Light and Fluffy Whole Wheat Pancakes are made with just six ingredients and only one bowl for mixing. They use all whole wheat flour and are lightly sweet and super fluffy!
Even great recipes sometimes get made once and are promptly forgotten about. At our house where I'm constantly looking for inspiration and trying new things, my family always complains that I make something they love and they never see it again. So it’s truly a special recipe that gets made every week at our house (okay, that's not totally true, sometimes we alternate with Healthy Blueberry Pancakes). These whole wheat pancakes are our weekly recipe. I make double batches which produces enough pancakes to freeze and warm up in the toaster all week long.
These pancakes are just a bit sweet so they need no other topping than a spread of butter, though no one ever complains about a bit of maple syrup. Plus the whole wheat flour means that everyone is getting a bit more nutrition than standard pancakes made with all purpose flour.
Even if you’re not the homemade breakfast type, try these pancakes! They’re incredibly easy and so delicious.
Ingredients for Whole Wheat Pancakes
- Buttermilk - I know that buttermilk isn’t something that everyone keeps on hand (though around our house, we make these pancakes so often that we always have it), but it’s inexpensive and definitely worth grabbing on your next run to the store. The subtle tart flavor really makes these pancakes taste great! If you don’t have it - no worries - see below for an easy substitute.
- Whole Wheat Flour - These use entirely whole wheat flour which can be found in the baking aisle next to the all purpose flour. If you don’t use it often, store it in the freezer and it will stay fresh for a looooong time and be ready anytime you want to make these pancakes (or these whole wheat waffles).
- Eggs - You’ll need 2 large eggs.
- Light Brown Sugar - Dark brown sugar works just fine too. I’ve also made this with white sugar, and it came out great.
- Cooking Oil - Any type of oil you would use in baking or cooking will work great here. I use vegetable, canola, grapeseed, or avocado oil, depending on what I have on hand.
- Baking Powder - The baking powder is what helps these pancakes to bake up tall and be extra light and fluffy. The recipe requires 2 Tablespoons - it will seem like a lot, but it’s right!
(How sweet are these little notes that come with our favorite local eggs?)
Substitute for Buttermilk
If you don’t have buttermilk, replace 2 cups of buttermilk with 1 ½ cups milk, 2 teaspoons white vinegar or lemon juice, and ½ cup plain yogurt. The yogurt and the vinegar / lemon juice thicken the milk and mimic the sour flavor of buttermilk.
How to Freeze Pancakes
After making the pancakes, allow them to cool completely. Place them on a sheet pan - it’s okay if they overlap slightly. Transfer the pan to the freezer and freeze for 2 to 3 hours. Once pancakes are frozen solid, move to freezer bags. Seal tightly and freezer for up to 6 months.
Pancakes (and waffles) are freezer rockstars. Just take out as many as you need and warm them up in the toaster or under the broiler for a couple minutes.
More Whole Wheat Flour Recipes
- Overnight Yeasted Whole Wheat Waffles
- Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes
- Whole Wheat Banana Bread
- Whole Wheat Pita Chips
- Soft Wheat Sandwich Bread
Favorite Tools
Light and Fluffy Whole Wheat Pancakes
Equipment
- Skillet
- Mixing Bowl
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 2 Large Eggs
- ¼ cup (50 g) Light Brown Sugar, packed
- ¼ cup (60 mL) Cooking Oil (vegetable, canola, grapeseed, or avocado oil)
- 2 cups (475 mL) Buttermilk (see note)
- 2 cups (250 g) Whole Wheat Flour
- 2 tablespoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
Instructions
- Beat eggs and brown sugar in a mixing bowl with a wire whisk. Beat in canola oil and buttermilk until evenly combined. Add dry ingredients all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.
- Ladle batter onto a hot, oiled griddle or skillet until bubbles form on the surface. Flip to the other side and cook until both sides are golden brown. Serve immediately, with butter and syrup.
