It’s blueberry season, and we’re always looking for ways to eat seasonally––especially when it comes to summer fruit. Eating blueberries right out of the carton or straight off of a blueberry bush will never go out of style, but a stack of blueberry pancakes makes for a pretty perfect breakfast or brunch! We have been making this fluffy Blueberry Pancake recipe for a long time, but, in this family, there’s always contention––and perhaps even a few face-offs––over food.
Specifically, Sarah and Kaitlin have been embroiled in an ongoing pancake battle. Kaitlin says she makes the best, thickest pancakes, while Sarah says her pancakes are the fluffiest, and therefore the best by default. I’m no slouch, either–check out our Apple Cider Pancakes! And Judy, well, she is the ultimate critic, reaping the rewards of our competition when we decide pancakes are NECESSARY, with Sunday morning coffee in hand.
The favorite recipes that we argue over are the Good Old-Fashioned Pancakes (Kaitlin’s choice) and the Fluffy Pancakes (Sarah) on Allrecipes.com. Sarah and Kaitlin agree to disagree on which one is best! I try to stay out of the plain pancake battle, but when it comes to blueberry pancakes, I think these are the best!
Blueberry Pancakes are a longtime favorite of ours, and now that our 2-year-old blueberry bush is starting to settle in, we’re crossing our fingers for a good crop next year! For now, we’ll have to settle for the blueberry harvests at our local farms, and the supermarket’s summer blueberry sales!
Here is what you’ll need for your next Saturday or Sunday pancake breakfast:
(Makes 6 small blueberry pancakes or 4 large pancakes)
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar (divided)
- 1¼ cups fresh blueberries, washed and drained
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons melted butter, cooled
- ½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)
Sift all of the dry ingredients together into a bowl––with the exception of 1 tablespoon of sugar––and set aside. Sifting helps to make a fluffy pancake, which is especially important when incorporating fresh fruit into the batter.
In a medium-sized bowl, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over the blueberries. I like this step, because it sweetens the blueberries slightly and helps bring out their true taste. If you have very sweet blueberries, you can omit this step.
Lightly beat 1 egg in a large mixing bowl along with the milk.
Make sure that you take these ingredients out in advance so they are at room temperature. Add in the sifted dry ingredients, and gently stir the batter, being careful not to over-mix. A few lumps in the batter at this stage is okay.
Next, carefully fold in the melted butter until completely incorporated. Be sure that it’s cooled slightly, or that your batter is at room temperature. This is important, or your butter will solidify when mixed with the cold ingredients.
If you’re including the lemon zest, add it in now. Let the batter sit for 20 minutes.
After your batter has rested, fold in the blueberries.
Now, we’re ready to get some pancakes over the fire! Heat up your cast iron pan or griddle. Cast iron is great for making pancakes, since they retain and maintain a constant heat–essential for making good pancakes!
Use a small dab of butter to coat the pan each time you drop in a new pancake. Heat control is everything when making pancakes, so be sure the butter sizzles when you put it down, but does not brown quickly; if it does, turn the heat down slightly.
Spoon 1/3 cup of batter (or ½ cup for larger pancakes) into the pan. The pancake is ready to flip once bubbles have formed across the pancake, and the bottom is golden brown and slightly crispy (about 2½ minutes). You can use a spatula to gently lift the edge of the pancake to take a peek.
Be careful flipping the pancake, because it will be a little unwieldy with the blueberries. You must be assertive, using a single motion–and flip only once! Let the pancake cook for another 1½ minutes, and transfer to a warm plate. Depending upon how large your pancake is and how you control the flame, the cooking times may vary by 30 seconds or so.
Repeat until all the pancakes are done, or you can eat as you cook so the blueberry pancakes are piping hot. Serve with a pat of butter and maple syrup!
We hope you enjoy these blueberry pancakes – it’s definitely a family favorite!
Blueberry Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar (divided)
- 1¼ cups fresh blueberries (washed and drained)
- 1 egg (at room temperature)
- 1 cup whole milk (at room temperature)
- 3 tablespoons butter (melted and partially cooled)
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
Instructions
- Sift all of the dry ingredients together into a bowl––with the exception of 1 tablespoon of sugar––and set aside. Sifting helps to make a fluffy pancake, which is especially important when incorporating fresh fruit into the batter.
- In a medium-sized bowl, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over the blueberries. I like this step, because it sweetens the blueberries slightly and helps bring out their true taste. If you have very sweet blueberries, you can omit this step.
- Lightly beat 1 egg in a large mixing bowl, and add the milk. Make sure that you take these ingredients out in advance so they are at room temperature. Add in the sifted dry ingredients, and gently stir the batter, being careful not to over-mix. A few lumps in the batter at this stage is okay.
- Next, carefully fold in the melted butter until completely incorporated. Be sure that it’s cooled slightly, or that your batter is at room temperature. This is important, or your butter will solidify when mixed with the cold ingredients. If you’re including the lemon zest, add it in now. Let the batter sit for 20 minutes.
- After your batter has rested, fold in the blueberries. Now, we’re ready to get some pancakes over the fire! Heat up your cast iron pan or griddle. Cast iron is great for making pancakes, since they retain and maintain a constant heat--essential for making good pancakes!
- Use a small dab of butter to coat the pan each time you drop in a new pancake. Heat control is everything when making pancakes, so be sure the butter sizzles when you put it down, but does not brown quickly; if it does, turn the heat down slightly.
