These Halloween pancakes are soft and fluffy like all great pancakes should be, but they're colored to match the spooky Halloween season. They're spook-tacularly delicious!
There are so many things to do before your kids head out trick-or-treating, but one task on your list should be making a batch of these cute Halloween pancakes.
They come together in less than 30 minutes and they're absolutely adorable! Join us as we show you how easy it is to make these yummy treats below.
We love all kinds of pancakes and these pancakes are part of our Halloween tradition at our house, and they make for a fun and festive breakfast.
It’s especially fun when the kids get older and can help out with some of the steps. Getting your kids into the kitchen to help you whip up a batch of these homemade pancakes will create some fun memories that you will never forget.
I hope you enjoy making these pancakes as much as we do for breakfast with maple syrup or this butter pecan syrup for something extra special. You can also check out this list of pancake toppings for tons of ideas!
Don't forget to add a side of crispy bacon or sausage patties too!
Why You Will Love this Recipe
- Halloween pancakes are easy to make!
- Classic pancakes get a festive update for a breakfast that everyone will love!
- Their spooky color will make breakfast a party perfect for All Hallows Eve.
Ingredients for Colored Halloween Pancakes
This Halloween pancake recipe uses simple baking ingredients, and almost all of them are pantry staples. I wouldn't be surprised if you have all of them in your kitchen right now.
- All-purpose flour, milk, and eggs: The basic ingredients that give the pancakes their structure.
- Apple cider vinegar: Adds acid to the pancake mix to help them rise even more.
- Brown sugar: Makes a sweeter pancake.
- Vanilla extract: More flavor and natural sweetness.
- Baking powder, baking soda, and salt: Make the pancakes light and fluffy.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: Gives the pancakes their fall flavor.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: To make homemade buttermilk.
- Activated Charcoal: For the black pancakes.
You'll find the complete ingredient list along with exact quantities in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Make Halloween Pancakes
These delicious pancakes are super easy to make, and they come together in no time. You'll find the detailed instructions in the recipe card below, but for now, let's take a look at the highlights.
- Combine the milk and vinegar to make buttermilk.
- Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
TOP TIP: It's important to mix your batter only until it's just combined and no more. This limits gluten formation and makes for softer, fluffier pancakes.
- Divide the batter and color one-half of it black.
- Cook pancakes in a skillet on medium-low.
- Serve the pancakes stacked in alternating colors and enjoy every bite!
Substitutions and Variations
- Vinegar: Use regular vinegar if you don't have apple cider vinegar.
- Real Buttermilk: In place of the milk and vinegar mixture.
- Chocolate Chips: Add chocolate chips, caramel, or butterscotch chips to the pancakes for a fun variation.
- Other Colors: Color your pancakes a variety of Halloween colors like orange, green, red, and black or choose colors appropriate for the holiday you're celebrating.
- No vanilla? Add a tablespoon or two of real maple syrup to the batter instead of vanilla.
- No vanilla? Use almond extract instead.
- No pumpkin pie spice? Add one teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter instead.
- Add fruits like blueberries or sliced bananas to each pancake.
- Add hazelnut spread or peanut butter to the top of a stack of hot pancakes.
If you love recipes like this, you may also enjoy this roundup of more than 25 spooktacular Halloween recipes. Heck, if you're looking for some amazing sides for pancakes or pancake topping ideas I hope you'll take a moment to look.
Storage
Refrigerator: Store these in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
Freezer: Place the pancakes in single layers with parchment paper between each layer in an air-tight, freezer-safe container. Then freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheat: Place pancakes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees until warm. You don't have to defrost frozen pancakes for this.
You can also reheat these pancakes in the air fryer for 2 to 3 minutes at 400 degrees or simply toast them like a bread slice in your toaster!
What to Serve with Halloween Pancakes
For my family, we like to make Halloween pancakes with a fruit smoothie. However, you can serve your Halloween pancakes with just about anything you would typically pair with regular pancakes.
Here are a few ideas in a specific post about what to serve with your pancakes.
- Add a side of Bacon or Sausage
- Serve them up with some scrambled eggs or an omelet.
- Sliced fresh fruit, fruit sauce, or grilled pears
- Yogurt or Whipped Cream
- For dessert add a scoop of Ice Cream.
- Strawberry syrup for a "blood" topping. Add some red food coloring to strawberry syrup for a more intense color or strawberry or raspberry jam mixed with water and red food coloring.
Tips
- Don't overmix your batter. Overmixing leads to the development of too much gluten and tough pancakes.
- Don't overcook the pancakes. They should be just golden brown.
- Always let your pancake batter rest for about 5 minutes before making the pancakes.
- Hold pancakes in the oven. Keep your oven on a very low temp 150-200, place pancakes as they finish cooking on a baking tray and keep them in the oven to keep them warm while you finish the entire batch.
FAQ
Using vinegar in pancakes is what helps make your pancakes fluffy. Sometimes, I like to use baking powder to cause my pancakes to fluff up but using vinegar gives you an even better fluff to your pancakes.
When you are cooking your pancakes, keep an eye out for bubbles on the top of the pancake. Once the pancake stops bubbling you can safely flip your pancake. I like for the bubbles to pop and start to sink in, then I know that my pancake is ready to flip.
Yes. I suggest using ¼ cup applesauce or ¼ cup mashed bananas to replace each egg needed for this recipe.
More Pancake Recipes You'll Love
Festive Halloween Pancakes
Equipment
- wooden spoon or whisk
- large skillet or griddle
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 2 Tablespoons food grade activated charcoal powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a bowl or measuring cup add the milk and the two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, Let this mixture sit for 5 minutes. The milk and vinegar are mixed together to create a faux buttermilk.
- In a mixing bowl place all of the dry ingredients and mix together.
- After your milk mixture has rested for 5 minutes add it to the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients.
- Add in the vanilla extract and the eggs, mix everything together until just combined but do not over mix.
- Split your batter in half, pouring the second half of the batter into a separate bowl. In the second half of your batter add two tablespoons of activated charcoal.
- Add additional charcoal or food coloring gel if needed to reach the color or colors you desire.
- Heat a skillet to medium low heat and spritz with oil or a little butter. Pour in about a quarter cup of pancake batter. Let the pancake cook for a couple minutes until the bubbles that begin to appear start to pop. When the bubbles start to pop, use a spatula to flip the pancake over and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute until cooked through. Then remove from the pan and set aside.
- Continue this process with both colors of batter until all of the pancakes have been made.
- Serve. If pancake topping ideas are needed have a look at our suggestions. And it's always a great idea to have a list of delicious pancake side dishes on hand!
Video
Notes
- Don't overmix your batter. Overmixing leads to the development of too much gluten and tough pancakes.
- Don't overcook the pancakes. They should be just golden brown.
- Always let your pancake batter rest for about 5 minutes before making the pancakes.
- Hold pancakes in the oven. Keep your oven on a very low temp 150-200, place pancakes as they finish cooking on a baking tray and keep them in the oven to keep them warm while you finish the entire batch.
- If you're looking for wonderful syrup recipes and butters look no further!
Nutrition
This post was originally published in August 2021. It has been updated with new content and images.
Rose says
The halloween pancakes were great! My kids and I enjoy making them together. We use food colouring and made the charcoal pancakes and we're thinking of doing this for Christmas as well plus it tastes amazing. Covered in syrup they were eaten by all. Love the idea. Thank you
Karin and Ken says
It’s so easy to change colors for whatever holiday or occasion you want to celebrate. Thank you for letting me know. I’m glad you loved these pancakes! Enjoy the rest of your day! Karin