Whole Wheat Pancakes
These Whole Wheat Pancakes are made with 100% whole wheat flour and taste absolutely delicious! They’re a healthier option to enjoy for breakfast or brunch.
Most of the times that I’ve opted for whole wheat breads over white, I would do it for health reasons but secretly preferred the taste of white. But I can honestly say that whole wheat tastes way better when it comes to pancakes.
It’s fun to make these for friends and family and see how surprised they are by how delicious, flavorful, and fluffy they are, because labeling something as whole wheat inevitably leads to some pre-judgements.
This is the general theme in the comments section below as well, as this has been one of the most popular recipes on this blog since I first posted it in 2013.
They are some darn good pancakes, and since they’re healthier than the usual pancake, it’s a happy surprise!
Many times when people substitute whole wheat flour in for white like for homemade sandwich bread, it can be tricky because whole wheat flour doesn’t have the same gluten-developing capabilities as white flour.
…but we don’t need to develop gluten with pancakes! And in fact, we don’t want to.
So these pancakes are able to be very fluffy and light in texture, but with more nutrients and flavor.
How to Make Whole Wheat Pancakes:
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, which are whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar:
Whisk the dry ingredients together, then add the wet ingredients, which are made from buttermilk (or regular milk or almond milk), egg, and melted butter (or oil):
Whisk the two to combine, keeping in mind that you only want to whisk until the flour disappears.
Like most pancake recipes, you want to leave lots of lumps. This ensures you don’t overmix, and it keeps the pancakes fluffy and light.
This will be a pretty thick batter, unlike many of the super thin boxed pancake mixes that run like water. It’s part of what makes them so fluffy.
You can spoon scoops of it onto a hot griddle, but I actually love using a cookie scoop to portion so every pancake is the same size.
Cook the pancakes for a few minutes until bubbles start to form on the top:
Check that it’s golden underneath, then flip and cook for another couple minutes:
I know these pancakes don’t win any beauty contests without any toppings, but they really do taste incredible.
I like to slather them with butter and pure maple syrup, or add fruit like sliced strawberries and bananas:
Next time you’re in the mood for some really indulgent pancakes…try these Cinnamon Roll Pancakes or Carrot Cake Pancakes. Best to treat them as dessert though, heh.
I also love making super thin Crepes and filling them with fruits and spreads. Enjoy!
How to Freeze Pancakes:
First let the pancakes cool completely, then follow one of these two methods so the pancakes don’t stick to each other:
For the first method, place the pancakes on a sheet pan in a single layer, making sure they aren’t touching each other, and freeze for 30-60 minutes, until they are completely frozen. Then you can remove the pancakes and place them in a large plastic bag. This way they won’t stick to each other, and you can take out as many pancakes as you’d like.
For the second method, stack the pancakes between wax paper or parchment paper, and place those stacks in a resealable bag to freeze. This will keep them separated so they don’t freeze stuck together.
Freeze the pancakes for up to two months.
How to Reheat Pancakes:
Here are three methods for reheating, either by using the microwave, oven, or toaster:
Microwave Method (my favorite):
Place 1 to 5 frozen pancakes on a microwave-safe plate. Cook uncovered at 20 seconds for 1 pancake, 30 seconds for 2 pancakes, 40 seconds for 3 pancakes, 50 seconds for 4 pancakes, and 60 seconds for 5 pancakes. Exact timing will depend on the strength of your microwave, but this is a good guideline.
Oven Method:
This is great for a larger numbers of pancakes. Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the desired number of frozen pancakes into a foil packet. Or place pancakes in a flat layer on a sheet pan and cover the pan tightly with foil. Just make sure you seal tightly to prevent the pancakes from getting dry. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the pancakes are warm and soft.
Toaster Method:
This is my least favorite method, but it does work. You are limited to only one pancake per slot, and need to watch to make sure the pancakes don’t become crispy or overcook. Time varies depending on toaster settings.
Whole Wheat Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour (5 ounces by weight)
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup buttermilk*
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp melted butter**
- butter for greasing the griddle
Instructions
- In a big bowl, whisk to combine the whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In another bowl, whisk to combine the buttermilk, egg, and melted butter.
- Whisk the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir the two together until just barely mixed. You want any visible loose flour to be stirred in, but there should still be plenty of lumps. If you stir out the lumps, the pancakes will likely be tough.