Notes
Nutrition
*This post contains affiliate links*
Sarah
Jessica! I love this post! I had to comment to tell you that Grandma and Grandpa's restaurant place has closed and even been torn down. There is now just a big open place where Waid's once stood. Excited to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Jess
Sarah - I think my mom mentioned that to me when I was home, and I couldn't believe it. It's part of our history - so sad. Hope you're doing well - wedding planning and all!
sally @ sallys baking addiction
I haven't made pancakes on a weekend in ages. light and fluffy are my pancake standards. whole wheat, brown sugar - these pancakes have my name written all over them! now I don't have an excuse not to make pancakes on a Saturday or lazy sunday morning. 🙂
Jess
Sally - we got on a pancake kick a few months ago and now there's hardly a Saturday that goes by where we don't make them. I'm hooked! These really might be my favorite, although I went through a serious pumpkin pancake phase in October. I'm so surprised you haven't made pancakes recently - might I convince you to create a funfetti pancake recipe? 😉
Corey @ Learning Patience
I want to know who ate that huge stack of pancakes w/syrup?! lol I wish I could eat them...pure carbs=sugar=syrup= no no for diabetics. 🙁 They look delicious though. When we were in Tobago, my dad made everyone pancakes....like he used too. It was nice. I even ate a mini silver dollar one and man- it might as well been pringles...because it took all the will power I had to stop. 🙂 Family breakfasts our a Melke tradition.
xoxo from Trinidad
Jess
Aw, Corey - I'm learning so much from you (not that I ever would have thought these would be diabetic-friendly). I totally ate those pancakes - you know me! Although, the photo sort of hides that this giant stack of pancakes weren't much bigger than silver dollar pancakes. They're on a teeny dessert plate! I took an online whole foods cooking class with Heather from beautythatmoves.typepad.com a couple months ago and she had us make these amazing pancakes that were made from whole rolled oats pulsed in the food processor. They were delicious - and would maybe work for you? Here's a similar version - https://cookieandkate.com/2012/blueberry-lemon-yogurt-pancakes/.
Ashley
Love that these pancakes use all whole wheat flour. And these photos are so gorgeous! Making me want some pancakes right now even though I just ate lunch : )
Jess
Haha, Breakfast for dinner perhaps? 😉 I always crave pancakes - they're total comfort food.
Ashley
Yes. These look amazing. Fluffy, light and perfect for our leisurely weekend breakfasts. I rarely make the same pancake twice so I 'm very excited to try this one and add it to our mix. Also, thanks for the link.
Jess
Me too, Ashley - I rarely make the same pancakes twice (or anything for that matter - I like variety!), although I must say that these may be the ones that I come back to again and again. I love your site!
Claire @ Claire K Creations
Jessica your photos are just gorgeous! I'm not even a big pancake eater and I want to lick the screen! Breakfast should be celebrated everywhere like it is in your family.
Kelly Senyei (Just a Taste)
Oh my heavens! That top photo has left me (almost) speechless. Get in my tummy!
dana
These look amazing! Bravo. Thanks for including me on the post - much love!
MM
Looks like I better get that Huckleberry Syrup to you PRONTO! You are spoiling F4 too much. I had him brainwashed that pancakes were for dinner 😉 00000s
charlotte
Info for you and your readers: If you have time, separate your eggs and whip the egg whites. Stir them in when you mix the wet and dry ingredients and viola! - fluffy ww pancakes!
Jess
Hi Charlotte - thanks so much for chiming in! Although, this particular recipe works beautifully without that extra step, I actually made a previous pancake recipe extra fluffy doing just as you said (https://www.inquiringchef.com/2011/07/14/baking-for-breakfast/).
Katie (The Muffin Myth)
Mmmm, those look so good! I love the melty butter syrup combo. My husband doesn't like pancakes (I don't understand him at all) so I don't make them so often, but this weekend my sister is visiting which is the perfect excuse to make breakfast. These look right up my alley, I'll have to try them out! Thanks for the recipe!
