Transform your weekend brunches with these fluffy, golden air fryer pancakes. A delightful twist on a breakfast classic, these pancakes are delicious and offer a healthier alternative to traditional pan-fried versions. Perfect for leisurely mornings, these perfectly round and large pancakes will become a new favorite in your household!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Better For You Option: Air frying pancakes means less oil than pan frying – lightly mist a cake tin with enough oil to get the pancakes out. Enjoy these pancakes with all the taste and none of the extra calories. If you’re trying to eat a balanced diet, you can make them more nutritious by pairing them with healthy toppings like fruit, nuts, seeds, and vegan yogurt.
Perfectly Round Pancakes: Have you ever wondered how to get those round diner-style pancakes at home? Well, now you know! Using a cake tin to cook the pancakes, you’ll always get perfectly round pancakes in any size you like. To get creative, you could make different shapes by selecting novelty tins.
Fluffy and Golden: These pancakes rise well in the air fryer, resulting in a fluffy, bouncy texture that soaks up maple syrup perfectly.
Egg-free: No need for eggs in this recipe. The binder for these pancakes is a simple creamy buttermilk. You can also easily make these into vegan pancakes by swapping out the dairy milk for soy or almond. Our cassava flour pancakes are also naturally vegan.
Ingredients
Flour: The base of our pancake batter, giving structure and soft texture to the pancakes.
Caster Sugar: Adds a subtle sweetness without being overpowering. Caster sugar is just finely processed granulated sugar.
Baking Powder: This leavening agent makes the pancakes rise and become fluffy.
Salt: Just a pinch to balance the flavors.
Milk: The base of our wet ingredients. In this recipe, as a binder, we will transform regular milk into a thick and creamy buttermilk to bind the pancakes.
Apple Cider Vinegar: Combines with milk to create a buttermilk effect, helping to bind the pancakes and give them a delicious, soft texture.
Vanilla Extract: Infuses the batter with a warm, aromatic flavor.
Butter: Use lightly to grease your cake tin to ensure the pancakes don’t get stuck.
To Serve: Serve your pancakes with any toppings you would like. My personal favorites are ice cream, strawberries, and maple syrup. I’ve listed more topping ideas below – so read on for inspiration.
Equipment
Air Fryer: The hero of this recipe is an air fryer that can fit an 8-inch cake tin. If you’re skeptical about making pancakes in the air fryer, trust me, it works! You’ll be amazed at how well air fryers can make baked goods. You can even use them to make air fryer cake and quick breads.
Now, if your air fryer basket is too small for a cake tin, don’t worry – I have an alternative solution! See variations listed below.
8-inch Round Cake Tin: The vessel to create our perfectly round large pancakes.
Variations
Mini Pancakes: If you don’t have an 8-inch cake tin, or if your air fryer is too small to fit a cake tin, you can also make this recipe using individual silicone trays or large patty pans to make mini pancakes. Cooking times will be shorter; start with about 4 minutes and insert a skewer through the center to check if they are cooked through. Air fry further in 1-minute intervals if needed until cooked through.
Add-Ins: Customize your pancakes by adding blueberries, chocolate chips, or nuts into the batter for an extra flavor kick. You could also add a scoop of protein powder to your pancakes to make them more filling.
Savory Twist: Remove the sugar and add herbs or cheese for a savory version. We love to make savory sourdough discard pancakes or these savory Canadian bacon pancakes.
From oil sprays to muffin cups and from pizza pans to racks, we've got them all, and they make fantastic Christmas presents, too!
Instructions
Making air fryer pancakes is so simple! For ingredient quantities, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here’s how to make air fryer pancakes in just five easy steps:
Combine milk, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar. Rest for 5 minutes to thicken.
Sift flour, sugar, and baking powder together.
Combine wet and dry ingredients. Rest for 30 minutes.
Pour batter into a greased cake tin and air fry at 350°F (180°C) for 8 minutes.
Repeat until all batter is used. Serve on plates with toppings of your choice.
