These overnight sourdough pancakes have become one of our family’s favorite breakfasts. These light and fluffy homemade sourdough pancakes remind us of Krusteaz pancakes. I looked for a long time to find the best 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.

I like to mix up all the ingredients the night before, so I can get a healthy and filling breakfast of eggs and pancakes 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 it becomes fully fermented by the sourdough starter, which 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.

How To Cook These Sourdough Pancakes

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 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.
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.

Ways to enjoy these overnight sourdough pancakes?

Our favorite way to eat these pancakes is slathered with homemade butter from our Jersey milk cows and then topped with real maple syrup. We also enjoy them with a homemade apple syrup made from the juice of the apples in our orchard, or with strawberry or raspberry syrup made with the berries from our garden. 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 and whipped cream. The sky is the limit! We like to serve over easy or scrambled eggs, venison breakfast sausage, yogurt and fresh fruit or applesauce alongside our pancakes to round out the meal. These pancakes are sure to stick to your ribs and keep you going all morning, no matter how much work you have to do.

Tips

I like to use buttermilk in my pancake recipe because it makes them even more fluffy and adds a greater depth of flavor
You can use any kind of fat in this recipe. In the video I used melted beef tallow because it’s what I had. You can also use butter, coconut oil, 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.
You can add in some cinnamon and small apple chunks, or pumpkin spice these pancakes for a nice fall twist. I also like to drop blueberries, raspberries or chocolate chips on the pancakes as they are cooking for a fun and delicious variation.
They are also delicious when served with a buttermilk syrup, or a homemade strawberry sauce and whipped cream

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Ingredients

Sourdough Discard – I like to make these pancakes with sourdough discard, but you can also make them with active 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
Baking Soda
Vanilla Extract
Salt

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.

Favorite Sourdough Recipes:

How to make overnight sourdough pancakes?

The night before, mix together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then add in all the wet ingredients right on top. Stir well.
Cover and let the batter ferment at room temperature overnight.
The next morning heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. You can also use more than one skillet to get them cooked faster if you’re in a hurry.
Add butter to the skillet
Pour a ladle full of the pancake batter into the pre-heated skillet
This is a good time to add any chocolate chips or other add-ins to the first side of each pancake
Cook until the bubbles are popping on top and then gently flip with a spatula
Cook for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown on both sides
Transfer to a platter and top with your favorite pancake toppings

FAQ

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 container or ziplock bag. 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, microwave or oven for a quick and satisfying meal.

Yes, this recipe makes excellent sourdough waffles