- Spoon 1/3 cup of batter (or ½ cup for larger pancakes) into the pan. The pancake is ready to flip once bubbles have formed across the pancake, and the bottom is golden brown and slightly crispy (about 2½ minutes). You can use a spatula to gently lift the edge of the pancake to take a peek.
- Be careful flipping the pancake, because it will be a little unwieldy with the blueberries. You must be assertive, using a single motion--and flip only once! Let the pancake cook for another 1½ minutes, and transfer to a warm plate. Depending upon how large your pancake is and how you control the flame, the cooking times may vary by 30 seconds or so.
- Repeat until all the pancakes are done, or you can eat as you cook so the pancakes are piping hot. Serve with a pat of butter and maple syrup!
Nutrition
Mary Brown says
Ultimately the Best. As my mouth is full and my toes are a wiggling. My two Stepsons are in heaven. AHHHH. there is nothing like a great down home from scratch. The best.
Bill says
Hi Mary, love your description of delight! Glad you and your family enjoyed these pancakes :)
Heidi E. says
All my life I have been basically cursed with regards to pancake making. Everyone else says they’re super-easy and make fun a bad cook by saying “Well, at least she can make pancakes”, but I have caused multiple kitchen fires and never once made an edible (or in most cases even recognizable) pancake despite trying many “foolproof” recipes, even though I can do much more complicated foods with good results.
I really hesitated to try again at all, but I just felt really tempted this morning to try yours. I’m glad I did. By the world’s standards it probably looks like one of those Funny Pinterest Fails, but they are definitely, actually, pancakes and taste reasonably good.
Observations: The batter was unusually thick, actually more like chocolate chip cookie dough than pancake batter. Yours doesn’t look quite that thick in the picture and I think it probably shouldn’t be that thick because they are a little undercooked in the middle and the first one burned on the bottom without ever getting bubbles all the way through, but I do think somewhat thicker batter than most people use is part of the trick to making this work for me. Any suggestions?
BTW, I did try the Cantonese Turkey ( on a chicken), pretty successfully and am hoping later today to make a variant of your Char Siu Bao with the leftovers! Thanks for making this blog, it’s been a big help!
Bill says
Hi Heidi, measurements, heat control and patience are all keys to a successful pancake. From the description of your batter, it definitely sounds like it was too thick, but then again, I don’t know what your chocolate cookie dough looks like ;-) The batter should be more like a batter, albeit it thick, so use our photos as a guideline.
As for burned bottoms, it may take one test pancake to get the temperature of the pan just right, but it is better to err on the side of not enough heat and turn the temperature up than to risk a burned pancake (the batter should make a slight sizzle when hitting the pan). Another tip is to brush a little bit of butter on the pan right before pouring on the batter to get that perfect golden look and a slightly crispy outside (the inside should be tender and fluffy). It does take some practice to make perfect pancakes!
Heidi E. says
Thanks. :) Cookies, I don’t deviate much from the Nestle Tollhouse recipe, but I’m at 4500 ft and in a desert in Utah, so I have heard that some recipes need adjusting for both high altitude and very low humidity. Likely that made the difference. I’ll try adding a little more milk next time and see what happens.
Daphnee Kelly says
Hi Bill,
THANK YOU for this recipe. It was absolutely delicious. My husband and Sister loved it. I didn’t have lemon zest but I did have an orange, so, I used orange zest instead and it was yummylicious!! ? I actually let it refrigerate overnight to save time in the morning and the zest flavor really mixed well over night. I will try the lemon zest which I’m sure will be equally delicious. Thanks again for sharing. Added to my breakfast favorites. ???
Bill says
Hi Daphnee, you’re welcome. I am always so happy to hear when someone enjoys a good pancake recipe!
Deb says
Just made these they were awesome the tip on sugar making blueberries sweeter and about the butter made them perfect. Took a picture but not sure how to add it! Thx for the recipe! Omitted the zest as I didn’t have any.
Bill says
Hi Deb, Glad you enjoyed it. I’m sure they looked and tasted delicious!
HollyK says
I made these this am and rushed a little, as guests are trying to get to the airport, and I got rave reviews!! I didn’t have any lemon, so I omitted the zest, but it was wonderfully fantastic!!! Great recipe! Thank you!!!
Bill says
Hi HollyK, Great to hear it – I love those pancakes too :)
Kimberly says
In your opinion, would it be possible to make this batter ahead of time and then store it in the refrigerator until time for cooking? Maybe the night before or even a few hours ahead of time?
Bill says
Hi Kimberly, I have not tried making it the night before, but a few hours before definitely works. Just make sure you cover the batter tightly with plastic wrap so it does not dry out.
Sarisha says
Hi there! What would you reccomend as an alternative to the egg?
Heather says
I’ve used Chia seeds (1T chia + 3-4T water and let sit until it gels) in pancakes, cupcakes, cookies, and it works well! I’ve also used ground flax (also 1T per egg) in cookies, but I haven’t tried that in pancakes yet. They also sell “egg replacer” powder that I’ve tried, but I haven’t been fond of the flavor results – makes it a little chalky tasting to me (but I may be just sensitive to the taste).
Bill says
Hi Heather, interesting idea to use chia or flax seeds instead of eggs. How does it affect the texture of the pancake?
Gina says
That was meant ti be a 5-star!