Rosie @ Blueberry Kitchen
Yum the pancakes look delicious and I love that they're made from whole wheat flour.
kristine
This is my most favorite post you've written. And the picture is incredible!
Alyssa {Suitcases & Sweets}
Gorgeous photos, Jess! Breakfast is also a big deal in my family and this post made me feel close to home. We have a family favorite buttermilk pancake recipe I'd be happy to pass along if your pancake kick continues. 🙂 xo
Averie @ Averie Cooks
I'm super impressed at the fluffy factor for an all whole wheat pancake! And love that they're made with all brown sugar, no white...I bet the flavor is richer and deeper than regular pancakes!
Jess
I could hardly believe it, Averie - I never would have thought that these would come out so light with all whole wheat flour - it's cooking magic! (Okay, actually, I think it's just baking powder "magic".)
Monique @ Ambitious Kitchen
I love pancakes. These look so perfect!
Jessica's Dad
Jess - Did your dad ever steer you wrong when it came to food? Well, maybe a couple of times. The entire Paradise Cookbook is still available from The Raven Bookstore in Lawwrence, Kansas for anyone interested. I'm sure you can Google it. And for anyone who remembers it, there a Facebook for us old nostalgic Paradise Fans.
Caitlin
I didn't have buttermilk or yogurt on hand but I always use 1 tbsp of vinegar in the measuring cup then fill the rest with skim milk to substitute for buttermilk. Just made these and mixed in fresh blackberries. Absolutely delicious!!
Jess
So glad you liked them, Caitlin! Great tip on the skim milk/vinegar combination - thank you for chiming in!
Tina@GottaRunNow
Thanks for the idea of using yogurt/vinegar/milk as a substitute for buttermilk. I made the pancakes - delicious!
Jess
So glad to hear it, Tina! That combination has definitely saved me many times...I never seem to have buttermilk when I want to bake with it!
Spike
A recent physical showed a blood sugar problem and I am off white flour/rice/pasta and most sweets. I made pancakes every Sunday with white flour, lots of sugar and plenty of syrup. After the test results, I went looking for a whole wheat pancake recipe and came across this. I made it with less sugar (works out to very little per pancake) and served mine with fresh topping and a tiny bit of syrup. They were absolutely perfect in both flavor and texture. If the doctor told me tomorrow that I could eat all the things I can't eat now, I would still make these every day. Terrific recipe.
Jess
Spike - thanks so much for letting me know. I'm so glad to hear that these worked within your dietary restrictions. I too make pancakes nearly every weekend, and it would be a hard thing to give up.
Spike
BTW, I meant "fresh fruit topping" above. It's kind of amazing how good these taste with almost no syrup. I used it mostly to get some maple flavoring in them.
Rachel
I've tried a lot of whole wheat pancake recipes and this one is by far the best!
Jess
Thank you for letting me know, Rachel! They're a favorite of mine too!
Heather
Thank you so, so much for this recipe! I am not a cook, but a mom of 4 children that likes to eat healthy and these whole wheat pancakes are amazing - the best I've ever had! These are so good I can eat them without butter or syrup. I've made them twice and every time there is not a pancake left 🙂 Also, loved your sweet story that went with the recipe!
Jess
Thanks, Heather!!!! I'm so glad that you stopped by to let me know. I have to say that these have become such a favorite of mine that they're the only type of pancake I make now.
KA
Hello Jess,
I made these for breakfast today and they are the best pancakes our family has ever eaten! We had them with honey. I halved the recipe and it worked great.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I will be making a lot of these pancakes now 🙂
Jess
KA - I'm so glad to hear it! We absolutely love these as well. I should try them with honey drizzled on top - what a great idea!
Abby
The tablespoon of baking powder does the trick! I made these tonight using coconut oil and they were divine (I actually only needed 2 T for the whole recipe).
Jess
Abby - great idea! I'll have to try them with coconut oil next time!
