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Welcome, breakfast lovers who don’t want to share! Here you will learn the secrets of making pancakes for one. Namely, yourself.
This pancake recipe is scalable and you can make it to feed a crowd. The nice thing about this recipe is that the proportions are easy to remember and you can also vary it in many ways.
Add a handful of blueberries or chocolate chips, toasted nuts, shredded coconut–pretty much anything you can think of. Flavor the batter with cinnamon or apple pie spice or citrus zest.
But do make these pancakes. And one time, make them just for yourself, because we don’t always want to share!
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Making Pancakes Using Self-Rising Flour
Why use self-rising flour in this pancake recipe?
If you happen to have self-rising flour, it makes it really easy to whip up pancakes quickly.
Self-rising flour, sometimes called self-raising flour, already contains leavening and salt, so you only need to measure 1 ingredient rather than 3. And the self-rising flour already has the perfect amount of leavening in it so you don’t have to guess. Sweet!
You Can Make Only One Serving of Pancakes. And You Should!
We interrupt your regular programming to bring you the following Public Service Announcement:
You. Yes, you. You who are eyeballing that yellow plastic bottle, contemplating adding some water and shaking it to make pancakes. Put. It. Down.
Walk away from the scary shake-and-pour. Turn your back on the microwaveable pancakes. Because, guess what? Give up? Come a little closer so I can let you in on a little secret.
Oh, sorry. Did I hurt your ears? But, it’s true. You are this close to homemade pancakes. Yes, even if you live alone or all your family is out at the movies.
What Do I Need to Make Pancakes?
Barring a box of mix or a frozen brick of pancakes from the big box store in your freezer, here’s what you’ll need. You probably own most of this stuff already.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- self-rising flour
- sugar
- milk (you can use non-dairy milk)
- vegetable oil
- butter
- real maple syrup (yes, it is worth it)
Equipment You’ll Need
- a well-seasoned cast iron skillet or griddle (an electric fry pan works here too)
- a timer
- a stove (only if not using an electric fry pan!)
- one bowl
- one whisk
- one spoon (a regular teaspoon will do)
- a half-cup measure
- a pancake turner or other thin spatula-type Item
- a plate
- a fork
How to Make Pancakes without Eggs (for One or for All)
Here’s how it’s done. Follow these steps To The Letter, and you, too, can be enjoying fresh, a solitary and delicious meal of pancakes in just a bit longer than it takes to listen to (okay, read) this announcement.
Time needed: 20 minutes.
You are never more than about 15-20 minutes away from homemade pancakes. Here’s how to do it.
- Heat your griddle or skillet.
You want you pan to be nice and hot, so go ahead and give it a head start on medium-high heat while you mix your ingredients.
- Whisk together dry ingredients.
In this case, dry ingredients include self-rising flour and a little sugar. If you don’t have self-rising flour, you can still make these. See the recipe notes. You can also whisk in some spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamom if you’d like.
- Whisk wet ingredients together.
You’ll need milk (I like whole milk, but you can make these dairy-free by using your favorite nut milk. Whisk in some neutral vegetable oil and any extract. If you’re using citrus zest, you can whisk it in with your milk and oil.
- Mix wet into dry.
Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir until it just comes together. A few lumps are just fine.
- Cook pancakes. Add mixins if you want.
Add a bit of butter to your pan and cook your pancakes, 1/3 of the batter at a time. Once you pour the batter into the pan, that’s when you can add fruit or chocolate chips. Let the pancakes cook until set and dry around the edges. Flip and cook an additional couple of minutes.
- Plate and Enjoy.
I like to put butter on my plate, add a pancake, add more butter, add a pancake, add butter, then top with a pancake. But I like butter! You can ust add a pat of butter on top, douse in syrup, and enjoy.xcd
So, next time you think about taking the Low Road with the shake-n-pour, remember, you now know the secret of Homemade Pancakes for One in about 20 minutes.
Other Pancake Recipes for You To Enjoy
If you’re a fan of this pancake recipe, here are a couple more from my site and from some of my friends. Enjoy!
- German Pancakes (made with mashed potatoes)
- Yeast-Raised Chocolate Chip Pancakes (not too sweet. Really good!)
