Air Fryer Pancakes

Fluffy air fryer pancakes packed with buttery vanilla flavors that you can whip up for breakfast in 15 minutes.

My secret to making the softest and most delicious pancakes is to mix my own homemade buttermilk pancake batter instead of using a boxed mix. It only takes a couple extra minutes, but the taste is so much better!

These perfect evenly cooked pancakes require minimal prep work, simple pantry staples, and NO flipping. Yay!

Why You’ll Love This Air Fryer Pancake Recipe

• Easy breakfast meal prep. You can double or triple the recipe and freeze these pancakes.
• Yummy stack of air fryer pancakes that will be gobbled up by kids faster than you can think! A great way to make pancakes.
• Perfectly cooked pancakes without flipping or checking on the hot pan if they are ready to be flipped.
• Great for kids’ birthday breakfast or as a light spring and summer brunch idea.
• Healthier as they barely use any oil during air frying.

Ingredients Notes

All the exact quantities and step-by-step instructions are on the printable recipe card at the end of the post.

• Flour mixture: All-purpose flour + baking powder + baking soda + salt to make homemade squishy and thick, yet very light pancakes. Salt actually enhances all the flavors. The air in the batter will make them fluffy instead of dense and cakey.
• Granulated sugar for sweetness and crispy edges.
• Buttermilk to make rich fluffy pancakes, store-bought or homemade. You can still use regular full-fat milk or skimmed milk too.
• Eggs add structure and make pancakes fluffy and airy.
• Melted butter (unsalted) or vegetable oil (coconut oil or canola oil works fine) will be added to the batter.
• Vanilla extract for subtle flavoring. You can use another extract or completely skip it, up to you!
• Cooking oil spray. Spray is best when working with an air fryer as you have less risk of adding too much cooking oil.

Kitchen Equipment

• Air fryer (basket air fryer, not an oven with an air fryer setting)
• 3-4 ramekins, aluminum pans, or silicone molds. You can also use a muffin or cake pan insert (to make mini or jumbo pancakes).
• Mixing bowl
• A rubber spatula or a butter knife to fill the molds with batter

Notes: This recipe made 3 larger pancakes (on the Cuisinart air fryer rack) and 4 smaller pancakes (in a traditional basket-style air fryer). 

How To Make Pancakes In An Air Fryer

1: Mix The Pancake Batter

1. Preheat the air fryer to 350°F. 
2. Lightly grease 3 to 4 ramekins or silicone molds with cooking spray. (any air fryer-safe cooking bowl will work)
3. Dry ingredients. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl – whisking to combine.
4. Wet ingredients. Whisk the buttermilk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract in another bowl until smooth.
5. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Don’t overmix. If you see a few lumps, leave them.

2: Air Fry Pancakes

1. Fill each of the prepared ramekins with ⅓ to ½ cup of batter – this should fill them about one-fourth of the way. Make sure to fill all the ramekins to the same level, otherwise each pancake will have a different cooking time.
2. Note, that pancakes that are too thick can turn out with a little “dome”.
3. Place the ramekins in the air fryer basket, ensuring they have plenty of space around them.
4. Cook for 8–10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Remove and cool for 2-3 minutes before removing from the ramekins.
6. Repeat until all of the remaining batter has been cooked.

Serving Suggestions & Toppings

Serve with your favorite toppings, sweet or savory!

• Sweet: honey, icing sugar, maple syrup, nut butter,
• Creamy: whipped cream, yogurt, sour cream
• Healthy: fresh fruit or fresh berries.
• Simple: butter (let it melt on the hot pancakes)
• For savory breakfast serve with eggs and bacon.
• Festive: with sprinkles, pumpkin pie spice, and edible toppers

Storage

Cool the pancakes before storing them. Store leftover pancakes in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Reheat pancakes in the air fryer at 320 degrees F for 2 minutes or until warm all the way through or in a microwave for 20 seconds.

You can freeze air fryer pancakes, once they cool down. Place them in an airtight freezer bag, separating by parchment paper between each, and freeze for 3 months.

You can cook frozen pancakes in the air fryer without thawing them. Simply preheat the air fryer to 350F and cook pancakes in a single layer for 3-5 minutes.

Substitutions & Variations

• Add your favorite chocolate chips on top of the batter before cooking to make chocolate chip pancakes.
• You can use plain flour or gluten-free flour instead of the all-purpose flour.
• Healthy pancakes. Add fresh or frozen berries to the batter before air frying or mix in mashed very ripe bananas to replace sugar. Adding fruit will make nice moist pancakes.
• High-protein pancakes. To make those you simply add protein powder (vanilla, chocolate, or whichever you like) to the batter.
• Change up these pancakes with caster sugar, lots of maple syrup, a splash of lemon juice, or oat milk in the batter.

Popular Questions

Do Pancakes In An Air Fryer Work?

Absolutely! You can make homemade pancakes in the air fryer in less than 15 minutes with homemade or store-bought batter and serve with maple syrup or your choice of toppings.

Why Are My Air Fryer Pancakes Tough?

Overmixing the batter will result in cakey, dense, and tough pancakes. They will feel dryer too. Mixing for too long doesn’t allow for baking powder and soda to do the work with the batter.

How To Cook Pancakes In An Air Fryer With Parchment Paper?

You can lay down a piece of parchment paper, pour about 1-1.5 tbsp of batter on it, and cook pancakes one by one like this. Do not stack them.

Can You Cook A Stack Of Pancakes In An Air Fryer?

No, despite what influencers on TikTok are saying, it has been tested and proven that you can’t cook a stack of pancakes in the air fryer.

Stacking doesn’t let the hot air flow easily and you will end up with a mess: raw batter in between layers, pancakes that are too spread out, pale, etc. Cook air fryer pancakes in a single layer.

If you love this pancake recipe, you’re going to love these other air fryer breakfast recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Great Pancake Recipes

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Mini Pancakes (Silver Dollar)

Oat Flour Pancakes

Swedish Pancakes

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