Perfect Fluffy Sour Cream Pancakes
I’ve never met a fluffier, more perfect pancake! These homemade sour cream pancakes are an indulgence – so delicious and incredibly quick to whip up!
Let’s talk about these pancakes.
They are a highly requested breakfast around here and are so light and so fluffy, they are what every pancake aspires to be.
Simple Pancake Batter
The batter for these sour cream pancakes is super simple and comes together fast.
Whisk together:
- Flour (all-purpose – I’ve also subbed in half whole wheat flour with good results)
- Sugar (just a tiny bit)
- Baking powder + baking soda + salt
And then stir in:
- Milk
- Eggs
- Sour cream
- Eggs
Don’t Over Mix!
As with all good homemade pancake batters, don’t over mix! The pancakes won’t be as fluffy and soft if you do.
Start mixing the batter with a rubber spatula and watch the clumps of dry ingredients closely.
Mix until those dry streaks JUST barely disappear.
A few little lumps will remain. And that’s fine! It’s what you want, actually.
How to Cook Pancakes
- Preheat a griddle or skillet/pan over medium heat until it is hot enough to sizzle a little drop of batter (but not so hot that it burns or smokes). This might be the most important step to cooking perfect pancakes!
- Drop the batter by large spoonfuls on to the hot griddle or pan. I use a #20 cookie scoop for about 1/4 cup or so of batter per pancake.
- Let the pancake sit without disturbing it! The batter will spread into a round shape. Let it cook until little bubbles start to pop at the surface (if you lift up an edge of the pancake with a turner, it should be golden brown on the bottom before flipping).
- Flip the pancake. DON’T PRESS ON THE PANCAKE AFTER FLIPPING. Let the pancake cook, adjusting the heat, if needed, until cooked through and golden on the other side.
Diner Style Flapjacks
Pancake perfection!
These fluffy sour cream pancakes are reminiscent of the pancakes you can score at any decent breakfast diner around town.
Soft but sturdy, they are epically fluffy and define breakfast comfort food at its finest.
There are no better pancakes than these, I’ll bet my last bag of chocolate chips on it.
Buttermilk Pancakes vs Sour Cream Pancakes
Buttermilk pancakes are one of the most popular pancake recipes out there. For good reason. They’re delicious!
So why does my recipe use sour cream instead of buttermilk?
Mainly, because of availability. While I love buttermilk and have many recipes that call for it, I wanted this pancake recipe to be doable for the majority, and I figured more of us keep sour cream on hand than we do buttermilk.
(And even though homemade buttermilk isn’t difficult to whip up with a bit of lemon juice and milk, in my recipe testing, the homemade buttermilk didn’t fare as well as a sub in classic buttermilk pancakes.)
What I found, when I recipe tested with sour cream, is that I love the result of using sour cream in pancakes just as much, if not more, than using buttermilk.
A Tried-and-True Favorite
These fluffy sour cream pancakes are a tried-and-true favorite. We make them very often on the weekends, but they’re quick enough to make on a weekday morning, too.
I’ve also subbed in half whole wheat flour in the recipe with great results.
The pancakes are delicious slathered in butter and maple syrup…or jam…or even just eaten plain. And they are our go-to breakfast when company comes to town. Classic and yummy, that’s a great combination!
Freezer-Friendly Pancakes
These pancakes are great for a make-ahead breakfast option. The baked and cooled pancakes can be stored in the freezer for a quick and easy breakfast!
I like to store them in a gallon-size freezer ziploc bag between sheets of wax paper or saran wrap.
They can be defrosted in the fridge overnight OR a 20-30 seconds in the microwave right before you want to eat one (or three) does the trick!
