Start your fall mornings with a stack of perfectly fluffy pumpkin pancakes, spiced just right! This easy, family-friendly recipe brings all the cozy autumn flavors you love – without requiring your kitchen to look like a Pinterest pumpkin patch.
The magic of a simple pumpkin pancake recipe
Let’s be honest: fall doesn’t actually look like a Hallmark movie. I’m not living in a Pinterest-perfect world of flannel throws and pumpkin towers, and you probably aren’t either. But we can make pumpkin pancakes on a cozy Saturday and feel like we’ve got this whole autumn thing down just fine.
These pumpkin pancakes are soft, fluffy, and perfectly spiced. The brown sugar gives them just the right warmth, and they freeze like a dream – so you can make a big batch and pull a few out for weekday mornings when things are anything but cozy. You don’t need a lot of time, and you don’t need to be a pumpkin spice influencer – just a mixing bowl, a spoon, a whisk and a few pantry staples!
We enjoy these with a little chopped pecans, maple syrup and a dusting of cinnamon. It’s really all you need, but turkey sausage and cinnamon apples are not wrong here 😉
Flour, spice, and the power of canned pumpkin
This recipe uses real pumpkin purée – not pumpkin pie filling! – so choose a good-quality brand for the best texture. Cheap canned pumpkin tends to be watery and can make your pancakes heavy or mushy. Also note that this recipe uses HALF of a regular can.
Both white and brown sugar are in the mix; if you’re out of brown sugar, just use all white sugar instead – it’ll still be delicious.
I usually use oil for ease (no melting or extra bowls!), but melted butter works too if you’re after a richer, cozier flavor.
You can also swap in buttermilk for the regular milk if you have some on hand – it’s great here.
How to avoid the pancake heartbreak
The most important tip: don’t overmix. Use a wooden spoon or spatula, and aim for just enough stirs so no more dry flour is visible – no more. Lumps are not just okay, they’re required 🙂
If your batter seems too runny (especially if your eggs are on the large side), add a tablespoon or two of flour. If it’s too thick, stir in a splash of milk. I always recommend cooking just one pancake first so you can see how the batter behaves before tweaking it!
And don’t stack the pancakes after cooking – they’ll get soggy. Keep them in a single layer on a wire rack until you’re ready to serve. For the best texture and flavor, let them rest for five minutes before digging in.
And if you’re looking to stock your freezer:
Let the pancakes cool completely on a wire rack. Freeze them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag once solid. Freeze them for up to 2 months.
Reheat in the toaster or microwave straight from frozen, until piping hot all the way through!
Printable recipe
Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar (this yields lightly sweet pancakes; double for a sweeter taste)
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or more for a strong pumpkin spice taste)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT 1 CAN!)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons oil (plus extra for cooking)
Instructions
- Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ¼ cup sugar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt
- Whisk all wet ingredients together in a medium bowl or measuring jug.1 ½ cups milk, 1 cup pumpkin puree, 2 large eggs, 2 tablespoons oil
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. DO NOT OVERMIX! Do NOT mix with a whisk, ONLY with a wooden spoon or spatula!! DO NOT stir more than approximately 10-15 times (until no more dry flour is visible)!! Or you will end up with dense and gummy pancakes!!
- Heat a griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Brush on a little oil or spray with cooking spray. Ladle on about ¼ cup of batter per pancake and cook until bubbles form on top of the batter, around 3 minutes. Flip and cook until browned on the bottom as well, another 2 minutes or so.
- Serve immediately with maple syrup, chopped pecans or whatever you like. Alternatively, follow the freezer instructions in the post.
Video
I first shared this recipe in 2014 or 2015 (mom brain is real). I updated it once with new photos in 2020, and again with new photos and new text on 09/16/2025.
More pumpkin breakfast recipes
P.S: Want more pumpkin recipes? Check out our collection of canned pumpkin recipes!
Nick says
Super easy and delicious!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Nick!
Marisol says
First time making this and it was delicious. I submitted milk for buttermilk, butter to cook them. I also made a glaze to coat them instead of maple syrup. I would def make this again.
Thank you for easy to follow recipe.
Liliann says
So delicious and they taste like autumn! Absolutely perfect! I had homemade pumpkin puree that was quite watery, so I only added 1/2 cups of milk! Turned out just right! They also taste great with lingonberry jam!
Thank you! Love this recipe!
Saralane says
These are the best pumpkin pancakes we have ever eaten! We made these this morning for a taste of fall on the coldest morning we’ve had so far this fall. My husband and daughter both said they taste like pumpkin roll, which is their favorite fall dessert. I made the cream cheese and maple syrup to spread on the cakes with more syrup to drizzle and was surprised that they really Does She like pumpkin roll! We are making more to freeze for holiday breakfasts. Wonderful recipe!!!
Libby says
I added in crisp bacon pieces to the batter. An excellent upgrade I must say, my husband is enjoying his second helping. Thank you for the easy to follow recipe.
LH
Stephanie Pazoles says
These were very good! Nice and fluffy and good tasting. I used all brown sugar in stead of the granulated.
Callie says
I made these into waffles but I added my own spice to it. Pumpkin spice, nutmeg, and allspice in addition to cinnamon. Much more flavor!
Alisa O says
These are my favorite pancakes but the recipe is almost impossible to read. I delete the pop-up video (useless and annoying…I know how to stir batter) but then ads appear at the bottom of the pin and the scrolling freezes.?
