Packed with warm spices and real pumpkin purée, these thick and fluffy Pumpkin Pie Pancakes are a breakfast treat you won’t be able to resist. They’re simple to make and bursting with fall flavors just like my favorite pumpkin spice waffles!
Table of Contents
Pumpkin pie, but make it breakfast! If pumpkin pie is your seasonal sweet of choice, then dessert becomes breakfast by whisking pumpkin purée and spices into quick-fix homemade pancake batter. After a few minutes on a hot griddle, you’ll be slicing into a stack of flavor-packed pumpkin pancakes.
These fall-inspired pancakes are perfect for those chilly autumn mornings and make for a cozy companion to your morning coffee. Plus, they’re great for using up any leftover pumpkin purée you have from fall baking, and, best of all, they’re freezer-friendly. You can make a batch, freeze them, and enjoy them later for a quick and convenient breakfast.
And let’s not forget about the toppings! From pure maple syrup and candied pecans to whipped cream and chocolate chips, the possibilities are endless. So, fire up your griddle and get ready to add a touch of autumn to your morning routine.
Why They’re The Best
- A taste of fall in every bite. These pumpkin pancakes are the epitome of fall flavors. The combination of cinnamon, allspice and ginger, along with the pumpkin purée, offers a taste reminiscent of a freshly baked pumpkin pie.
- Fluffy and light. The right balance of leavening agents (baking powder and baking soda) and the addition of milk and egg ensure these pancakes are wonderfully fluffy and light.
- Warm and comforting. The spices in these pancakes create a cozy, comforting aroma that fills your kitchen, making your home feel even cozier on a crisp fall morning.
- Easy to make. While they might taste like a gourmet treat, these pancakes are straightforward to prepare. Simply mix the dry ingredients with the wet ones and cook them up on a griddle or skillet.
- Made with real pumpkin purée!
- All-purpose flour: This is the base of our pancakes, ensuring a fluffy and satisfying texture.
- Sugar: Three tablespoons of sugar add a touch of sweetness to counterbalance the spices.
- Baking powder and baking soda: Just like classic buttermilk pancakes, you’ll need both of these leavening agents to help the pancakes rise and become light and airy.
- Spices: Cinnamon, allspice and ginger combine to create that quintessential fall flavor. You can replace these individual spices with approximately 1 ½ teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.
- Pumpkin purée: Make sure it’s pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling, for that authentic pumpkin taste. You’ll need 1 cup for this recipe, which means you’ll have some leftover pumpkin. Find inspiration to put it to use with my best pumpkin recipes.
- Milk: I prefer to use whole milk because it creates a rich and creamy batter. However, any variety, including dairy-free alternatives will work, too.
- Egg: Provides structure to the pancakes and adds moisture.
- Oil: Vegetable oil gives the pancakes a moist texture. You can use melted butter or a neutral-flavored oil such as canola or a light, fruity olive oil (avoid the peppery and intense varieties). I cook my pancakes in a bit of vegetable oil, but cooking spray works just as well.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and salt. Set the bowl aside.
- Whisk the wet ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin purée, milk, egg and vegetable oil.
- Mix wet and dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
Kelly’s Note: The batter will be lumpy. Do not overmix it or your pancakes will be dense.
- Preheat your cooking surface. Heat a griddle or large nonstick sauté pan over medium-low heat and add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan, allowing it to heat for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Ladle the batter and cook the pancakes. In batches, scoop 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter into the pan to form pancakes. Cook the pancakes on one side until bubbles appear in the center, then flip them once and continue cooking until no longer doughy in the center.
- Serve with toppings. Serve the pancakes with your choice of toppings, including maple syrup, fresh fruit, nuts or whipped cream.
When it comes to creating the most delicious and fluffy pumpkin pie pancakes, a few tips and the right tools can make all the difference.
- Embrace a Lumpy Batter: The key to fluffy pancakes is not overmixing the batter. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together until they’re just combined. A few lumps are perfectly fine; they’ll result in lighter pancakes.
- Use a Non-Stick Griddle or Skillet: A good-quality non-stick griddle or skillet is your best friend when making pancakes. It ensures even cooking and makes flipping a breeze.
- My Secret for Perfectly Round Pancakes: I’ve had this batter dispenser for years and absolutely love how it makes perfectly round pancakes of all sizes. (It also works great for cupcake batter and eliminates any mess with filling the cups! You’ll definitely want to try it out when you whip up a batch of these vanilla bean cupcakes.)
- Preheat Your Cooking Surface: Before ladling the batter onto the griddle, make sure it’s well preheated. A consistent, medium heat is essential for even cooking.
- The Perfect Flip: When you see bubbles forming on the surface of the pancake and the edges look set, it’s time to flip. Use a fish spatula to make the flip easy and avoid tearing the pancake.
- Keep Them Warm: If you’re making a large batch, keep your cooked pancakes warm in a low oven while you finish cooking the rest. This ensures that everyone gets to enjoy hot pancakes.