One Year Ago: Chicken and Black Bean Chili {Pressure Cooker}
Two Years Ago: Beef and Sweet Potato Stew with Corn and Green Chiles {Slow Cooker}
Three Years Ago: Cinnamon and Sugar Dusted Coconut Vanilla Breakfast Muffins
Fluffy Sour Cream Pancakes
Ingredients
- 3 cups (426 g) all-purpose flour (see note for whole wheat flour)
- 2 tablespoons (27 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups (340 g) sour cream
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 3 large eggs (150 g out of shell)
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) butter, melted (see note)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs and butter.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a spoon or spatula until just combined. The batter will be lumpy and it's ok if there are even a few streaks of flour here and there. Don't overmix! The key to light and fluffy pancakes is mixing just until combined.
- Let the batter rest while prepping the griddle.
- Heat a nonstick griddle to medium for 1-2 minutes until a drop of water sizzles (about 300 degrees F on my griddle, but every griddle will be a bit different).
- Pour batter into rounds on the preheated griddle (I use my #20 cookie scoop to portion out the batter which holds about 3-4 tablespoons).
- Cook until small bubbles appear on the surface and the edges are set, 1-3 minutes, depending on the heat of the griddle.
- Flip the pancakes and cook for another minute or so until golden and cooked through. Repeat with remaining batter.
- Serve immediately or keep warm in a 175 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Recipe originally published on February 2017; updated August 2022 and March 2023 with process photos, notes, etc.
I made these for my family for “breakfast for dinner” last night and they were a hit. We had the left-overs for breakfast this morning and they were just as yummy! Thanks for another great recipe!
Love breakfast for dinner!!
Wow, this recipe was so easy & the pancakes were awesome, light & fluffy. Delicious! Never making boxed mix again.
Made these tonight. I used half low fat sour cream and half regular. 1% milk. I doubled the recipe and used 2 cups whole wheat flour and 1 cup wheat germ and 3 cups regular all purpose flour. They turned out great. Thick, great flavour.
Hello, planning to make these for shrove Tuesday or it may actually happen Wednesday for us, is it ok to use low fat sour cream?. Not No fat just low fat. Plse let me know if possible thanks!,
Yes, I think low fat will work ok.
Holy guacamole. These pancakes are magical. I was out of sour cream, but the troops were starved and I had a hankering for “breakfast for dinner,” so I subbed in plain Greek yogurt with great results. I loved that I didn’t have to use one iota of butter/oil to cook them (maybe it has to do with the 6 T in the recipe…). They tasted amaaaaazing—sweet and rich, yet light and fluffy—and smelled heavenly! I think I’ll sneak in a teaspoon or two of vanilla next time—although it’s pretty impossible to improve upon perfection. Thanks for another delicious recipe, Mel! These Sour Cream Pancakes are going in the regular rotation for sure!
I’ve been making pancakes for most of my life and these were the most delicious pancakes that I’ve ever made! Scrumptious and very simple and we even added 1 cup of wheat flour. Next time, I will definitely need to double the recipe. Merci!
Thanks, Anne!
Best pancakes I’ve ever had! I used 1/2 wheat flour & 1/2 white & my kids didn’t even notice. They loved the pancakes. Thanks Mel!
Excellent, made these for our grandchildren this morning, big success!
These are DELICIOUS! I was out of milk so I was looking for a pancake recipe I could make without it. I subbed water for the milk (followed the recipe otherwise) and they turned out beautifully. And they’re very filling! I doubled the recipe for my family of 8, and there will be lots of leftovers. Thank you!
My husband has been telling me how much he hates pancakes for the entire 6 years we have been married. I made these pancakes for dinner tonight and he couldn’t stop talking about how deliciously fluffy they were! #score Thanks, Mel, for another great recipe!
My 20 year old son made this recipe yesterday morning for us, mostly for his dad who was home from work after a wound to his foot had him to the ER the night before. My son has Asperger’s and is taking learning to cook and bake with extreme earnestness and diligence and love. Since my husband couldn’t drive, (I am disabled and can’t drive anymore either) and I had used up most of the AP flour the night before, we only had self rising flour, so my son was thought he would try that and not use any other leaving agents, of course. These were such beautiful, excellent pancakes, better than the recipe we have used for buttermilk pancakes for decades now, so fluffy and light, and yet filling enough for my two men. I can’t wait to make a strawberry or blueberry syrup for them. And I especially can’t wait until my daughter is home to visit us from teaching in South Korea, we will make these for her. Just lovely, thank you.
