You can make IHOP buttermilk pancakes just like they do—it is easy to do! We are proud of this long-awaited creation. Enjoy these famous fluffy pancakes at home!
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IHOP Buttermilk Pancakes
Who doesn’t love a great big stack of IHOP’s famous pancakes? Now you can have these anytime without a long line. I sometimes know on the weekend the line can go out the door. When you make breakfast at home, the lines are short! Guess what, your food is just as delicious.
I love these pancakes because they have a wonderful flavor, a little sweet, and the buttermilk gives them a bit of a tang.
They aren’t hard to make at all. Sometimes I will make a double batch so I have some to freeze and enjoy later.
What Makes these IHOP Buttermilk Pancakes so Good?
IHOP serves many different kinds of pancakes, but believe it or not, according to a survey by Mashed, the original buttermilk pancakes are still the favorite. It’s not too surprising when you think about it.
There is just something comfortingly delicious about the combination of tangy buttermilk, rich butter, and sweet syrup.
What Makes This the Best Recipe to Try for Making IHOP Pancakes at Home?
There are a lot of IHOP pancakes recipes floating around the internet, but this version takes the, uh, cake. It is straightforward and delivers tasty and fluffy pancakes that are just like the ones you get at IHOP. What’s not to love?
IHOP Pancake Recipe Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Sugar
- Salt
- Baking soda
- Buttermilk
- Vegetable oil
- Egg
How to Make IHOP Pancakes
To make the batter:
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda together in a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk the egg, buttermilk, and oil in a separate mixing bowl.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just enough to mix everything. Don’t overmix.
- Cover the bowl and pop it in the fridge for 10 minutes. Then stir the batter to make sure there aren’t any patches of dry ingredients and that most of the lumps are out.
- If the batter is a little thick, thin it out with a bit of buttermilk.
To make the pancakes:
- Heat a griddle or heavy-bottom skillet (cast-iron is perfect) over medium-low heat.
- Once the pan is hot, lightly coat the cooking surface with a thin layer of vegetable oil.
- Pour enough batter on the cooking surface to form four-inch pancakes. Space the pancakes so you can easily flip them with a spatula.
- Let the pancakes cook until tiny bubbles form on the surface and the edges begin to dry out.
- Cook the second side until it is golden brown.
- Place the cooked pancakes on a baking tray in a WARM oven (200°F) under an aluminum foil tent and finish cooking the rest of the pancakes.
How to Store, Freeze, and Reheat IHOP Pancakes
Homemade IHOP pancakes freeze beautifully and make a quick and filling midweek breakfast. You can store extra pancakes overnight in an airtight container in the fridge, but for any longer than that, it is best to freeze them.
To freeze pancakes:
- Cool the pancakes on a wire rack.
- While the pancakes cool, cut parchment or wax paper into squares about the same size as the pancakes.
- Stack the pancakes with a sheet of parchment or wax paper between each one and stack them in a freezer bag.
- Store in the freezer for up to a month.
The easiest way to reheat pancakes is in the microwave:
- Heat three frozen pancakes for about a minute and a half.
- Heat pancakes from the fridge for around 45 seconds.
IHOP Pancakes Recipe Toppings
From the mundane to the extraordinary, pancakes toppings seem endless. Here are three exciting toppings to try:
- Poached fruit. Apples and peaches are particularly delicious. Don’t forget to drizzle some cooking liquid onto the pancakes for extra flavor.
- ‘Smores. Spread a thin layer of Fluffernutter between each pancake, top with chocolate sauce, and sprinkle with crushed graham crackers.
- Banana Custard. Spread vanilla pudding between each layer of pancakes. Place a dollop of whipped cream on top of the stack, add a few slices of fresh banana and a sprinkling of crushed vanilla wafers.
FAQs for IHOP Original Buttermilk Pancakes
How Does IHOP Get Its Pancakes so Fluffy?
IHOP Original Buttermilk Pancakes owe their fluffiness to both baking soda and baking powder in the recipe. Baking soda and baking powder are both rising agents that release C02; however, they do it slightly differently.
