Sourdough discard pancakes are so easy to make and don't require the batter to sit overnight. These pancakes are soft, fluffy, and have that wonderful sourdough flavor. Cooking in butter on a skillet gives these pancakes a beautiful golden brown exterior. Finish it off by topping with your favorite fresh fruit or pure maple syrup.
What if I told you that making homemade pancakes is incredibly easy and that you will never reach for a boxed version again?
Skip the store-bought pancake mix and try some sourdough discard pancakes!
These pancakes are made the same day and do not require sitting overnight like some other sourdough pancake recipes.
Whip up the batter while the pan is heating up and breakfast is done in minutes!
Don't have a starter yet and want to learn more? Get all the info you need to make a sourdough starter.
Are waffles more your thing? Check out my sourdough discard waffles recipe or browse my collection of sourdough discard breakfast recipes.
What else can you make with all that leftover sourdough discard? The ideas are endless. Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies, Sourdough Toasted Almond Biscotti, Sourdough Discard Scones and a long list of Sourdough Discard Recipes.
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🥞Ingredients
Sourdough Discard: This recipe calls for a sourdough discard. That is starter that has been unfed and is not active. Learn more about what discard is and how to use it.
Baking Soda and Powder: Why do I use Baking Soda and Baking Powder in my Sourdough Pancakes?
- It eliminates having to pre-mix your batter the night before. These pancakes can be made right after the batter is mixed.
- Your Starter doesn't need to be active. This means, this recipe is perfect for those developing starters or if you haven't fed yours in a while.
Honey: I prefer the natural sweetness of honey in this pancake batter but sugar can be substituted in its place.
See full information on ingredients and quantities in the recipe card.
💡Tips to Make Them Better
Do you struggle to get super-soft, fluffy pancakes? There are some very simple things you can do to help get that perfect texture.
- Do not overmix! If you try to mix out all the lumps the pancakes will turn out dense. Just whisk until everything is incorporated and avoid the temptation to keep whisking.
- Let it rest for a few minutes. Even though this recipe can be made right away if there is time to let it rest for 10 minutes it will only make them softer.
- Only flip once. Wait until the pancakes start to form tons of little bubbles and the other side is nice and golden brown. Avoid flipping it multiple times.
Sometimes it's not the ingredients in our pancakes but how we handle them. Try these three tricks above to get irresistible soft and fluffy sourdough discard pancakes. And let me know if it worked!
🥣How to Make
Step 1: In a medium-sized bowl, or batter bowl, whisk together the starter, milk, and honey. (Image 1).
Step 2: Add in the salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix until just combined. (Image 2).
Step 3: Whisk the egg into the batter. Just until combined. The batter should be bubbly. (Image 3).
Step 4: Fold or whisk the flour into the batter. Mix just until it starts to become incorporate and is a thicker mix. Do not try and break up all the lumps. Lumps in pancake batter are a good thing! (Image 4).
Step 5: Over medium-low heat, warm up a cast iron griddle.
Step 6: Add a little butter and spread over the griddle. This will add a nice buttery flavor to the pancakes and also help keep them from sticking. (Image 5).
Step 7: Pour about half of a cup of the batter onto the skillet and let cook for a few minutes. (Image6).
Step 8: Once you see little bubbles form all over and the other side is golden brown flip and cook the other side. (Image 6 & 7)
Step 7: Transfer to a plate and repeat steps 5-7 until all the pancakes are done.
💡Pro tip: If making large batches and want to keep them warm, I like to turn my oven on as low as it can go and add the pancakes to a cookie sheet until they are all done. That way all the pancakes can be served at the same time and still be perfectly warm.
Serve with fresh berries, peanut butter, jam, or whatever your favorite toppings are.
❓Recipe FAQs
If the pancakes keep turning out gooey in the center it can simply be that the griddle is too hot. If the cooking surface is too hot it can cause the outside to cook too fast. Try lowering the temperature.
Yes, this batter can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge overnight.
Yes sourdough pancakes freeze really well. Just make sure they completely cool before storing in a freezer safe bag. To reheat from frozen: Allow them to thaw and then warm back up on the griddle. Or pop them in the toaster frozen and you'll have your own homemade Eggo-style pancakes.
