Fluffy Healthy Buttermilk Pancakes (Whole Wheat!)

Fluffy healthy buttermilk pancakes are a household staple and are incredibly easy to make! With a golden brown outside, and a soft inside, these homemade pancakes are like what you’d get at a restaurant! Treat the whole family with this healthier version your next weekend brunch or weekday breakfast!

Fluffy Healthy Buttermilk Pancakes (Whole Wheat!)

I’ve been enjoying a variation of this recipe since I was a little girl.  My mom made these pancakes all the time growing up, and they’ve become a favorite of my husbands too.

He loved them when she would make them, and he adore them now still!

I made a slight modification to her original recipe – mainly replacing the all purpose flour for whole grains.

If you’ve had a bad experience with dense whole wheat pancakes, you won’t find that here!

These are made with whole-wheat flour – yes – but they have the best fluffiest pancake texture.

If you can find whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour, both will give you a softer texture than regular wheat flour.

How to make fluffy pancakes

The key to making a fluffy pancake recipe is in the buttermilk here.  Buttermilk has acid in it that reacts with the leavening ingredients and that is what gives you a nice rise and tender texture.

To make a dairy-free alternative in place of the buttermilk, you can make homemade version using dairy free milk and lemon juice or apple cider vinegar (like we do with these dairy-free whole wheat waffles).

Another key to making fluffy buttermilk pancakes is to not over-mix the batter.  When mixing the ingredients together, leave some lumps.

Over-mixing the batter will only make your pancakes more dense.

What you need for this buttermilk pancake recipe

Scroll down to view the recipe card below for the full ingredients list, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions.

• whole wheat pastry flour
• baking powder
• baking soda
• sea salt
• buttermilk
• egg
• avocado oil

How to make fluffy whole wheat pancakes

Step 1: In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.  Whisk to combine.

Step 2: In a medium bowl, add the buttermilk, egg, and oil.  Whisk the wet ingredients until the egg is fully mixed in.

Step 3: Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Do not over mix! A little bit of lumps in a buttermilk pancake batter is a good thing.

Step 4: Heat a large skillet over medium heat (or preheat an electric griddle to 350 degrees).

Step 5: Add a little butter, oil or cooking spray to the pan, and then scoop batter (⅓-1/2 cup) onto the cooking surface. Cook pancakes until the top of the pancakes begins to get air bubbles (3-4 minutes). Flip and allow the other side to cook for 2-3 minutes.  Repeat with the remaining batter.

Step 6: Serve with your favorite pancake toppings and a side of scrambled eggs with chives!

Watch me make the best buttermilk pancakes

The full how to video can be watched below, or on my YouTube channel!

Favorite pancake toppings

Serve with your favorite pancake toppings. Some ideas to try out:

• Peanut butter and strawberry chia jam
• Butter and pure maple syrup
• Apple sauce and cinnamon
• Pumpkin butter and walnuts
• Whipped cottage cheese with vanilla extract or whipped cream with fresh fruit
• Almond butter sauce (stir almond butter with a little milk)
• Banana slices, shredded coconut and chocolate chips

The possibilities are endless!

What’s your favorite pancake topping?

How to store

Pancakes are great to prep in advance because they keep well and warm beautifully! Cool cooked pancakes to room temperature and then add to an airtight container and store in the fridge.

To freeze pancakes, add to a parchment paper lined baking sheet in a single layer (not overlapping).

Freeze until frozen solid, and then you can transfer pancakes into a freezer bag.

Label it, date it, and keep frozen for up to 6 months.

To warm pancakes, add to a medium-low non-stick skillet, in a warm oven, or rewarm in the toaster.

Substitutions

Below you’ll find a list of substitutions that will work well in this healthy pancakes recipe. 

If you try something different out, please leave a comment below letting us all know how it turned out!

Whole wheat pastry flour – White whole wheat flour, regular whole wheat flour, and white flour will all work well in this recipe.  If you use white flour, reduce the buttermilk to 1 cup instead of 1.25 cups.

Buttermilk – Use store-bought buttermilk, homemade buttermilk with regular milk, or make a non-dairy buttermilk using almond milk and a tablespoon of white vinegar.  You can also replace the buttermilk with greek yogurt or kefir.

Egg – You can use an egg replacer in this recipe.  Flax egg and chia eggs will work well here. It will work using just egg whites as well!

Avocado oil – Feel free to use any neutral oil, coconut oil, or butter in place of the avocado oil.

More healthy pancake recipes you’ll love

• Blender protein pancakes with cottage cheese
• Whole wheat blackberry pancakes
• Protein pancake mix
• Whole grain apple pie pancakes
• Banana egg oat pancakes

If you try this healthy buttermilk pancakes recipe, I’d love it if you left a star rating and comment below letting me know how it turned out!

XO

Heather

Originally published November 2011. Updated September 2023.