Baking soda is 100 percent sodium bicarbonate and creates CO2 when it mixes with acid and a liquid, in this case, the only slightly acidic buttermilk. Baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate and powdered acid, so it only needs a liquid to generate CO2.
How Many Calories Are in IHOP Buttermilk Pancakes?
According to the IHOP’s nutritional menu, each buttermilk pancake contains around 150 calories and 6 grams of fat. But remember, that is before adding butter and syrup!
What Is the Difference Between Original and Buttermilk Pancakes?
All the various IHOP pancake recipes are based on buttermilk pancakes, but you can find non-buttermilk pancakes elsewhere. The main difference between the two varieties is that regular pancakes use whole milk instead of buttermilk and don’t have any buttermilk tang that many people adore.
Love IHOP? Check out these copycat recipes
- Bacon Omelette
- Banana Bread French Toast
- Buttermilk Griddle Cakes
- IHOP Cupcake Pancakes
- Cinnamon Pancakes
- Meat Lovers Omelette Recipe
- Pumpkin Pancakes
More Breakfast Recipes
- Chicken and Waffles Recipe
- Egg McMuffin
- How to Make an Omelette Fluffy
- How to Make Homemade Waffles
- How to Make Sausage Gravy
- Monkey Bread
Check out even more of my easy breakfast recipes and copycat food.
IHOP Buttermilk Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk plus 2 to 4 tablespoons if needed to thin the batter
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil plus more for the pan (or nonstick cooking spray)
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- Syrup, for serving
Instructions
- Place the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Add the buttermilk, oil, and egg.
- Use a spoon to mix all ingredients until smooth.
- If batter seems to be too thick while you’re cooking the pancakes, add a little more buttermilk and mix well.
- Heat a skillet or a griddle over medium-low heat. Brush with a little oil or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Pour in batter until it spreads to the desired size.
- Let the batter start to show small bubbles on top before you turn the pancake over to finish cooking.
- Cook the pancakes until golden on both sides.
- Serve warm with your favorite syrup.
Frank
Awesome recipe. My kids used to pass off my pancake before I found your recipe. Since then they ask me if I can make it the night before and now we look forward to our weekend mornings. Thanks for sharing.
Stephanie
I am so glad your family loves these pancakes!
Angie
Looking forward to cook these they sound delicious.
Tami
I made these pancakes this morning and we loved them. I used coconut oil and added blueberries. Thank you for a delightful recipe. I am not a pancake fan, but these changed my mind!
Molly
Thanks so much for this recipe! It’s perfect! However, I have a small problem:
When I had just started to make these pancakes, they came out with a nice, even tan color. Recently, though, they have been lighter colored and thin around the edges with a small tan patch in the center. How should I fix this, by changing the temperature of the griddle?
Stephanie
I don’t know if you are making these on a skillet or a griddle. It sounds like to me, the griddle is not heating as evenly as it should. You might want to try making the pancakes on different spots on the grill.
maria
Just wondering how many grams of flour you think are in 1 Cup flour?
Stephanie
I believe it is 128 grams.
Judy
Thank you for posting the BEST pancake recipe I’ve ever tried! All others fail to hold to a candle to this one!
Judy
I forgot to say that, since there are only two of us, I half this recipe and it works perfectly!
Stephanie
That is very nice of you to say! Thank you!
Sunny Dee
So good!!! Seriously! Eating them hot off the griddle as I type. Light, fluffy and perfect. My 13 y/o son made these with my guidance and we will never need another recipe. I honestly don’t know who can give this a bad review unless they did something wrong. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Stephanie Manley
I am so glad you enjoyed these. It’s always great when you make others happy to cook!
Cyndi - My Kitchen Craze
I can not wait to try these. I tried to make some homemade pancakes last weekend and they turned out runny and yuckie. These looks perfect! Pinned!
Krista
I just went to IHOP a couple weeks ago and holy moly I loved their pancakes. Can’t wait to make these over the weekend!