- Vegan Vanilla Chai Pancakes (no eggs, no dairy)
- Gluten-Free Buckwheat Pancakes with Pears
- Bubula (Matzo Meal Pancakes)
- Banana Chocolate Chip Whole Wheat Pancakes
Recipe for Pancakes for One
Pancakes for One
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup self rising flour
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1/3 cup whole milk, about 1/4" shy of the top of the half cup measure
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil, I use avocado oil
- a sprinkle of cinnamon or other pancake-y type spice, optional
- splash of vanilla/citrus zest/chocolate chips--whatever, optional
For Serving
- 1 Tablespoon butter
Instructions
The Procedure
- Preheat the skillet over medium/medium-high heat. Set the timer for five minutes.
- In your bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients, including zest, if using. Do not mix in any "chunky" mixins here--only spices or zest
- Stir oil into milk, and add vanilla, if you're using it.
- Pour over dry ingredients and whisk slowly until just incorporated.
- Let the batter sit until the timer goes off.
- Rub a little butter onto your skillet.
- Pour 1/3 of your pancake batter into the skillet.
- While your pancake cooks, heat up the maple syrup so it's ready to go.
- Let pancake cook until the bubbles around the edges pop but don't fill back in with batter, about 3-4 minutes. If using blueberries, cinnamon chips, chocolate chips, etc, sprinkle on a few evenly over the top of the pancake before flipping.
- Flip pancake and cook about 2 minutes.
- While the second side of the pancake cooks, put a wee pat of butter on your plate.
- Place this pancake onto plate on top of butter.
- Make 2 more pancakes the same way you made the first.
- Put a wee pat of butter on top of your first pancake.
- Pile on the other 2 pancakes as they finish cooking, adding a small pat of butter in between each pancake.
- Turn off stove.
- Pour syrup on top of pancakes.
- Eat.
Notes
Rather than plating each pancake before plating the next, you can keep the cooked pancakes warm in a toaster oven and then plate everything all at once.
As a special treat, rather than using plain maple syrup, try some of the Bourbon barrel-aged maple syrups that are out now. Very good! It's pricey, but these are pancakes for one, and that means you're not sharing with your kids or your husband. Indulge!
Nutritionals calculated without the butter (or syrup) for serving. Just so you know.
I made my pancakes for one with lemon zest in the batter and fresh blueberries sprinkled on top of each pancake as it cooked.
Thank you for spending some time here today. Enjoy your pancakes that you don’t have to share with anyone! Take care, and have a lovely day.
Nathan says
June 26, 2018 at 3:25 pmHey Jenni,
Found your site through this recipe – I searched for something easy to make during camping trips. I tried these this morning, but I think I messed up somehow. When I make the batter according to your directions (substituting 1/2 cup regular flour + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder + 1/4 teaspoon ground Kosher salt) it comes together very sticky and doughy. Also, I realized I left the sugar out, but I don’t know if that accidental omission would cause things to get super thick. Even without the sugar, though, they tasted good (a bit bland, but not bad). On the third “pour” I added a dash of water to thin the dough back to a batter consistency and then threw in some blueberries – that one was really nice. For a pre-diabetic, that would work just fine for me, without the sugar and all.
Any idea what could make the batter get so thick? I triple-checked the volumes I used (which is when I realized I left the sugar out accidentally). I’m going to try again tonight (because why not?) and see if I get different results.
Jennifer Field says
June 26, 2018 at 5:33 pmHey, Nathan. Sugar might make a bit of a difference, but if you think the batter is too thick, it’s totally fine to add a bit more milk to it. If you are prediabetic, consider adding a bit of cinnamon to the batter as cinnamon can have some regulating affect on blood sugar levels. Leaving out the sugar can also lead to a bit of blandness since the sugar and salt together heightens flavor.
And I heartily approve of pancakes for dinner. Enjoy!
Nathan says
June 26, 2018 at 6:04 pmSounds good! Thanks for the reply!
Jennifer Field says
June 26, 2018 at 7:14 pmNo problem–I try to stay on top of things when folks have questions and/or to help troubleshoot! Enjoy your camping and your dinner pancakes. 🙂
Nathan says
June 29, 2018 at 2:30 pmHi Jenni,
I added more milk, and remembered the sugar, added a couple of pinches of cinnamon, and yeah, they worked great! Just what I’m looking for at camp (or when I need an emergency pancake meal, of course). The family approves as well. Next trial will be car camping. Thanks again for the input! Great recipe.
Jennifer Field says
June 29, 2018 at 3:04 pmAwesome! Glad they turned out well for you! =) Try them with some lemon zest in the batter and blueberries sprinkled on them before flipping. Maybe my favorite way!