Emily
This has become our new go-to pancake recipe. We also love to add 1/4 -1/2 cup of pureed pumpkin to the mix. Either way, it's always delicious. Thank you!
Mickella
I was so skeptical. I had tried making whole wheat pancakes before and they turned out tough and chewy. Giving an evil smirk at this recipe, I decided to just watch it fail and go yet another morning pancake-less . (You can tell I am a morning person right)? I was so wrong. Wrong. They are the best pancakes I myself have ever made. It takes real talent to make whole wheat pancakes turn out delicious. Thank you so much for making my morning a pleasant one!
Jess
Haha - you are MOST welcome Mickella! I'm so glad these did not fall into the same category as the whole wheat pancakes you have had in the past!
Rauni
Jess,
Thank you for sharing the recipe!! Pancakes are a must have in my home when fixing breakfast, however, I like to mix things up a bit and fix breakfast for Supper
So that's what we'll be having tonight!!
Thanks again, can't wait to try them out!!
Scarlett
I was looking for a whole wheat pancake recipe to serve for a Mother's Day brunch I am hosting for my grandmother and aunt this Sunday. I read through a ton online before I found this one that felt it had the perfect balance of what I wanted. I just made it (halving your recipe to test - just for my boyfriend and I) and it turned out fantastic! They whipped up really fast and were incredibly tasty and fluffy as advertised. I had bought all the ingredients at the store with it in my mind that I had the light brown sugar at home, turns out my boyfriend had used it all up in his protein smoothies without letting me know, so after me having a bit of a huffy moment I decided to just go ahead and make them with white sugar. They were still really yummy, so if you don't have the brown on hand it's not a big deal. I will however be picking up some light brown sugar before Sunday so I can make them just right for the special brunch. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe. I'm sure I will use it again and again!
Jess
Scarlett - thank you so much for letting me know. It's great to hear that you had success with what has become an absolute staple in my house - we make these almost every weekend. I have yet to try them with white sugar, but it's great to hear that it will work in a pinch. Good luck with the Mother's Day celebration this weekend!
Deborah Anziano
We just SUPER enjoyed these pancakes!! Thank you for sharing the recipe and your families special breakfast loves.
Desi
This sounds so good, i am making them for lunch for me and the little tot today:)Would you be willing to share with the resteraunt sized portions, though? I have six kids, and four boys, and pancakes for 6 or 8 barely makes a dent in their early morning feeding frenzy!
Jess
You are a busy woman, Desi! Here are the measurements from the original:
4 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 quart buttermilk
4 cups whole wheat flour
4 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
The batter refrigerates pretty well - I've made it 24 hours in advance and cooked the pancakes the next day, with great results, so if you do end up with any leftover, you could always refrigerate it. Enjoy!
Desi
Thank you so much, Jess! I made this for breakfast this morning! Would you believe that I didn't have any leftover?? 🙂 If it's alright with you, I'm going to add a link on a post on my blog back to this recipe... considering my children said ,"These are AWESOME, Mom!" (Which has never happened for any other whole wheat pancakes I've made!)
Jess
Of course, Desi - go right ahead! So glad to hear your kids liked them!
Gwench
These are the BEST pancakes I have ever made. I use 2% milk and malt vinegar instead of buttermilk. I have been searching for 10 years for the perfect pancakes and have made these 5 times in a row. Perfect every time and everyone loves them! I have substituted agave for brown sugar and maple syrup for brown sugar, added chocolate chips and added blueberries. It works every time. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!
Jess
Thanks so much for your note and for the substitutions - always helpful to hear what works, Gwench! Glad you liked them!
a mom
AMAZING! BEST WW RECIPE EVER!!! so tasty and fluffy - normally my ww pancakes are tough and flat
Ginnie
These were the best whole wheat pancakes I've ever had! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Lily
thank you very much for the recipe! My family loved the taste though I did make one substitution-rice milk for buttermilk and added cinnamon, overall delicious!
