These fluffy Apple Pancakes are loaded with tangy-sweet apples for the ultimate breakfast treat. If you’ve never tried adding shredded apples and cinnamon to your pancakes, watch the video tutorial to see how easy it is.
We love Classic Buttermilk Pancakes and all things apples during Fall. We decided to combine the two to make these delicious Apple Pancakes. It’s been a family favorite ever since.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Our family is always on a mission for cozy breakfast ideas, from Banana Pancakes to Fluffy Waffles. If you are a fan of easy breakfast recipes, this Apple Pancakes recipe is a must-try!
Apple Pancakes Video
Spoiler Alert! The apple dies during this video. Watch Natasha make the fluffiest homemade apple pancakes. You’re going to love dressing up your buttermilk pancakes with the flavors of fresh apples and warm cinnamon spice.
Apple Pancakes Recipe
As soon as Fall is here, we love to make good use of apples, especially after apple picking. The sweet smells of Homemade Applesauce, Apple Pie, and Sauteed Apples are so irresistibly cozy. If you love apples as much as we do, these easy apple pancakes are a great way to bring a burst of fall to your breakfast routine. Here’s why you’ll love this easy breakfast recipe:
- Quick – These zesty apple pancakes cook up perfectly golden on the griddle in minutes.
- Extra fluffy – The combination of buttermilk with baking soda and baking powder makes these apple pancakes irresistibly light and fluffy.
- Family-friendly – This recipe makes enough pancakes to feed a crowd and is sure to please even the pickiest eaters.
- Perfect for Fall – Apples and cinnamon infuse these pancakes with the best autumn flavor.
Ingredients
Here’s everything you’ll need to make these apple pancakes, with the full details in the recipe card:
- Flour – For consistently light, fluffy pancakes, all-purpose flour is the most reliable.
- Sugar – Regular granulated white sugar is fine.
- Baking powder and baking soda – I use both for perfectly puffed-up pancakes.
- Sea salt and cinnamon – I like to use fine sea salt, plus ground cinnamon for a hint of fall spice. Pumpkin pie spice also works great to help the apple flavors shine.
- Buttermilk – Low-fat buttermilk, or full-fat if you prefer.
- Eggs – Eggs bind the ingredients and give these pancakes their richness.
- Vanilla extract – For the best flavor, use real vanilla over imitation.
- Unsalted butter – Melted beforehand, so it’s easier to mix.
- Apples – About 2 cups of coarsely grated green apples.
- Olive oil – For sauteeing the pancakes. I find that light olive oil is the best for cooking pancakes, though canola oil or coconut oil (or even unsalted butter) will also work.
Pro Tip: You can use any apples you have on hand to make apple pancakes. Other good varieties are Honeycrisp, Cortland, and Braeburn apples.
How To Make Apple Pancakes
These cinnamon apple pancakes are perfect to whip up on a weekend morning. Here’s how easy they are to make:
- Dry Ingredients – In one bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon)
- Wet Ingredients – In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla).
- Combine – Whisk the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Continue to whisk while pouring in the melted butter. Finally, stir in the shredded apples. The batter should look lumpy, so don’t overmix.
- Cook – Warm a couple of tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick skillet. Saute the pancakes for 2-3 minutes per side.
Pro Tip: Use an ice cream scoop to get your pancake batter perfectly portioned, and cook them on a heavy-bottomed nonstick skillet for easy flipping.
Common Questions
It’s not just the tangy flavor – the acidity in buttermilk reacts with baking soda and baking powder for extra light and airy pancakes.
Don’t overmix the batter. Overmixing deflates the air bubbles and results in dense, chewy pancakes.
If you’re making apple pancakes for an even bigger crowd, absolutely.
Wait until bubbles begin to form and pop on top of your pancakes, then it’s time to flip. This usually takes between 2-3 minutes in this recipe.
Pancake Variations
Because this has the classic Buttermilk Pancakes Base, you can easily customize the batter with your favorite pancake add-ins. Here are some ideas:
- Fresh or frozen blueberries
- Raisins, currants, or craisins
- Chocolate chips
- Toffee bits
- Shredded coconut
Serve With
These easy apple pancakes make the perfect breakfast served with:
- Toppings – Sauteed Apples, butter (or Honey Butter), maple syrup, Caramel Sauce, honey, Greek yogurt, Nutella.
- Bacon – Pair pancakes with a side of Crispy Air Fryer Bacon or Oven-Baked Bacon.
- Eggs – Apple pancakes go great with scrambled eggs or Poached Eggs.
- Fruit – Chopped fresh fruit, bananas, or berries.
- Breakfast Potatoes – We love this recipe with our Breakfast Potatoes.
Make-Ahead
Here’s how to properly store apple pancakes so that they stay fresh for serving:
- Keep Warm: Apple pancakes can be kept warm in a 200˚F oven for up to 45 minutes before serving. I don’t recommend leaving them in there longer, as this can dry them out.
