Say hello to your new breakfast BFF – Pancake Muffins! They’ve got all the cozy, fluffy goodness of pancakes but without the flipping. Just mix, pour, and bake! You can fill them with your favorite mix-ins (think berries, chocolate chips, or even veggies), and they’re perfect for busy mornings, school lunches, or on-the-go snacks.

What exactly are Pancake Muffins? Think all the cozy flavor of pancakes -fluffy, warm, and lightly sweet – but in an easy, grab-and-go muffin form (no sticky syrup required!).

They’re incredibly simple to make, but my favorite part is how customizable they are. I usually let my kids go wild with their toppings, which inevitably leads to a messy kitchen and lots of giggles. My oldest goes straight for the sweet stuff – chocolate chips, sprinkles, or a swirl of Nutella. My youngest? She’s team savory all the way with cheese, cooked bacon bits, or shredded carrots. As for me, I’m happy with a plain one, dunked into my lukewarm coffee between school drop-off and a hundred other morning tasks.

#MyMomHack: Make a big batch of these Pancake Muffins on the weekend and freeze the extras for busy school mornings! Once cooled, pop them into a freezer-safe bag, then reheat in the microwave for 20–30 seconds or warm in the toaster oven. Breakfast is done before you’ve even finished your first sip of coffee.

Ingredients

A spread of all the ingredients needed for pancake muffins it gets a white background.

Let’s Get Baking

A glass bowl full of all the ingredients for pancake muffins.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add in the maple syrup, milk, vanilla, eggs, and melted butter.
A glass bowl full of pancake muffin batter.
Stir until just incorporated.
Two hands holding a muffin tin with pancake muffins ready to be baked.
Scoop the batter into the muffin tin and add any toppings that you want to use.
A muffin tin with colorful liners and 12 different pancake muffins baked and ready to eat.
Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

12 Great Mix-Ins

The best part about these breakfast pancake muffins for kids is adding the toppings! I always let my kiddos go wild, and each has 6 pancakes to add their own personalized toppings – this way we have plenty of options for a yummy snack, and both of my kids are happy! Some of our favorites are:

  • Mini Chocolate Chips
  • Cinnamon and Sugar
  • Bacon
  • Sprinkles
  • Grated Apple
  • Nutella
  • Lemon Zest and Poppy Seeds
  • Chopped Walnuts or Pecans
  • Blueberries
  • Chopped Strawberries
  • Grated Carrot or Zucchini
  • White Chocolate Chips
  • Coconut Flakes
  • Nut Butter
A cooling rack with pancake muffins with different toppings against a white background with blue napkin.

How to Serve

You don’t just have to serve these muffins for breakfast! Feel free to serve these to your kid as a snack or for school lunch.

  • Serve with a dip such as plain yogurt, applesauce or maple syrup.
  • Pair with a side of fruit, veggie, cheese or other protein for a complete meal
A purple lunchbox with pancake muffins with two different toppings, cut cucumbers, blueberries and turkey roll ups.
My hand holding a pancake muffin over a teal plate full of other pancake muffins with various topping.

Get the recipe: Kid-Loved DIY Pancake Muffins (25 Minutes)

5 stars (5 ratings)
Move over french toast, waffles and cereal, there’s a fun new option for breakfast: pancake muffins! These homemade breakfast muffins for kids are healthy, easy to make, customizable—I share lots of mix-in ideas below!—and a great muffin option in a packed school lunch. They freeze wonderfully, too!
Yield: 12 muffins
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 18 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Author: Michele Olivier
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients 

  • 1 1/2 cups flour (see notes)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
  • 1 cup milk (see notes)
  • 2 tbsp maple sryup
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tbsp melted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Favorite Toppings

  • blueberries
  • chopped strawberries
  • mini chocolate chips
  • bacon – cooked and chopped
  • peanut butter
  • sprinkles
  • nutella
  • cinnamon & sugar
  • gratted apple
  • chopped pecans or walnuts
  • gratted carrots
  • white chocolate chips

Instructions 

  • Prep: Preheat the oven to 350° F and spray or line a regular muffin tin. To make mini muffins, see notes below.
  • Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
  • Add in Wet Ingredients: add in the maple syrup, milk, vanilla, eggs, melted butter and stir until just incorporated. DO NOT overmix.
  • Muffins: Scoop the batter into the muffin tin, roughly 2/3 the way full.
  • Toppings: Add any toppings that you want to use.
  • Cook: Place the muffin tin into the oven, and bake for 14-18 minutes or until just golden brown.
  • Cool: Let cool for 5-10 minutes, and serve.

Notes

Age: 9+ months
Note on Flour: I like to use white whole wheat flour for some added nutrients. You can also use whole wheat flour, a mixture of 50/50 white and whole wheat flours, all-purpose or gluten-free one-for-one flour. 
Note on Milk: you can use any milk you like in this recipe. Dairy milk works well, but make them dairy-free by using almond, oat or cashew. Depending on the type of flour you use, you may need to increase the amount of milk as different flours absorb liquid differently – start with 1 cup and add in 1/4 -1/2 more, if needed.
Mini Muffins: you can make these into mini muffins as well by using a mini muffin pan and cooking for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. 

Cooking with Kids

Ideas for Toddlers

  • Help measure and put the ingredients into the bowl.
  • Mix the ingredients together.
  • Scoop the batter into the muffin pan.
  • Help adding the toppings.

Ideas for Older Kids

  • Preheat the oven. 
  • Pick out and measure all of the ingredients. 
  • Mix the ingredients together.
  • Fill the muffin cups with the batter.
  • Add the toppings.
  • Once filled, kids can carefully put the muffin tin into the oven (with adult supervision) and remove once baked. 

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Medically reviewed and cowritten by Lauren Braaten, Pediatric Occupational Therapist (OT).