This recipe uses half a can of pumpkin, which leaves about a cup for you to use in other recipes.

For ideas, check out our list of easy canned pumpkin recipes.

Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe

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Pumpkin Pancakes Ingredients:

You can get the full list of ingredients with measurements in the recipe card below.

• Pancake mix – You can use your own homemade pancake mix, but I use a packaged “just add water” pancake mix. That just makes it a little easier in the mornings when I’m making this.
• Pumpkin pie spice – You can use a homemade blend if you want, but it’s easier to just use a pre-packaged product.
• Brown sugar – You can use either light or dark brown sugar. You don’t want to use white sugar though, because it adds a graininess to the pancakes.
• Canned pumpkin – You want 100% pure pumpkin purée. You don’t want pumpkin pie filling. That’s a completely different product and won’t work in this recipe.
• Water – This thins out the pancake batter to get it to the consistency you’re used to.
• Canola oil – You want to use oil when cooking pancakes so they don’t stick to the pan. This is especially necessary with this batter because the brown sugar can burn and stick to the pan without oil. Canola oil, or another neutral oil, is best because it doesn’t add unwanted flavor to the pancakes.
• Optional toppings – We top these with whipped cream and pumpkin spice finishing sugar. You could also add maple syrup, maple cinnamon butter, and candied pecans.

How To Make Pumpkin Pancakes:

Add the pancake mix to a large mixing bowl.

We use a plain or buttermilk pancake mix for this recipe. You could use a sweet cream variant, but if you do, skip the brown sugar or the pancakes will be overly sweet.

Add the pumpkin pie spice into the bowl.

Add the brown sugar into the bowl as well.

Whisk until combined.

At this point, you can taste the dry ingredients (which, I know is controversial because of the flour, so do with this tip what you will). The flavor of it will change, but you’re tasting for the amount of sweetness and pumpkin pie spice. If you want more of those warming spices, which I don’t need but you might, you can add more now and then stir it into the mix.

Once you start adding the wet ingredients, you don’t want to mix too much.

Add in the pumpkin.

Start slowly adding in the water.

I start with about 3/4 of a cup first and whisk a little, then add in another quarter cup. If the batter feels thick, you can add in up to 1 and 1/3 cups of water total.

When you’re stirring the batter, you want to leave it a little lumpy. Those lumps help the pancakes hold together and not run in the pan, creating a thicker and taller pancake.

You also don’t want to completely stir out all of the dry ingredients. The dry bits in the batter will create air bubbles that pop when they cook, keeping your pancakes light and airy.

These are good tips for any pancakes, not just pumpkin.

Let the batter sit at least ten minutes.

This helps to hydrate the flour and activate the baking powder or soda in the dry mix, resulting in softer, more airy, and more tender pancakes.

Heat the canola oil in the pan.

Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the hot oil.

Cook them for about four minutes on one side until the oil starts to bubble and you can put a spatula under the pancake without pushing it through. This is enough time to create that nice crispy texture around the edge while keeping the middle of the pancake soft.

Flip the pancake and cook for about 90 seconds on the other side until the spatula goes under cleanly.

Keep cooking until you’re done with all the batter. You should be able to make about 16 pancakes total.

Quick note: You want to add more canola oil between batches so none of the pancakes stick. You may also need to cook subsequent batches a little less because the hotter pan will cook them quicker.

Top them with whipped cream and a little sprinkle of pumpkin spice finishing sugar.

You could top them with maple cinnamon butter, maple syrup, and candied pecans too. It all depends on how decadent you want to make them.

Pumpkin Pancakes: Frequently Asked Questions

More Pancake Recipes:

If you love pancakes and want more, you can check out our list of pancake recipes for more ideas.