Incredible Fluffy Overnight Buttermilk Pancakes
You’ve never met a fluffier, tastier pancake until you’ve tried these overnight pancakes. The buttermilk batter is stirred together the night before so breakfast the next morning is easy as can be!
I love each and every recipe I post, you guys know that. But lately, I feel like the recipes I’ve posted have been more than just “loved” – they’ve become family favorites that will be making front page appearances in the recipe binder I pass down to my grandkids.
Assuming hard copy recipe binders even exist then instead of belonging in a museum somewhere.
It will be a travesty if my grandkids never get the supreme pleasure of taping recipes onto the kitchen cupboards and cooking a holiday meal (or ahem, weeknight dinner) that way. How will they ever experience true joy???
Hopefully they’ll still have a way to access family heirloom recipes like these fluffy overnight pancakes, because I kid you not, these amazing pancakes have skyrocketed to the top of our favorites list.
And not just a favorite pancake list but all the way to the top of our favorite breakfasts of all time list.
I’ve shared a lot of breakfast faves over the years, and even though we are definitely not anti-cold cereal, I made it a goal a long time ago to get a hot breakfast in my kids’ tummies the majority of school mornings and try to stick with it as much as possible (summer break is a little scary).
I’m hoping it makes up for all the other mom fails they get to experience on a daily basis.
We have a lot of breakfast go-to’s, and we definitely cycle through which ones we make regularly. Usually, though, mornings consist of some kind of pancake/waffle/oatmeal number and always a kefir smoothie (or a variation on this breakfast smoothie with kefir thrown in).
I don’t really plan an official breakfast menu, I just make what we have time for or are in the mood for, and I give myself lots of mental high fives if I’ve managed to plan the night before.
Some of our oft-made breakfasts require overnight prep, which makes the morning pretty awesome:
Overnight Buckwheat Oat Waffles
Make-Ahead Raised Waffles
Overnight Steel Cut Oats
Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal
Overnight Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes
Overnight Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal
So when my sister, Emily, told me she had found the most amazing overnight pancake recipe in all the world, I was a little skeptical it could replace our other favorites (and even come close to rivaling this tried-and-true fluffy sour cream pancake recipe that we make all the time, as well, even if that one isn’t an official “overnight” recipe).
Well, I’m here to report this is case #3,495 where I’m reminded again why open mindedness is a virtue I should embrace more fully.
Because these fluffy overnight pancakes have completely rocked our world.
They are amazing. Pure and simple.
Amazing, amazing, amazing.
Not only are they ridiculously easy (throw everything in one bowl, mix, refrigerate, make pancakes the next morning), but the fluffy, soft, melt-in-your mouth texture is extraordinary.
If you’ve made yeasted waffles before, the idea of putting yeast in the batter shouldn’t alarm/surprise/annoy you too much. And if you haven’t, I promise that it is worth trying.
The yeast not only helps with flavor (without making the pancakes taste overly fermented or like a dinner roll), but as the batter rests overnight, the yeast works it’s food science magic ensuring you’re going to get the lightest, fluffiest, most delicious pancake ever.
And something else that makes these overnight pancakes a standout?
Not only are the pancakes incredible made with all-purpose flour (I always use unbleached), but they are honestly equally as amazing when made with 100% whole wheat flour.
The whole wheat flour mellows overnight as it soaks in the buttermilk/yeast mixture and results in truly some of the best pancakes ever.
Even though we haven’t officially turned our backs on our other favorite breakfast recipes, this fluffy buttermilk overnight pancake recipe is on serious repeat here.
Waking up and being able to pull the batter straight from the fridge and have hot pancakes coming off the griddle in a matter of minutes is…well, lifechanging in a way that almost makes a morning person out of me.
Almost.
One Year Ago: Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork {Slow Cooker + Instant Pot}
Two Years Ago: Quick and Easy Pressure Cooker Applesauce
Three Years Ago: Shepherd’s Pie
Four Years Ago: Death by Chocolate 7-Layer Bars
Five Years Ago: Chocolate Frosted Brownies
Fluffy Overnight Buttermilk Pancakes
Ingredients
- 4 cups (568 g) all-purpose or whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast, see note for active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 cups buttermilk (see note)
- ¼ cup neutral-flavored oil, like vegetable, canola, avocado, etc
Instructions
- In a large bowl (with room for the batter to bubble up a couple inches), whisk together the flour, yeast, baking powder, sugar, baking soda and salt.
- Add the eggs, buttermilk and oil. Mix until evenly combined (don’t overmix, just mix until no dry streaks remain).
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours (or up to 24 hours).
