This post may contain affiliate links. See my full disclosure here
These crispy pancakes are light, fluffy and tender on the inside and crisp, golden and buttery on the outside, thanks to the addition of sour cream. Old fashioned sour cream pancakes are what weekend breakfasts are made for.
Sour Cream Pancakes
This sour cream crispy edge pancake recipe has been tried and tested. It was passed down from my grandmother and uses half sour cream and half buttermilk to create a crispy, old-fashioned style pancake for you to load up with your favorite toppings.
With just a few basic ingredients and taking mere minutes to cook, they’re the perfect stack of light, crispy and fluffy pancakes that will be enjoyed by kids and grown-ups alike.
Ingredients:
Eggs
Flour
Salt
Baking soda
Baking powder
Sugar
Vanilla Extract
Sour Cream
The addition of sour cream in this crispy pancake recipe helps to give them their tender but light and fluffy interior. This is because it helps to activate the baking powder in the batter.
Don’t worry too much if you’re not crazy about the taste of sour cream - it does give these pancakes a subtle tangy flavor, but it’s perfectly balanced by the sugar and buttermilk the batter (and pairs beautifully with other sweet pancake toppings). This recipe is an ideal way to use up any leftover sour cream you have sitting around in your refrigerator. Did you know that you can use a brand new or opened container of sour cream up to 3 weeks after it's expiration date? I swear, older sour cream tastes absolutely delicious in this recipe. If you only have a new container of sour cream it works too.
Buttermilk
Butter vs Oil
Don’t be tempted to use oil rather than butter when frying up your crispy pancakes. Oil breaks down in high heat and will also lend your pancake an oily flavor - not nice. Butter, on the other hand, will help your sour cream pancakes turn a beautiful golden brown and make sure they are extra delicious. The key is to make sure your butter doesn’t burn. To avoid this, simply wipe down your pan every once in a while and load it up with a fresh knob of butter.
Crispy Pancake Toppings
I serve my crispy pancakes simply with maple syrup, blueberries and butter on top, but feel free to experiment to find your favorite flavor combinations. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Banana and melted nut butter
- Maple syrup and bacon
- Greek yogurt and fresh berries
- Fruit compote
- Chopped nuts and honey
What kind of pan should I use for crispy pancakes?
Ideally you'll want to use a cast iron griddle pan with a diameter of around 10 or so inches to fry up this stack of crispy edges pancakes. I like to use this one. Depending on how big you want your sour cream pancakes to be, a larger surface area will allow you to cook more than one at a time (for this sized pan, we’d recommend cooking two to three pancakes at once, using ¼ cup of batter). If you would like larger pancakes, use ½ cup batter and only cook one at a time.
Cast iron pans retain and distribute heat much better than other materials, ensuring that your pancakes will all be cooked evenly with a uniform golden color. Their natural non-stick properties should also help you avoid any pancake flipping disasters!
How do I get crisp edges?
One of the key elements of getting a beautiful golden crunch is to make sure that your pan and butter are properly heated before you add your batter.
If the pan isn’t hot enough and your butter isn’t melted, your batter will simply start to soak up the butter, resulting in a greasy, soggy pancake. Always, preheat the stove to medium high heat, add the butter and pancake batter then reduce to medium heat.
As, I mentioned above cook 1 to 3, ¼ cup sized pancakes with one tablespoon of butter at a time. A good amount of butter and a cast iron skillet is the key for crispy edges. Lastly, wipe the skillet down with a paper towel after each batch of pancakes are done.
How do I know when to flip my pancakes?
As long as you have heated your pan up properly, these crispy pancakes should only take a few minutes to cook. You don’t want to flip them too soon, as you won’t get that same uniform golden brown color.
The key is to look out for bubbles forming on the surface of the pancake - these are a telltale sign that they are ready to flip. This is because when the bottom of the pancake is cooked, the heat from the pan will transfer into the middle, pushing all the air bubbles to the surface.
Once you’ve flipped your pancakes, they should only take a minute or so (two minutes tops) to cook. You can always lift up the sides a little to check that they are brown underneath.
Pancake batter
These pancakes benefit from mixing as until smooth. I know some people say don't over-mix but it pretty difficult to over-mix pancake batter. I always mix until the batter is smooth but there will still be lumps but don't worry about trying to get rid of them. However, you need to let the batter sit for about 15-20 minutes.This is a great way to ensure light and fluffy pancakes. If you are short on time try to aim for at least 15 minutes
HOW TO MAKE CRISPY EDGES PANCAKES:
Preheat oven to 170 degrees Fahrenheit. In one bowl add the flour, sugar salt, baking soda and baking powder.
In another bowl, add the eggs, buttermilk, sour cream and vanilla extract.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.Mix just until batter is smooth.
Add the melted butter. Mix well until there are no traces of melted butter. Set to the side for 15 minutes.
Over medium high heat, add one tablespoon of butter to the skillet. Spread the butter all over the skillet.
Drop ¼-1/2 cup batter to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until a couple of bubbles appear on the top and the edges are crisp.
Peek underneath the pancake. When it's lightly browned, flip and cook the other side for a 2-3 minutes more or until golden brown.
Put the sour cream pancakes in a warm oven until all of the pancakes are done cooking. And there you have an easy recipe for a stack of crispy pancakes. Check out the full recipe below.
Equipment used to make this recipe:
Crispy Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 3 tbsp sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 4 tbsp butter melted plus additional for the skillet
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170 degree Fahrenheit. In one bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda and baking powder together in a bowl. In another bowl, add the egg, sour cream, milk, vanilla extract. Mix batter until just until it's smooth. Pour in the melted butter. Mix until there's no trace of melted butter. Set to the side for 15 minutes.
