You can learn here how to make pancakes without baking powder or baking soda!
Also you do not need any store bought boxed pancake mix to make these delicious homemade pancakes from scratch.
All you need to make these homemade pancakes without baking soda or baking powder or pancake mix are all purpose flour, eggs, milk, oil or butter (and sugar as desired).
Also you can add in some flavors like vanilla extract!
Sometimes I even make these pancakes without vanilla extract and it is still delicious, but you can add even more flavors like cinnamon powder or other flavors as you like.
Can You Make Pancakes Without Pancake Mix & Baking Powder?
Yes, you can easily make homemade pancakes from scratch without using pancake mix or even baking powder or baking soda.
As you know, pancakes are very popular American breakfast often enjoyed at weekends or from restaurants.
We only use ingredients that are easily available to make these simple & delicious pancakes at home.
You can enjoy these delicious & easy American breakfast pancakes at home even when you can’t go to restaurants as they can be made easily and quickly at home.
You can make these delicious & soft pancakes without baking powder or pancake mix during weekends, holidays or even during busy weekday mornings or whenever you wish.
The most important two ingredients of these homemade pancakes without baking powder or pancake mix are eggs and flour.
To get the best texture for your pancakes, you can use all purpose flour to make these pancakes.
However you may also use wheat flour if you wish.
But if you use wheat flour, the texture may be little more dense than all purpose flour.
For best results, you can use either bleached all purpose flour or unbleached all purpose flour.
In this simple and easy pancake recipe, we do not use any substitute for baking powder to make the pancakes.
Instead of using any baking powder substitute, we simply make use of a simple method using egg whites to prepare the delicious and fluffy pancakes.
Whipped egg whites act as a substitute for baking powder as well as baking soda in this easy homemade pancakes recipe from scratch.
Almost all pancake recipes uses baking powder or baking soda.
However we can also make regular pancakes using all purpose flour or wheat flour pancakes without baking powder or baking soda as well following this easy pancake recipe at home.
This is not a dairy free recipe since we use whole milk in the preparation.
However, you may try to make these pancakes without milk as well to make milkless pancakes without baking powder, by simply replacing milk with water (or buttermilk if you don’t want it dairy free but just wish to replace milk).
If you substitute milk with water or any other liquid, the recipe should work but keep in mind that it will affect the flavor of the pancakes based on what substitute you are using.
I do not recommend replacing milk in this recipe, for the pancakes have the best texture when you use milk.
I tried this recipe with all purpose flour and also wheat flour to make the pancakes (wheat atta flour is the kind of flour used to make Indian flatbread), as the wheat flour is more healthy, but for perfect texture, I recommend you to stick with all purpose flour.
You can use all purpose flour for the best results, to make these pancakes, as this kind of flour is perfect to make any pancakes including these pancakes without baking powder or baking soda.
You may also try super fine cake flour to make the pancakes for a more fine and soft texture.
Different Ways To Make Pancakes Without Baking Powder
Pancakes without baking powder or baking soda can be easily made at home from scratch and they usually comes out little dense in texture but they are very delicious.
There are different ways to make pancakes without using baking powder.
One way is to make thin crepes which will be thin usually.
Another way is to make pancakes like this three ingredient banana pancakes without baking powder which will be naturally soft due to the addition of bananas (though most popular banana pancakes are made with baking powder).
I really love those banana pancakes without baking powder and even my kids love those delicious pancakes.
However regular pancakes will usually turn out quite dense without baking powder.
If you do not like the dense texture of pancakes made without baking powder or baking soda, there are ways you can make fluffy pancakes without baking powder.
Using Self rising flour
One easy way to make fluffy pancakes without using additional baking powder is to use self rising flour.
Since the self rising flour comes with baking powder, you do not need to add any extra baking powder.
So just using self rising flour in place of flour if you do have self rising flour at home or you can buy some so that you do not have to add the baking powder every time you make the pancakes.
By Adding beaten egg whites to the batter at the end
If you do not want to use self rising flour or baking powder, there is an easy way to make fluffy pancakes without using both.
That is to separate the egg whites and egg yolks and whip the egg whites separately and fold that into the batter made of other ingredients.
The addition of whipped egg whites naturally make the pancakes fluffy.
The pancakes without baking powder or baking soda taste the best when they are enjoyed as soon as they are made.
So try to serve these yummy pancakes while they are still hot or warm.
How To Make Pancakes Without Baking Powder Or Pancake Mix?
In this recipe, we use the following ingredients to make the delicious pancakes at home from scratch without using baking powder or baking soda or boxed pancake mix.
Ingredients To Make Pancakes Without Baking Powder
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons oil I used olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
butter or oil as needed to grease the pan and cook the pancakes
Step By Step Instructions With Photos
To make the batter
In a medium sized bowl, mix together the dry ingredients – flour, salt and also the sugar until well mixed.
Separate the egg yolks and egg whites carefully and transfer the egg whites to a different bowl.
Whisk the egg yolks and add the milk, vanilla extract and oil to this, mix everything very well.
Add the wet ingredients mixture (do not add the egg whites now) to the dry flour mixture slowly.
