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Welcome to your new favorite breakfast treat: Pancakes for One! Imagine waking up on a leisurely morning, craving something sweet and comforting, yet not wanting to make a whole batch of pancakes. That’s where this fantastic recipe steps in. It’s tailored perfectly for a single serving, making two to three soft, fluffy pancakes that are just right. This quick and easy pancake recipe has been a favorite on our website for years, consistently receiving great reviews for its simplicity and delightful results.
Looking for more delicious single serving pancake recipes? We’ve got you covered! Our collection Pancake Recipes for One includes fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes For One, naturally sweet Banana Pancakes For One, delicious, hands-off Small Batch Sheet Pan Pancakes, and even a convenient Small Batch Pancake Mix. With this variety, you’re sure to find the perfect single serve pancake recipe!
Why You’ll Love This Pancake Recipe
- Simple and Quick: Made with basic pantry staples and ready in under 15 minutes, this recipe is perfect for busy mornings or whenever the pancake craving strikes.
- Perfect Portion: No more leftover batter or giant stacks to tackle! This recipe yields two to three perfectly portioned pancakes, ideal for satisfying a single serving.
- Easy Cleanup: With minimal ingredients and a single serving, cleanup is a breeze!
- Customizable: Feel free to get creative with your toppings! From classic maple syrup and fresh fruit to chocolate chips and whipped cream, the possibilities are endless.
- Great Base Recipe: This recipe serves as a fantastic base for exploring different pancake flavors.
RELATED: Small Batch Pancake Mix Recipe
Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this single serving pancake recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder.
- Flour: Stick with all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Baking Powder: This ingredient is key for achieving light and fluffy pancakes.
- Sugar: Simple granulated sugar works well.
- Salt: A 1/4 teaspoon is just enough.
- Egg: A single egg is used for both structure and fluffiness.
- Milk: I typically use low-fat milk, but you can use whole, skim, unsweetened almond, or oat milk.
- Vanilla: A splash of vanilla enhances the flavor with a hint of sweetness.
- Butter: Use melted salted butter for richer pancakes. If using unsalted butter, you may need a bit more salt.
Recipe Variations
- Banana Pancakes: Mash a ripe banana and add it to the batter for a naturally sweet and flavorful twist.
- Buttermilk Pancakes: Substitute buttermilk for the milk for a tangy and fluffy variation.
- Blueberry Pancakes: Add a handful of fresh blueberries to the batter.
- Chocolate Chip Pancakes: Stir in some chocolate chips for a sweet surprise.
How To Make Pancakes For One
See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Start by mixing the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- In a different bowl, mix the egg with the other wet ingredients.
- Combine the wet and dry mixes. Stir just enough to eliminate any dry flour spots, but it’s fine if there are a few small lumps. If the batter’s too thick, add a bit more milk gradually.
- Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Pour about 3/4 cup of batter to form each pancake.
- Cook the pancake until you see bubbles on the surface and the bottom turns golden brown, which should take about 3 minutes.
- Flip it over with a spatula and cook for another minute on the other side.
- Take the pancake off the skillet and put it on a plate.
- Repeat the process with the remaining batter.
RELATED: 20 Single Serving Breakfast Recipes To Wake Up To
RELATED: Small Batch Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe
Expert Tips
- Measuring Flour: Fluff the flour in its container, then gently scoop into the dry measuring cup with a spoon and level off with a knife or straight edge.
- Batter Consistency: Mix until there are no flour streaks, keeping the batter lumpy. Avoid overmixing.
- Fresh Baking Powder: Ensure your baking powder is fresh to achieve light, fluffy pancakes.
- Flipping Pancakes: Flip the pancakes when the bubbles on the surface begin to pop.
Serving Suggestions
For a delightful breakfast, here are some tempting ways to serve your pancakes:
- Top with Fresh Fruit: Add a healthy twist with sliced bananas, berries, or apple slices.
- Maple Syrup and Butter: A classic combo for that traditional pancake experience.
- Nut Butter and Honey: For a protein-packed topping, drizzle with almond or peanut butter and a bit of honey.
- Yogurt and Granola: Spoon some Greek yogurt and sprinkle granola for a crunch.
- Chocolate Chips and Whipped Cream: For those with a sweet tooth, this makes an indulgent treat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Look for bubbles on the surface and edges that look set.
Absolutely! Just double all the ingredients for more servings.
There could be a couple of reasons for this. First, check the expiration dates on your flour and baking powder. Old ingredients can lead to flat pancakes. Second, avoid overmixing your batter. Overmixing makes the gluten in the flour tough, resulting in flat and chewy pancakes.
This is another consequence of overmixing the batter. When you overmix, the gluten in the flour develops too much, making your pancakes chewy instead of light and fluffy.
