Easy 30-Minute Pancake Muffins
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!
Medically reviewed and co-written by Lauren Braaten, Pediatric Occupational Therapist (OT).
Pancake Muffins
What is a pancake muffin, you might wonder? These babies are a fun twist on pancakes – we’ve got all the deliciousness of a pancake paired with the convenience of a breakfast or lunch on the go (and minus the sticky syrup!).
These pancake muffins are incredibly easy to make, but our favorite part might just be how versatile they are. Looking for sweet flavors? How about adding cinnamon and sugar, chocolate chips, nutella or strawberries? If savory is more your style, try adding bacon, sausage or cheddar cheese. The options for mix-ins are endless!
If you are looking for more easy and healthy muffins for your little one, then be sure to check out my Blueberry Avocado Mini Muffins, Spinach Muffins, or these delicious Applesauce Muffins. You can also find more recipes and information in my best-selling cookbook Little Foodies: Recipes for Babies and Toddlers with Taste.
Reasons to Love Pancakes Muffins
- toddler, kid and adult-friendly
- easy to make
- can customize with different add-ins
- great for school or packed lunches
- healthy
- freezer-friendly
- great for breakfasts on the go
- can be made gluten and dairy-free
- naturally nut-free
Ingredients
Make sure to read the recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions!
- Flour: I like to use white whole wheat flour for some added nutrients. You can use whole wheat flour, a mixture of 50/50 white and whole wheat flours, all-purpose or gluten-free one-for-one flour.
- Butter: to make the muffins nice and moist. You can use melted butter or oil such as coconut, avocado, vegetable, or olive oil.
- 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.
- Maple Syrup: we are not using much, but you can omit if you prefer.
- Cinnamon: a little cinnamon for a nice mild twist.
- Vanilla Extract
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Egg
- Add-Ins: see a list of options below.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven and spray or line a muffin tin.
- 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 3 tablespoons per cup.
- 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.
Tools Needed
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 these each have 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
- White Chocolate Chips
- Coconut Flakes
- Nut Butter
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Most pancake mixes are made up of similar ingredients, such as flour, baking soda or powder, salt and sugar, so most should work well in this recipe.
Yes. These muffins will freeze well for up to 3 months.
Of course! Although you can eat pancake muffins “as is”, the best part is adding different toppings to suit you and your family’s likes.
How to Store and Freeze Pancake Muffins
Once the muffins have cooled completely, store them in an airtight container. They will keep on the counter for up to 4 days and in the fridge for up to a week.
To freeze the muffins, place the mini muffins into a freezer zip-lock baggie or stasher bag and place in the freezer. They will keep for up to 3 months frozen.
Baby-Led Weaning Pancake Muffins
These muffins are perfect for baby-led weaning or as a finger food because they are soft to eat. You can serve them to your baby sliced in half or cut into small chunks. Make sure to use diced and age-appropriate toppings for your baby.
Breakfast Pancake Muffins For Toddlers & Kids
These quick and easy muffins are also a great breakfast idea for toddlers and kids. You can serve them as is, or with a smear of cream cheese, butter or peanut butter. Perfect for breakfast, a snack, or packed into a school lunch.
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
Tips for Making the Best Pancake Muffins
- Do No Overmix: I can’t stress this point enough – do not over mix the muffin batter, if you do they won’t rise in the oven and will become dense and hard. The dry ingredients should be just combined with the wet ingredients.
- Preheat Oven: Ensure the oven is fully preheated so the muffins cook through evenly.
- Let Cool: let the muffins cool for about 10 minutes before enjoying them and let them cool completely before storing.
- No Sticking: make sure you generously grease the muffin molds or use muffin liners so that the muffins don’t stick to the pan.
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.
Get the recipe: Easy 30-Minute Pancake Muffins
Ingredients
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
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4 Comments on “Easy 30-Minute Pancake Muffins”
Those look great! I’m definitely going to make them.
It’s not clear to me if you used a mini muffin pan or a regular one?
Sorry about that. I made these into regular muffins, but you can also make these into mini muffins if you prefer. I updated the recipe cards with clearer instructions.
Hello, how much milk should I add if using the regular whole wheat flour? Hoping to try this recipe today. 🙂
Great question – I would start with the amount on the recipe card and if they become too thick, I would add in a few more tablespoons of milk. I have found that each brand of whole wheat flour is slightly different, some need no recipe adjustments while others need a bit more moisture.