Apple Pancakes
This apple pancake recipe features freshly grated apple and ground cinnamon. These apple pancakes are wholesome, delicious and easy to make!
Posted by Kathryne Taylor on September 9, 2025
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Letโs celebrate the cooler weather with a stack of warm apple pancakes! These apple-flavored pancakes are the perfect autumnal breakfast treat. Theyโre a simple weekend breakfast project that keeps well for quick weekday mornings (they freeze and thaw well, too).
This apple pancake recipe is made from scratch with freshly grated apple, which is enhanced by a touch of ground cinnamon. Tart apples like Honeycrisp or Granny Smith offer the most impactful flavor. Youโll see that I used Honeycrisp apples in this batchโtheyโre our familyโs favorite, and they yield terrific pancakes.
You might already have everything you need to make these pancakes in your pantry. Letโs make some.
Apple Pancake Tips
Youโll find the full recipe below. Here are a few tips to help achieve pancake success.
Flour options include white whole wheat flour, regular whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour. I try to use whole-grain flours when I can, but all-purpose flour offers the most neutral flavor, allowing the apple to shine. Otherwise, you can use white whole wheat flour (now called โgolden wheatโ by King Arthur Flour) for all of the nutrition of whole wheat without the nutty flavor.
Lightly coat your griddle or skillet with oil. I cook my pancakes with avocado oil because it offers a high smoke point and neutral flavor (butter burns quickly). Whichever you use, be sure to wipe off the excess with a paper towel so it doesnโt start smoking.
Start by cooking just one pancake. Once youโve practiced with one pancake and ensured that your skillet is adequately preheated, you can make more at once. Leave a couple of inches between each pancake to allow for easy flipping.
The pancakes are ready to flip when about 1/2-inch of the perimeter has turned from glossy to matte. The underside should be nicely golden at this point. If youโre uncertain, itโs best to wait a little longer than end up with a doughy mess.
As time goes on, dial down the heat. The skillet gets hotter the longer itโs on the stove. If your pancakes are burning on the outside before they are cooked through on the inside, your skillet is too hot. Turn down the heat a bit after every few pancakes.
Watch How to Make Apple Pancakes
Pancake Serving Suggestions
These apple-infused pancakes are lovely with a drizzle of maple syrup, but even better with something extra. Hereโs a list of toppings or sides to consider:
- Almond butter, pecan butter (my top pick) orย peanut butter
- Butter
- Diced apples or warm homemade applesauce
- Greek yogurt
- Maple syrup
- Scrambled eggs
- Whipped cream
More Apple Recipes to Enjoy
Here are a few more classic apple recipes to make this autumn:
- Apple Crisp
- Favorite Green Salad with Apples, Cranberries and Pepitas
- Healthy Apple Muffins
- How to Make Applesauce
- Perfect Baked Apples
Please let me know how your pancakes turn out in the comments! I love hearing from you. You can find more pancake recipes here.
Apple Pancakes
This apple pancake recipe incorporates freshly grated apple and ground cinnamon. These apple pancakes are wholesome, delicious and easy to make. Recipe yields 8 to 9 pancakes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup buttermilk or make your own*ย
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
- 1 ยฝ teaspoons baking powder
- ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
- ยผ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ยผ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup grated Honeycrisp or Granny Smith apple (about 1 medium)ย
- Avocado oil or vegetable oil, for greasing the pan
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- In a smaller bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg, melted butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. Whisk until thoroughly blended.
- Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture. Add the grated apple. Stir just until combined (a few small lumps of flour are okay). Let the batter rest for 5 minutes so your pancakes will be nice and fluffy.
- Meanwhile, if youโre using an electric griddle, preheat it to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Otherwise, heat a large stainless steel or nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Youโre ready to start cooking pancakes once a drop of water sizzles on contact with the hot surface. If necessary, lightly oil the cooking surface and wipe off the excess with a paper towel (nonstick surfaces likely wonโt require any oil).
- Scoop a scant ยผ cup of batter onto the warm skillet, leaving a couple of inches around each pancake for expansion. Cook until small bubbles form on the surface of the pancakes, 2 to 3 minutes (youโll know itโs ready to flip when about ยฝ-inch of the perimeter is matte instead of glossy). Flip the pancakes, then cook until lightly golden on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes more.
