Pumpkin Pancakes

By: Leigh Anne WilkesPosted: 9/10/22Updated: 3/20/24

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Easy Pumpkin Pancakes are perfect for a chilly fall morning or evening. Breakfast for dinner is always a treat!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe!

Whenever we go out for breakfast, if there are pancakes on the menu that is what I order.

But at home, I much prefer pancakes for dinner. When my kids were younger pancakes for dinner was always one of my “fall back” dinner ideas. The perfect solution for a crazy busy day when you don’t have much time to cook. I always had the ingredients on hand and the kids loved them. With four kids at different schools and different schedules I rarely had time to make pancakes for breakfast so making them for dinner was the perfect solution.

Pumpkin Pancakes are a fun twist on the traditional buttermilk pancake that I love so much. We have been enjoying pumpkin waffles for years so why not pumpkin pancakes. The pancake flavor is not overwhelming. Just enough to make it feel like and taste like fall. The addition of maple syrup or some cinnamon syrup takes the fall factor way up! And of course there must be butter. I can’t eat pancakes without butter.

Ingredients Needed

Buttermilk.
Pumpkin puree. This is not the same thing as pumpkin pie filling.
Egg
Oil. You can use canola oil or vegetable oil.
Vanilla Extract
Flour. I prefer unbleached all purpose flour
Brown sugar
Baking powder
Pumpkin pie spice
Salt

How to Make Pumpkin Pancakes

In a bowl, combine milk, pumpkin, egg, oil, and vanilla. Mix to combine.
In another bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, spice and salt. Stir
Combine two mixtures and stir until just combined. Don’t over stir.
Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Add a little oil to pan if needed and scoop the batter onto the griddle (about 1/4 cup each pancake)
Serve with maple syrup, cinnamon syrup or buttermilk syrup.

Tips for Cooking Pancakes:

Don’t over mix the batter, it makes the pancakes tough.
Cook pancakes until bubbles begin to form on the surface and just begin to pop. That is when you know your pancakes are ready to flip to the second side. DO NOT flip them before or you will end up with pancake batter all over.
After you flip them you are going to be tempted to take your spatula and press down on them. DO NOT DO THIS! Trust me, you are going to want to but resist the urge! You want to keep those pancakes nice and fluffy!

How to Make Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend

To make your own pumpkin pie spice blend for your pumpkin pancakes, combine the following:

1 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp ground allspice
3/4 tsp ground cloves
Use 2 1/2 tsp of mixture for this recipe.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I use instead of buttermilk?

You can use regular milk in your pumpkin pancakes but you can also make your own buttermilk by adding 1 Tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Allow to sit for a few minutes and it will begin to curdle.

I have small lumps in my pumpkin pancakes batter!

Lumps are fine. If you try to get rid of all the lumps you will end up over mixing the batter and end up with a tough pancake. Stir batter just until there are no more streaks of flour and then stop!

For some of my other favorite breakfast recipes try these

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