Fluffy Sheet Pan Pancakes are a quick and easy way to serve breakfast for a large group. With tons of options for add ins and toppings, this will become your go to breakfast bake in no time!
My husband loves pancakes, he would eat them every morning if either of us was willing to stand there and flip them in a pan again and again. So you can imagine when sheet pan pancakes were introduced to me, it was a game changer.
It has to be one of the easiest breakfast ideas out there. Not only can I make a HUGE batch of the fluffiest pancakes in one go, but I can create individual flavors.
Berries for kids, a little fudge sauce swirl for me, and bananas for the hubby, all in one go! If you’ve never made sheet pan meals for breakfast, get ready, you’re about to fall in love.
Why You’ll Love These Sheet Pan Pancakes
The benefits of making your pancakes this way are numerous!
- No flipping! Easily the best benefit for me, no standing at a griddle or frying pan for half an hour.
- No more cold pancakes! Instead of turning my oven on and stacking each pancake inside as soon as they come off the griddle, they come out of the oven hot and fresh ready to eat.
- Even baking, no more slightly burnt or slightly gooey pancakes. The sheet pan and oven do a fabulous job keeping the temperature even so every pancake bakes nice and even.
- It’s the easiest way to serve breakfast for a large group! We all love a good breakfast casserole for groups, and now you can add this breakfast sheet pan meal to your list. With unlimited flavors!
- No hassle clean-up. You can easily wash the bowl and measuring cups while it bakes, no hot greased griddle or pancake drippings on your stove.
Ingredients
You probably have all, if not most, of these ingredients in the pantry and refrigerator already.
- All-purpose flour – Take your sheet pan pancakes a step further and opt for cake flour instead of all-purpose. It has a lower protein and gluten content so the result is even more feathery and light.
- Granulated sugar – While pancakes themselves are typically savory with the syrup being sweet, a small amount of sugar in the batter helps to balance flavors but also caramelize and brown on the griddle.
- Baking powder and baking soda – While powder needs something acidic or heat to activate, soda just needs moisture. You are coming at the “create pockets of fluffy” from two different angles.
- Salt – If using salted butter, omit this completely. But salt helps to bring out the natural flavors of these easy mini pancake muffins.
- Large eggs – It’s usually best to bake with room temperature eggs. Also always assume that the recipe is calling for large eggs when eggs are required.
- Vanilla extract – This helps to provide some flavor to your sheet pan pancakes, but almond or raspberry flavor are great too!
- Buttermilk – To achieve that buttermilk pancake flavor, you obviously need buttermilk. Or you could use a buttermilk substitute.
- Butter – Always use unsalted butter when cooking. However, just omit the additional salt if using salted butter.
- Mix-ins – See the section below about all of the delicious ways you can customize these pancake muffins. The whole family can even choose different toppings.
How to Make Sheet Pan Pancakes
You are going to love how easy it is to make these delicious pancakes.
- Prepare oven and pan. Preheat your oven and lightly grease a half sheet pan.
- Dry ingredients. Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and soda in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Wet ingredients. Melt your butter and set aside. Combine eggs with the buttermilk and vanilla in a large measuring cup or small bowl and whisk to combine.
- Combine. Pour the melted butter and buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and gently fold together until no more flour streaks are in the batter.
- Add to pan with toppings. Pour onto the prepared sheet pan and top with mix-ins if desired.
- Bake. Bake until the top springs back when lightly touched.
Tips for Homemade Pancake Batter
Now the key to any successful pancake, traditional or sheet pan, is a good batter.
Buttermilk is my go to pancake batter and with some minor tweaking it easily adapted to create a fluffy and soft sheet pan pancake that was perfectly sweet. There are a few key tips for making this batter at it’s best:
- Beat the eggs with the buttermilk before adding it to the batter. This helps the eggs better incorporate into the batter without overmixing.
- Don’t overmix! Any flour based batter has the risk of becoming tough or dry when baked if it’s worked too hard beforehand. Simply fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until you no longer see any streaks of dry flour. It should be a little lumpy, thick, but easy to pour.
- Spread the batter evenly in the pan. Skipping this step may lead to unevenly baked pancakes, that’s no fun!