Wondering what to serve with pumpkin pancakes? I love them topped with pecans and a heavy drizzle of maple syrup. However, feel free to get creative with toppings like powdered sugar, fresh berries, chocolate chips or even caramelized bananas from this easy French toast recipe.
Serve alongside cheesy hash brown egg cups and fruit salad for the ultimate fall breakfast.
Frequently Asked Questions
I wouldn’t recommend making this batter in advance as the leavening agents won’t retain as much ability to cause the pancakes to puff (and hence, be fluffy instead of dense!).
If your homemade pancakes lack fluffiness, it’s often due to overmixing the batter, expired leavening agents or an inconsistent cooking temperature. To ensure fluffier pancakes, mix the batter until just combined, check the freshness of your leavening agents and maintain a consistent cooking temperature.
To make pancakes ahead of time for a crowd, prepare the batter, cook the pancakes, and allow them to cool. Stack the cooled pancakes with parchment paper in between, wrap, and freeze. When ready to serve, place the frozen pancakes on a baking sheet and reheat in a 350°F oven for 10-15 minutes.
- Mini Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread
- Pumpkin Spice Pretzel Bites
- The Best Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
- Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup canned pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for cooking
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and salt. Set the bowl aside.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin purée, milk, egg and vegetable oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. (The batter will be lumpy. Do not overmix it or your pancakes will be dense.)
- Heat a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-low heat and add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan, allowing it to heat for 2 to 3 minutes. In batches, scoop 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter into the pan to form pancakes. Cook the pancakes on one side until bubbles appear in the center, then flip them once and continue cooking until no longer doughy in the center. Serve the pancakes with your choice of toppings, including maple syrup, fresh fruit, nuts or whipped cream.
Kelly’s Notes
- The key to fluffy pancakes is not overmixing the batter. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together until they’re just combined. A few lumps are perfectly fine; they’ll result in lighter pancakes.
- Before ladling the batter onto the griddle, make sure it’s well preheated. A consistent, medium heat is essential for even cooking.
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When you see bubbles forming on the surface of the pancake and the edges look set, it’s time to flip. Use a fish spatula to make the flip easy and avoid tearing the pancake.
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If you’re making a large batch, keep your cooked pancakes warm in a low oven while you finish cooking the rest. This ensures that everyone gets to enjoy hot pancakes.
- To freeze these pancakes, allow them to cool completely, stack them with parchment paper in between, wrap the stack tightly, and store in a freezer-safe bag or container. When properly stored in the freezer, these pancakes can last for up to 1-2 months.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
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Recipe adapted from All Recipes.
BEST pancakes ever. Tasted just like pumpkin pie and they were easy to make! Thank you!
You are so welcome! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
CAn the batter be stored in the fridge and for how many days
Hi Heather – I wouldn’t recommend that as the leavening agents won’t retain as much ability to cause the pancakes to puff (and hence, be fluffy instead of dense!).
Hello – can I replace the cinnamon all spice and ginger with a ready pumpkin spice powder??
Definitely!
hi there, is there a gluten free recipe available for the pumpkin pancakes. thanks
Hi! You can try using a gluten-free flour with this recipe.
These are fabulous!!! Easy to make and So Yummy!!
I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Allison!
Just made these for my kids and I for breakfast. They were light and fluffy, and they tasted great. Thanks so much for the recipe
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Beatrice!
How many pancakes does this make?
Hi Joie! It depends on how big you make your pancakes, but if they end up around 4 inches in diameter, you should have about 16 pancakes, so 4 per person.
Hi Kelly,
I’m just seeing this recipe and wondered a couple of things. First, have you tried this with whole wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)? If I try using that, would I need to increase the amount of milk (and any idea how much extra when subbing whole wheat for regular flour)?
Second, see you use vinegar which is what I would normally see in a recipe if buttermilk is not available. Would this recipe be improved or any different is buttermilk is used rather than whole milk and vinegar?
Thanks!
Hey Dave! I haven’t tried making any of these substitutions so I’m not sure how the recipe would turn out. Let me know if you give it a shot!
It was so delicious.I love that.thank you for your great recipe.
So glad you enjoyed the pancakes, Bahamin!
Can I use coconut flour instead?
Hi Tasia – I haven’t tried using coconut flour in this recipe so I can’t say with certainty how they would turn out. From the little research I’ve done in regards to substituting coconut flour in a recipe, the consensus seems to be that less flour and more egg are necessary for the recipe to be a success. Let me know who it turns out if you give it a shot!
I just want to say, me and my son absolutely love these pancakes. It’s 1:30 in the am, here in Dover Pa. And we made some, thanks so much for the awesome recipe.
You are so welcome, Melissa! I’m so glad you and your son have been enjoying this recipe!
love the pumpkin pancakes
The recipe just wasted my time and the last cup of pumpkin purée.. Too salty to eat, honestly.. It turned out really soft and fluffy though, i might try again with less salt and more sugar. I think the recipe should be edited, really..
Hi Kelly – Thanks so much for your comment. I have since updated the recipe so it’s all new. Thank you for your feedback.
