Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes: Light and Fluffy Comfort Food

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A few years ago, when a friend was visiting, I offered to make her chocolate chip pancakes the morning that she was leaving. But I am terrible at making pancakes.

Of an entire bowl of batter, I think we ended up with two.

There's nothing better than blueberries and buttermilk pancakes. And when you combined them? Too die for! Get this easy to make recipe on Foodal now!

The rest of the batch were either burnt and charred or worse, still goopy inside, wet and uncooked. It’s a good thing there was also cereal around or, frankly, we’d have starved.

I probably don’t have to tell you my problem was timing: Over and over, I’d leave the batter on the skillet too long, or not long enough. I am fairly terrible at timing, and I think it’s safe to say this is not just with pancakes.

You may be aware that Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras also tends to fall on the same date as National Pancake Day.

A close up of a fork with a bite of blueberry butter milk pancakes with the remainder of the stack in a diffused background | Foodal

The origin of this connection goes back to England, when people prepared for Lent by clearing out their pantries of all dairy products (butter, eggs, milk) which would be forbidden during the 40 days until Easter.

Again, I’m a little off with my timing when it comes to the post date of this recipe.

The truth is, I’ve been wanting pancakes since I saw a picture of these, piled high and drenched in syrup and butter. Last Saturday, it was time to try this thing again.

Buttermilk pancakes rule the world of breakfast food and adding fresh blueberries to them makes them just that much better. Get this easy-to-make recipe now on Foodal.

A few initial findings:

  • When you put the batter on the skillet or on an electric griddle, you really have to leave it there for a few minutes. No nervous peeking underneath to see how it’s coming.
  • If you do things right, small air bubbles will appear on the uncooked top of the batter that’s facing you, about three minutes after you put it on there – and that’s how you know when to flip.
  • Because I am just one person, it’s a good idea to cut any pancake recipe in half if I’ll be breakfasting alone.

(Of course, attempting to divide things in half in your head, especially while you’re also watching TV online, can be problematic. I ended up creating a full batch of the dry ingredients and sectioning off half to use next time. Maybe this will turn out to be a good thing?)

But here’s what really matters: it worked.

After three minutes on each side on the hot, oiled skillet, the lumpy batter turns smooth and golden brown, with beautifully darkened edges that are just slightly crispy.

Close up of a platter full of Buttermilk Blueberry pancakes on medium blue background | Foodal

Buttermilk adds a rich, subtly sour flavor to the pancakes, complemented by the tartness of the fresh berries, which is especially nice topped with real maple syrup.

And the soft texture, creamy and warm as it dissolves on your tongue, at once acidic and also sweet, makes a great start to your morning – any morning, anytime.

The Recipe

There's nothing better than blueberries and buttermilk pancakes. And when you combined them? Too die for! Get this easy to make recipe on Foodal now!
Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
Votes: 4
Rating: 4.75
You:
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
These fluffy pancakes include buttermilk, which adds a rich, subtly sour flavor, complemented by tart, fresh berries and topped with real maple syrup.
Servings Prep Time
8 "big" pancakes 10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Servings Prep Time
8 "big" pancakes 10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
There's nothing better than blueberries and buttermilk pancakes. And when you combined them? Too die for! Get this easy to make recipe on Foodal now!
Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
Votes: 4
Rating: 4.75
You:
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
These fluffy pancakes include buttermilk, which adds a rich, subtly sour flavor, complemented by tart, fresh berries and topped with real maple syrup.
Servings Prep Time
8 "big" pancakes 10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Servings Prep Time
8 "big" pancakes 10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly (1/2 stick)
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh Blueberries
  • vegetable oil for the skillet
  • maple syrup for serving
Servings: "big" pancakes
Units:
Instructions
  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt with a whisk.
  2. Beat the eggs in another mixing bowl and while continuing to whisk, add the buttermilk and butter. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the bowl containing the dry ingredients and stir just until blended. It's okay if the batter is a little lumpy. You do not want to overmix.
  3. Fold in the fresh blueberries and gently stir to combine.
  4. Heat an electric or stove-top griddle or nonstick skillet to medium heat. Add a bit of oil to the skillet. Pour the batter onto the griddle, using 1/2 cup each for larger six-inch pancakes (makes 8) or reduce to 1/4 cup for smaller ones (makes 16). Be sure to leave a little space between them. Cook for about 3 minutes on the first side until some bubbles form on top and leave little holes on the surface along the outer edges.
  5. Flip the pancakes and cook on the other side until golden. Serve with fresh berries, butter, and maple syrup.

Nutritional Info*

Nutrition Facts
Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
Amount Per Serving
Calories 331 Calories from Fat 81
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 9g 14%
Saturated Fat 4g 20%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 1g
Cholesterol 20mg 7%
Sodium 369mg 15%
Potassium 0.2mg 0%
Total Carbohydrates 51g 17%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Sugars 5g
Protein 8g 16%
Vitamin A 4%
Vitamin C 9%
Calcium 6%
Iron 13%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

Cooking by the Numbers…

This recipe makes 8 large six-inch sized cakes or 16 smaller pancakes, so don’t be afraid to halve it if you need to. Of course, you could keep the batter raw in the refrigerator and make a couple of meals out, of it or even cook all of it and freeze the leftovers for later use.

Step 1 – Organize and Prep

Measure out and organize all of your ingredients.

Mise en place with the ingedients for the blueberry buttermilk pancakes paced on a white washed wooden table | Foodal

Step 2 – Mix the Dry Ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients including the sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

I used a balloon whisk but you may want to choose a different style, as you will see below.

The dry ingredients are being mixed with a balloon whisk in a large stainless steel mixing bowl | Foodal

Step 2 – Mix the Wet Ingredients and Blend

In a separate medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, and then add in the buttermilk and butter and whisk until everything is incorporated.

