These Pumpkin Pancakes are fluffy, easy, and excellent. Try them, and you will never want a boxed mix again. Stock up on pumpkin puree to make these pancakes year-round. They are THAT GOOD.
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Easy Pumpkin Pancake Recipe
These pumpkin pancakes taste like pumpkin pie in pancake form. They’re wonderfully fluffy, delicious, and moist because they have plenty of great pumpkin flavor. As my husband says, “They go down easy.”
We modified our popular (and family favorite) Ricotta Pancakes to make this pumpkin pancake recipe, and a new favorite was born. This recipe is super easy because you can use cold ingredients straight from the refrigerator, so there’s no waiting or prep-ahead. You can enjoy pumpkin pancakes when the craving arrives.
Serve these pumpkin pancakes with a drizzle of real maple syrup and a cup of coffee for the perfect Fall breakfast. Add some Baked Apples or Sauteed Apples on the side if you’re feeling fancy.
Tips and Praise from our Community
“I made these into sheet pan pancakes. 425 for 18 minutes in my oven. They were excellent. Thank you!” – Anne Hoffman
“Again another delicious recipe. I made these for dinner tonight and they were a hit. So delicious. I’ve been craving pumpkin pancakes and these hit the spot. I added chocolate chips to some of them and they were even more heavenly. A perfect kickoff to my favorite season.” – Corinne Bell
The Best Pumpkin Puree for Pancakes
- Canned Pumpkin Puree: We love Libby’s brand pumpkin puree because it is so concentrated in color and tightly packed without excess water. If you use a different brand that is looser, the batter will be thinner, resulting in a flatter pancake that moister inside. Libby’s is still our first choice.
- Homemade Puree: You can use your own (well-drained) homemade pumpkin puree if you have sugar pumpkins on hand, but again, Libby’s works best for this recipe.
How to Make Pumpkin Pancakes:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar.
- Whisk in pumpkin puree, buttermilk, olive oil, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. Whisk flour mixture into pumpkin mixture. Rest the pancake batter for 5 to 10 minutes before cooking to produce fluffier pancakes.
- Sautee 2 minutes per side until puffed and golden brown at the edges.
- Sautee 2 minutes per side until puffed and golden brown at the edges.
When do you flip the pancakes?
The pancakes should sauté for about 2 minutes per side. If they are browning too quickly, reduce the heat. Flip the pancakes when you see bubbles form and pop on the surface of the pancakes. Only flip once. If the pancakes are browning too quickly, reduce the heat to ensure they are cooking through properly.
How to Serve Pumpkin Pancakes
We love to serve pumpkin pancakes with banana slices and drizzled with maple syrup, honey, or top with Whipped Honey Butter which is always a treat. You can also sprinkle on some chopped pecans.
More Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love
If you love all things pumpkin, these Autumn-favorite pumpkin recipes are a must-try.
- Pumpkin Cheesecake – so easy and indulgent
- Easy Pumpkin Cake – with the best cream cheese frosting
- Pumpkin Bread – easy and perfect for gifting
- Stunning Pumpkin Cake Roll
- Pumpkin Cupcakes – super fluffy
- Pull-Apart Pumpkin Bread – tastes like pumpkin cinnamon rolls
Make these pumpkin pancakes once, and you’ll make them over and over. It’s such a cozy and satisfying breakfast.
More Easy Breakfast Recipes
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it’s my favorite meal of the day on weekends because we make a big deal of it at our house (think: Poached Eggs, Bacon, and Breakfast Potatoes). Here are our top breakfast recipes.
- Crepes – we love them with a sweet cheese filling
- Breakfast Quesadillas – one simple recipe, 3 ways
- Breakfast Burritos – crowd-pleasing and freezer-safe
- Breakfast Egg Muffins – make-ahead and easy to change up
- Banana Bread – moist and loaded
Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree, (I used Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin)
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk, or kefir*
- 2 Tbsp extra light olive oil, or vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- Extra light olive oil , to grease the pan, or cooking spray
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until well blended.
