prep pancakes (they freeze extremely well)

a serving platter with a stack of beautiful pumpkin-colored pancakes with melting butter, toasted chestnuts and covered with maple syrup and a wedge cut out to see the fluffy layers

Pancake Batter Too Thick or Too Thin? Here's How to Fix it.

We love pancakes around here -- 100% whole wheat, with or without oatmeal, as well as the regular classic diner kind. But no matter what type of flour or ingredients you use, pancake batter should always be visibly a little lumpy (without full long streaks of flour) and easy to pour, but never too runny.

If pancake batter is too thick, add milk or buttermilk 1 tablespoon at a time until it looks about right.

If pancake batter looks too runny, you may sprinkle a little flour into the batter until you reach the right consistency.

Ingredients

This fluffy pumpkin pancake recipe is versatile and uses basic pantry ingredients. Use Libby's canned pumpkin or this 20- minute homemade pumpkin purée if you have a little extra time to spare.

homemade pumpkin purée or canned pumpkin
all-purpose flour
baking powder
baking soda
salt
sugar
pumpkin pie spice
buttermilk *see recipe notes for making an easy homemade buttermilk substitute.
vanilla extract
unsalted butter
eggs

See recipe card for quantities.

beautifully orange- colored pumpkin pancake batter in a mixing bowl.

a huge pillowy cloud of whipped egg whites on top of pumpkin-colored pancake batter ready to be folded in.

folding whipped egg whites into pumpkin pancake batter

Instructions-- Measure, Mix, Fold & Scoop

This healthy pumpkin pancakes recipe is so easy your kids can make it (really)! I like to whip the egg whites separately, but I've made this recipe plenty of times without whipping them (you can check out those pancakes over here if you're curious) -- they're delicious every time!

Measure the dry ingredients.
Mix the wet ingredients.
Optional step: separate the egg whites from yolks and whip egg whites to soft peaks.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
Cook the pancakes.

See recipe card for detailed instructions.

A crêpe pan with melted butter bubbling and ready to cook the pancakes.

pumpkin buttermilk pancakes cooking in a crêpe pan with bubbles forming on the top.

Ways to Customize Pancakes

Although these pumpkin spice pancakes don't need anything but a little maple syrup and butter, here are a few ways to customize them.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pancakes: add ½ cup of chocolate chips (milk, dark, or white chocolate)
Blueberry Pumpkin Pancakes: add ½ cup of frozen fruit (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries)
Pumpkin Walnut Pancakes: add ½ cup of toasted nuts (pecans, walnuts, pine nuts, macadamia nuts)
Pumpkin Banana Pancakes: either add 1 over-ripe mashed banana to the wet ingredients and whisk to combine before adding it to the dry ingredients OR add slices of banana to each pancake as it cooks

measuring cup with beaten egg, oil, vanilla extract and buttermilk — Beat the egg, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla extract BEFORE adding it to the dry ingredients.

pouring melted butter into pancake batter — Add the melted butter

white rubber spatula folding in the wet ingredients into the dry pancake ingredients — Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the wet pancake ingredients into the dry ingredients.

folding a whipped egg white into the pancake batter — Adding an extra stiffly beaten egg white helps add lightness to pancakes.

Pro Tips & Techniques (Make Better Pumpkin Pancakes)

Use these tried and tested techniques (in the photos above) to make lighter and fluffier pancakes.

Use room temperature ingredients. Room temperature ingredients speed up the chemical reactions taking place between the ingredients, and also help create larger air bubbles that get trapped by the batter during the cooking process which equals a fluffier pancake.

Whisk the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and oil (or melted butter if called for) together before adding it to the dry flour mixture. This helps avoid over-mixing the batter once the wet and dry ingredients are combined. Overmixing can lead to dense chewy pancakes.

Use a fork or rubber spatula to gently stir or fold in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients instead of using a whisk. This ensures you don't overmix the batter which can overwork the gluten and produce dense pancakes.

Optional: The addition of a stiffly beaten egg white gently folded into the batter can help give a little extra fluffiness to pancakes. Using a totally clean and grease-free coil spring whisk makes this task extremely quick and easy.

A stack of pumpkin pancakes on a plate with a wedge cut out and still sitting on the plate about to be served.

A thicker batter = a thicker pancake. If you want a slightly thicker pancake than what's pictured in this recipe, add a bit less milk. For a thinner pancake, use a little more milk.

Let the batter rest*. Letting the pancake batter rest for a few minutes (or up to 45 minutes in the fridge) allows the gluten in the flour to relax and the starch grains to swell which helps make tender fluffy pancakes. *Full disclosure, I usually let the batter rest just 2 to 3 minutes before using and they're always fluffy and tender.

Make sure baking powder and baking soda are fresh and not expired. Expired leavening agents lead to Flat Stanely pancakes. I like to use a combination of baking powder and baking soda when I make buttermilk pancakes. It makes a super fluffy (angel-soft) pancake. But if you don't have baking soda you can simply omit it.

Use buttermilk or a buttermilk substitute. Buttermilk is key to the best-tasting pancakes in my opinion. The acid in it helps create a fluffier pancake too. If you don't have it, make an easy substitute by adding fresh lemon juice (or vinegar) to the milk and letting it stand for 5-10 minutes. *See recipe notes for exact measurements needed for a faux buttermilk recipe.

pumpkin pancakes sliced and served dripping with melting butter, toasted nuts, and pure maple syrup

Troubleshooting Pancakes -- What's Wrong With My Pancakes?

If you're new to making pancakes or just want to learn how to make better homemade pancakes it can be frustrating if you don't know why they didn't turn out fluffy and light.

Why are my pancakes gummy in the middle? Either the heat is too high which means the pancakes are browning on the outside faster than they're cooking in the middle, OR you're just not cooking them quite long enough.

Why are my pancakes too brown? Maintaining an even temperature of the skillet or griddle is key to perfectly golden pancakes. If your skillet is smoking, it's way too hot. On the other hand, if the butter isn't sizzling, your pan is too cold. Adjusting the temperature up and down as needed is required for well-cooked pancakes.

Why are my pancakes flat? If your pancakes are too flat, it's usually because the batter is too thin and runny, or the baking powder isn't active. Add flour 1 tablespoon at a time to help thicken the batter and if that doesn't help then the leavening agent (usually baking powder) may be the culprit.

Why are my pancakes rubbery? Overmixing pancake batter further develops the gluten which renders touch, chewy, and dense pancakes. Pancake batter should not have long streaks of visible flour, but it should be very lumpy.

Why are my pancakes dry? Dry pancakes indicate you've likely used too much flour, too little baking powder (or baking soda), or used too little fat (like eggs, butter, or oil). I like to use a combination of butter (for flavor) and oil (for fluffy texture) to create a perfectly textured pancake. If your pancakes end up dry, don't throw them out. Either serve them with homemade fruit syrups and jam or use them to make a pancake bread pudding.

Why are my pancakes falling apart? Pancakes usually fall apart because no egg is used, or not enough egg is used. Essentially, if a key ingredient is missing or the ratio of ingredients isn't in balance, pancakes have a tendency to break apart.

What can I substitute for eggs in pancake batter? You may substitute eggs with applesauce or mashed bananas in your pancake batter to make them vegan. Be sure to use these proportions: (¼ cup of applesauce OR ¼ cup smashed banana = 1 large egg)