Substitutions
Dairy-Free Milk: Soy, almond, or oat milk can be used instead of regular milk for those preferring a dairy-free option.
Apple Cider Vinegar: If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, you can use lemon juice to create the buttermilk. The acidity will have the same effect.
Storage
To Store: Keep any leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To Reheat: Warm them up in the air fryer or microwave for a quick breakfast or check out all our best tips on how to reheat pancakes.
To Freeze: Freeze the pancakes between layers of baking paper wrapped in clingfilm, then place them inside a freezer-safe container. The baking paper prevents them from sticking together, and the cling film stops them from drying out. They will keep for up to 2 months.
Serving Suggestions
Here are some delicious topping ideas for your pancakes:
- Butter
- Maple syrup
- Ice cream
- Whipped cream
- Yogurt
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Banana
- Lemon
- Walnuts
- Pecans
- Chia seeds
- Berry compote
Do you need ideas about what to serve your pancakes with? Here are some complementary drink and meal ideas that pair beautifully with pancakes:
- Homemade ground chicken sausage breakfast patties
- Bacon egg cups
- Blackberry smoothie
- Air fryer pineapple or bananas
FAQ
Can you cook pancakes in the air fryer?
Yes, believe it or not, you can make fluffy round pancakes in an air fryer! It really is similar to making regular pancakes. Follow this recipe and instructions to try it out for yourself.
Can you reheat pancakes in the air fryer?
Yes, you can quickly reheat cooked pancakes in the air fryer. Simply wrap a small stack of pancakes in aluminum foil to prevent them from drying out and reheat them at 350°F for 3 minutes.
The cake tin doesn’t fit in my air fryer; any suggestions?
You can use patty pans or small individual silicone or non-stick cake pans. Your pancakes will be much smaller but still delicious. Be sure to reduce the cooking time to 4 minutes, and insert a skewer through the center to check if they are done. If the skewer comes out dirty, continue to air fry the pancakes in 1-minute intervals until they are cooked through.
Can I make the batter in advance?
Yes. You can make the batter up to 1 day before cooking and store it in the refrigerator. Leaving the batter to rest actually helps improve the finished result.
Related Recipes
Looking for other tasty breakfast ideas? Here are some delicious recipes to try:
I hope you love these easy air fryer pancakes. They always come out perfectly round and use less oil than frying – win-win! Remember to let the batter rest for a super fluffy texture.
In the comments, let me know what you think of this recipe and your favorite toppings.
Air Fryer Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons caster sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 2 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, or sub lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- butter, to grease the cake tin
Instructions
- To make buttermilk, combine milk, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla. Stir and leave to rest for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until smooth. Rest 30 mins.
- Grease an 8-inch round cake tin. Pour about 1/4 of the batter into the tin. This will make 1 large pancake.
- Air fry for 8 minutes at 350°F or until lightly golden and cooked through the middle. Remove from tin and set aside. Grease the tin again and repeat until all batter is used.
- Serve with ice cream, berries, maple syrup, or toppings of your choice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This article originally appeared on Pink When.
Liz Douglas
Liz Douglas is a former product developer and food buyer turned plant-based foodie influencer, recipe developer, writer and podcast host. After developing food products for some of the world’s largest retailers like Coles and Kaufland, she now applies her recipe development skills to wholesome plant-based twists on classic comfort foods. She shares recipes, plus wellbeing, productivity and lifestyle content on her websiteGlow Diaries: a conscious guide to good living. Her work has been featured in Herald Sun, Instyle Mexico, PETA Australia, Channel 10 Australia and Nourish Magazine. You can follow Liz @glowdiaries___ onInstagram,TikTok,Facebook,YouTubeandPinterest.Listen to her podcastThrive DiariesonSpotify,Apple Podcastsor your podcast player of choice.
I don’t know how I never tried cooking pancakes in the air fryer before reading this! They came out so fluffy and perfect… and all without using eggs! I added strawberries on top to tie it all together. Thanks for the tips (-: