Let’s make the best fluffy blueberry pancakes from scratch! These are my brown sugar pancakes loaded with bright, juicy berries and sweetened with a touch of vanilla. They’re perfect for lazy mornings or Sunday brunch! You can make this easy blueberry pancakes recipe with fresh or frozen blueberries any time of the year.
Whenever I feel like changing things up from my classic buttermilk pancakes recipe, I’ll toss in fresh berries! You might also like these easy blueberry muffins and quick blueberry banana bread.
Pancakes are definitely a crowd favorite in this household. My boys love them, and can anyone really resist a stack of thick, fluffy pancakes or waffles on a weekend morning? The blueberry pancakes I’m sharing today are light and flavorful, made with brown sugar and vanilla. Imagine a light, fluffy pancake, fried in a little butter, with gorgeous, sweet blueberries throughout, finished with a healthy drizzle of maple syrup. The best part is, you can make this easy homemade blueberry pancakes recipe with fresh or frozen blueberries, all year round.
What to Expect From This Easy Blueberry Pancakes Recipe
- Perfect pancake texture. These pancakes are golden and lightly crisp at the edges, with a soft, tender center. I’m sharing my tips for evenly cooked pancakes that are exceptionally fluffy.
- Not just for special occasions. This blueberry pancakes recipe is always a crowd-pleasing breakfast, from weekends to holidays and family brunches.
- Adaptable to the seasons. If blueberries are out of season where you are, use frozen berries instead! You can also make this recipe with strawberries, raspberries, or skip the fruit altogether to make chocolate chip pancakes instead. No judgment here. 😉
Recipe Ingredients
Scroll down to the printable recipe card after the post for the full ingredients list, amounts, and recipe details.
- Flour – I use all-purpose flour. The key here is to measure the flour as accurately as possible, using a kitchen scale or the spoon and level method to avoid overmeasuring. If you don’t have a scale, spoon the flour into the measuring cup (don’t scoop from the bag), and level it off. Too much flour makes pancakes dry.
- Milk – Any milk you’d like. 2%, whole milk, or even dairy-free alternatives will work.
- Brown Sugar – Use light brown sugar, or substitute with granulated white sugar if that’s what you have.
- Vanilla – If you’d like, swap vanilla extract for lemon extract to make lemon blueberry pancakes!
- Baking Powder and Salt – I use quite a bit of baking powder in my blueberry pancakes to achieve the fluffiest, thickest pancake texture. To set yourself up for success, make sure your baking powder is fresh and not past its expiration date.
- Butter – I mix melted butter into the batter for richness and flavor. You can substitute the butter with cooking oil if you prefer.
The Secret to Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes: Baking Powder
The question I get most about this pancake recipe is whether 2 tablespoons of baking powder is correct. And yes, it is! While it might seem like a lot of baking powder, this recipe makes a dozen thick, large-ish pancakes. After testing it time and time again, 2 tablespoons of baking powder is the secret to the super light and fluffy pancakes that I love.
How to Make the Best Blueberry Pancakes (Step-By-Step)
Set your skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. You don’t want the pan to be too hot, or your pancakes will brown way too fast, making them harder to flip. On the other hand, if the heat is too low, the pancakes won’t cook evenly.
- Make the batter. To make your pancake batter, you’ll whisk the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar) in one bowl. In a separate bowl, you’ll combine the eggs, vanilla, and milk. Next, stir the wet ingredients into the dry mixture, and mix in the melted butter. The batter may look a little lumpy, and that’s OK.
- Preheat the griddle. Allow the pancake batter to rest for a few minutes while you preheat your skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. Once the pan is hot, grease it lightly with butter.
- Cook the pancakes. Scoop the batter onto the hot pan, about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. Sprinkle the pancake evenly with blueberries. Cook until bubbles start to form on the surface of the pancakes, flip, and cook the other side until browned. Serve your blueberry pancakes warm with maple syrup and any toppings you’d like! See below for ideas.
Tips for Perfect Pancakes
- If you’re using frozen blueberries, thaw the berries and pat them dry before you add them to the pancakes. This avoids excess moisture.
- Make sure your baking powder is aluminum-free. Baking powder containing aluminum will give your baked goods a weird, metallic taste. Avoid!
- Use fresh baking powder. Check the expiration date on the package! Baking powder that’s expired won’t produce the same results, and it can add a strange flavor to the pancakes. Consider replacing your baking powder every 6 months to one year after opening.
- To thin out pancake batter that’s too thick, add more milk, one tablespoon at a time, and whisk until your batter reaches your desired consistency. A thinner batter will yield a thinner pancake.
- Low and slow is the way to go. As mentioned, if your pan is too hot, the outside of the pancakes will burn while the insides remain raw. Keep the heat steady so that these thick pancakes cook through evenly.