- Over medium high heat, add one tablespoon of butter to a 8-10 inch skillet. Spread the butter over the areas where the batter will pour out. Drop ¼-1/2 cup batter to the skillet, spreading it lightly with the bottom of the cup. Reduce heat to medium.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes or until a couple of bubbles appear on the top. Peek underneath the pancake. If it's lightly browned, flip and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Place in a warm oven until the rest of the pancakes are done cooking. *See notes
Video
Notes
Resting time:
Rest the batter for 15-20 minutes. This is a great way to ensure light and fluffy pancakes. If you are short on time try to aim for at least 15 minutes.How to make crispy pancakes
Cook 1 to 3, ¼ cup sized pancakes with one tablespoon of butter at a time. A good amount of butter (1 tbsp for each batch) and a cast iron skillet is the key for crispy pancakes. Wipe the skillet down with a paper towel after each batch of pancakes are done. This step will make your pancakes look picture perfect. If you want bigger pancakes use a ½ size measuring cup.How do I know when to flip my pancakes?
As long as you have heated your pan up properly, these crispy pancakes should only take a few minutes to cook. You don’t want to flip them too soon, as you won’t get that same uniform golden brown color. The key is to look out for bubbles forming on the surface of the pancake - these are a telltale sign that they're ready to flip. This is because when the bottom of the pancake is cooked, the heat from the pan will transfer into the middle, pushing all the air bubbles to the surface. Once you’ve flipped your pancakes, they should only take a minute or so (two minutes tops) to cook. You can always lift up the sides a little to check that they are brown underneath. Equipment used to make this recipe: Lodge Cast Iron GriddleNutrition
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
Olivia
these are the best pancakes i’ve ever made, and i’ve made quite a few different recipes! the texture is amazing, and it’s nice to not have to use loads of baking powder to get such light, fluffy results. i topped mine with vanilla-infused maple syrup and they were so perfect. thanks for the recipe!!!!!
April Boller Wright
Thank you for the great feedback! I'm overjoyed to hear that the pancakes turned out so well for you. Achieving that light and fluffy texture without excessive baking powder is a win. Your choice of topping sounds delicious vanilla-infused maple syrup is a fantastic idea. I need to try that. Your appreciation means a lot, and I'm glad the recipe worked out perfectly for you.
Barbara
This recipe now has the note “Best and only Pancake recipe” at the top. My husband has been talking about his childhood pancakes for years and we’ve never been able to recreate them until now. Delicious pancakes - creamy inside, crisp outer edge… just perfection!! Thank you very much, the search is over 😋
Anonymous
I don't leave reviews very often but I felt this one deserved it ! I absolutely loved this recipe - the pancakes were full of flavour AND crispy all around .. I definitely recommend !
April
Thank you so much for your kinds words!!! 🙂
Vicki Morris
O.M.G. It's taken me 65+ years to cook the perfect pancakes, and thanks to your recipe, I knocked it out of the park today!!! There used to be a little restaurant in Burnet, Texas (Trailblazer or something) that made the best, buttery, melt in your mouth pancakes that I've been craving since the cook left there years ago. All other recipes totally failed to meet those standards until YOUR recipe. Dear Lord, I've hit Pancake Heaven. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this. Anyone reading this can stop your search for the perfect recipe. THIS IS IT!!!! I can't rave enough. This was a religious experience.
April
Best comment ever!! My family LOVES these pancakes. We make them often. I hope you'll make them often now too :). I'm happy I was able to help you make perfect pancakes! Thank you so much Vicki!
Mike Forrester
These are really great pancakes. Light, with that buttermilk tang one only gets with scratch cakes. The batter is pretty thick - I had to go back and check the ingredients! - and the cakes come out about 3/4 inch high with nice crisp edges. My family used to rave about my homemade buttermilk pancakes, but I think they have a rival now. Thanks for this recipe and site. Can't wait to try the meatloaf.
April
That's so great to hear!! Thank you so much Mike!!
Presh
This was the best pancake I’ve ever made! Crisp edges and fluffy and tender inside. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
April
Thank you so much for the great feedback Presh!
Bill and Nicole
We didn’t have any pancake mix in box, but my gal wanted crispy pancakes. So I found this recipe and mixed it up. Unfortunately I didn’t have any buttermilk, but I had heavy whipping cream. The result was clearly the crispiest and yummy pancakes we ever had!!! So darn good! Highly recommended!
April
What a great compliment Bill! I'm glad the heavy whipping cream worked out for ya. You know what, I've heard people say that heavy whipping cream tastes great in pancakes and cornbread. I'll have to try it out!
Kim
Do I heat the pan on med/high then reduce to med the initial time only or do I repeat the med/high then reduce to med every time I put new batter in the pan?
April
You heat it to med/high heat. Add the butter and let it melt and get hot. Next add the pancake batter. Decrease the temp to medium heat. Since all stovetops are not created equal, you need to use a spatula and peak under your pancakes every now and then to make sure you're not burning them. They should be golden brown. If you notice that it's taking a while to brown, try increasing the heat some. If the pancakes are cooking too fast, turn the heat way down, sometimes, I'll even take the pancakes off the heat for a bit, just until the pan has cooled off some. Once it has cooled down a bit, I'll put it back on the heat. Hope that helps.
Mara
Wow! Amazing. I tried this recipe last weekend and my husband is now obsessed. Said its the best homemade pancakes hes ever had. The texture was on point!
April
Glad he enjoyed it Mara! Thank you so much for letting me know!