Pancakes for one (traditional recipe + variations)

This is my favourite recipe for classic pancakes recipe made for one. It’s the perfect amount when I want to make pancakes just for me.

This is the traditional recipe for pancakes with a delicate vanilla and buttery flavour, so it’s a good base for any kind of toppings.

Although I wanted to share with you how to make pancakes from scratch for one without using a pancake mix, I’ve also included a guide on how you can make them with pre-mixed pancake mix from the shops.

These single serving pancakes are great to be served warm or cold with your choice of pancake toppings for a delicious breakfast, brunch or afternoon snack!

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Why make this recipe?

• Perfect portion of traditional pancake recipe made for one person (single serving)
• Great base recipe, that you can make your own
• Easy to make with options for making these pancakes for one from scratch (and using pancake mix)

What makes this pancake recipe for one work

• The right amount of ingredients to make pancake portion for one person
• I’ve included plenty of options for keeping the egg in or replacing the egg with simple ingredients depending on the pancake flavour you want
• Adding a pinch of salt helps to sharpen the flavours and won’t make your pancakes taste bland

Any specialist equipment needed to make pancakes?

You don’t need specialist equipment to fry your pancakes, any large frying pan or a flat griddle will be fine to use.

I’ve even made pancakes in a saucepan and a large soup pot, when I didn’t have frying pan and it worked fine.

Time saving tip

If you don’t have buttermilk for this recipe, you can easily make a homemade version by mixing milk and lemon juice together.

Ideally, you want to leave the homemade buttermilk to rest for 5 minutes before using, so I always make it first before I even start preparing the other ingredients.

Pro tip

You will need to melt butter to add to your pancake’s batter. But to melt such a small amount (1 teaspoon) in a microwave (which is what I normally do) is quite difficult.

I’ve worked out that the best way to melt the butter is to add a little more than 1 teaspoon into the frying pan, that I’ll be using for my pancakes and let it slowly melt. When melted I swirl most of the butter into my pancake batter and leave the rest on my frying pan for later.

This way I’ve got already my frying pan greased and my pancakes won’t stick to the pan when I’m frying them later on.

Ingredients & Possible Substitutions

Flour

I’ve used all-purpose – plain flour (cake flour) in this recipe, because I wanted the vanilla and butter flavour to come through.

Saying that, this recipe will also work with gluten free flour. To make sure that your pancakes will come out as perfect as they should, I’d recommend to use pre-mixed gluten free flour that also include xanthan gum and it’s ready to use in recipes without further adjustments. low gluten type of fine flour or a mix of different flours.

You can also use self-raising flour for this recipe, but please remember to leave out the baking powder otherwise the pancakes will taste strange (self-raising flour already has baking powder and baking soda in).

Sugar

This recipe will work with any white granulated or white caster of sugar. I’ve used regular caster sugar, but you can change the flavour of the pancakes by using other types of sugars. I often use vanilla-flavoured sugar and leave out the vanilla flavouring. It makes things a little easier and it’s one less thing to remember to add in.

Darker sugars, such as light brown sugar, coconut sugar or similar types of sugar will add colour and a little too much flavour to your pancakes. You can use them, but bear in mind, that your pancakes will taste slightly different.

If you want to use liquid sugars, such as honey, agave or maple syrup, you might need to add a little less milk to compensate for the liquid sugar syrup.

Salt

I always add a tiny pinch of salt to my pancake batter because it helps to bring all the flavours together. I use regular fine table or cooking salt.

Buttermilk

The traditional recipe for pancakes has buttermilk in, which makes the pancake flavour amazing and it helps to raise the pancakes as the buttermilk reacts with the baking powder.

I usually don’t have buttermilk at home, so I make my own by using regular milk (sometimes dairy free) and adding a few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Full fat milk and lemon juice (or little bit of vinegar) is the closest to the buttermilk flavour, but you can also use semi-skimmed milk or mix in a little bit of cream (double or single cream or half and half or whipping cream).

