If you’re still making pancakes for your family like a short-order cook, I’ve got just the thing to make your morning routine a whole lot easier: a skillet pancake. Just pour the batter into a hot skillet, bake for about half an hour, then sit down to breakfast together. There’s simply no better way to do it!

This step-by-step recipe will show you how to mix, bake, and serve a family-sized pancake that will rival any diner-style stack. Plus, I’ll share my expert tips on how to get the crispy brown-buttery crust and pillowy-light interior that makes this pancake so special. Here’s how to do it.

Skillet pancakes are easier, tastier and far more thrilling

Even if you’ve mastered the art of pancake making, it’s nearly impossible to serve freshly flipped pancakes to the entire table at once. Sure, there are ways to keep the flapjacks warm while you wait, but that first batch will inevitably lose its hot-off-the-griddle goodness. But if you swap the griddle for an oven-safe skillet, everyone — including the cook — can enjoy a steaming-hot pancake together.

When you’re making regular pancakes, there’s hardly a moment to gather the butter and warm the syrup. With a skillet pancake, you have plenty of time to grab everything you need, make some bacon, and pour yourself some coffee. And the skillet puts the “cake” in pancake, giving you buttery edges and a lofty center that you just can’t get on a griddle.

Tips for baking a skillet pancake

The batter for this pancake takes inspiration from one of my favorite pancake recipes: Kitchn’s Lofty Pancakes. It starts like most pancake recipes, by mixing the flour, sugar, and leaveners in one bowl. But things go a little differently with the wet ingredients.

Instead of adding whole eggs, you add just the yolks to the buttermilk mixture. Many pancake recipes that call for separating eggs have you whip the whites and then fold the fluffy mixture into the batter. This recipe is even easier — you simply fold the unbeaten egg whites into the batter, which gives the pancake a lofty texture with way less work.

To get the buttery, browned edges, I borrowed a technique from cast iron cornbread: preheating the skillet. Before you add the batter, swirl a knob of butter around the bottom and edges of the pan, which will keep the pancake from sticking and give you those toasty edges. Then pour in the batter and sprinkle the blueberries (or raspberries, or banana slices, or chocolate chips) on top. The juicy fruit will settle into the pancake as it rises in the oven.

Bake until the pancake puffs and the top is golden (it’s OK if it cracks slightly — those crispy crevices are great spots for the syrup to sneak in). Serve the pancake straight from the pan, slicing it into wedges and topping with butter, syrup, and more blueberries.

Skillet Pancake

Serves 4 to 6

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

2 large eggs, separated

1 1/2 cups blueberries, plus more for serving

Maple syrup, for serving

1. Heat the oven and skillet to 375 F. Arrange a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F. Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet or oven-safe nonstick pan in the oven while it heats.

2. Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt together in a large bowl.

3. Melt the butter. Microwave 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in a separate smaller microwave-safe bowl or large measuring cup in 10-second bursts until melted, 30 to 40 seconds.

4. Mix wet ingredients. Add 1 1/4 cups buttermilk to the melted butter. Then separate two eggs, collecting the egg whites in the measuring cup used for the buttermilk. Add the egg yolks to the melted butter and whisk to combine.

5. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a spatula until most of the flour is moistened. Add the egg whites and fold in just until incorporated, but do not overmix.

6. Rest the batter. Set the batter aside for 10 minutes.

7. Melt the butter in the skillet. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons unsalted butter into four pieces. Take the preheated skillet out of the oven and add the butter. Swirl the pan until the butter melts and coats the bottom and sides.

8. Add the batter to the pan. Transfer the pancake batter to the pan and spread into an even layer.

9. Top with blueberries. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups blueberries evenly over the pancake batter.

10. Bake the pancake. Bake the pancake until puffed and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

11. Serve the pancake. Cut into wedges and serve with maple syrup and more berries.

Recipe notes

(Patty Catalano is a food editor for TheKitchn.com, a nationally known blog for people who love food and home cooking. Submit any comments or questions to editorial@thekitchn.com.)

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