- To Refrigerate: Store leftover cooled pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.
- To Reheat: Pancakes are great to reheat in the toaster or in a skillet on low until warmed through.
Can I Freeze Pancakes?
Apple pancakes can be kept frozen for up to 2 months. Once your pancakes have cooled, store them wrapped tightly in plastic or otherwise airtight, then place them in the freezer. Thaw the pancakes in the fridge before reheating them.
Cinnamon Apple Pancakes are such an easy, fun way to spice up any morning. Do you have a favorite autumn breakfast recipe? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
More Apple Recipes to Try
Apple season is my favorite season, and if you love these apple pancakes, check out these other wholesome apple recipes:
Easy Apple Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Wet Ingredients:
- 2 cups low-fat buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 2 green apples, or 1 lb, peeled and coarsely grated (2 cups)
- 2 Tbsp light olive oil, plus more as needed to sauté
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk together and set aside.
- In a separate medium mixing bowl, add buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla and whisk until blended. Add these wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and whisk everything together until just moistened.
- While whisking, add melted butter and stir until incorporated then fold in the grated apple. The mixture should be lumpy (don’t overmix).
- Heat a large heavy-bottomed skillet or cast iron pan over medium/low heat, or heat a griddle to 325-350˚F. Add 2 Tbsp oil. If you plan to keep cooked pancakes warm for a bit, preheat the oven to 200˚F.
- You can make the pancakes as large or small as you prefer. We portion 1/4 cup or a 2 oz ice cream scoop of batter for each pancake. Saute for 2-3 minutes per side and flip when the pancakes are golden brown on the first side and you see bubbles form and start to pop on the surface. If they are browning too quickly, reduce the heat.
- Transfer pancakes to a baking sheet and keep warm in a 200˚F oven for up to 45 minutes or until ready to serve.
Nutrition Per Serving
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
I know these aren’t Keto, but could I use almond flour instead of the regular flour??
Hi Marlene, I haven’t tried this with gluten free flour, but I imagine that will work. Here’s what one of my readers wrote: “Very good results! I substituted gluten free flour (Bob’s Red Mill 1:1) and the pancakes were light and fluffy.” I hope that helps.
Ours came out very thin more like crepes, but we’re still very good especially with apples on top recipe linked. No butter or syrup needed. Also, took a very long time to prepare and mix more like 2-3 hours. Might try just adding apples to premade mix and see how close that gets you. That would be closer to easy.
I like using my whole wheat flour, so I did half whole/ half all purpose. No baking soda added. I figured the apples would add enough sweetness, so no sugar added. Wanted to try something different, so I did a dash of allspice and cardamom. Just used any apple we had in the fridge. All came together quick and turned out fluffy, moist and tasty. The true critics, my 2 littles, ate them all up.
I’m so happy it turned out well with those substitutions, Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Daisy!
Thanks for the recipe. I was at the holiday house which has a severe lack of spices, so used the recipe as a base.
2 cups self raising flour, 3 tbsp sugar, pinch of salt, 2 large granny Smith peeled apples, 2 eggs,a big squeeze of lemon because I didn’t have buttermilk, the melted butter and about 1.5 cups of regular full fat milk – the apples were really juicy so i thought I’d reduce the milk amount.
The mix appeared quite runny, but it cooked up beautifully.
They were scarfed down by adults and kids and were described as sooo fluffy!
Very good results! I substituted gluten free flour (Bob’s Red Mill 1:1) and the pancakes were light and fluffy.
That’s great, Dina! Thank you for sharing.
These were too dense, and not just because of the addition of apples-mine were really thick and tasted more like flour than apple.
They shouldn’t be dense unless you used too much flour or the ratios were off. I recommend watching my tutorial on How to measure ingredients to help.
Delicious and easy recipe. I left the peel on and used 1 tsp brown sugar
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I admit that these disappointed me. I suspected that they’d be light on spice from reading the recipe, but even a modest increase in the cinnamon didn’t really do much for the flavor. And much as I love olive oil for lots of cooking, this didn’t work for me either. I appreciate the clear directions and enjoy other site recipes – this one just wasn’t one that hit the right fall flavor notes for me.
Hi Tracey, We found this to be the right amount of spice but you can definitely add more to taste. Also, keep in mind if you add a ton of spice, you’ll end up with a darker colored pancake.
Great recipe, it tasted awesome. I loved it. Thank yoj so much
You’re welcome, glad that you loved it!
Hi Natasha! Would it be possible to grate the apples without peeling them? Would love to add fiber and save time 🙂
Hi Leor! If you prefer the skin on, that would be fine. 🙂
These pancakes are spectacular. They have just the right amount of sweetness and an amazingly fluffy texture. My husband, always suspicious of new foods, absolutely loved them as much as I did.
Thank you for your great comments and review!