One of the least expensive meals you can make would be breakfast. Hands down. For example, the ingredients for breakfast are typically pantry staples, super cheap and everyone loves them! Our family has pancakes at least twice a month, and a triple batch is necessary to feed all six of us. In this post I will share my recipe for Homemade Scratch Pancakes.

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Published October 6, 2021
Updated March 16, 2021
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The joys of buying in bulk

To be honest, I have not bought pancake mix in over a decade. Making pancake mix from scratch is super easy and I am so happy to share the recipe with you. You can batch make the dry ingredients, store it in an air-tight container for whenever you wish, and make them in bulk to feed an army of hungry kids. In this post, I am going to share my secret to bulk batch pancakes that are fluffy and delicious, while not breaking the bank.

With this meal, we had 18 fried eggs and also ham chunks that we had in the freezer. For example, the ham was leftovers from a meal where I had made a large leg ham roast. Cutting the leftovers into smaller pieces and freezing them is such a great way to then have ham for other meals.

Plus, bagging up leftovers and saving them in the freezer does help to cut the cost of meals down significantly. I like to use this frozen ham for split pea & ham soup, breakfast for dinner, or ham, bean and bacon soup. Click the link below for my Split Pea & Ham soup recipe where I then used the ham bone!

How to make Crock-Pot Split Pea and Ham Soup

Cost breakdown for this recipe

Most of the ingredients in pancakes are typically pantry staples. Having baking powder and flour on hand can then make this recipe super inexpensive and easy to accomplish. For simplicity, below is a cost breakdown to make one batch of pancakes that produces around ten pancakes on average. When we have Homemade Scratch Pancakes, we always make a triple batch to then have enough.

Cost of each ingredient
Flour 1 1/2 cups $0.54
1 Tablespoon Sugar $0.06
1 teaspoon Salt $0.04
3 Tablespoons Butter $0.39
1 teaspoon Vanilla $0.20
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon $0.17
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg $0.15
3 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder $0.54
1 egg $0.08

The total cost to make one batch of pancakes is $2.17.
So, when we make a triple batch, it costs our family $6.51 for 32 pancakes that are fluffy and homemade from scratch.
On the other hand, if you were to buy a premade pancake mix for $3.09, which would make around 8-10 pancakes, to be fair, you would need to buy four boxes to try to come close to making 32 pancakes for a total of $12.36. Additionally, that doesn’t count the cost to add eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon, because let’s be honest, just adding water is just not the same.

Why this recipe works

Homemade Scratch Pancakes batter, in bulk, is a fantastic way to stretch any budget. But another awesome way to have this mix on-hand is for its versatility.

This dry mix can be used for many other meals like waffles and also to batter hot dogs to make your own corn dogs. To make corn dogs with a pancake batter, just add the mixed batter to a large glass and skewer a hot dog with a skewer stick, then dip the hot dog in the batter and deep fry it until golden brown. Trust me, this one is a winner!

This Scratch Pancake mix, when stored in an airtight container, can last for a week or two without any issues. We have even taken it in a zip lock bag up north camping and then made pancakes over the fire in a cast iron pan. Fire pancakes are just the best! To the bag, add your wet ingredients, mix with your hands and snip the tip of the gallon-sized bag and then pipe out the batter onto a hot pan.

Pancake mix in bulk has so many uses, and I am so happy to share just a few ideas of how we have in the past used them. If you have any other uses, let me know in the comments! I would love to hear from you.

Our family goes through at least a dozen to a dozen and a half of eggs with every breakfast meal. Thank God eggs are still inexpensive! We do not feel they break the bank like buying steaks would be. Whew! Not many steak dinners are in our future, at least not anytime soon that is.

So, for now, our family saves money by having breakfast for dinner a few times a month! So, for now, we buy four dozen eggs each week, and yes, we eat them all!

Homemade Scratch Pancake Recipe

Ingredients for Scratch Pancakes

1 1/2 cup flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/4 cup milk
1 egg
3 Tbsp butter

Directions for Scratch Pancakes

1. Warm a large electric griddle to 350 degrees. I love using one of these large griddles! It helps to make eight pancakes at a time. They are amazing to make so many meals such as Rubens, fried eggs, pancakes, grilled cheese, tortillas and more!! Coincidentally, we have two and they are literally used every week in our house.

2. In a large bowl, sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 Tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.

Using a sifter helps to keep any large clumps and chunks out of your mixture and helps to smoothen the batter and gives a nicer fluffier pancake.
Using a bowl with a silicone base helps to keep the bowl steady while adding your ingredients and mixing. This bowl is huge and is the perfect size for a triple batch of pancakes!

**Pro-Tip** Adding Nutmeg to the pancake’s levels them up to pro! They taste so amazing and not prepackaged or store-bought. By adding cinnamon and nutmeg, you can increase the flavor of your pancakes and make them SO delicious! Just make sure to not add more than 1/4 tsp nutmeg per batch.

3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in 1 1/4 cup milk, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix well. There are three eggs in the picture because I had made a triple batch.
**Pro-Tip** You can reuse the measuring cup from the milk with the butter to save on dishes!
Recently I made Homemade Vanilla Extract. Check out the recipe by clicking the link below.

Homemade Vanilla Extract – How to make it at home

4. In a microwavable bowl, melt the 3 Tablespoons butter, and then let it sit to cool before adding to the batter. Do not add warm butter with the eggs as it can cause the eggs to cook before you want them to. Trust me, let the melted butter cool for a few minutes before you add it to the batter.

5. Spray the griddle with a non-stick spray if needed. Between each batch make sure to re-spray the griddle.

6. Using a ladle or measuring cup, scoop out batter making each 1/4 cup and then pour onto the hot griddle. Typically, to lessen the dishes to wash, try using the measuring cup you used for the flour! This way you can make 3-4 pancake plops with each scoop. Plop is the technical term I do believe.

7. Wait until the bubbles have popped before flipping. By letting the bubbles pop, you can know for sure that the middle of the pancake is cooked and not still raw. This was a trick my dad taught me when I was younger. Thanks, Dad, for helping me create the perfect pancakes! To check for pancake doneness perfection, you can also use a spatula and carefully lift one side of a pancake to make sure they are browning beautifully. With this griddle, I only use plastic spatulas and not metal ones to help avoid any scratches.

8. Cook the rest of the pancakes and then pile them on a plate.

9. Finally, serve Homemade Scratch Pancakes with butter and maple syrup. We usually have a few different syrup types at the table; the basic, real maple syrup and this delicious bourbon maple syrup I found the last time at ALDI. It is SO delicious and such a special flavor!

The best part of using 100% real maple syrup is that you need such a tiny amount, and the bottle lasts so long. Another way I use maple syrup is for my quick bread. Instead of using sugar you can substitute 1 Tablespoon maple syrup!

Enjoy!
~Monica

Recipe for Homemade Scratch Pancakes

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