These light and fluffy apple pancakes are loaded with shredded apples, cozy warm fall spices cinnamon, and nutmeg and topped with sweet gooey cinnamon apples to make a perfect cozy breakfast.
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Light, fluffy apple cinnamon pancakes are worth trying this fall, or any time of the year!
With fall approaching, it’s all about cool air, cozy sweaters, and apples cooking in warm spices in our kitchen. Pancakes aren’t really hard to make and if you haven’t tried my banana pancake recipe, you are missing out.
This recipe features shredded apples and warm spices in the pancake batter. These fall-inspired pancakes are spiced with cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg, loaded with fruity tart fresh apples, tangy buttermilk baking soda, and baking powder for the fluffiness.
These pancakes taste amazing on their own, add apple topping and maple syrup for extra deliciousness, I highly recommend it!
Family favorite apple pancake recipe is very easy to make and versatile. Fit for a crowd and a filling breakfast to have on weekends.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make apple pancakes –
- Granny Smith apple
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon powder
- Nutmeg powder
- Eggs
- Butter
- Buttermilk
- Vanilla
- Vegetable oil – for cooking
All ingredients’ exact measurements in mentioned in the recipe card below.
- Apples – I used Granny Smith apple for its tart crisp flavor. You may also use a mix of Granny Smith and red gala apples.
- Flour – use all-purpose flour for the best texture of the pancakes.
- Baking powder and baking soda – leaving agents to make pancakes light, airy, and fluffy.
- Salt – a little salt to enhance the flavors
- Sugar – I used dark brown sugar. You may also use light brown sugar.
- Spices – cinnamon powder and nutmeg powder – warm fall spices to bring out fall flavors.
- Eggs – for binding purposes.
- Butter – adds richness to pancakes. You can use vegetable oil as a substitute for butter.
- Buttermilk – it makes pancakes moist and tender and the tanginess of buttermilk makes it fluffy.
- Vanilla extract – to enhance the flavors of the pancakes.
How to make apple cinnamon pancakes
Sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl and add salt, cinnamon powder, and a dash of nutmeg powder. Note – sifting helps make fluffy pancakes. You can skip the sifting step and simply whisk all the ingredients together.
Add eggs, melted butter (cooled down a little), buttermilk, vanilla extract, and brown sugar in another bowl. Whisk well until the sugar is melted.
Pour wet ingredients into a dry ingredients bowl, and mix gently with a rubber spatula until all dry ingredients are incorporated with wet ingredients. DO NOT overwork the batter. It’s okay to have some lumps in the batter.
Peel and core apples (or not) and grate apples directly over the batter. It’s not mandatory to core apples, grate apples until they hit the hard-core center and stop, easily, one step less in the process.
Gently fold the apples into the batter making sure not to over mix.
Preheat a griddle or frying pan on medium heat. Grease the pan with vegetable oil.
Pour batter in ¼ cup-sized scoops or a ladle. Cook on medium heat (I like to cook on medium-low heat so pancakes are golden brown, on medium-high heat they tend to brown faster and turn dark brown) for 2-3 minutes or until bubbles appear across the surface of pancakes.
Carefully flip and cook on the other side for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
Remove from pan and repeat with the rest of the batter.
Serve apple pancakes warm topped with sweet gooey warm cinnamon apples and a generous serving of maple syrup over the top.
Tips for making light fluffy apple cinnamon pancakes
- For fluffy pancakes do NOT over mix the batter. Pancake batter can have a few lumps and they will disappear when cooked. Overmixing will take away the beautiful soft texture of pancakes. Nobody wants tough/hard pancakes. Once flour comes together with wet ingredients stop mixing.
- Fat is needed in pancakes, but adding too much of it will result in dense (tough) pancakes. For light fluffy pancakes use the right amount of fat (butter and eggs), do not alter the quantity too much.
- Rest the pancake batter before cooking for a few minutes. Resting will help make soft pancakes.
- Use a heavy pan like a cast iron griddle to cook pancakes, so it won’t stick.
- The griddle should be hot enough before you start cooking. Preheat the griddle when the pancake batter is resting. If the griddle is too hot, pancakes will burn from outside, undercooked inside. If the griddle is not hot enough, pancakes will take longer to cook and will turn hard.
- Spray or grease pan with very little cooking oil or butter, to help release pancakes easily. Remember pancakes will absorb the oil or butter, use little.
- Using a measuring cup ensures you have uniform-sized pancakes and they all cook at about the same time if you are cooking a couple of them at once on a large griddle.
- It’s important to know when you should flip pancakes. Once the edges start to cook and you see a couple of bubbles across the surface, carefully flip. It takes less time to cook the top side than the bottom side.
- Flipping is done only once. Wait before you flip. Flip only when the bottom side is cooked.
- Do not press down the pancakes. You want them to be soft and fluffy!
- Leftovers keep well stored in air-tight containers in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Variations
You can customize and add your own touch to the apple pancakes batter. Here are some ideas:
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Raisins or currants make a great addition too.
- Add fresh blueberries.
- Instead of shredding apples, dice apples and fold them in the batter.
- Use applesauce instead of fresh apples.
Topping suggestions
Apple cinnamon pancakes taste amazing on their own, but adding a topping makes it ultra-delicious! I highly recommend sweet gooey cinnamon apple topping along with maple syrup. You may also try these:
- Apple sauce or apple compote.