• whole milk (full fat milk)
• semi-skimmed milk
• skimmed milk
• 50% cream & 50% water or milk

You can also use plant based milks, if you like, the recipe will work fine with pretty much any type of milk (soya, almonds, rice, hazelnut, hemp, oats, coconut milk etc.)

Vanilla essence

The vanilla essence is amazing in this recipe, and I do try to always add it in as it does make a difference in flavour. It is a luxury kind of ingredient, so I often swap it for a vanilla-flavoured sugar and add that in instead.

SUGAR FREE PANCAKES RECIPES

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Make these pancakes for one your own

These pancakes are pretty amazing as they are, but you can easily make them different if you use cinnamon, mixed spice or other sweet spices, change the type of sugar, add lemon or orange zest or swap regular milk for single cream or yoghurt.

You can also add some chocolate chips in to the pancake batter or fresh blueberries as you are making your pancakes. Chopped-up pecan nuts or mixed seeds work great with this recipe too.

Can I use just egg white or yolk if I don’t have a 1/2 of a whole egg for my pancakes?

In short, yes, you can! One thing about making pancakes for one person, is that we are using such as small amount of flour, that one whole egg would be too much. Ideally you need 1/2 of whole egg, that’s whisked and then roughly proportioned, so that you use just half.

But, I’ve successfully made this pancake recipe with just egg white or egg yolk and the good news is that it works either way!

I often have a leftover egg yolk if I’m making my Egg white omelette for breakfast or have egg whites when I’m making Traditional Vanilla Ice-cream and I always use up what little egg I have in my pancakes.

Since this is such as small amounts recipe, you might notice that if you use egg white only the pancakes will be light and delicate in flavour. If you use egg yolk only, the pancakes will have a wonderful golden colour and will taste more deeper butter flavour as the egg yolk contains protein and good fat.

How to replace egg in this pancake recipe for one if you don’t have 1/2 egg

That’s the problem with making small batches of food – sometimes you just can’t go beyond certain amount – like how do you get 1/2 egg without actually having a whole egg in the first place!

If you don’t have spare 1/2 egg or you don’t want to crack one egg, only to keep half of it drying out in the fridge (and then forgetting about it…which is what I tend to do…), here are few ideas to replace the 1/2 egg in this recipe.

The easiest way to replace the eggs in this pancake recipe is to use vegetable oil, water and extra baking powder.

Another amazing ingredient that I’ve been using recently to replace eggs in my pancake recipes is mayonnaise. Use 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise to replace the 1/2 eggs in this pancake recipe for one.

I promise you, you will be pleasantly surprised with the flavour as the mayonnaise makes the pancakes taste more buttery. Just make sure you use regular mayonnaise, not flavoured ones.

If you don’t have vegetable oil (or other type of oil) or mayonnaise, you can also up the butter to 1 tablespoon (instead of the 1 teaspoon).

How to make a traditional pancake recipe for one (from scratch)

In a suitable mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt using a whisk or a spoon.

Add the rest of the ingredients – buttermilk (or the homemade buttermilk version – mix the milk together with the lemon juice first and leave to stand for 5 minutes) , 1/2 whisked egg (or the egg replacement – water, vegetable oil and extra baking powder mixed together first and then added in to the pancake batter), vanilla extract and melted butter and use a hand whisk to combine until smooth.

Heat your frying pan (or pancake pan) on low to medium heat and lightly grease it with butter to make sure your pancakes won’t stick.

Pour your pancake batter on the frying pan making 2 large pancakes or 4 medium sized pancakes – depending on your frying pan size. If using a regular frying pan, leave a space between the pancakes so that they can cook properly.

Cook your pancakes for about 1-2 minute or until you see bubbles form on the pancake surface and the pancake batter starts to look dry. Gently lift the bottom of one pancake – it should be very lightly brown. If it is, flip or turn the pancake using a non-stick spatula and cook on the other side for another minute or so.

