Cornbread Pancakes

These cornbread pancakes are the ultimate Southern comfort food and are seriously tasty without relying on complex ingredients. They’re golden, crisp, and get a slight tang from a generous helping of buttermilk. Enjoy corn flour pancakes alone or top away to your heart’s content! Breakfast, anyone?

I love a breakfast recipe that’s easy to prepare and doesn’t disappoint on the flavor front.

But sometimes, I’m just not in the mood for a healthy Green Smoothie or protein-packed Overnight Oats. Nope,  I need straight-off-the-griddle cornbread pancakes!

These perfectly round beauties are crispy, nutty, and just dense enough to keep you full for hours.

And if you’re not having them for breakfast, these versatile pancakes work with hearty stews, greens, chili, and even soup! That’s right, they’re the ultimate overachievers.

To make things even sweeter, they’re made with pantry staples, are gluten-free, and can be made vegan. 

What’s not to like?

Ingredients for Cornbread Pancakes

Corn flour: Forms the base of your delicious cornbread pancakes. It brings the classic corn flavor, but also helps you achieve a nice, crispy exterior with a perfectly soft interior. Try to find fine or medium ground cornmeal for pancakes that aren’t too dense.

Brown rice flour: Keeps this recipe entirely gluten-free. This whole grain flour is light and lends your pancakes a rich, nutty flavor.

Salt: Enhances the flavor of your recipe and helps eliminate any bitterness from the flours.

Baking powder: This leavening agent counteracts the denser flours. It works with the heat of the skillet to help you achieve a fluffy texture on your pancakes!

Baking soda: Creates a chemical reaction in your pancake batter to add air (and extra fluffiness!) to the final product.

Egg: To bind the ingredients and help everything rise.

Almond milk or buttermilk: Buttermilk gives these pancakes their classic, American diner-style flavor and texture. It essentially inflates the dough with carbon dioxide and helps your dough retain more air. Almond milk has a neutral flavor and works in a similar way to keep your pancakes creamy.

Oil or melted butter: I usually use vegetable oil for pancakes as it has a neutral flavor and brings moisture to the batter. For a richer flavor and a better crumb, try butter. Whichever ingredient you use, the fat will produce a lighter, more flavorful pancake that doesn’t taste dry!

Pure vanilla extract: Adds a slight vanilla flavor to your pancakes without being overly sweet (that’s what toppings are for!).

Pure maple syrup or brown sugar: A sweetener is key to avoiding an overly “corn-like” flavor.

Avocado oil: To fry with. You can crank up the heat without your oil burning as avocado oil has a high smoke point. Plus, it’s a neutral-tasting oil, which means the flavor of it won’t leach into your pancakes!

Recipe Customizations

• You can make this recipe totally vegan by using a flax egg mixture. Simply blend flaxseed meal (AKA: ground flaxseeds!) with water until you get a gelatinous texture. It’ll bind the ingredients in a similar way to egg, but you’ll want to rest it for around five minutes to thicken before you use it.
• If you’re using almond milk, I recommend adding just one tablespoon of white vinegar to this ingredient. It acts as an acid that activates the baking soda in this recipe, giving your pancakes a slight tang that I love.
• If you appreciate a hint of spice, try adding a sprinkle of cinnamon to your corn bread pancake batter. You can also add in nuts, chocolate chips, and any other mix-ins you like!

Tips for the Best Cornbread Pancakes

• Pick the right temperature and keep an eye on the oil. I find that setting your stove to just above medium heat is the optimal temperature for perfect, fluffy pancakes (or around 375°F). If your oil is too hot, you’ll have burnt edges. If it’s too cold, the cornbread pancakes will go soggy and take forever to cook. No bueno.
• Double-check the consistency of your batter before using it. It should be thick enough not to spread when it hits the griddle. If it’s not holding its shape when you pour it, a small amount of cornmeal should whip it into shape.
• Let your batter rest before using it. Although you’ll be stirring to combine the ingredients, giving your batter five minutes to rest will help everything bind.
• Be patient with the cooking process. I totally get it – you want your pancakes ASAP. But you’ll want to cook your cornbread pancakes in small batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.

What Does It Taste Like?

These cornbread pancakes taste a lot like typical cornbread. They’re tangy and get a subtle acidity and creaminess from the buttermilk.

They’re slightly sweeter than your average piece of cornbread, as this recipe includes brown sugar (or maple syrup!).

They’re also delightfully fluffy and almost have a jammy texture from the baking soda, baking powder, and cornflour combo.

So, they’re the perfect breakfast bite!

How to Make Cornbread Pancakes

In a mixing bowl, start mixing the wet ingredients together until well combined.

In a separate bowl, add the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet mix, and ensure everything is completely smooth. If you need to, pull out a hand mixer to avoid any lumps. You’re unlikely to lose fluffiness, but this will save you a chunk of time.

Heat a skillet to just above medium heat and grease it with oil or butter.

Measure ¼ cup’s worth of batter and pour it directly onto the hot skillet. You may be able to add more pancake rounds depending on the size of your pan.

Allow the pancake to cook until bubbles rise to the top. Then, flip it and cook for around 45 seconds on the other side. Look for light browning and crispness around the edges to avoid burning your pancakes.

Repeat this process with all the batter.

Serve your pancakes with butter and honey (or whatever toppings you’d usually enjoy with cornbread!).

Need to store your pancakes?

These pancakes store well, and you can keep them in the fridge for around a week. Simply let your corn flour pancakes cool, wrap them super tightly with plastic wrap, and place them in an airtight container. 

You can skip the plastic wrap, but it prevents your pancakes from sticking and keeps any pesky excess moisture at bay.

If you’d rather freeze your pancakes, wrap them in plastic wrap and then into freezer bags. They’ll stay delicious for up to two months. 

You’ll want to take them out of the freezer and defrost overnight before breakfast time.

I recommend reheating your cornbread pancakes in a skillet over medium heat for a couple of minutes. I tend to find microwaving makes them go a tad limp.

Love pancakes and just can’t get enough of bumper brekkies? Try out these fan-favorite recipes when you want to start the day off right!

More Breakfast Recipes:

• Cottage Cheese Pancakes
• Almond Flour Healthy Carrot Cake Breakfast Bars
• Sausage and Egg Cottage Cheese Breakfast Casserole
• Berry Protein Smoothie
• Blueberry Protein Bread

Enjoy these easy corn flour pancakes for weekend breakfast!

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