Make-Ahead, Storage, and Freezing
- Make the batter ahead. You can prepare the blueberry pancake batter up to 1 day in advance and refrigerate it, covered, until it’s time to cook your pancakes. Another make-ahead option, if you’re cooking blueberry pancakes for a crowd, is to cook the pancakes and place them on a plate in the oven at the lowest temperature. It’ll keep the finished pancakes warm until it’s time to serve.
- Store and reheat leftover pancakes. Keep any leftover cooked pancakes stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Warm up the pancakes in the oven or microwave.
- Freeze. You can freeze these blueberry pancakes for up to 2 months. I recommend stacking the pancakes with pieces of parchment paper in between each pancake to prevent sticking. Then, wrap the whole stack tightly with a double layer of plastic wrap (or plastic wrap, then foil) and freeze. Thaw the pancakes in the fridge before reheating.
More Blueberry Recipes
Blueberry Pancakes
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 13 minutes
- Yield: 12 pancakes 1x
- Category: Pancakes
- Method: Skillet
- Cuisine: Breakfast
Description
Let’s make the best fluffy blueberry pancakes from scratch! These homemade blueberry pancakes are the perfect weekend breakfast. Make them with fresh or frozen blueberries.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 5 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- butter for frying
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar together.
- In separate bowl whisk the eggs, vanilla and milk together.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined. Lastly mix in the melted butter and stir until combined, the batter will be slightly lumpy. Set the batter aside while you heat your griddle to medium-low heat. Melt a small pat of butter on the griddle and then scoop out 1/4 cup of pancake batter onto the hot griddle and top evenly with blueberries, as many or few as you prefer.
- Cook until the edges are set and bubbles form on top of the pancake. Flip and cook until browned.
- Serve warm.
Notes
You can also use frozen (and thawed) blueberries in this recipe, if blueberries aren’t in season.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 pancakes
- Calories: 342
- Sugar: 12.7 g
- Sodium: 453.5 mg
- Fat: 11.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 53.2 g
- Protein: 8.9 g
- Cholesterol: 88.7 mg
I have another recipe that I’ve used for years but decided to branch out this once. Turns out I’ve been using the wrong recipe all this time! These turned out light and buttery – think Cracker Barrel blueberry pancakes without the plate full of excess grease. Cooked in a cast iron skillet (of course), lightly drizzled with maple syrup at the table. Thawed some frozen blueberries to add, they worked well but I imagine fresh would be even better. We threw the cooked ones in the oven at 275 on a plate to keep them ready until serving, my skillet can only handle 3 of these at once.
Thank you so much for the review and so glad you liked them!
Two TABLESPOONS baking powder? Not teaspoons?
yes, 2 tablespoons!
She is wrong. It’s teaspoons. Too proud to admit she was wrong. My husband got sick.
I too felt the baking powder sickness. She must correct this grievous deadly error.
I don’t usually rate recipes, but this one was so amazing I had to come back to let everyone else know! This recipe makes terrific pancakes! I also mixed the berries into the batter, like other people have reported doing, but that was mostly just a short-cut for me; I’m sure the recommended method would make them even more perfect. The pancakes came out very fluffy and light, and sweet enough that we often don’t even need syrup. Fantastic!
Thank you so much!! So glad you liked them!
These were awesome! I halved the recipe since it was just me and a friend but I still had four leftover that I’ll freeze and eat for a quick breakfast . I mixed the blueberries right into the batter. This will definitely be my new pancake recipe. Thanks.
So happy you liked them!! They’re great to freeze!
I made these pancakes after reading several comments. I then came up with a few alterations and I must say these pancakes are absolutely delicious. I adjusted the baking powder to one and a half tablespoons, the brown sugar to two tablespoons and the salt to a half teaspoon.
So glad you enjoyed and thanks for sharing your adaptations!
Our pancakes didn’t get fluffy at all. There was too much baking powder in them and they tasted very salty
What can I do with extra batter?
Can I make muffins from it?
Make more pancakes, refrigerate/freeze, warm in toaster oven until crisp, top with ice cream, thank me later.
I love this recipe, but are the pancakes affected if you refrigerate the batter overnight?
Love this recipe and definitely high quality pancakes!! Cannot go wrong with this recipe…flop proof. I actually added the blueberries to batter instead of adding while pancake frying on one side and still came out sooooo good. Just love it
So happy you love these as much as I do!
Great pancakes. The wife thought I messed up by putting in two tablespoons of baking powder. Loved the addition of brown sugar. Fluffy with a hint of sweetness. Saving this recipe! Thank you.
So glad you liked them! When I was testing them and added a little more baking powder each time I thought it might be too much, but it works perfect for fluffy pancakes!
It is too much.