Can I use pancake mix to make pancakes for one?

Yes, you can! Most pancake mixes have the dry ingredients already pre-mixed in and you only need to add eggs and milk and sometimes butter.

All you need to do is to measure out a heaped 1/4 cup (about 35-40 grams) which will replace the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Follow the recipe to add 1/2 egg (or 1/2 egg replacement, milk or buttermilk and vanilla essence – if using) and finish making the recipe as instructed.

Pancake mixes are great to have in the kitchen cupboard as they are very easy to use and have a very good shelf-life.

How else can you make this pancake for one recipe? Allergies, dietary requirements

This pancake recipe for one (as it is) is not suitable for a gluten or dairy-free diet. It’s also not suitable for vegan diet, although it’s fine for vegetarian diet. Here is how you can make a few tweaks to this recipe to make it suit your diet:

Pancakes for one gluten free

Swap the plain flour for gluten-free plain flour mix and either add 1/8 of teaspoon (use 1/4 teaspoon measure and fill it only half) of xantham gum or use it as it is if your gluten-free flour already has a xantham gum mixed in.

GLUTEN FREE PANCAKES RECIPES

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No egg pancake recipe for one

This pancake recipe can be easily made without egg – see my notes about how to replace the egg above. Once you choose how to replace the egg, continue with the recipe as it is.

Banana pancakes for one

The easiest way to make this recipe into banana pancakes for one, is to swap the 1/2 egg with 1/4 of mashed banana and leave the rest of the ingredients as they are.

You can add a tiny pinch of cinnamon to bring out the banana flavour a little more. For the best banana flavour, use ripened bananas – even slightly overripened bananas will work great with this recipe.

Serve with extra bananas on the top and drizzled with honey or golden syrup (or only of my golden syrup alternative suggestions if you prefer).

Apple pancakes for one

To make apple pancakes for one, swap the 1/2 egg for 2 tablespoons of apple sauce (homemade apple sauce or shop bought one or you can make quick stewed apples if you like).

Add cinnamon, mixed spice or even better, make your own Apple Pie Spice Mix and add a pinch of the spice mix in. Serve with extra apples on the top – either fresh grated or sliced apples or stewed apples with a little bit of brown sugar or more homemade apple sauce.

Pancakes for one vegan

Use vegetable oil instead of the butter to grease the frying pan. Swap the dairy milk for dairy free – plant based milk. Leave out the 1/2 egg and replace it with 2 teaspoons of water + 2 teaspoons of oil + extra pinch of baking powder.

You can also replace the 1/2 egg with 2 tablespoons of applesauce or 1/4 of a mashed banana.

Pancakes for one without milk

You can easily make this pancake recipe for one without milk by swapping the milk for water. This is the easiest way to make these pancakes if you run out of milk or simply don’t want to use milk in the recipe.

You can also replace the milk with other non-milk liquids:

• Water
• Apple juice – perfect if you are making Apple Pancakes (see above)
• Any other type of fruit juice or smoothie – depending on the flavour you want to achieve
• Tea – basic tea, ice tea or flavoured fruit tea or herbal tea
• Strong coffee

Plant based milk

• Almond Milk
• Rice Milk
• Hazelnut Milk
• Hemp Milk
• Oats Milk

Dairy types of liquid you can to your pancakes instead of milk

• Cream (heavy, double, single, whipping etc.) – can be mixed with water
• Yoghurt
• Greek Yoghurt
• Cream Cheese (mixed with a little bit of water to thin it down)

Dairy free pancakes for one

Swap the regular milk for your favourite plant based milk, bearing in mind that something like coconut milk will affect the flavour of the pancakes. I usually use almond, rice or oat milk to keep the flavour the same.

Use vegetable oil instead of butter to grease the frying pan.

Pancakes for one without baking powder

Swap the baking powder for baking soda in the recipe – the same amount. You can also use self-raising (cake) flour instead of plain (cake/all purpose) flour as this type of flour already has raising agent in (it’s usually a mix of baking powder and baking soda).