Mix well until well combined and the batter is formed without any lumps.
In another bowl, whip the egg whites (make sure there is no trace of egg yolks in this) using an electric mixer until soft peaks are formed.
I whipped the egg whites using the electric mixer for about 2 to 3 minutes starting from the lowest speed.
And then proceed to the highest speed gradually.
Immediately fold in this beaten egg white mixture to the batter and mix well to combine evenly in the batter.
Once you have prepared this pancake batter, you have to make the pancakes immediately for best results.
To make the pancakes
Heat an iron skillet or pan (or use non stick pan) and grease with little oil or butter.
Add one ladle of batter to the hot pan and let it cook for a minute or until the bottom side is cooked and bubbles appear on top side.
Gently flip the pancake and cook the other side too, which will cook faster.
You may add a little butter if needed which will make the pancake even more delicious.
Once the pancake is cooked, transfer it to the serving dish, similarly cook all pancakes until the batter is finished.
Enjoy the pancakes hot with butter or maple syrup or any of your favorite toppings as you wish!
Tips to make the best pancakes without baking powder
In this recipe for pancakes without baking powder, we make pancakes by adding beaten egg whites to the prepared batter mixture to make the final batter.
However there are certain things to keep in mind when you make the pancakes in this way.
You can separate the egg whites from the egg yolks in many ways but I always just break the narrow tip of the eggs a little and let the white out while saving the yolk inside.
A little white mixed with yolks is fine for this recipe, but make sure there is no trace of yolk in the whites you separated.
If this method is difficult for you to do, you may use a curved slotted spoon where you can gently break the egg inside the slotted spoon so just whites will fall through the slots in the spoon and thus you can separate the whites from the yolks.
You can also use store bough egg separator to separate the egg yolks from whites.
If there is any other method that you prefer to separate the egg yolks from whites, you can follow your own method and you can also share any tips in the comment section.
Once you have separated egg yolks and white, first make the wet mixture of ingredients using the egg yolks and other ingredients as mentioned in the recipe and then make the egg white mixture by beating the egg whites until stiff peaks are formed.
This is important because once you have prepared the egg white mixture, you have to immediately mix it with the rest of the ingredients to make the batter, or it won’t hold well and the result won’t be as good.
Also while you beat the egg whites to form soft peaks, I recommend using an electric mixer as it does the job so easily and fast.
I whipped the egg whites using an electric mixer for about 2 to 3 minutes (starting from the lowest speed and proceeding to higher speeds) until soft peaks are formed.
This step is also very important since the texture of the pancakes will depend on how well you whip the egg whites.
If all these steps seem difficult for you, the best and easy method to make pancakes without using baking powder is by using self rising flour.
This is because self rising flour already have added baking powder in it so you will not need to add any extra baking powder.
However if your intend is to avoid using any baking powder, self rising flour may not be an option since it contains baking powder.
So in that case, you can use this recipe to make easy pancakes without baking powder.
More Pancake Recipes:
Substitute for baking powder in pancakes
As I mentioned in the beginning, in this easy recipe for pancakes, we do not use any substitute for baking powder to make the pancakes.
However, there are other ways to substitute baking powder in pancakes.
One easy method (as I mentioned early), is to use self rising flour instead of regular flour which already contains baking powder, so you will not have to use extra baking powder.
To substitute baking powder in pancakes, it is helpful to understand what constitutes baking powder.
Baking powder is made of a mixture of baking soda and cream of tartar where cream of tartar is acidic in nature (along with a little cornstarch for stability).
So if you have baking soda at home, you can substitute baking powder in pancakes by combining baking soda with something mildly acidic in nature like lemon juice, vinegar, apple cider vinegar etc.
Keep in mind that the ratio of the ingredients is really important and also they can change the flavor of the pancakes.
In short, if you want to make 1 teaspoon of baking powder, you need to evenly mix 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar and also 1/4 teaspoon of cornstarch to the mixture for stability.
There are other ingredients that you could use instead of cream of tartar if you have baking soda at home.
That includes lemon juice, vinegar, apple cider vinegar, buttermilk or yogurt, or any food that is mildly acidic in nature like even sour cream or molasses (this is if you have baking soda but do not have cream of tartar).
However, we do not use any of these in this recipe for pancakes.
We simply use the method of whipped egg whites to make the pancakes, which doesn’t require baking soda or baking powder!
Cute Pancake Makers
You may use a good quality non stick pan or a good quality iron skillet or use any of these cute pancake makers to make delicious pancakes.
KUTIME Pancake Pan Emoji Smiley Pancake Griddle Flip Cooker Pancake Maker with 7 Flapjack Faces Waffle Maker Non-stick Breakfast Pan for Pancake, Fried Egg
Gourmia GPA9510 Blini Pan Nonstick Silver Dollar Pancake Pan With 7-Mold Design 100% PFOA free non-stick coating …Emoji Smiley Face Pancake Pan – Non-stick Pan Cake Griddle with 7 Unique Flapjack Faces
Below you can see the detailed recipe for making pancakes without baking powder.