Deb
I found this recipe in a google search. I halved it and used my 10 grain flour, almond milk with lemon juice, and coconut crystals instead of brown sugar. Then on a whim I added a little more milk and a quarter cup of coconut flour.
DELISH! Thanks so much for a fantastic base recipe that was entirely forgiving to my quirky changes 🙂
Talmesha Keonna
Great recipe! I have tried many other whole wheat recipes and yes this is by far the best I have come across. Others are flat and soggy, but these are perfect light and fluffy! I didn't have any buttermilk (I never do), so I did 2 cups of almond milk and 4 tbsp of fresh lemon juice to make a substitute. They turned out delicious! Thank you for such a great recipe! 😉
Jess
So glad you liked them Talmesha! And thanks so much for sharing the almond milk substitute details.
Rana
Hello! I'm about to try this recipe as i couldn't help myself after seeing the pictures. But i was wondering if it would work if i used oat flour instead of the whole wheat flour.
Jess
Hi Rana - I just saw your note, and I have to say that I'm not sure if it will work or not. The recipe is pretty flexible, so it certainly seems worth a shot. Let me know how it goes!
Ayesha
These were DELICIOUS! I didn't have a lot of milk, so I subbed half sour cream and added a wee bit of apple cider vinegar to make it into a thick and luscious buttermilk substitution.
These are so good and fluffy and ommmggg! I'm putting blackberry jam on mine, thanks for making my breakfast today! <3
Jo
These pancakes are freaking amazing! Who know whole wheat anything could be so light?! I ate 4 in one sitting. I didn't have buttermilk, so I used vanilla almond milk + vinegar. Usually I hate it when people review recipes and then mention all the changes they made. 'Cause maybe it was the alterations that made it good or bad and not the actual recipe, you know? Now here I am doing it. But dang! Just glad no one was here to see me stuffing my face.
Jess
Jo - I'm so glad you sent a comment! This is one of those rare recipes that seems to work so well with adaptations, so I'm thrilled to hear about another success. (Nothing better than a pancake feast, in my humble opinion!)
vanessa
WOW is all i can say. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!
Thank you for the recipe post!
Denise
Yum ... Just tried these in NZ without buttermilk but put in the milk and vinegar. Whole family loved them, and they were really filling. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Bubble
You are an angel Jess, as these pancakes are clearly god-sent; thank you so much for sharing!! I am in the maintenance phase of a lower-carb diet and very deprived of the good, comforting foods like this!!! Ohhhhh I made them (with some alterations to suit my still lower-carb, sugar-free eating rules) and ohhhhh they tasted like heaven....
Alterations:
-Granular Splenda instead of brown sugar;
-Coconut Oil (as I did not have Canola);
-Low-carb "mock" buttermilk - made of Unsweetened Almond Milk, White Vinegar and Sour Cream;
-2 tsp ground Cinnamon (only because I have a soft spot for cinnamon).
They were so unbelievably fluffy and yummy and aromatic, I actually happily had 2 of them them plain, while they were hot, with my coffee!! Okay, and then I tried an extra one with homemade low-carb chocolate spread (no words to describe how satisfied I was - anyone that has been on a low-carb diet would know what I mean and that I am not exaggerating at all when I say that my taste-buds felt RE-BORN!!)
Next time I will experiment with turning the recipe completely wheat-free by replacing wholewheat flour (with, perhaps, a mix of almond/coconut flour or almond flour/vanilla-whey protein??)
Millions of thanks again!!
Bubble
xx
Jess
Bubble - thanks so much for letting me know, AND for your adaptation! It's always so nice to know what other variations will work!
Foodie
Thank you for sharing this recipe! It was easy to follow/make and the pancakes were super fluffy.
Nancy
I generally don't write comments, but these pancakes are nice and fluffy. I had a bag of whole wheat flour and wanted to use it. I am so glad for the buttermilk alt recipe because I didn't want to go out and it worked perfectly. One thing I would do differently next time, is to use less sugar, or use a plain yogurt.
Thank you so very much for this recipe. Love it.
