Pumpkin Pancakes

Pumpkin pancakes are the best breakfast for fall! Warming spices and pumpkin make these a great family brunch before hitting the pumpkin patch.

Staring into the pantry the other day, I had a bit of a shock.

October is almost over, and I hadn’t made a single batch of pumpkin pancakes. Even worse in blog terms, I hadn’t yet shared my pumpkin pancake recipe!

Pumpkin pancakes are my go-to when the season hits, whether I’m making them at home or hitting the local 24-hour diner. Pumpkin is naturally suited for pancakes, with its sweetness playing off the spices for a taste that is anything but your standard stack of flapjacks.

It seems that “pumpkin spice” season has hit us hard this year, with even more products popping up each time we head to the store.

There are even pumpkin spice dog treats. While I know pumpkin itself is beneficial to dogs, trust me, dogs do not care about pumpkin spice flavor.

They’d probably care about these pancakes, but only because pancakes are people food and people food is pretty awesome to a dog.

pumpkin spice pancake recipe

Either way, these pancakes use actual pumpkin and an array of spices, rather than a packaged pumpkin spice blend.

Don’t be intimidated by tossing together individual spices instead of using a store-bought blend. All you’ll need is cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and nutmeg.

I bet you already have most of what you’ll need in the pantry already!

If you do turn to a blend, make your own pumpkin spice mix rather than buying it at the store. Fresh spices have the best flavor, so at least make sure your spices haven’t been gathering dust in your pantry.

how to make pumpkin pancakes

Once you’ve found your spices, Pumpkin Spice Pancakes really are a breeze to pull together.

My biggest pancake pro-tip: get your griddle or skillet heating while you mix together the pancake batter.

Ok, admittedly that’s my husband’s pro-tip. As I divulged when I shared my Mascarpone Pancakes, I make the batter and he cooks the pancakes.

He’s just better at it than I am.

If you heat the griddle while you (or your spouse) mixes the batter together, it’ll be piping hot and ready to go as soon as the batter is done. Voila! Less time spent waiting for pumpkin pancakes when hungry kids are on the loose.

This pumpkin pancake recipe makes 16 pancakes, plenty for a family of four on a hungry morning. If you do end up having extras, you can use my method for how to freeze pancakes, so you can simply reheat them for weekday mornings.

pumpkin pancake toppings

I like Pumpkin Spice Pancakes just with syrup, but they’re also good with whipped cream and a sprinkling of chopped pecans.

They’re also unexpectedly good spread with nut butter (cashew is my favorite) and folded over for a quick afternoon snack, or breakfast on the go.

If you’re looking for another pumpkin breakfast idea, check out my slow cooker pumpkin French toast that you can make the night before.