Best Sourdough Blueberry Pancakes – Discard Recipe

Sharing is caring!

Sourdough blueberry pancakes are made with a light and fluffy sourdough pancake batter filled with sweet blueberries.  The tangy flavor of the sourdough is complimented perfectly with the sweetness of the blueberries.  These homemade sourdough pancakes remind me of Krusteaz pancakes.  I looked for a long time to find the perfect pancake recipe that didn’t produce “flat” pancakes, and yet was still made with plenty of sourdough discard and fully fermented.  After tweaking this recipe a bit, it has become our favorite from-scratch sourdough pancake recipe.  If you’re looking for dairy-free or oil-free sourdough pancakes, there are substitute options listed below.

Make-Ahead Pancakes

I like to mix up all the ingredients for these fluffy sourdough pancakes the night before, so I can get a healthy and filling breakfast on the table in 15 or 20 minutes the following morning.  The other benefit of making it the night before is that the flour you add to the recipe becomes fully fermented by the sourdough starter.  This makes these pancakes easier to digest.  If, however, you forget to mix them up the night before, you can still whip them up in the morning and they cook up just fine.

What is sourdough discard?  

Sourdough starter discard is fermented flour and water that has to be removed or discarded from your sourdough starter before you can feed your starter more flour and water.  It should never actually be thrown out (or discarded) though, because it can be used in hundreds of different recipes.  I always try to keep a fair amount of sourdough discard in a jar in my refrigerator. That way anytime I want to make these sourdough discard pancakes or any other discard recipe, I can do so quickly.  Most recipes that call for sourdough discard rely on something else to actually “raise” the end product if applicable. In this case, we’re using baking powder and baking soda as the leavening agent to make light and fluffy pancakes.

What are the health benefits of sourdough?

Anytime you add a fermented element like sourdough to a recipe, it becomes more nutritious because it contains live probiotics and good bacteria that help with gut health and digestion.  Gluten and phytic acid are naturally present in wheat, and are usually what is to blame for people not being able to digest gluten well.  When the grain is fermented through the sourdough process, the gluten and phytic acid are broken down, making it easier to digest.  A lot of people that struggle with gluten intolerance (not people with celiac), can digest food made with sourdough without any issue, especially if the recipe is allowed to sit out for a few hours and “long ferment”.  

In addition, phytic acid is an anti-nutrient that blocks absorption of the nutrients found in wheat. During the sourdough fermentation process, the phytic acid gets broken down and the nutrients are more bio-available to the body. This is why baking with sourdough is so important for our health.

Cast Iron Skillet

The best way to cook sourdough pancakes, or almost anything made with sourdough in general, is on a cast iron pan.  I like to use a generous amount of butter on my cast iron pan right before adding the pancake batter which gives them an incredible flavor, but you can also use coconut oil or beef tallow if you’re running short on butter.  Cast iron keeps a nice even heat and gives these pancakes a crispy edge that is hard to beat.  

There is also something so nostalgic about mixing up an old-fashioned sourdough pancake and cooking it on a cast iron pan like they would’ve done in the homestead days of long ago.  Once you learn how to cook on cast iron, you will never go back to cooking on anything else.  They are the most long-lasting set of cookware you can find, and they give your recipes a flavor and texture that is hard to beat.

Why you will love this recipe?

• Easy:  these heart pancakes take just minutes to whip up.  They are an obvious choice for breakfast, but work well for any meal you need to make quickly.
• Fun:  make breakfast fun with these simple pancakes.  Your kids will love seeing the little blueberries peeking out of the pancakes.  They also work well for special birthday breakfasts.
• Delicious:  the tangy taste of the sourdough along with the creamy buttermilk give these pancakes a delicious flavor.  Once you try these pancakes, you won’t need to search for another recipe.
• Healthy:  because they are made with sourdough discard and can be mixed up the night before, your body will get all the benefits of a long fermented probiotic-rich meal. 
• Flexible:  If you are missing one or more of the ingredients, you can substitute a similar ingredient and still get a good result. 
• Hearty:  these homemade pancakes are sure to stick to your ribs and keep you going all morning, no matter how much work you have to do.

For more of our favorite sourdough discard recipes, check out the sourdough portion of our website:

Ways to enjoy these buttery blueberry pancakes?