Marri
I love this recipe! It's easy!
I made these today and they were lighter than regular pancakes I usually make!
Thank you for sharing, my grand babies have another food to brag about! Lol
Kesha
Oh emmm gee! I made a half batch of these and it was perfect! Yum! I actually used soy milk and vinegar to make a vegan buttermilk and it was great. Next time I'll try to replace the egg with a "flax egg" to see if I can make this recipe completely vegan. Sooo excited!
Kesha
So update.. A flax see I great, but to retain the fluffiness add a small amount of baking powder. For every cup of flour, use a 1/4 teaspoon. But! This will only work if you use buttermilk (or a buttermilk substitute, like milk and vinegar). The baking soda needs that acid to have a reaction.
Jess
Kesha - great! So good to have all of these variations available to others - thank you for writing back in!
G3
Love it!
This is best whole wheat pancake recipe :))
Thanks so much!
-G
Tiffany
I had to let you know my husband and I loved these pancakes. Since we switched to grinding whole wheat berries we have been on the look out for good whole wheat recipes, and I can now say we found the perfect pancake recipe for our family.
Jess
Tiffany - thanks so much for letting me know! Glad you liked the pancakes, and i'm so impressed that you're grinding your own wheat berries - that's definitely something I'd like to try in the future!
r3s
I made these today and they turned out very bitter. Any idea what might have contributed to the bitterness? I thought it may be the charring of the sugar so I tasted the batter and that in itself was bitter 🙁
Jess
Hi there - you are the first person to tell me they had this problem, and I've never experienced it myself in many years of making this recipe. You're right though - something must be off because these pancakes certainly shouldn't have any amount of bitterness to them. I would definitely recommend trouble shooting your ingredients - perhaps the buttermilk was bad, the flour old, or the baking powder expired?
Julie
This is by far THE best homemade pancake recipe I have tried! Thanks for sharing. =)
Nidhi
Hey, these are the BEST whole wheat pancakes ever. I could not believe how fluffy they turned out. Loved them! Thanks for sharing the recipe, so simple and amazing.
Jess
Thanks so much for your note, Nidhi! These are definitely my all time favorite pancakes - I'm so glad you enjoyed them too!
Estelle G.
There's one technique that would make these pancakes even more light and fluffy. It's from the buttermilk pancakes that my grandmother and mother taught me to make. Give it a try and you'll be hooked. Before adding the eggs to the mixture, separate the whites from the yolk; add the yolk only to the mixture. Beat the egg whites until the soft peak stage, then mix the other ingredients as described. At the last minute, fold the whites into the pancake batter leaving some lumps so as not to deflate the air in the whites. Then cook as usual; these cakes will be the lightest and airiest pancakes ever! Enjoy!
Jess
I love this idea, Estelle - this is how my dad always made waffles and they were, indeed, super fluffy. Thanks for sharing!
Nimmi
I was looking for a whole wheat pancake recipe this morning and Google brought us together. These are fantastic! I
My husband insisted that we save this recipe because these pancakes are so good!
Luene B Torner
This is a great recipe and so easy. I added 1/4 cup of cornmeal flour to see what would happen and to be more like what I remember from my childhood. Came out great and my husband really enjoyed them. BitsGingit
Cindy @ Holistic Health Traditions
I made these last night for our breakfast-for-dinner, and they were delicious. I was actually shocked by how good they are since they're all whole wheat. I expected some packiness or something, but nope. They were light and spongy, just the way I love my pancakes. All of my kids and even my husband enjoyed them too. This will be my standard recipe from now on, thank you!
Jess
Thanks so much for letting us know Cindy! We're always shocked at how good these are too - ever since we found these, we never make our old standard pancakes.
Sushma
Wow thanks for such a yummy recipe! These are by far the best whole wheat pancakes I ever made!!! Everyone loved these! Thanks again!
Frank
You are most welcome, Sushma! Thanks for letting us know. Keep on cooking! 🙂