You can also make these pancakes for one without any raising agent and you can do this in two ways. One is to leave out the baking powder all together and end up with slightly tougher pancakes (they will still be perfectly edible).

The second option (which is slightly more complex, but makes amazingly fluffy pancakes) is to use egg white only (from one egg), whisk it first into hard peaks and then add it to the rest of the ingredients in the final stages when you’ve mixed everything else in.

The whisked egg white will act as a raising agent and you will have very light pancakes.

Pancakes for one with Bisquick

Measure heaped 1/4 cup (about 35-40 grams) of Bisquick, which will replace the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder from my recipe.

Follow the recipe to add 1/2 egg (or 1/2 egg replacement of your choice, milk or buttermilk and vanilla essence – if using) and finish making the recipe as instructed.

Greek yogurt pancakes for one

Swap the buttermilk in the recipe for Greek yogurt and continue with the recipe as it is.

Single serve oat pancakes

Swap the plain flour for oat flour (or make your own oat flour by processing the oats in a food blender). Oat flour is usually gluten free (or very low on gluten), so you will need to be a bit careful when you are turning your pancakes as they can be a bit difficult to handle (they could fall appart). Making smaller pancakes in this case is best.

Single serve pumpkin pancakes

To make pumpkin pancakes for one, swap the 1/2 egg for 2 tablespoons of apple sauce (homemade pumpkin butter or pumpkin puree. Pumpkin Butter usually has sugar in, so you might not need extra sugar in the pancake recipe or you can make your pancakes a little sweeter.

Add cinnamon, mixed spice or even better make your own Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix and add a pinch of the spice mix in. Serve with extra pumpkin butter on the top and cream cheese for an extra indulgent breakfast treat.

Sugar free pancakes for one

Leave out the sugar in my recipe, but make sure you use vanilla essence (or other flavouring such as lemon essence or lemon zest) or cinnamon or other warming spices mix. You want to make sure that the pancakes do have some flavour to compensate for the sugar.

To keep the sugar low, make sure you choose toppings that are low in sugar or have natural sugar. For example fresh blueberries, strawberries or raspberries with plain yoghurt instead of sugar syrups or bananas which are much higher in sugar.

Serving size

This recipe is the perfect quantity for one person. Depending on how you make them, you can get about 4 small pancakes, 2 medium sizes ones or one large pancake.

The whole pancake recipe is just under 200 calories, so it doesn’t matter how big or small you make your pancakes – the calorie and nutritional calculations are per the whole recipe.

Can I scale up this recipe?

Yes, absolutely! If you are cooking for more people then just for one, you can easily multiply the ingredients.

Double or triple all the pancake recipe ingredients as required. You can just toggle the measurements of the ingredients on the recipe below, and it will show you exactly what you need.

How to serve your pancakes

These pancakes are great hot or warm straight from the frying pan served with a icing sugar dusting and a little bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice or toppings of your choice. This pancake recipe has wonderful vanilla and buttery flavour and it works great with practically any topping, syrup or fruit.

Toppings & Sauces Ideas

Enjoy topped with different sweet sauces, yoghurt, peanut butter, Nutella, cream, jam or homemade marmalade or other pancake toppings.

Here are a few serving suggestions to make your pancakes for one even more delicious:

• Top with butter and maple syrup for a classic pancake taste
• Add fresh fruit like strawberries, bananas or blueberries for a healthy start to your day
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar and add few drops of lemon juice
• Top with a spoon full of whipped cream and add raspberry puree (or other fruit)  
• Add a layer of peanut butter on your pancakes for a nutty flavour 
• Add a spoonful of yogurt to your pancakes for a creamy and tangy taste and drizzle with honey 

HOMEMADE TOPPINGS RECIPES

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This blog post was originally written on 12 November 2020 and last updated on 29 March 2023