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This easy pancake recipe without baking powder will give you the perfect result every time, and it uses minimal ingredients too. It’s great for breakfast, for pancake day or whenever you fancy. Since there is no baking powder used, you are likely to have the ingredients already.
This recipe includes all the basic ingredients you would expect to find in pancakes: self-raising flour, eggs, milk, and no baking powder. It’s super simple to make and doesn’t require resting either. If you need a vegan recipe, these fluffy banana pancakes are delicious and thick. You would enjoy these even if not vegan but they do happen to be egg-free so perfect if you’ve just run out. For some topping inspiration, try my Tiramisu pancakes. They are incredible. But this easy pancake recipe is so good just with syrup and a pat of butter on top.
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Why you’ll love this recipe
- It contains no baking powder, so it’s easy to pull together with minimal ingredients from the cupboard
- The pancakes are the perfect mix of thick and thin – they are fluffy and soft, thicker than crepes but thinner than a proper American-style thick pancake. Perfect in my opinion
- These pancakes are customizable. I’ve done them with blueberries, but chocolate chips, for example, would be delicious.
Ingredients
- Eggs: Large eggs work best here. Try to use free-range eggs if you can!
- Whole milk: Whole is ideal, but it would be fine with semi-skimmed or even skimmed milk too. Whole just gives the best, well-rounded pancake.
- Self-rising (self-raising) flour: This is to replace the baking powder to make sure they still have some rise and are still fluffy.
- Sugar: Optional, but just a hint of sugar adds a touch of sweetness to these pancakes.
Substitutions and variations
Milk: You can substitute whole milk for oat milk or almond milk if you don’t drink dairy.
Blueberries: As mentioned above, chocolate chips would be delicious or you could keep the pancakes plain. Using fresh raspberries is a great idea.
Self-rising (self-raising) flour: I love this recipe because it doesn’t contain extra baking powder. If you want to make these and don’t have self-raising flour, use 9 3/4 oz (280 g, about 2 1/4 cups) all-purpose (plain) flour and add 3 teaspoons of baking powder.
How to make easy pancakes with no baking powder
Here’s a quick visual guide — the full recipe with exact measurements is below.
ONE: Add the eggs and milk to a large bowl, and then add the flour and sugar if using. Mix together until totally smooth.
TWO: Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat and add a little butter. I do this with a paper towel for ease. Once hot, scoop about 2 tbsp of batter at a time for each pancake and cook.
THREE: Add blueberries or whatever add-ins you like. Do this just before the bubble start to form and it’s still not set on top.
FOUR: Once the bubbles appear, you can flip the pancake. They should be golden on each side. Yum!
My top tips for the best pancakes ever
- Butter: As you may have heard before, “butter makes it better.” And that is very true here. Frying in butter gives the best color and flavor.
- Cooking temperature: Do not be tempted to cook pancakes over a high heat. I’ve done it before, and it really leads to a mess – burnt exteriors and a claggy center. Keeping the pan on medium heat means the pancakes gently turn golden and gives enough time to cook in the middle for a fluffy rise.
- Non-stick pan: I would really recommend using a non-stick pan here as it means you avoid any sticking mishaps. I like this non-stick pan; it does it all!
Frequently asked questions
A good non-stick pan is crucial to making good pancakes. Alongside the non-stick pan, make sure you grease the pan well with some butter. Wipe it on with some paper towels to spread it evenly.
Yes, you can make this batter the night before. Cover it and leave it in the fridge overnight. When ready, give it a good stir and let it sit out at room temp for 20 minutes or so before cooking, just so it loosens again. But you don’t have to chill it; this is just if you are getting ahead!
With the lack of baking powder, you need the self-raising flour for a bit of rise. So I wouldn’t use plain here as you might end up with a crepe rather than a pancake. If you only have plain flour, use 9 3/4 oz (280 g, about 2 1/4 cups) and add 3 teaspoons of baking powder.
Yes, these pancakes don’t have sugar in them and are sugar-free. Typically, American pancakes include sugar, but I find that with the fruit and the syrup, this isn’t needed. You can, of course, add a touch of sugar to compensate for different toppings, or if that’s how you prefer it. Add 1-2 tbsp superfine (caster) sugar or granulated sugar to the batter, at the same point as the flour.