Krista @ Joyful Healthy Eats
Ana
Great recipe! txs
Diane
A tip from a IHOP employee. Do make them fluffy, put the batter in a glass or metal bowl, once mixed set the bowl in ice. When the batter hits the hot griddle it causes them to fluff up.
Caius
thank you so much
Karlee Sawyer
What a great suggestion, to cool down the mixed batter!
My mother always made sure the griddle was hot enough (so the first pancake wasn’t wasted) by lightly sprinkling a few (2 or 3) drops of water on the hot griddle to see if it was hot enough to make the water droplets “dance”.
If they danced, the griddle was ready to cook those yummy, golden hotcakes, pancakes, or flap-jacks. Whatever the name, they are loved by generations.
One more tip to “up” the yum factor? Right before turning your pancakes, sprinkle chocolate chips on the uncooked side, then flip the pancake so that the pancake/hotcake can briefly cook until done. Yummy!
MsBluIs
kathy
I got a recipe for their pancakes a looong time ago (before 2009) and they truly tasted perfect I thought it was this site, but the sugar here is measured in teaspoons so I don’t trust it. I can believe they were bland. Wondering what measurement everyone that raved about them, was using.
stephaniemanley
My recipe has been consistent for as long as it has been online. So I can’t offer a suggestion for more sugar.
Kristy
Why would you need more sugar anyway if you’re going to eat it with syrup. They are really good though.just made them ????????
Ali
Thanks for sharing. I live in Malaysia and everythime I visit USA I go to
Ihop to eat these delicious pancakes. I am going to try them at home now.
stephaniemanley
I hope you enjoy these pancakes! It is great that you can take something back with you!
Jourdan
THIS WAS SO GOOD!!!!! I LOVED IT!!!
stephaniemanley
Excellent, I am so happy you enjoy them.
Bev JoAnn
The actual secret to the fluffy pancakes is by mixing the batter in a deep bowl. By doing this, it makes bubbles in the batter.
stephaniemanley
Great tip, I will have to try this and change bowl that I use when making these ihop pancakes.
Guest
The secret to making the pancakes fluffy is actually to use by making the batter in a deep bowl…it keeps the bubbles in the batter. Just sayin’.
stephaniemanley
Yep, it seems like someone agrees with you on making buttermilk pancakes, I appreciate the tip.
siscbma
Love ,love , love this recipe!!
stephaniemanley
Excellent, this is good to hear.
Juan
I tried this today and the pancakes came out super super thin, they almost looked like crepes. My wife and I don’t live in the US, so we were excited about trying this and were disappointed in the end, but we’re not giving up though. I followed the recipe to the letter. I did not have buttermilk so I had to do it using milk and vinegar to create the buttermilk. Are you sure it is that much flour and not more? I’ll give it another try soon, any suggestions?
stephaniemanley
I don’t know where you are, but it could be the flour is not the same as US flour. If they were too thin you could have added more flour to make them thick. I have only make these with store bought buttermilk, they are needed for lift the pancakes have. Again, I would have added additional flour.
Monica
I would suggest you don’t use vinegar, get store bought butter milk, and if your batter seems thin or runny just add some flour until it’s the consistency you want ????
Alyssa
I made these this morning- super easy! I did have to add a little more flour, because for whatever reason, mine were super thin. I didn’t have any buttermilk, so I had to sour the milk myself. I also added blueberries to them- just put them in after I put 1/4 cup of the batter in the pan. I will probably make these again!
Stephanie
Sometimes measuring flour can be a little tricky. I am glad you enjoyed the pancakes.
stephaniemanley
Flour can be a tricky thing to measure. If packed heavily into a container you will have a dryer batter. Humidity can also come into play. I am glad you enjoyed this one.
Pete Byle
A simple version ……but pretty dog gone tasty is……….Jiffy Mix and buttermilk. Little melted butter and or sugar is optional. Just mix to the thinness/thickness you desire.
stephaniemanley
Thank you for this suggestion.