Glad these were a hit, Jennifer! Tell your son “way to go!” from me (and I hope your husband’s foot heals quickly).
My family loved this, now we make them for guests:) worked well with half whole wheat flour.
You know this recipe must be amazing when my 12-year-old son can be bribed to do the dishes with the promise that I will make them in the morning. 🙂
Thanks for sharing this recipe. We all love them. We freeze them separated on parchment paper for about 30 minutes, then pack them into freezer bags. They reheat in the microwave beautifully well. But honestly they have only ever lasted in the freezer for a couple of days with my son around. He would eat them for every meal of the day and has even asked for them in place of dessert. 🙂
Love the freezing tip!
We’ve made these probably 5-6 times already and love them! I used all whole wheat flour each time and they taste great.
I’ve made these twice in the past two weeks and everyone liked them very much.
Glad to hear that!
I am excited to try these pancakes (especially with the banana and chocolate chips!), but I was even more excited about the griddle recommendations! My griddle gave out 2 days after this post…so I was glad to have some input from you. I’m excited to try my new BIG griddle! Thanks Mel!
Hope you love the griddle, Aubri!
We made these last week and they were good! My family still voted your zephyr pancakes as the best but we’ll definitely make these again when I don’t have heavy cream available. Thanks, Mel!
I knew these pancakes were getting great reviews, but I had no idea I would love them as much as I did!! Since I had fat free plain yogurt on hand, I subbed it in for the sour cream-still they were unbelievably amazing!!! Adding sliced bananas & choc chips sent this recipe over the top for me, as I didn’t even need to add butter or syrup to mine.
(Fam members did add a little butter & syrup.) Knowing now how incredibly yummy these are, esp w banana & choc chips, I would dash to the kitchen if I were you to make these for whatever your next meal (or snack!) is.
We love Mel’s recipe for “Zephyr Pancakes”, but decided to give this new recipe a try today, and they were amazing! Perfect pancakes. It will be our new favorite pancake recipe! I also appreciated the tip for not over-mixing the batter. I probably did too much of that in the past with other recipes, which could have contributed to some “pancake recipe failures” 🙂
Those look so amazing! ❤️
Hello Mel. Whenever I make pancakes with melted butter (which I love!) when I mix it with the cold dairy it hardens up into lumps. I have thought of melting the butter in the milk so the milk was warm but then I’m worried the eggs will scramble when I add them into the mix. Our house is cold in the mornings and hot pancakes are great … but how does one solve this problem of lumpy butter … or is it not a problem? (p.s. I don’t like oil so don’t want to substitute). Thanks.
Hey Mel, it’s usually not a problem as long as the lumps are small. You can get around this by pouring the butter into the dry ingredients and then adding the other wet ingredients.
Don’t do this! I tried pouring the melted butter into the dry ingredients last night, then added the wet. I got HUGE lumps of wet buttery flour all in my batter. After using a whisk and potato masher, I eventually had to use my hands to break up the huge lumps. The pancakes were DELICIOUS, though, so totally worth it. My kids INHALED them! I think next time I’ll go back to my old method of warming the wet ingredients if the butter hardens into lumps, then whisking, then adding to dry.
I realized today as I was making these pancakes I have an almost identical recipe for waffles that I’ve been making for years. The ratios are slightly different and the waffles include whipped egg whites. My family LOVED these pancakes!!! These are my go-to pancake recipe from now on. I’m not sure why I didn’t think on my own to make our “Fluffy Waffle” recipe into a Fluffy Pancake recipe.
