Move over red velvet cake! These stunning red velvet pancakes with cream cheese glaze bring all the beloved flavors of the classic dessert to your breakfast table. With their vibrant crimson color and tender, fluffy texture topped with a luscious cream cheese drizzle, these pancakes transform an ordinary morning into something truly special.
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Why This Recipe Works
These red velvet pancakes capture the essence of the beloved cake while maintaining the light, fluffy texture that makes perfect pancakes. The secret lies in using cake flour for tenderness, buttermilk for tang, and just enough cocoa powder to provide depth without overpowering the brilliant red color. The cream cheese glaze perfectly mimics traditional red velvet cake frosting, creating an indulgent breakfast that feels like a celebration.
Recipe Ingredients
For the Pancakes:
- Cake flour – Creates the tender, soft texture that defines velvet cakes
- Sugar – Provides sweetness and helps create golden color when cooking
- Baking powder – Primary leavening agent for fluffy pancakes
- Baking soda – Works with buttermilk for extra lift and tenderness
- Salt – Enhances flavors and balances sweetness
- Cocoa powder – Adds chocolate depth without overpowering the red color
- Buttermilk – Provides tang and reacts with leavening for extra fluffiness
- Egg – Adds structure, richness, and helps bind ingredients
- Vanilla extract – Enhances overall flavor profile
- Red food coloring gel – Creates the signature brilliant red color
- Vegetable oil – Keeps pancakes moist and tender
- Butter – For cooking and extra richness
For the Cream Cheese Glaze:
- Cream cheese – Creates the signature tangy, rich topping
- Powdered sugar – Sweetens and thickens the glaze
- Milk – Thins the glaze to perfect drizzling consistency
Ingredient Notes
Cocoa Powder: Don’t use anything too dark, or your pancakes won’t have that bright red coloring that you’re aiming for. Hershey’s is perfect.
Food Coloring: This red velvet pancakes recipe takes about 1 ounce of red gel that you can buy at the grocery store.
Some of you might want to try natural food coloring, but you will not get the same brilliant color. Natural food dye gets its color from beets and other veggies and will give you a lighter-colored and purplish pancake instead.
How to Make Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese Glaze
- Make the cream cheese glaze by placing all the glaze ingredients in a small bowl and beat with an electric mixer until well combined.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, and cocoa).
- In a separate bowl, use a fork to combine the wet ingredients (buttermilk, water, oil, red food coloring, egg, and vanilla).
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold them together until just combined. The batter doesn’t need to be smooth, and be careful not to overmix – lumps are ok. If your batter seems to be too thick, add a little more buttermilk.
- Heat a skillet or a griddle to medium-low heat. Brush with a little oil or use a nonstick cooking spray.
- Pour in the batter until it spreads to the desired size.
- Let the batter start to show small bubbles on top before turning the pancake over to finish cooking. Be careful not to let the heat get too high, as the pancakes will brown.
- To serve, drizzle cream cheese topping over a stack of 2 or 3 pancakes.
Pro Tip: When you flip your pancake, don’t press down on it! If you do, your pancake will lose the air that helps make it fluffy.
Tips for Making Pancake Batter
Mix the dry and wet ingredients separately. It’s essential to incorporate your egg into the other wet ingredients.
You want to ensure the egg yolk and white are thoroughly mixed to avoid stray pieces of egg white in your pancakes. Additionally, this will help you avoid overmixing the batter once combined and ensure that the red color remains consistent throughout your pancakes.
Tips for Cooking Pancakes
These pancakes are such a breeze to whip up. The secret to cooking these red velvet pancakes is using low heat and taking your time. If your heat is too high, they will brown.
A griddle is worth investing in if you’re a pancake family. You can make more than one pancake at a time!
Colorful Pancake Variations
Make these pancakes your own. Here are some ideas.
- Shower your red velvet pancake stacks with colorful sprinkles.
- Make them even more colorful by adding fresh fruit (e.g., strawberries) and a sprig of mint.
- Use a different food coloring depending on the occasion. Green velvet pancakes for St. Patrick’s Day or red, white, and blue velvet pancakes for July 4th.
Storage & Reheating Instructions
- Refrigerator Storage: Store with wax paper between pancakes in an airtight container for up to 5 days
- Reheating Method: Microwave for 20 seconds per pancake, or 60 seconds for 5 pancakes. Oven method: 350°F in foil packet for 10 minutes. The toaster method works, but watch carefully
- Freezing: Freeze up to 3 months. Flash freeze on wire racks first, then store in freezer bags
Love Pancakes? Try these recipes!
- Alton Brown Pancakes
- Chocolate Pancakes
- Deep Fried Pancakes
- Funfetti Pancakes
- IHOP Cannoli Pancakes
- IHOP Cinnastack
- Pumpkin Spice Pancakes
Popular Breakfast Recipes
- Apple Muffins
- Bacon Omelette
- Cheese Blintz Recipe
- French Cruller Donut
- Fried Eggs in the Oven
- Sugar Grits
Check out more of my easy breakfast recipes and the best Christmas recipes on here on CopyKat!
Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese Glaze Recipe
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 4 ounces softened butter
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup milk
Pancakes
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder don’t use dark cocoa powder, Hershey’s works well
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon red food coloring gel
- 1 egg well beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Cream Cheese Glaze
- Place the softened butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk in a small bowl.
- Beat with an electric mixer until well combined.
Pancakes
- Place the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cocoa powder, and baking soda in a bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Add the buttermilk, water, oil, red food coloring, egg, and vanilla. Stir with a spoon until smooth. (If the batter seems too thick while you’re cooking the pancakes, add a little more buttermilk and mix well.)
- Heat a skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. Brush with a little oil.
- Pour in the batter until it spreads to the desired size. Wait until you see small bubbles form on top of the batter before you turn the pancake over to finish cooking. Be careful not to let the heat get too high because the pancakes will brown.
- To serve, drizzle the cream cheese glaze over a stack of 2 or 3 pancakes.
I loved these. I hated when IHOP Red Velvet pancakes were removed from their menu. Now I have these!