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October 12, 2020 Cooking Zone

What Do You Need to Make Pancakes?

Pancakes are a classic food that everyone enjoys to make, especially with kids!  Whether you want to make pancakes for breakfast, lunch, or even dinner, this guide has everything you need to make pancakes.

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In This Guide

  • What Ingredients Are in Pancakes?
  • How to Make Pancakes with Out Pancake Mix
  • What Ingredients Do I need to Make Pancakes if I have a Special Diet?
    • What You Need for Gluten Free Pancakes
    • What Ingredients You Need for Dairy Free Pancakes
    • What You Need for Egg Free Panckaes
    • Do you Need Eggs to Make Pancakes?
    • How to Replace Butter in Pancakes
  • What Do You Need to Make Pancakes?
    • How to Make Pancakes Look Perfect
  • How to Make Pancakes Without Pancake Mix

What Ingredients Are in Pancakes?

First and foremost you may be wondering what makes up pancake batter.

If you don't have pancake mix, or want to make pancakes from scratch, rest assured there are common ingredients each and every pancake recipe has from scratch.

What do you need to make pancakes?  You'd be surprised, because chances are good you already have everything you need.

The ingredients you need to make pancakes are:

  • Flour
  • Baking Powder
  • Salt
  • Sugar
  • Milk
  • Eggs
  • Butter or Oil

Each different pancake recipe will simply change the ratio of ingredients to make more or less batter, or to produce a slight variation.

If you have these ingredients in your house you are ready to make pancakes.  Missing some of them?  Read on for our lists of substations for pancakes!

How to Make Pancakes with Out Pancake Mix

While it sure is simple to make pancakes with a mix, you don't need to be intimidated when it comes to how to make pancakes with out pancake mix.

As long as you can gather at least most of the ingredients above, you should be fine when it comes to making pancakes without mix.

Still a little worried?  Here are some great recipes with step by step instructions.

Here are some of our favorite pancake recipes from scratch:

King Arthur Flour - Simply Perfect Pancake Recipe

Allrecipies - Easy Pancakes

Allrecipes - Good Old Fashioned Pancakes

Alton Brown - Semi Instant Pancakes

Martha Stewart - Easy Basic Pancakes

Each of these makes a different amount of pancakes with a slightly different taste.  Remember, the secret to fluffy pancakes is a nice thick batter, so you may want to consider reducing the liquid in any recipe you make if you like fluffy pancakes.

What Ingredients Do I need to Make Pancakes if I have a Special Diet?

Now, you may have looked at the ingredient list and been worried if you cannot eat any of the ingredients in the list.  Rest assured we have you covered for what ingredients you need for pancakes no matter what your diet is

Now we will talk about how to replace some of the most common pancake ingredients: flour, milk, and eggs.

What You Need for Gluten Free Pancakes

Pancakes are a very forgiving food.  This means you can simply substitute your favorite gluten free flour or flour blend.

I like to use  King Arthur Gluten Free baking mix for pancakes since it already has baking powder in it.

For many recipes you can omit the baking powder all together, but in recipes that require a lot of baking powder you can add a reduced amount.

What Ingredients You Need for Dairy Free Pancakes

Remember, we said pancakes are forgiving!

You can simply substitute your favorite dairy free milk!  We use Unsweetened So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage, but you can use rice milk, almond milk, oat milk, or anything you really want at all.

Worst case scenario?  You can even use water.

What You Need for Egg Free Panckaes

It gets a little tricky when you want to replace eggs in pancakes, but don't worry, it can be done!

You can use a commercial egg replacer, apple sauce, or even sweet potato!

No apple sauce?  No problem.  Simply chop up an apple and throw it in your blender or food processor.  You really don't need to go through the hassle of cooking the apples for real applesauce for baking or pancake recipes.

Do you Need Eggs to Make Pancakes?

This brings up the answer to another good question.  Do you need eggs to make pancakes?  Let's face it, sometimes you're just out of something!

If you are out of eggs, just follow the method for egg free pancakes.  Use egg replace, apple sauce, or even sweet potato.  For applesauce or sweet potato, use 1/4 cup per egg.

Still in a bind?  Add a little bit more liquid, either milk, non-dairy milk, water, or oil to make up for the lack of egg.  Remember, pancakes are quite forgiving!

How to Replace Butter in Pancakes

If you go out there and read a lot of pancake recipes, you will see that many recipes use either butter or oil.

If you cannot have butter, simply use oil in your recipe.

Canola oil is one of the best oils for pancakes, but many other oils with light flavors work too.  Don't miss our guide to the best oil for pancakes and other pancake tips.

What Do You Need to Make Pancakes?

After you have your pancake ingredients and a pancake recipe picked out, there are a few more things you need to make pancakes.

First of all, you will need a pancake pan or griddle.

While you can make pancakes in almost any pan, consider investing in a pancake pan or griddle because if you plan on making them frequently.

Most pans are round and have high sides.  This makes flipping pancakes somewhat difficult, as does the round shape.

Here are some of our favorite pancake pans and griddles:

Presto 07046 Tilt 'n Drain Big Griddle Cool-Touch Electric Griddle
Presto 07046 Tilt 'n Drain Big Griddle Cool-Touch Electric Griddle
Built-in backstop ledge for convenient food handling
GreenPan Chatham Hard Anodized Healthy Ceramic Nonstick, 11' Griddle Pan, PFAS-Free, Dishwasher...
GreenPan Chatham Hard Anodized Healthy Ceramic Nonstick, 11" Griddle Pan, PFAS-Free, Dishwasher...
Metal utensil safe, this collection's diamond-reinforced coating is incredibly durable; Tough Hard Anodized Body is scratch-resistant and designed to stand up to daily demands
Sale
Gotham Steel Nonstick Double Grill Griddle Pan, Brown Reversible with Ti-Cerama Coating, Perfect for...
Gotham Steel Nonstick Double Grill Griddle Pan, Brown Reversible with Ti-Cerama Coating, Perfect for...

How to Make Pancakes Look Perfect

Want to eat the most perfect pancakes ever?  They are in your reach.

There are two things that are important for perfect looking pancakes.

First is making sure each and every pancake is the same shape in size.  The secret for this is a muffin scoop.

Zeroll Universal Standard Length EZ Disher Food Portion Control Scoop Designed for Right or Left...
Zeroll Universal Standard Length EZ Disher Food Portion Control Scoop Designed for Right or Left...
Dishwasher safe NSF Approved; Delivers accurate portion; For right or left hand use; No springs to replace

If you don't have a muffin scoop already, you are missing out!  They are good for so much more than just muffins and cupcakes!

The second thing that is important to making pancakes look good is making sure your pancakes are nice and golden brown.

The key to this is preheating your pancake pan or griddle, and cooking them at the right temperature.

This is usually low to medium heat, or about 275 degrees Fahrenheit.  Don't miss our guide to the best temperature for cooking pancakes for more details.

How to Make Pancakes Without Pancake Mix

Making pancakes without pancake mix couldn't be easier.  You just need a few simple ingredients you probably already have around your house, and good pancake recipe.

While pancake mix is convenient, it is something we may not have on hand all the time.  Since pancakes use common pantry staples, they are a great recipe for whenever or when you don't have any pancake mix.

Kids also love measuring and stirring!  Your kids will enjoy pancakes even more in the morning when they help create them.

Last update on 2022-08-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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