Which makes me happy because now I know they’ll make great waffles!
Wow…I do not love pancakes, but I make them all the time because my kids love them. I’ve tried so many recipes and have never found one that I love, but these have changed my mind about pancakes. They are amazing! Thanks for giving me a go-to pancake recipe that I can actually enjoy eating!!
That made my day, Kara! So happy you found the one pancake recipe to stick with!
We made these for a special Valentine’s brinner tonight. So good! Thanks, Mel!
Love brinner!!
Mel, I made these this morning for a special Valentine’s breakfast for my husband. We agreed they’re the best pancakes we’ve ever eaten. I cooked the extras with the addition of some chocolate and peanut butter chips and wrapped them in plastic wrap for my granddaughter. She had them as an after school snack with a big squirt of whipped cream. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Love this!
How thick is this batter supposed to be? Mine is muffin-batter-super thick. I am a regular cook and have been using Mel recipes since 2010 … but this looks just … off. Measured and mixed exactly as recipe instructed. Giving it a few minutes, hope it … does something … otherwise into the trash. ARGH!!! So frustrating.
Don’t throw it out! Just add a bit more milk/buttermilk/sour cream until it thins out a little. The batter is definitely considered thick, not thin, so it may be fine.
I subbed yogurt for the sour cream and my batter was SUPER thick for the first batch. I thinned it out with milk for the rest but they were all delicious.
I made these last night, and they were delicious. My little kids at all of theirs.Also, thanks for mentioning the cookie scoop. It was super useful.
Glad to hear it, Whitney!
I used greek yogurt in place of the sour cream (it’s what I had on hand!) and they were delicious! Everyone loved them.
Funny, I was going to ask Mel if I could sub greek yogurt for the sour cream. I’m glad to know it works out. Thanks!
I added just a bit extra milk because the batter was super thick but I’m not sure if it was an original measurement error or the yogurt. Super delicious!
Glad to hear that!
Yummy!! We LOVE pancakes in our house!! I usually make a large batch for supper or Saturday breakfast and the kiddos will warm up the leftovers for breakfasts the following week. (and snacks if I’d let them!) We use peanut butter instead of butter and hmmumm is it good. (not to mention healthier but shhhh don’t tell them)
Yum, those do look indulgent! But what a great treat to try–I love sour cream in anything. Hoping you had a wonderful birthday celebration and wishing you a year full of more joy and happiness!
Thank you, Teresa!
These are exactly what I was looking for to make a special little pre Valentine breakfast dinner…since mornings are a little crazy at our house! So light and delicious! Hope you had an awesome birthday! We love you so much…you do make us Rock the kitchen and that keeps our families happy! Thanks a bunch!
Thanks, Jill – and so happy you loved these little pancakes!
If you sub kefir for the sour cream as you mentioned, do you use 1 1/2 cups of kefir, and then an additional 1 1/2 cups of milk? Thank you!
I usually add 3 cups of kefir.
Thank you! I used the kefir and they turned out delicious! They were a little fragile during the “flipping” stage like you said, but no big deal. The banana and chocolate chip addition you suggested was amazing!
That’s awesome!
I have tried many pancake batter recipes and haven’t found “the one” yet. I only have cake flour and bread flour but no ap..can I use cake flour ? I’m sure bread flour would be too dense. As far as griddles I’m fortunate enough to have a boyfriend that works for a big food company and I’ve taken possession of his portable grill he is supposed to use at food shows and demos. They are the best going from making 3 pancakes at a time in a pan to 12 at once on the grill.
Awesome griddle! About cake flour, I’m not sure how 100% cake flour would do. This is just a guess, but I’d probably use 2/3 cake flour and 1/3 bread flour to get the right amount of gluten.
My oldest daughter is turning 11 on Friday and asked for pancakes with homemade strawberry raspberry topping for her family party dinner on Saturday! I’m going to make these and add a generous handful of mini chocolate chips to the batter, too!