The wet ingrients are bing mixing in a small glass mixing bowl using a balloon whisk | Foodal

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the bowl containing the dry ingredients and stir just until blended. It’s okay if the batter is a little lumpy. You do not want to overmix.

Note that I wasn’t overly fond of the wire balloon whisk in blending in the batter. Portions congealed on the insides of the wire cage and it took some digging to get it removed. An easy-release silicone whisk would have been better for this.

Do not over blend the batter. Over mixing encourages the formation of gluten strands, which would make the pancakes too chewy and more like homemade bread.

Step 4 – Fold in the Blueberries

At this point I switched to an OXO flat whisk as I needed to mix in the blueberries without crushing them, and that balloon-style version would have pulverized them.

The blueberries are being folded into the pancake batter using an OXO flat whisk | Foodal

Step 5 – Pour and Cook

Heat an electric or stove-top griddle or nonstick skillet to medium. In this case, I’m using a Cuisinart GR-4N 5-in-1 Griddler. Add a bit of oil to the skillet.

The pancakes are being cooked on top of a Cuisinart GR-4N 5-in-1 Griddler | Foodal

Pour the batter onto the oiled surface. If you want large six-inch cakes as shown here, use 1/2 cup of batter for each. For smaller sizes, reduce this to 1/3 or 1/4 cup each.

Allow to cook until you see bubbles forming and leaving craters like the surface of the moon on most of the cake. The top can still be a bit runny with bubbles forming, popping, and refilling.

Close up of pancakes being cooked with air bubble forming on top indicating they are almost ready to be flipped | Foodal

Step 6 – Flip and Brown

At this point you’ll want to flip the the pancakes and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until they become golden.

The blueberry pancakes have been flipped and the uncooked side is being browned on the Cuisinart GR-4N 5-in-1 Griddler | Foodal

Remove from griddle as soon as they’ve browned, plate up, and serve. Add some more chilled fresh blueberries for an added burst of sweet flavor to counterbalance the sweetness if desired (plus, they make a nice garnish).

A white oblong platter with 8 giant blueberry buttermilk pancakes filling the plate | Foodal
You really don’t need any extra butter added to these. They are so good served warm right off the griddle. Serve with a natural maple syrup and watch as sheer joy appears on the faces of friends and family when they try a bite.

Can you say sublime? Because that's the sensation you will get when you first take a bite of these devine blueberry buttermilk pancakes. Get the full recipe and other preparation tips on Foodal.com today!

What about you? What’s your favorite type of pancake? Any cooking tips? Maybe you have your own mix you like to use?Be sure to let us know in the comments below! And for something a little different, try our recipes for:

And if you’re craving even more blueberry-licious sweets made from scratch, make our recipe for a perfectly delicious summertime blueberry pie.


Don’t forget to Pin It!

These fluffy pancakes include buttermilk which adds a rich, light sour flavor to the dough, complemented by the tartness of the fresh berries, which is especially nice topped with real maple syrup. Learn how to make this quick and easy recipe now with step by step directions on Foodal.

Photos by Mike Quinn, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published March 2nd, 2009. Revised and updated January 19th, 2018, with additional writing and editing by Mike Quinn.

*Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.

About Shanna Mallon

Shanna Mallon is a freelance writer who holds an MA in writing from DePaul University. Her work has been featured in a variety of media outlets, including The Kitchn, Better Homes & Gardens, Taste of Home, Houzz.com, Foodista, Entrepreneur, and Ragan PR. In 2014, she co-authored The Einkorn Cookbook with her husband, Tim. Today, you can find her digging into food topics and celebrating the everyday grace of eating on her blog, Go Eat Your Bread with Joy. Shanna lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with Tim and their two small kids.

9 thoughts on “Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes: Light and Fluffy Comfort Food”

  1. Great looking pancakes. A lot of people change career paths after college. Sometimes it takes actually working in one’s field after internships and stuff to determine if the field is really right for a person.

    Reply
  2. oooh! what a lovely dish to consume on a saturday morning! if i were home today, (like most of the state of MD due to the snow) *this* would be what i’d make. well… without the berries but i have everything in my fridge! 🙂

    and i don’t think it’s so much as late timing or whatever, but more that you did it at all. as wise Gandolf once said to Frodo: “A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to..”

    Reply
  3. Oh my gosh that looks like heaven. I love pancakes but have only made them successfully once. I would eat these every day though.

    Reply
  4. Holy moly, these look terrific! Way better than the plain buckwheat I had yesterday. As for the ad, I think of them as necessary evils. It certainly helps when they’re not about cellulite and dieting, but in general, I think they’re smart blogging. Just something you gotta do for a buck or two. Can’t wait to look around your blog more!

    Reply
  5. Thanks, TJ – I wish more kids knew that… could have saved me some frustration when things didn’t go how everyone expected!

    Lan, LOL. Do I take that to mean you still had to go to work even with the blizzards? If it’s any consolation, that’s definitely the case here, although not recently as we haven’t had a big snowstorm for a few weeks, knock on wood.

    Jessica, You understand! As someone who’s (now) made them successfully once, let me tell you these are a good bunch to try.

    LOL, Shelly. I haven’t been able to sleep in past 7:30 for such a long time.

    Kickpleat, I know! Love the look of stacked pancakes!

    Sarah, Thanks so much for the feedback. I’m going to try these ads for a little while and see how things go, but it’s so nice to hear from someone who knows. BTW: love your blog!

    Reply
  6. Ok, now I want pancakes.

    I didn’t make pancakes on pancake day either but we always had them growing up. In the UK they are more like small crepes and the classic pancake day filling is a sprinkle of granulated sugar and a good squeeze of lemon juice.

    Reply

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