Absolutely! Here’s how: Let your cooked pancakes cool completely. Then, spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and pop them in the freezer for 30-45 minutes, or until frozen solid. Transfer the frozen pancakes to a freezer bag, separating them with wax paper or parchment paper to prevent sticking. Reheating is easy! Simply microwave a pancake for 20 seconds or warm them in a preheated 350°F oven wrapped in foil for about 10 minutes.
RELATED: 15 Easy Single Serving Dessert Recipes
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For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
RELATED: 40 Easy Recipes For Busy College Students
If you’ve tried this small batch pancake recipe or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
Also, if you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see!
Pancakes For One
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon salted butter -melted, plus an additional tablespoon of butter to grease the pan.
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg, then add milk, vanilla, and melted butter; whisk these wet ingredients together.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients, mixing until combined. Add extra milk gradually if the batter is too thick.
- Heat butter in a large skillet or griddle over medium heat.
- Pour about 3/4 cup of batter onto the skillet for each pancake.
- Cook the pancake until bubbles appear on the surface and the bottom is golden brown, about 3 minutes.
- Flip the pancake with a spatula and cook for another minute on the other side.
- Remove the cooked pancake from the skillet, place it on a plate, and continue with the remaining batter.
- Serve the pancakes with your choice of toppings like butter, syrup, or fruit.
Video
Notes
- Measuring Flour: Fluff the flour in its container, then gently scoop into the dry measuring cup with a spoon and level off with a knife or straight edge.
- Batter Consistency: Mix until there are no flour streaks, keeping the batter lumpy. Avoid overmixing.
- Fresh Baking Powder: Ensure your baking powder is fresh to achieve light, fluffy pancakes.
- Flipping Pancakes: Flip the pancakes when the bubbles on the surface begin to pop.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Living alone for the first time since… 1989?!… I cook my meals for the week ahead of time but want some things hot and fresh. I have made these pancakes 3 times now and they come out perfect! I follow the recipe exactly (well… I will admit I don’t have vanilla extract but must invest soon to make these even better.) For me, this recipe yields 2 large, thick, “cakey” pancakes (6-7″ in diameter).
That’s awesome to hear you’re enjoying the pancakes! Vanilla extract will definitely add an extra layer of flavor, but it sounds like you’ve got a good thing going even without it. Love that you’re getting two large, cakey pancakes out of the recipe. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Delicious taste but WAY too much flour in my opinion, when I first combined my ingredients it was more like a dough. Also, I got six LARGE pancakes out of this and even then had a bit of batter left over. Would recommend cutting by half or even a third if it’s actually for one person.
Thanks for giving the recipe a try and sharing your experience! If the batter felt too thick, I’d recommend double-checking the flour measurement technique. We’ve got some expert tips on the blog, and a video, showing exactly how to get it right. This recipe usually yields 3 pancakes, so I’m surprised to hear you had extra. Always value the feedback!
In response to Brendan, if he prefers his pancakes thin (more like McDonald’s) then your batter will seem too thick and when he thins it he’s going to get a “passle” of pancakes!
These were great! The recipe made enough for myself and 2 small kiddos.
Glad you and the kiddos enjoyed the pancakes! Thanks for letting us know the serving size was spot-on for you.
These were bomb as hell!! I added a bunch of pumpkin pie spice and chocolate chips for extra flavor and they were amazing. So fluffy so easy to make and so delicious. It was still too much batter for one girly so I’m freezing the rest for tomorrow.
Stoked you loved the pancakes! Adding pumpkin pie spice and chocolate chips sounds like a flavor win. Good call on freezing the leftover batter for another day. Thanks for the rave review!
WARNING: These pancakes are SO good, if you decide to eat the first while the second is cooking, you may forget and overcook it. Take it from a very hungry (and slightly absent-minded?) bachelor.
I got up one Saturday morning and had a hankering for pancakes. The off-brand pancake mix in the cupboard offered no appeal, so I looked for a recipe online and stumbled onto this site (now saved to my phone’s home screen).
I followed the easy directions and got 3 good-sized pancakes… perfect for me. I topped them with U.S. Grade A Amber Vermont Maple Syrup and was ready to face the day!
Thank you so much, Scott. I’m so happy you enjoyed the pancakes!
Pancakes were delicious! I followed the recipe exactly except I sifted the dry ingredients before whisking them. Not sure if it was because of this change that I got 6 pancakes rather than 2 or 3. No problem at all! I have another serving ready for another meal. Thank you for the recipe and the tips. 🙂
These babies are good!
This recipe is a bit much for one person, but they turned out fine.
Really fluffy and tender. I used almond flour with flour mixed. Make sure to use real maple syrup.
Pretty good recipe. I think it varies based on the individual’s taste palette, but using salted butter plus salt made them a little too salty for my taste. Next time I make them, I will probably use unsalted butter.
I have used this recipe twice now and both times…. perfection! I do use a touch of olive oil with the butter to fry… they get so lightly crispy of the edges😋