Can’t wait to try them!
Yum!
I’m making these right now and subbed whole milk plain yogurt for the sour cream. They look amazing!
Hope they turned out well!
OMG Mell, I had no idea it was your. birthdsy last week so Happy Birthday ! I’m
sure I speak for all of your fans that we think you’re the BEST food blogger EVER!’ Not only are you hilarious and thoughtful,
but you are an amazing cook who shares the best no fail recipes. I hope your birthday was as fabulous as you !’ I LOVE your blog and LOVE your recipes !
Thanks, sweet Linda!
Can you sub nonfat plain greek yogurt for the sour cream?
Could certainly try!
I am a sucker for good pancakes. These fluffy little guys look great!
Oh, and I totally laughed out loud while reading about your two boys comments during your eat out birthday dinner. Happy late birthday!
Thanks, Nicole! 🙂
These look delicious!
Do you have a recipe section of all your 30min or less meals? I wanted to share with a friend. I thought I remembered seeing it as a button on the right side once, but maybe my tablet isn’t showing it. I searched the recipe archives but didn’t see one. Thank you!
Here you go Monica: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/30-minute-meals/
I had never heard of sour cream pancakes until we made them for my roommate in college on her birthday because they were her favorite! They’re super yummy! I’m going to try this out this week!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Sounds wonderful, Trying this recipe out today.
Do you think I could make the pancakes and freeze for later?
Also, can I use this recipe for waffles?
Yes, I think these pancakes would freeze very well. I haven’t used the recipe for waffles…but I think I’m going to make heart shaped waffles in the morning with the batter and I’ll report back!
I have a banana sour cream pancake recipe that I love; it’s similar to this but you mash the bananas and stir them into the batter. It is my favorite ever, and it works with whole wheat flour too. It’s amazing what that sour cream does to the pancakes! So good!
Awesome! Going to try to attempt to make these in heart shapes for tomorrow morning! Wish me luck! Having these for breakfast and your double chocolate mousse torte for dessert. It is going to be a great day!
Wish I was at your house! 🙂
Was just thinking of heart shaped pancakes for tomorrow and this post comes up. #mindreader ps happy birthday!!
Haha. Thanks. 🙂
These look so yummy! And your dining out experience sounds way too familiar…we try it every once in awhile with our 5 kids and we always leave thinking, “So was that supposed to be fun?” Also, I’m wondering if I could sub yogurt for the sour cream in the pancakes?
I’ve subbed yogurt for sour cream and the results are much the same.
Glad you get what I’m talking about! As for yogurt, I haven’t tried it, but it probably stands a good chance of working. Like the note I made about sour cream, though, I’d opt for a Greek yogurt that isn’t fat-free, but that’s just me.
I have been using sour cream in a variety of dishes lately, mostly with great success.. I will try this recipe for certain.. I use my CI 2 burner griddle for pancakes and love the way they cook up..
Thank you for another interesting take on a family staple… :o)
The link to the 22″ griddle is pointing to the yummy syrup from Wal-mart. Can you adjust?
Sorry about that; just fixed it.
Does it need to be full fat sour cream or would low fat sour cream work? Thanks!
I’ve made them with both; it’s probably just my imagination, but I think the full fat sour cream makes a yummier pancake (more rich and tender). But I would never go to the store to buy full fat sour cream if I had low fat in my refrigerator, so I’d say use what you have on hand (although I’d caution against using fat free sour cream).
These look great! We did our fancy family Valentine dinner yesterday and I was planning on heart-shaped pancakes for dinner on Tuesday. We will give these a try!
These look amazing! I think I’ll treat my kids (and myself!) to these for a fun Valentine’s breakfast-for-dinner. They love all variations of pancakes.
Made them and my kids loved them! I even managed to make some into heart shapes 🙂 This made a HUGE batch of pancakes!
Long live heart shaped pancakes! They keep well in the fridge to warm up for other mornings. 🙂