Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Bright and fresh lemon flavor with just enough sweetness to balance out the tartness.
Texture: The pancakes are soft and fluffy with a slight crisp at the edges and bites of little poppy seeds throughout. The texture is amazing.
Ease: Ridiculously easy. The batter takes about 5 minutes to mix together.
Appearance: A stack of pancakes is always mouthwatering.
Pros: Flavorful twist on pancakes.
Cons: None!
Would I make this again? Yes! I might try swapping out half the flour for whole wheat next time.
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Breakfast. I think most people like the idea of breakfast food but rarely make something beyond cereal or toast, if they even go that far.
Who wouldn’t choose bacon, pancakes, hashbrowns, waffles, sausage, French toast, fruit salad, and freshly squeezed orange juice over a plain old granola bar on-the-go? There’s a statistic floating around that states less than half of Americans eat breakfast. I am definitely not one of those Americans.
I HAVE TO eat breakfast. If I don’t eat something within an hour or so of waking up I get hangry. It’s not pretty. Yet, most days I have the same. exact. thing. for breakfast because I can’t be bothered to make much of anything before my day has really started.
Lately, though, I’ve been having some serious cravings for a big breakfast feast. I decided to enjoy in breakfast for lunch. I made all the fixings, including these pancakes, which were really the main attraction. Their fresh, sweet, and slightly tart flavor paired perfectly with the rich greasiness of bacon and hashbrowns.
Not to mention these pancakes are so light and fluffy but have those slightly crispy buttery edges. They’re just to die for. Your family is going to beg for these pancakes every morning.
Do you eat breakfast? What do you eat? What’s your ultimate breakfast?
More Sweet Breakfast Recipes
Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes
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Ingredients
Pancakes:
- 2 cups (254 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- Pinch fine sea salt
- 1/3 cup (50 grams) poppy seeds
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest (from about 2 medium lemons)
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) butter, melted, plus more for frying
Lemon glaze:
- 6 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Fresh blueberries or other berries for serving, if desired
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.
- In a small bowl or measuring cup combine the poppy seeds, lemon zest, buttermilk, eggs, and butter. Add to the flour mixture and stir until combined. Don’t overmix. If not using immediately, cover and refrigerate for up to a day.
- Heat a skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Add a pat of butter and allow to get hot before dropping the batter by 1/3-cup spoonfuls into the skillet. Cook until the pancakes are cooked through and golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining batter.
- If not serving the pancakes immediately, keep warm on a baking sheet in a 200°F oven.
For the glaze:
- Meanwhile, use a fork to whisk together the the sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Add more sugar for a thicker glaze and more lemon juice for a thinner glaze.
- Divide pancakes among plates and drizzle with glaze. Top with fresh berries, if desired, before serving.
This recipe was originally published in 2013 and recently updated with new photos, weight measurements, and more details instructions. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Loved the pancakes. Proportions were great. The only adjustments were to use maple syrup instead of the lemon. Also, I added the poppy seeds to the dry ingredients. Loved the crunch.
I had high hopes for these, but I was a little disappointed. I followed the exact recipe and used fresh lemon zest, but they didn’t turn out like I wanted. After the first batch cooked and we tried them, I altered the rest of the batter by adding 1tbsp lemon juice, and more sugar in the form of maple syrup. 1/3 cup poppyseeds is also way too much, I felt like I was eating straight poppyseeds by the spoonful. If that’s your thing, stick with the 1/3 cup, but next time I’m only using 2 tbsps max. The basic pancake recipe is great though, they turned out fluffy and tender! Just not quite the flavor I was hoping for from a lemon poppyseed pancake.
Hi Stephanie! I’m sorry to hear that these weren’t quite the lemon poppyseed flavor you had hoped for, but I’m glad the pancake itself was fluffy and tender! If you ever feel like trying these again, I would recommend adding a little splash of lemon extract (1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon), to really enhance the lemon flavor! Happy baking 🙂
I swapped half the flour for whole wheat and they were delicious!
Happy to hear your substitution worked!
Is the nutrition info for these listed anywhere?
No, I don’t keep track of the nutrition content in my recipes, sorry!
They were delicious! I used a different glaze recipe that also had milk, I found the lemon juice and powdered sugar only a bit too bitter (even after adjusting sugar amount)
So good! I only had half the amount of poppy seeds but it didn’t seem to make any difference. I also didn’t fry them in butter but rather just put them on my non-stick skillet and they turned out wonderful! I made the entire amount just for the two of us, so had plenty of leftovers which I individually wrapped and placed in the refrigerator and ate for breakfast the following day after placing them in the microwave for 20 seconds. Will definitely make these again and again!
Absolutely delicious!! I made the mistake of adding more buttermilk after making my first (delicious) batch thinking the batter was too thick, DO NOT DO THIS!! It totally ruined the batter!! just do what the recipe says!!!! totally will be making these again 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed these pancakes!
I followed the recipe and the pancakes taste very salty. I researched if poppy seeds were salty and I read they are supposed to be soaked before using. Is this a step that I missed?