Mix-In Ideas
My absolute favorite part about sheet pan pancakes (aside from how easy they are!) are the mix ins. You have so many options!
You can easily just drop in one mix-in across the whole sheet pan, each half can have a different ingredient, or go nuts and do 4 or even 6 sections! Somewhere between 1 to 1 ½ cups was right for us, but add as much, or as little, as you prefer.
Here are some of my favorite ideas:
- Chocolate Chips (or any flavor you like!)
- Homemade fudge sauce
- Chopped nuts
- Fresh Berries
- Banana Slices
- Apple chunks
- Jam or jelly
- Spices like cinnamon or nutmeg
- Oat streusel
- Peanut butter
And regardless of what you mix-in, you can always top them. Dutch honey, apple cider syrup, maple syrup or blueberry sauce are all winners.
Now that every member of your family has claimed a corner of your pancake, it’s off to the oven. It took only minutes to mix and add your custom mix-ins, and now you can go relax while they bake.
Pancakes for Dessert
Okay, now you’re all full and satisfied and ready for the day…but what do you do with the leftover pancakes? I have a few tips, but my most favorite of all is to serve it as dessert!
Simply stack up a few of your favorite flavors, and top with ice cream, whipped cream, and a nice fruity drizzle like raspberry or strawberry sauce!
Think of it like a brownie sundae…but with pancakes! Your sundae toppings can be as creative and diverse as your pancake mix-ins were! Reheat the pancakes to serve them warm or heck, make them just for dessert. You’ll be happy you did.
Adjusting the Sheet Pan Pancakes Recipe
One of the great things about this recipe is that it’s pretty flexible. You can use a smaller sheet pan and have fluffier thicker pancakes with an extra minute or two of bake time.
You can divide it on to multiple sheet pans if you prefer, you can even bake this in a few cake pans or casserole dish, you simply need spread it about 3/4 inch thick in any pan for best results.
I’m wholly convinced, try this sheet pan pancake thing one time and you’ll be a convert for life. I sure am. Sheet pan meals are a great time saver for dinner, why shouldn’t they be for breakfast too.
Whip up some super easy custom sheet pan pancakes for your next family brunch, and enjoy a relaxing morning that both the cook and the family get to enjoy.
You can also go ahead and half it or even double it to meet your needs. Just adjust the size or number of pans as needed.
Storage & Leftovers
You can easily store or freeze any leftover pancakes in an airtight container.
How to Store Sheet Pan Pancakes
Save your sheet pan pancakes for breakfast the next morning by simply wrapping with plastic or storing in a plastic container with a lid. Then just pop in the oven or a toaster oven to reheat (you can also use the microwave very briefly).
How to Freeze Sheet Pan Pancakes
I also love freezing leftover pancakes and waffles. My best results for reheating them happens when I take a few extra minutes to wrap each pancake square with plastic wrap and then place the wrapped squares in a freezer bag or container in an even layer.
To reheat, let frozen pancakes thaw like you would any frozen bread or muffin, and toast to warm in the oven or toaster oven.
More Breakfast Bake Recipes
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day- and w tend to agree! Here are a few of our breakfast favorites.
Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole
Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Bread
Chimichurri Egg Muffins
Sheet Pan Pancakes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 large eggs
- 2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
- 6 tablespoons butter , melted
- 1 ½ cups desired mix-ins
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a half sheet pan (12 x 17).
- Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and soda in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Melt your butter and set aside. Combine 4 eggs with the buttermilk and vanilla in a large measuring cup or small bowl and whisk to combine.
- Pour the melted butter and buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and gently fold together until no more flour streaks are in the batter.
- Pour onto the prepared sheet pan and top with mix-ins if desired.
- Bake for 12 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched.
- Serve immediately with desired toppings!
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know in the comments or ratings!
How many calories. Are these plain? Thanks 🙂 wonderful idea! 🙂
Hi- the nutrition displayed is for plain, add additional calories or your add-ins.
I absolutely love this recipe. It is a breakfast game changer!
such a great idea, especially to split it up into different flavors! these look delicious.
This looks absolutely delicious! I want to definitely try it out for my family.
This is such a great idea to cater for lots of guests! I love it!