- Whisk in pumpkin puree, buttermilk, olive oil and salt.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and cinnamon then whisk your flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture. Rest the pancake batter for 5 to 10 minutes before cooking to produce fluffier pancakes.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat and add just enough oil to lightly coat the surface, or use cooking spray. Spoon batter into the pan (about 2-3 Tbsp per pancake). Sautee on the first side until bubbles form and pop on top, about 2 minutes, then flip and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more oil as needed. Serve warm with maple syrup.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
The pumpkin pancake recipe and photos were updated in November 2024 to make the pancakes even fluffier and easier.
We all loved the pumpkin pancakes! Plan on making again in the morning, as part of our continuation of celebrating Thanksgiving.
Well u are always bang on but the pumpkin pancakes were way too gooey for our liking.
Sorry but not one I would try again.🤦🏼♀️
Hi Rose! I’m sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you. Did you make any modifications?
I found the texture to bee mush and off. If you like a fluffy texture this is not for you. On second cook I added more milk and flour. A bit better.
Hi Jj, did you change anything in the recipe or make any substitutions?
Thank you for this delicious recipe. The only adjustment I made was to add three tablespoons of melted butter to the batter. My husband thought he was eating warm pumpkin pie. 😊
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Caroline!
Delicious and easy to make! So pumpkin-y and perfect. Natasha just simply doesn’t miss with her recipes. If I ever want to make something specific, I explicitly search for her recipe first.
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m all smiles
you say to pour 2TBSP of batter per pancake , this can,t be correct!!!
Yes it’s about about 2 Tbsp per pancake
The taste of these pancakes is just ok. The texture is not quite on point. They really wouldn’t cook right. We added more flour and milk to the recipe so they were less mushy inside and cook better.
Hi Tia, I haven’t had that issue – did you make sure to preheat your skillet? Also what type of pumpkin did you use? Maybe if it was more watery, that could be the case?
So before making this, I knew I wanted it as a sheet pancake since my kids like that the most. I read through the reviews and even though some weren’t the best, I decided to try it out.
If following as written, it is indeed simple without a lot of bold flavours going on. Even though some people said that in a negative sense, I don’t see it that way. It lets everyone play around with what they would expect from this. Not sweet enough? Add more sugar. Not enough pumpkin flavor? Add some pumpkin spice. Or whatever, it’s all up to the cook.
I ended up adding more sugar to my preferred sweetness (by trying the batter with the tip of my finger), and since I love pumpkin pie spice I added like 1/2 a teaspoon of that as well as some vanilla since it’s also a warm flavor and compliments everything else well. After spreading it on the cookie sheet I sprinkled milk chocolate chips on top which added more sweetness. The texture was soft, not spongy like a typical pancake, but that makes sense since it has a lot of pumpkin puree in it. It reminded me a lot of a pumpkin cheesecake with chocolate. SO delicious!!
This recipe is nice in that you can keep it as is and add whatever toppings you’d want to the finished pancakes, or add whatever you want to the batter and it will come out great either way in the end.
Thanks for another great recipe! I had fun playing around with this one and definitely found a new favorite.
Has anyone tried substituting yoghurt (lemon…?) for the buttermilk…?
Hi Sherman, I haven’t tested that to advise, I looked through the comments and I also don’t see anyone mentioning that substitution. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I too am a big follower of yours and make many of your wonderful recipes. This one I’m not sure that I will make again. The taste was wonderful, the texture was off. Right away I added the extra buttermilk because the batter was sooooo thick. I also added my own version of pumpkin pie spice. The first large pancake had that custardy texture which I wasn’t crazy about. The batter had been sitting for a while when I got to the second large pancake so there had been time for the flour to absorb some of the moisture. I also turned the heat down to allow the pancake to cook longer. A definite improvement. Again, taste and appearance were terrific—
Hi Kenna! Thank you for sharing your experience. The batter is thicker but it shouldn’t be too thick that you’d need to add extra buttermilk. The texture would be affected if the ratios are off. Be sure to measure your flour correctly and not scoop it out of the container with your measuring cup. Measuring this way you can end up with 25% more flour. I have a tutorial on How to measure ingredients here. I hope that helps.