- Preheat a nonstick griddle to 375 degrees F and grease the surface with butter.
- Add small scoops of pancake batter (the batter will be thick) and use a cookie scoop to gently smooth the scoop into a flatter circle.
- Cook for a few minutes, until you see little bubbles forming on the surface.
- Flip the pancakes and cook for a couple minutes on the other side. If you peek underneath, the bottom should be golden brown.
- Serve with butter, pure maple syrup, or sliced fruit. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
Post updated with new photos, writing, and tips in August 2018. Originally published in May 2013. This post contains an affiliate link.
555 Comments on “Whole Wheat Pancakes”
I cooked the pancakes in a heavy iron skillet on an old style electric stove one notch below medium heat. I added fresh blueberries to the batter. Pancakes had trouble finishing cooking on the second side. I added more butter to grease the pan. The pancakes were a little less tender than usual. Topped them with more butter and maple syrup.
Made the second batch of pancakes with more butter in the pan and they had a crunchier and moister consistency.
When I got ready to cook the last batch, I opened the microwave to warm my coffee.
There was a cup with the melted butter in it that I had forgotten to add to the mix. Butter make everything better.
Recipe was adequate for three medium 4 inch pancake servings. Adjust recipe for number of servings needed for your family. Will try this recipe again with the melted butter mixed in carefully watching my cast iron pan!
This had been my go-to pancake recipe for years. I love it.
Yum! This is now my go-to recipe for pancakes. My 10 month old and 4 yr old both love them. I double the recipe and do half wheat and half white flour. Then I freeze the leftovers for easy weekday breakfast. So far I’ve added crushed dehydrated strawberries, pureed blueberries (but reduced the milk so it wouldn’t have too much liquid), and mini-chocoloate chips–for the big kid! Thanks for this easy recipe and the notes on substituting some ingredients. I don’t ever have buttermilk, but milk and vinegar are always available.
Best whole wheat pancakes I’ve ever made.
These are my family’s new favorite pancake recipe! We are trying to avoid refined sugars, so we swapped the sugar for honey and they turned out great. Thank you!!
These are the best quick pancakes I’ve ever made! Yesterday I promised the kids we could make more (second day in a row!) and didn’t realize we were out of eggs, so I tried the chia egg thing and they still turned out SO good! I always do the milk and vinegar trick, too, and it works great.
The best recipe on healtht pancakes I have ever tried!! They are just perfect! Thank you for the recipe!! I also appreciate you include the nutrition table which is very useful when you are trying to have a control of your calories…I just have one question…are the numbers for portion or in total of the recipe??
Just made these pancakes and turned out very well. I was surprised at how good they were as I am not a fan of whole wheat. This recipe is a keeper.
Okay. This recipe has to be one of the best I have come across so far in any category. These came out dense (which is characteristic of 100% whole wheat) yet fluffy. I omitted the refined sugar, added a teaspoon and 1/2 of vanilla extract and a teaspoon of cinnamon and added white chocolate chips to two of the pancakes and these were DELICIOUS! They didn’t even need syrup and instead of breakfast I had them for dinner.
You are now officially ON MY LIST!
Thanks so much, I really appreciate you sharing this recipe and looking forward to more!
Just made these for breakfast. They are amazing! Thank you
Excellent recipe. I appreciate that the weight for the cup of wheat flour is included – definitely go by that if you have a scale! I’ve tried this with dairy-free milk and substituted butter for oil, but the regular dairy-friendly recipe is delish!
If I use almond milk do I still need to add vinegar?
Yes, it’s recommended.
Thank you, for the awesome recipe. I have been using this recipe for 3 years now! My 4 year old absolutely loves the pancakes. I use the white whole wheat flour, and it tastes so good!
These are incredible! I substituted oat milk with a tbsp of lemon juice to make buttermilk, and used coconut sugar. Otherwise, I followed this recipe to the letter and was shocked at how delicious and fluffy they were! As someone who has failed multiple pancake from scratch recipes, the instructions were very helpful. Who knew that batter should be lumpy for fluffier pancakes?! Thanks so much!
These are AMAZING! I have tried at least 7 other wheat pancake recipes and this is the only one I will ever need again. Thank you for sharing this. I will check out your other recipes 🙂
These pancakes were absolutely delicious. They were soft and fluffy. And the best part is that these pancakes are a healthier option! So we can devour on it without feeling guilty 😛
Thank you. This recipe was very helpful