- Repeat the process with the remaining batter, adding more oil and reducing the heat as necessary (I usually end up on low heat after a whileโif the pancakes are turning too dark on the outside before they cook through, itโs too hot). Serve the pancakes immediately with toppings of your choice, or keep them warm in a 200 degree Fahrenheit oven.
- Leftover pancakes can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or frozen* for up to 2 months. To reheat, stack leftover pancakes and wrap them in a paper towel before gently reheating in the microwave.
Notes
Recipe adapted from myย Whole Wheat Pancakes.
*Make your own buttermilk: Combine 1 cup milk of choice (dairy or non-dairy like almond milk) with 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or distilled vinegar. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes, then stir again before using. See photos of the process here.ย
Make it dairy free: Make your own buttermilk with non-dairy milk and replace the butter with avocado oil or extra-virgin olive oil.ย
Make it egg free: I havenโt verified this, but you could likely omit the egg.ย
Make it vegan: Follow the dairy-free and egg-free suggestions provided above.
Make it gluten free: Substitute Bobโs Red Millโs gluten-free 1-to-1 flour.ย Or, you could try stirring the grated apple into my recipe forย Almond Flour Pancakesโplease let me know in the comments if you try that!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Hi โ Iโm happy to see this recipe, as I have so many apples right now. Does it have to be Honeycrisp or Granny Smith apples? PS โ your banana pancakes, with whole wheat flour, are in heavy rotation at my house :)
Hi Shannon, those are the varieties Iโve had good luck with, but there are lots of options. Any type of firm, baking apple should work.
Have you ever tried ployes
They are yummy. David H
I havenโt, but they sound interesting. I do enjoy buckwheat flour.
Hi Kate! This is our new favorite Sunday breakfast especially with apples coming on strong. For some reason i chopped my apples really fine instead of grating and it workd out well. This weekend iโm planning on grating the next batch. Again, another great recipe, thank you!!!
Hi Kate,
Thanks for another delicious sounding recipe!
Iโve been following you for a few years now, and you still stand out for providing new sensational recipes that are always reliable, nutritious and donโt cost the earth!
I have a question for you, do you think cooking apples would work? In my garden is a heavily laden tree of them and Iโm frankly stumped for finding a use for them! I donโt treat myself to puddings often nor do I want a freezer full of apple puree!
Any advice you have would be very much appreciated.
Much love, Roxy (Frome, UK) xx
Hi Roxy, Iโm so glad you enjoy the recipes. I think those apples would work well.
Fantastic! Iโll give it a try x
This reminded me that I love making your Caramelized Peach and Oat Pancakes using a finely diced apple instead of peaches! I mix the apple into the batter just before I start making the pancakes. I wonder what it would be like if I grated the apple instead, as in this recipe.
The apple pancakes were delicious. I used just picked zestar apples. They were delicate and the maple syrup taste in the pancakes was very tasty.
Delicious pancakes, however, the batter stuck to my grill so I panicked and added more oil to the batter for the next batch, which helped keep them from sticking. I love baked apples so this recipe intrigued me. The maple syrup flavoring was a great addition, thanks!
Delicious! I make apple syrup from fresh apple cider I get from local growers and now I have pancakes worthy of the effort.
Thank you.
I had a very bad experience with maple syrup when I was young and so I do not use it. Can you just add bakers sugar instead? Honey? date syrup?
Hi Nancy, you can use honey.
thank you !
Hi Kate, you likely know this but I just learned that King Arthur has changed the name of its white whole wheat flour to โgolden whole wheat flourโ. Iโd had a hard time finding white whole wheat flour, saw the golden at Whole Foods then looked online. Apparently, the โwhiteโ made the flour seem processed, so they changed the name. Since your recipes introduced me to white whole wheat flour (thanks!) , I thought Iโd mention it.
Hi Valerie, I recently noticed that as well! Hopefully it doesnโt confuse too many people.
These pancakes are wonderful. A perfect fall treat.