When I mixed the melted butter with egg punpkin and milk the butter immediately went back to room temperature and became all chunky :( how to prevent this?
I have to echo another comment above – these pancakes were not good. Maybe if I used applesauce instead of the melted butter and added far more sugar, I could tweak them enough that we would enjoy them. I sadly just wasted almost an hour and we have no breakfast.
Pictures were great and is what encouraged me to try the recipe.
Hi Joan – Thank you for your feedback. I have since re-worked the recipe.
I know what we’re having for breakfast this weekend! Thank you!
How many pancakes is four servings?
Hi Kim! It depends on how big you make your pancakes, but if they end up around 4 inches in diameter, you should have about 16 pancakes, so 4 per person.
Why the oil in the pan? Usually when I make pancakes I just spray it between every two or three.
Hi Brittany – the oil functions the same way as cooking spray, so you can use one or the other. Hope that helps!
That first shot is seriously AMAZING! How did you manage to catch the drip of syrup so perfectly? Do you use a tripod?
Thanks so much, Erika! It took a lot of patience, but no tripod. I just held my camera with one, the syrup with the other and had the fork balanced in a glass. The creative things we do when we’re a team of one :)
We think these are wonderful! My 2 year old is devouring them as I write this. He loves them! Delicious recipe and beautiful photos.
I’m so glad you and your son are enjoying the recipe!
Good recipe. I have to admit that, because mom always did, I omit salt in recipes and use salted butter instead. And due to my own fear of fat ;) …I cut the butter to 2 Tbs. Very tasty with agave syrup on them, and my picky husband even liked them!
These pancakes were terrible. 1 tsp of salt is way too much–they might have been saved if I had gone with my instinct and used 1/2 tsp. and they definitely needed more sugar. Maybe 2-3 Tbl sugar. I made these for my kids and even covered in syrup we had to throw them away. They were that bad. Great idea though. We love pumpkin pancakes. We will just be going back to our favorite recipe. Sorry :(
Hi Ruth! Thanks for your note. I’ve since updated the recipe and changed all of the quantities.
Do you have to use whole milk?
Hi Jessica! You could sub in nonfat milk or any other type of milk. Enjoy!
I actually don’t like pumpkin pie, but I love pumpkin in other things so these pancakes sound perfect for me.
There is always the odd conflicting feeling when you were “supposed” to be in the middle of a tragedy, but miss it. Mostly grateful that you’re safe, with a twinge of guilt for not being in the mix.
My NYC friends have power restored, but it took so long. And I have felt especially guilty for the gorgeous LA weather ever since the storm hit, wish I could ship some east.
Hope you are safe and well, wish there was something I could do help the East Coast, text to the Red Cross haven’t eased my guilt!
And, can I say how gorgeous these pancakes are?
Thanks for this recipe! Due to food sensitivities in my youngest child–I vegan-ized these with rice milk and applesauce. Delicious! Not to mention the health benefits of the pumpkin. Keep ’em coming! I love Fall comfort foods.
Your photo is absolutely stunning.
My thoughts are with you and everyone else up there!! What a mess. I hope you get home soon and your power back on even sooner. Hugs.
Absolutely delicious and what a perfectly gorgeous shot of the forkful of pancakes with syrup – awesome!
Thinking of you at this time, and hoping you return safely — and with power — so I don’t miss your gorgeous recipes too much!
Wow, I absolutely love that first shot. Beautiful. These pancakes make the perfect fall treat. Hopefully you have a safe trip back to NYC!
Amazing photos! Good luck getting back to NYC!
Those are some amazing photos, wow!! Looks delicious.
wow that first shot of the pancakes on the fork with the syrup dripping down – outrageous!! love it. good luck with your trip back to NYC – thoughts with you! DC just got dumped by rain, but seems like north got hit much harder :( xo
I love the shot of the bite on the fork, gorgeous, Kelly! These sound oh-so amazing. Hope NYC recovers quickly but I am grateful that all of my friends are OK!
OMG those pictures….ridiculous! The things I would do for that forkful of pancake. They look amazing. I hope you get back to NY all right!
I wish that fork was going in to my mouth!
I tried making pumpkin pancakes and waffles but it always failed. looking at these I am so tempted to try it again. thanks for sharing.
omg Kelley These rocks! Off to share on my Facebook page
Those pancakes look so good! Nice shot on the fork!
These look so good, I can almost taste them. Safe home to New York :)
Siobhan
Oh my goodness – I want to eat those right off the fork! Beautiful photos.
And hope your power comes back on soon. So glad you all are ok.
Good luck getting back to NYC!! I hope your power comes back sooner than expected! These pancakes look amazing! Beautiful photos!
Good luck when you get back to NY! Hope everything gets back to normal fast! My family is NJ is pretty much going through the same thing with all the damage done to Atlantic City…ugh.
Your pancakes look and sound DELISH! :)
Best of luck with regaining power! I feel like eating more pancakes would just make everything better : )
I hope you make it back to NYC safely and that you don’t have to walk up those 24 floors too many times before the power comes back!
These pancakes look so fluffy and delicious :)