Pancakes Without Baking Powder Or Baking Soda Or Pancake Mix (Video)
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or another oil like canola or sunflower oil
- butter or oil as needed to grease the pan and cook the pancakes
Instructions
To make the batter
- In a medium sized bowl, mix together the dry ingredients – flour, salt and also the sugar until well mixed.
- Separate the egg yolks and egg whites carefully and transfer the egg whites to a different bowl.
- Whisk the egg yolks and add the milk, vanilla extract and oil to the whisked egg yolks, mix everything very well.
- Add the wet ingredients mixture (do not add the egg whites now) to the dry flour mixture slowly.
- Mix well until well combined and the batter is formed without any lumps.
- In another bowl, whip the egg whites (make sure there is no trace of egg yolks in this) using an electric mixer until soft peaks are formed. I whipped the egg whites using the electric mixer for about 2 to 3 minutes starting from the lowest speed and proceeding to the highest speed gradually. Immediately fold in this beaten egg white mixture to the batter and mix well to combine evenly in the batter.
- Once you have prepared this pancake batter, you have to make the pancakes immediately for best results.
To make the pancakes
- Heat an iron skillet or pan (or use non stick pan) and grease with little oil or butter.
- Add one ladle of batter to the hot pan and let it cook for a minute or until the bottom side is cooked and bubbles appear on top side.
- Gently flip the pancake and cook the other side too, which will cook faster. You may add a little butter if needed which will make the pancake even more delicious.
- Once the pancake is cooked, transfer it to the serving dish, similarly cook all pancakes until the batter is finished. Enjoy the pancakes hot with butter or maple syrup or any of your favorite toppings as you wish!
Thank you for the recipe
I flippinggg mixed all the ingredients together and it did not turn out very good and when I followed the instructions the were gr8 thank u
Hi Alexandra, its important to follow the instructions for this recipe since it very much depends on the process of whipping the egg whites separately. It won’t work if the ingredients are just mixed together. Thank you so much for trying and letting me know the feedback. Much appreciated 🙂 I am glad that it turned out good for you when you followed the instructions!
This is for how many portion?
This recipe makes about 4 to 6 pancakes. Thank you.
It’s look like my cake. lol.. I mean not really good looking. But I try it with honey and still delicious!
Hi Robyn, I am glad you enjoyed it 🙂 Thank you for trying and leaving the feedback!
What happens if you leave out the salt as well? My blood pressure is very sensitive to sodium and I think this recipe is really reducing the sodium by eliminating the baking powder and baking soda.
Hi Nicole, you may leave out the salt as well to reduce the sodium content. It wouldn’t make much of a difference I believe. Thank you.
Great instructions and I learned something new about egg whites! I used half the sugar, oatmilk, and some vanilla extract. Delicious.
Thank you so much for the feedback Monika! I am glad you enjoyed these 🙂
First time cooking pancake. Love this recipe the sweetness is just nice. And the taste is tasty. Easy to follow.
Hi Erika, I am glad you enjoyed these pancakes, thank you for the feedback 🙂
It is heavenly taste! Light, fluffy, sweet and fresh.
Thank you Diya, I am glad you liked it!
It was delicious
Thank you!
These were yummy. The kids loved them and are fun to make it. Thank you!
Thank you, I am glad to hear that your kids loved it. Thank you for the feedback!
Hi: I can no longer use baking powder or soda, due to kidney diet. So I was looking for alternative. this ws great. I just wanted to say that instead of making them on the stove, I baked them in the oven! I put a parchment in my 6×9 pan so the the parchment is coming up the side. Then put about 1 1 /2 T butter in pan, and put in the oven to melt, but watch so doesn’t burn. I then followed your recipe, but also added on top some sugared blueberries. Baked beautifully, Rose much like a soufflé. It was a little dense, but I didn’t care. When they ere done, I took them out, and then smeared a little cream cheese on them. Tased much like a danish. so good. but with a lot fewer calories, fat and sugar. Oh, I forgot to say that I didn’t put any sugar in the batter, just on the blueberries. So nice and simple. I also used 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 all purpose flour. But for me, the idea was not using baking powder or soda. And these came out great! Thank you.
Hi Judy, I am so glad to hear such a great feedback! Thank you so much 🙂 It’s wonderful that you could add blueberries & bake them in the oven. That’s a great idea. I am so happy that you found this recipe for pancakes helpful for your diet. Its so nice to know how it worked with the said changes too. I very much appreciate you stopping by and giving a very valuable feedback on this recipe. Thanks again, have a great day!
I would really like to try this recipe as it sounds great. I would have to use water as we cannot have milk of any kind due to allergies. I would like to know more about the oven baking method rather than frying. At what temperature and for how long should they be baked? Also, could these pancakes be frozen for later use?
Hi Imelda, I haven’t tried baking these pancakes but a reader has mentioned the pancakes came out great in the oven too. Maybe you can look for pancake recipes in oven and try this recipe the same way and see if it works. If I try anytime, I will update it in the post. Also, you may use water or try applesauce instead of milk for a different flavor, but I am not very sure how it will turn out. If you try, please let me know! Thank you.