Other recipes you may like
If you are a pancake fiend, try these Tiramisu Pancakes or my Fluffy Banana Pancakes. And if you fancy trying something a bit different to usual, I love these Mango Pancakes with Whipped Cream and Fresh Mango – so fresh and fruity. Finally, a great crepe-style recipe can be found on my site too; they are delicious with lemon curd! But if you want a savory breakfast, make these easy 3 Ingredient Bagels; they are chewy and crisp at the same time.
Pancake Recipes
Racuchy (Polish Apple Pancakes)
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Poffertjes (Dutch Mini Pancakes)
Pancake Recipes
Pannukakku (Finnish Oven Pancake)
Pancake Recipes
Pannekaker (Norwegian Pancakes)
If you tried these Easy No Baking Powder Pancakes or any other recipe on the site, please do leave a comment and let us know how it went!
Easy Pancake Recipe Without Baking Powder
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 14.3 fl oz milk, whole milk ideally; about 1 3/4 cups
- 9.75 oz self-rising flour (self-raising flour), about 2 1/4 cups
- 1-2 tbsp superfine sugar (caster sugar), optional
To serve:
- Butter, for frying and serving
- Maple syrup
- Blueberries or chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- Whisk the eggs and milk together to combine in a large bowl. Add the flour and whisk until the batter is completely smooth.
- Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat and add a little butter. I do this with a piece of kitchen paper for ease. Once hot, scoop about 2 tbsp of batter at a time for each pancake and cook.
- Once in the pan and slightly set around the edges, but not yet bubbling on top, add the blueberries or chocolate chips.
- Once bubbles appear on top, flip and cook until golden. The size of your pan and the size of the pancakes will determine how many pancakes you can cook at a time, but this should make at least 8 pancakes.
- Serve with a pat of butter, maple syrup and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Soooo good ten million out of ten million, sisters loved it
It make perfect fluffy pancakes! I loved using this recipe!
Made these pancakes for my family for pancake day. I omitted the toppings during cooking to allow everyone to add their own before consuming…. so easy and delicious, light, airy and soft. Clean plates all round and will 100% be our go to pancake recipe from now on!!
so pleased! thank you! xx
Absolutely delicious! Came in handy because I didn’t have baking powder. And my toddler loved them too! Thank you!
It does contain baking powder, it is in the self-rising flour.
Of course. To make this kind of pancake you need a raising agent – this recipe uses self raising flour rather than having to add the raising agents separately.
i am obsessed
These are not the best unfortunately. Very hard pancakes. Like fluffy or soft. Kids and I was disappointed.
Sorry to hear that Sarah but it sounds like something has gone wrong as I’ve made them hundreds of times and they are definitely fluffy and soft. Did you use self raising flour? It sounds like you may have used plain flour which doesn’t have a rising agent. I promise if you follow the directions as written these pancakes are really so good!
I made them, they were some of the best I’ve made without a box mix!
I didn’t have milk, so I reduced the liquid by 1/4 cup and used an extra egg for the protein in milk. Since I had heavy cream and whole milk has fat, I used 1/4 cup heavy cream and the rest water.
Added a teaspoon of cinnamon for blood sugar control and skipped the sugar. Came out really good for me!
(We did have to remake them after an accident we didn’t have self rising flour, so we followed instructions for how to use all purpose. Problem was I used 3 tablespoons baking SODA instead of as the recipe called for, baking POWDER. Hehehe.)
Came here looking for a recipe without baking soda or baking powder. The title of the recipe is what got me here. Very disappointed. Self Rising flour contains baking powder, that’s what makes it self rising.
Hi Eric,
So sorry to hear you are disappointed. Most recipes use plain flour and require you to add a raising agent yourself. By using self raising flour you get to skip a step and are not actively adding the baking powder, so these are an easy pancake recipe without baking powder. Hope that helps!
We just made these gorgeous pancakes omg i barely had enough everyone’s asked for extras twice very very nice treat for a Saturday morning and the butter was definitely the way to go thank you for the recepie ❤️
Delicious! Love your instagram page too!
Lovely pancakes, quick and easy.