• Slathered with homemade butter from our Jersey milk cows and topped with pure maple syrup and whipped cream.
• If you’re looking for something extra delicious, make buttermilk syrup to cover these yummy pancakes.
• They are also really good with peanut butter and then bananas or applesauce on top.  
• You could also make them in the summer and add fresh berries on top of the pancakes and whipped cream.  

Tips

• Don’t have blueberries?  Just make them without or better yet, substitute the blueberries with some raspberries or strawberries.
• Fresh or frozen berries work fine in these pancakes.
• I like to use buttermilk in my pancake recipe because it makes them even more fluffy and adds a greater depth of flavor.  If you don’t have buttermilk, you can just use regular milk or add a little bit of lemon juice to the milk and let it set for a couple minutes to make imitation buttermilk.  You can also use dairy free milk in this recipe, and it will still turn out fine.
• You can use any kind of fat in this recipe.  Melted butter, coconut oil, beef tallow or regular oil.  Wanting to make it oil free?  Try using applesauce in place of the oil.  It’ll turn out just fine.
• It’s important to use a mix of baking powder and baking soda for the fluffliest pancake
• You can use sugar, honey or maple syrup as sweetener and they will turn out amazing
• Don’t skip the vanilla.  This along with cooking them in butter is my favorite part of the recipe
• Watch the bubbles on the top as they are cooking, as soon as the bubbles start to pop, they are ready to flip.  

Sourdough Breakfast Recipes You’ll Love:

• Sourdough English Muffins
• Heart Shaped Chocolate Chip Sourdough Pancakes
• Sourdough Crepes
• Sourdough Pancakes

FAQ:

Can you freeze sourdough pancakes?

Yes you can freeze sourdough pancakes.  The best way is to lay them out on a parchment covered baking sheet and flash freeze for a couple of hours.  Then stack them up and put them in a freezer-safe bag or container.  You can also freeze them by putting a piece of parchment paper between each pancake and then freezing in an airtight container.  They will keep for 2-3 months in the freezer.  You can re-heat them in a toaster oven, microwave or oven for a quick and satisfying meal.

Can you use this recipe to make sourdough waffles?

Yes, this recipe makes excellent sourdough waffles

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here

Ingredients

• Sourdough Discard – I like to make these pancakes with sourdough discard, but you can also make them with active sourdough starter.  As long as you’re adding some kind of sourdough starter, you’ll get a good result.  
• Buttermilk – if you don’t have buttermilk, you can use regular or non-dairy milk, and just add 1 tsp. of lemon juice to the milk to give it a bit of a tangy flavor.  I like to let my buttermilk set out on the counter for a day and turn it into cultured buttermilk.  It adds a greater depth of flavor and more probiotics to your recipe
• Unbleached all-purpose white flour – I like to purchase my all purpose flour from Azure Standard.  They are like a Costco or a Sam’s without the storefront, and they help to connect farmers directly to the people buying the food.  They provide only high quality ingredients and have many organic options.
• Sugar – you can also use honey or maple syrup
• Fat – I like to use melted butter, beef tallow or coconut oil.  If you’re wanting to make them oil free you can also use applesauce in place of the oil.  Butter is my favorite for frying them in.
• Eggs – farm fresh is always best
• Baking Soda
• Vanilla Extract – learn to make your own vanilla extract here.
• Salt
• Blueberries – fresh or frozen is fine.

Tools you may need

• Large mixing bowl
• Cups and measuring spoons
• Whisk
• Ladle
• Spatula
• Cast iron or non-stick skillet – I like to use a cast-iron skillet as it gives the pancakes a beautiful crisp exterior and is a healthier option.

How To Make The Best Blueberry Sourdough Pancakes

Mix together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then add in all the wet ingredients including the blueberries.  Stir well using a danish whisk.  

Cover and let the batter ferment at room temperature overnight, OR bake right away.  Leaving it set overnight will give you all the long fermentation health benefits from the sourdough.

When ready to cook the pancakes, heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-low heat.  You can also use more than one skillet to get these cooked faster if you’re in a hurry.

Add butter to the skillet.

Ladle pancake batter onto the hot skillet.

Let each pancake cook until the bubbles start popping on top of the batter and the edges are set.

Then gently flip the pancake with a spatula.

Cook for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown on both sides.

Transfer to a platter and top with your favorite toppings.

If you try these tasty blueberry pancakes, let me know by leaving a comment. And if you like it? Give it a 5 star rating!