Ruthann Doutlick says
This is my three-year-old sons favorite recipe. He loves to cook, loves to help in the kitchen, and loves pancakes. These are the fluffiest pancakes ever! It makes a ton so we can make them and eat them out of the freezer for the next week.
Barbara says
Delicious but I used just brown sugar and half cup of oatmeal and one and half cups of flour. Putting this recipe in my recipe book!
Nora Rusev says
Barbara, I love the changes you made! Sounds delicious. Thanks for coming back to share, I appreciate it!
Jillian says
These pancakes were easy and they taste great. My kids LOVED them! I used Libby’s pure pumpkin and added a little more milk at the end because the batter was very thick. Will definitely be making these again!
Nora Rusev says
I’m so glad, Jillian! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, I appreciate it so very much.
Mariah says
Made this this morning and my family LOVED it! We had some leftover pumpkin purée from thanksgiving baking and this was the perfect use for it!
Nora Rusev says
I’m so glad, Mariah! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, I appreciate it very much.
Marlene says
Excellent…I used 1c white flour & 1c whole wheat. Thank you for the recipe & technique detail.
Stacy says
We made this today and loved them! Really great recipe. Thank you!
Kimberly says
Made these with gluten free flour and they were fluffy and delicious!
Mandi says
I’ve made this recipe twice now, the first time the center of the pancakes came out pretty dense, but the second time I omitted the oil and they came out perfect! The pumpkin does enough to create moisture on its own!
Nora says
I’m so glad your pancakes turned out even better with your little tweak, Mandi! I’ve never had a dense middle, but I do cook them a little longer than I probably would regular pancakes. Thanks for coming back to leave a review – I appreciate your time.
Adrianna says
Great instructions on your recipe. I followed it to a t and they were delicious!! They were fluffy and pumpkin tasting. I was hesitant to only stir the dry and wet ingredients only 10 times but I’m glad I did because they turned out perfectly!
Nora says
I’m so happy to hear the pancakes turned out well for you, Adrianna! And thanks for trusting my instructions, I know it isn’t easy – sometimes I struggle with following my own recipes ?
Monica says
These pumpkin pancakes are the best ones I have made, and I have tried many different recipes! Delicious, just enough pumpkin and spices, perfectly moist, and just the right sweetness. Very good job with this recipe!
Nora says
I’m glad the pumpkins turned out so well for you, Monica!
Linda F says
I followed the recipe exactly also, including the mixing instructions. I did have white lumps and a huge amount of flour in the bottom of the bowl. They tasted good, but I used 2 T of pumpkin pie spice. They were not gummy or bad, but I wouldn’t have called them fluffy either. I would call them hearty, as they were thick or tall pancakes. When I try the recipe next time, I think I will stop stirring at 12 times, just to get the flour off the bottom of the bowl.
Nora says
Linda – thank you so much for your feedback! Glad they tasted good. I guess it’s hard to make pancakes come out really, really fluffy with canned pumpkin, but a tall and hearty pancake sounds amazing, too 😉
Nikki G says
If I was using almond milk, do you think it would be the same amount? Any ideas?? Thanks! I look forward to trying these!!
Nora says
Hi Nikki, I have never tried these with almond milk, so I can’t guarantee it will be the same. BUT I have made pancakes in general with nut milk or coconut milk before, and they always turned out great. If you keep the other ingredients the same, I would try using the same amount. Let me know how it goes!
Keiana says
These were amazing!! Very fluffy!!
Nora says
So glad to read this, Keiana! Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review for the pancakes, I appreciate your time.
Christina says
I followed the recipe precisely, but they had the consistency of play doh 🙁 I don’t know what I did wrong.
Nora says
Hi Christina, sorry the pancakes didn’t work out for you. I make these all the time during fall, and it’s really, REALLY important to not overmix the batter. Stirring no more than 10 times! It doesn’t matter if it looks lumpy and gross, any recipe for pancakes, waffles, muffins or bread that contains pumpkin turns bad really fast if stirred too much.
I just did a quick search on Pinterest and the ingredients are pretty much the same as most other pumpkin pancake recipes out there. I cannot stress this enough – if this batter is mixed too much, the pancakes will turn out gummy, but that’s just the nature of pumpkin in batters. So if you try them again, make sure you keep stirring to an absolute minimum, and please do NOT combined the wet and dry ingredients with a whisk!! Only with a wooden spoon or a spatula.
Nevertheless, I made them this morning to try a few tweaks after seeing your comment, and I increased the spices, sugar and baking powder a little; plus I added a note about the liquid content in the recipe. Hope that helps!
Xochitl says
Wow I just made these pancakes and they definitely were fluffy and delicious. I made the half recipe. Will definitely be making them in the future. Thanks for the recipe.
Nora says
Very happy you liked them! Thank you so much for rating the recipe – I appreciate it so much.
Medha says
I go crazy for pumpkin in general, but never really for breakfast! I’ve just never tried pumpkin frnech toast, or waffles, or pancakes, or even a PSL. It’s been all about the cookies/brownies/breads/cakes for me, up until now. These pancakes look delicious! I’m imagining them with maple syrup, pumpkin butter, and pecans 🙂 Incredible!
Liz says
I still have your pumpkin waffle recipe stowed away for the fall! I will have to add this one!
Nora says
Oh yes, Liz! I know you liked the pumpkin waffles, so I’m sure you’ll love the pancakes just as much as we do!