🍞Other Sourdough Discard Breakfast Recipes
Are you looking for other ways to use your sourdough discard for breakfast? Check out some of the recipes below for inspiration.
📋Recipe
Sourdough Discard Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Sourdough Starter Discard
- 1 Cup Milk
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour - Bread and Whole Wheat flour will work as well
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- t teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 Egg
- Butter for Skillet
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the starter, milk, and honey.
- Add in the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix until just combined.
- In a small bowl whisk the egg and fold it into the batter. Be careful to not overmix! See notes below as to why.
- Over medium-low heat, warm up a cast iron griddle.
- Add a little butter and spread over the griddle. This will add a nice buttery flavor to the pancakes and also help keep them from sticking.
- Pour about a cup of the batter onto the skillet and let cook for a few minutes. Once you see little bubbles form all over and the other side is golden brown flip and cook the other side.
- Transfer to a plate and repeat steps 5-7 until all the pancakes are done. See notes below on how to keep pancakes warm.
- Serve with fresh berries, peanut butter, jam, or whatever your favorite toppings are.
Notes
Tips for making fluffy pancakes:
Do you struggle to get super-soft, fluffy pancakes? There are some very simple things you can do to help get that perfect texture.- Do not overmix! If you try to mix out all the lumps the pancakes will turn out dense. Just whisk until everything is incorporated and avoid the temptation to keep whisking.
- Let it rest for a few minutes. Even though this recipe can be made right away if there is time to let it rest for 10 minutes it will only make them softer.
- Only flip once. Wait until the pancakes start to form tons of little bubbles and the other side is nice and golden brown. Avoid flipping it multiple times.
Made these today. I did add 1 tsp pure vanilla extract. They were fantastic! Light & fluffy and wonderful! I will NEVER EVER buy pancake mix again! LOVED them!!!!
Delicious and fluffy! The longer the batter sat, the fluffier the pancakes became!
Thank you for your review Lauren!
This was my second discard recipe I've ever made and 12/10. Highly recommend if you are a beginner beginner with anything sourdough and you have no idea what to do with the discard ... since it almost feels wrong tossing it out ;p The flavor is CRAZY GOOD to the point where you do not need, and I repeat, do not need any syrup. I made a crap ton of these to freeze for future use !
I am so thrilled you love this recipe so much! My kids have to eat them several times a week and yes I very rarely use syrup or we top with jam or peanut butter.
These are delicious with a ripe banana cut into the batter. Prefect with any toppings, but cinnamon sugar was good with the banana.
Oh I love the idea of cinnamon sugar!
Made them with apples, cinnamon and vanilla. They came out great. Will definitely make them again.
I love your additions! Will have to try that. Thank you for sharing.
These sourdough pancakes are the best I have ever made. Delicious. Thank you for recipe.
I'm so glad you enjoyed them Elizabeth!
These turned out great! I added cinnamon to the batter and my kids loved them.
I love the addition of cinnamon! Thank you for sharing.
We’re obsessed with these pancakes! These are the only ones that my toddler will eat!
I love to hear that! Thank you for sharing Kelly.
I made these for a group of 10 year old boys. They loved them!!
My 8 and 11 year old would agree. We make them several times a week. Thank you for sharing!
The best SD pancake recipe! My search is over Thank you
Jacqueline, this just made my day! So glad you enjoy them as much as we do.
I have made these multiple times for my family and they are always a hit. Very simple and quick to make, we have even made double batches and frozen them for later.
I am so glad your family enjoys them! We make big batches as well. So great for quick mornings.
I am about to share my sourdough pancake recipe too, and I love that you use milk because so do we! We love buttermilk. Of course your recipe is delicious, just like everything you write. Love it!
I made waffles with this batter and they were good! I had to modify because I'm on a low sodium diet (baking powder and baking soda both contain a tremendous amount of sodium), but they came out perfectly fine anyway. I added a little nutmeg, and next time I will add vanilla and a little bit more sweetener. Am using the rest of the starter for my first sourdough loaf ever. 😊. Thanks!
Lilly, I'm so glad you enjoyed them and that you were able to adapt it to your needs. Nutmeg is a great idea! I am going to have to try that as well. Can't wait to hear how your first loaf of sourdough goes.