- When ready to make the pancakes, uncover the bowl and give the batter a quick stir (just once or twice with a spoon or spatula; don’t stir vigorously or overmix). Cook the pancakes on a hot griddle or skillet and serve.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from Taste of Home (my sister sent me the recipe after making it and loving it)
This is a very poor recipe (1 star) that has no concept of baking science. I was willing to be persuaded because of all the good reviews but the results are awful. This is an enormous amount of yeast- more than I would use for a loaf of bread- so the main flavour of these pancakes is bread. It is completely redundant to add soda to an acid and then leave it overnight. It will have no effect. You cannot substitute wholemeal flour for all purpose flour- they absorb completely different amounts of water. There is so little sugar in these pancakes that they have very little taste (other than bread). You cannot substitute yeast the way this recipe says. I would avoid this recipe.
Mel, I don’t often leave comments but all four of my kids loved these pancakes. I’ve been making them for probably two years. I use half whole wheat flour as you suggested and they are just divine! Thank you so much!
I’m so happy to hear that Gessica! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Mel, I don’t often leave comments but all for my kids loved these pancakes. I’ve been making them for probably two years. I use half whole wheat flour as you suggested and they are just divine! Thank you so much!
My teenage son was craving pancakes on a school morning and we never have time to make them from scratch because we are not natural morning people. I stumbled across this recipe and whipped up the batter in 10 mins last night and made the pancakes this AM, and they were a HIT! He is picky about texture- We agreed that 50% wheat flour would make them feel more like a treat BUT that the full wheat version was so good with bananas and blueberries. We did the sourcream/milk 1:1 ratio instead of buttermilk and they worked great. Low sugar, so they feel almost healthy 🙂 SO FLUFFY! Not yeasty at all. Made half the batter (2c flour), and it made plenty (18ish) of pancakes!
Made these over Christmas break and they did not disappoint!
We made these with half whole wheat and half white flour and there are no remaining pancakes in our house
Love these and will definitely make again!
Perfect recipe. Super fluffy and soft. 1.5x the recipe to feed 20 people on Christmas Day.
Oh, yay! So happy to hear that!
I wanted to love this recipe because it is so easy and convenient and the pancakes turned out phenomenal. Unfortunately, my kids barely ate them. They had a distinct bready flavor from the yeast, and kids who normally shovel in the pancakes barely finished one small cake each.
It is a great recipe if you are short on time in the mornings, but it doesn’t taste like the typical pancakes with a quick rise, so be prepared that picky eaters might not take to it.
This recipe was a game changer! Great to make it the night before. I used lemon juice/milk to make buttermilk and it was still perfect.
Have you ever tried this using gluten free flour? If so, any particular type and did you alter the recipe?
Thank you!
Why do you add the baking powder and soda in the overnight batter instead of adding them in the morning? The baking powder is double acting, but hasn’t the soda lost any leavening power during the wait?
Comments about yeast making pancakes taste like a pretzel; bready – do I have to use yeast? What can I substitute?
Give me measurements for one person
I cook for 1 all the time. I’d probably cut this recipe in half, then toast the leftovers the next day. I love having pancakes in the fridge and often make breakfast sandwiches with them if I make them the right size.
Do you have to heat the buttermilk first before adding yeast ? Thank you
No, the buttermilk does not need to be heated.
I made it
Pancakes is fluffy and perfect
Thanks
I was looking for a recipe to use up whey (I made mozzarella cheese) as a buttermilk substitute…and found this! Worked really well! Made 27(!) 4″ Pancakes and they tasted great! Definitely a keeper recipe!
Thanks for another winner, Mel! These are truly incredible. I do love those sour cream pancakes of yours, but the ease of making these with the overnight method was great! I didn’t have buttermilk so took your advice & used 1/2 the liquid as sour cream, I also easily halved the recipe as only 3 of us are currently in residence.
They were high, light, fluffy & delicious.
These were great – will definitely make again. I used half whole wheat and half all purpose flour. I made just a quarter of the recipe to see if I’d like it, and got eight 3″+ pancakes. Very quick and easy to mix up the batter the night before and it made for an easy breakfast next morning. Just one caution – be careful with your cook time. I was waiting for bubbles to come to the surface before flipping (as I would do with my usual non-yeast recipe) and nearly burned the first batch. When the edges look cooked, time to flip!
Can you put them in fridge and than toast them the next morning?
thanks!
Definitely worth a try! Should work just fine.
I’m sure that would work. I just put the leftovers in the microwave and they were good. If you’re entertaining, consider rewarming an the oven – I think that would give you the best texture, but will of course take longer than the other methods.
I made these for family that came into town and I wanted something easy for breakfast. I wanted to have the batter ready to go in the morning. These were excellent! They were thick and fluffy and I was so pleased. Plan on keeping the recipe for holidays when my kids come home. The pancakes turned out perfect and I followed the recipe as written.
It works
Thank you
Pancakes are more fluffier
We made half of these after 8 hours in the fridge. They came out beautifully fluffy and golden, but the yeast taste was overwhelming. We tried the rest after 18 hours of fridge time and they were a bit less yeasty, but it was still strong enough that they were reminiscent of pretzels.