- A pat of butter with cinnamon roll syrup poured over the top.
- Powdered sugar.
- Honey and chopped nuts.
- Some whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Cream cheese spread.
Storage
The great news about this pancake is that you can cook it ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. Cooked pancakes need to be cooled completely and stored in an air-tight container or sealed bag with parchment paper between each pancake in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
For longer storage freeze them. Place pancakes in freezer-safe bags with parchment paper between each pancake and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost frozen pancake in the fridge overnight and reheat it in the microwave at 30-second intervals until warm.
To reheat – pancakes can be reheated in a toaster or in a skillet on low heat until warm on both sides.
Common questions
Any apple that is crisp and has wonderful sweet and tart flavors can be used for an apple cinnamon recipe. Choose any of these apples –
Granny Smith
Honey Crispy
Fuji Red
Pink Lady
Gala
Golden Delicious
It’s important to know when you should flip pancakes. Once the edges start to cook and you see a couple of bubbles across the surface, carefully flip. It takes less time to cook the top side than the bottom side. Flipping is done only once. Wait before you flip. Flip only when the bottom side is cooked.
It only takes a few minutes to cook on each side. Once you pour batter on the hot griddle wait until you see bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake, about 2-3 minutes, it’s time to flip. The top side takes less time to cook, about 1-2 minutes. Gently press the center if it feels squishy, pancakes are done.
It’s not mandatory but sifting helps make fluffy pancakes. You can skip the sifting step and simply whisk all the ingredients together.
Yes, you can, I highly recommend buttermilk. The acidity in buttermilk reacts with baking powder and baking soda to produce light and fluffy pancakes. Milk can be used too; buttermilk is better in my opinion.
Yes, you can use dairy-free milk to make apple cinnamon pancakes. Vegetable milk options are oat milk, soy milk, and almond milk. Note with diary-free milk, the pancake texture won’t be exactly the same as made with buttermilk.
There are so many reasons why pancakes are not light and fluffy. I have listed all the important tips to note before you start making apple pancakes. Read the section “Tips for making light fluffy apple cinnamon pancakes”.
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📋Easy Apple Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Granny Smith apple
- Vegetable oil for cooking
Instructions
- Sift dry ingredients flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl and add salt, cinnamon powder, and a dash of nutmeg powder.
- Add eggs, melted butter (cooled down a little), buttermilk, vanilla extract, and brown sugar in another bowl. Whisk well until the sugar is melted.
- Pour wet ingredients into a dry ingredients bowl, and mix gently with a rubber spatula until all dry ingredients are incorporated with wet ingredients. DO NOT overwork the batter. It’s okay to have some lumps in the batter.
- Peel and grate apples directly over the batter. Discard the core.
- Gently fold the apples into the batter making sure not to over mix.
- Preheat a griddle or frying pan on medium heat. Grease the pan with vegetable oil.
- Pour batter in ¼ cup-sized scoops or a ladle. Cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until bubbles appear across the surface of the pancakes.
- Carefully flip and cook on the other side for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
- Remove from pan and repeat with the rest of the batter.
- Serve apple pancakes warm topped with sweet gooey warm cinnamon apples and a generous serving of maple syrup over the top.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Notes
- For fluffy pancakes do NOT over mix the batter. Pancake batter can have a few lumps and they will disappear when cooked. Overmixing will take away the beautiful soft texture of pancakes. Nobody wants tough/hard pancakes. Once flour comes together with wet ingredients stop mixing.
- Fat is needed in pancakes, but adding too much of it will result in dense (tough) pancakes. For light fluffy pancakes use the right amount of fat (butter and eggs), do not alter the quantity too much.
- Rest the pancake batter before cooking for a few minutes. Resting will help make soft pancakes.
- Use a heavy pan like a cast iron griddle to cook pancakes, so it won’t stick.
- The griddle should be hot enough before you start cooking. Preheat the griddle when the pancake batter is resting. If the griddle is too hot, pancakes will burn from outside, undercooked inside. If the griddle is not hot enough, pancakes will take longer to cook and will turn hard.
- Spray or grease pan with very little cooking oil or butter, to help release pancakes easily. Remember pancakes will absorb the oil or butter, use little.
- Using a measuring cup ensures you have uniform-sized pancakes and they all cook at about the same time if you are cooking a couple of them at once on a large griddle.
- It’s important to know when you should flip pancakes. Once the edges start to cook and you see a couple of bubbles across the surface, carefully flip. It takes less time to cook the top side than the bottom side.
- Flipping is done only once. Wait before you flip. Flip only when the bottom side is cooked.
- Do not press down the pancakes. You want them to be soft and fluffy!
- Leftovers keep well stored in air-tight containers in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
Thank you for stopping by.
I’m Jyothi Rajesh (Jo for short) and i’m the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail where I share my culinary Adventures. I live in Bangalore, India. I’m a mom of two beautiful kids. My passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. I have been blogging since 2007 and many of my recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
Comments & Reviews
Katy says
What a delicious pancake on a cool fall morning. We loved them and will be making them again. Next time I might use the small holes of the grater so the apples are a bit more fine but really really good!
Jyothi Rajesh says
So glad to hear you loved it Katy, Thank you for sharing your feeedback.