I made these into sheet pan pancakes. 425 for 18 minutes in my oven. They were excellent. Thank you!
Great to hear that you enjoyed this recipe!
Can I use this recipe to make belgian waffles instead of pancakes?
Hi Ken, I haven’t tested that to know if it will work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Again another delicious recipe. I made these for dinner tonight and they were a hit. So delicious. I’ve been craving pumpkin pancakes and these hit the spot. I added chocolate chips to some of them and they were even more heavenly. A perfect kickoff to my favorite season.
Thanks for the great review, Corrine. Happy to know that you enjoyed this recipe!
Ok I need to update my review. I was too quick to leave a comment. Once these pancakes cool to room temperature the flavor is there. Also adding a little pumpkin spice helps-I added to the other half of the batter. They are not light and fluffy like a traditional pancake they are more dense and custardy in the center so maybe I’d call them “pumpkin pie pancakes.” My kids gave them a 5 out of 10. But, all in all they were not bad!
Thank you for the update and for sharing that with me, Amy!
Hi natasha,
I looked forward to making this pancake because your cupcakes were pure perfection!
I was disappointed though….it did have have the pie texture as some mentioned. A bit of tweaking to recipe is definitely necessary…..my only regret is wasting a can of pumkin puree which is like gold in my home. My little girl loves your pumpkin recipes esp. your pumkin cupcakes🤗
Hi Ray, I’m so glad you enjoyed the pumpkin cupcakes. With the pancakes, did you use Libby or a looser pumpkin puree. The organic one we buy as well is more loose and changes the consistency of the batter so that it doesn’t puff quite as well. After testing, we found that Libby’s works best here.
Hi Natasha I make your recipes all the time and my family and I love them, so I hate to leave a negative review, but these pumpkin pancakes were not a hit:(
Hi Stephanie, I’m sorry to hear that. If you can share any more info on what happened, I am always happy to help troubleshoot. Did you use the recommended type of pumpkin? I have found that makes all the difference.
I love all your recipes but unfortunately this one just wasn’t good. The pancakes are mushy inside. Don’t like the texture overall actually. The flavor is just okay. Something is missing. I think this recipe needs some tweaking.
Hi Sara, did you make any substitutions? Sometimes the brand of pumpkin puree can make a big difference, for example, the organic one that I buy at mt grocery store is more runny and liquidy which changes the texture of the pancake batter, making the pancakes moister. Libbys makes a very thick pumpkin puree which I found works best.
Hi Natasha,
I used Libby’s and followed the recipe exactly. The batter was very thick, took a long time for the pancakes to cook. Doesn’t deter me from continuing to try more of your amazing recipes though 🙂
Thank you for the feedback, I’m glad you are determined to try something else, let me know how it goes.
As far as the flavor, I think it definitely needs pumpkin pie spice. Also omit the cinnamon, as pumpkin pie spice has that in it, also add a teaspoon or two of vanilla extract.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Sandy!
We enjoyed these pancakes. They are tasty but it’s not the perfect recipe for me yet. I’m not a huge syrup fan, so I made a batch according to recipe and a batch doubling the sugar. I also used brown sugar.
Pro: Batter comes together quickly and easily.
Con: I did find these were too soft inside so I stuck them in the oven to finish cooking.
Thanks for your comments and feedback.
I love your recipes, but this wasn’t a winner for us. Too mushy on the inside, too much baking powder flavor. Only saved with some melted butter, lots of maple syrup and extra cinnamon on top. My kids would hardly touch them though, and we will be tossing the leftovers. 😢 I used a different brand of pumpkin and made buttermilk, but all else was the same.
Hi Kendall, you shouldn’t be able to taste the baking powder. Did you possibly use baking soda? Also, some baking powders contain aluminum and some people are sensitive to that flavor. Sorry to hear that it didn’t work out.
Hi Natasha. Can you use Avocado oil in place of extra light olive oil for grilling and/or frying?
Hi Gary, I would check the smoke point to see if it is safe to use over high heat.