Bring the cozy fall flavors to your kitchen with these light and fluffy Sourdough Pumpkin Pancakes. Made with active sourdough starter they have exceptional lift and a wonderfully tender texture. Naturally sweetened with honey and warmly spiced to perfectly complement the pumpkin puree, every bite is full of classic fall flavor. Made with nearly 100% starter, these pancakes are wholesome, easy to digest, and perfect for leisurely family brunch or for meal prepping ahead for busy weekday mornings.
Why I Love This
- 100% Sourdough: These Pumpkin Sourdough Pancakes are fully fermented using 100% active starter with only an optional ½ cup of flour. This makes them easy to digest and full of delightful flavor.
- Perfectly Balanced Flavor: If you've ever found pumpkin recipes overly sweet or sourdough recipes too tangy, these pancakes strike the perfect balance. The sourdough adds just enough depth to enhance the pumpkin without overpowering it, creating a naturally cozy, satisfying fall breakfast.
- Prep Ahead: Week mornings are hectic but breakfast is simplified as these - prep them ahead of time, freeze and reheat in the toaster for a quick, nourishing grab-and-go meal.
- Fall Perfection: Needing something special for the season? These make a perfect back to school, Thanksgiving or Christmas morning breakfast that sets the mood.
Looking for more fall recipes? Try my Pumpkin Cottage Cheese Pancakes for a boost of protein in your breakfast, or my Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls for that perfect fall treat!
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Ingredients
- Active Sourdough Starter - The secret to fluffy sourdough pancakes is to use active starter. It's naturally lighter, and full of bubbly air that is needed to help create that desired lift.
- Flour - while this is optional I do recommend adding just a touch of flour. It helps balance out the amount of moisture in the pancakes helping to create the desired texture.
- Baking soda and powder - a little of each are used to help create the best rise
- Eggs - I separate the eggs and whip the whites - this is the second secret to exceptionally fluffy pancakes. It's worth the extra step!
- Spices - while the pumpkin puree is the star of the show, it can be enhanced delightfully with the touch of warmth.
- Pumpkin Puree - this recipe has you strain the juice from the puree. This helps reduce the amount of moisture in the pancakes which allows us to use less flour and more starter!
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Step 1: Place the pumpkin puree in cheesecloth and squeeze out as much of juice as possible. (Discard the juice or save for smoothies.)
Step 2: Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. In a clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks from. Set aside.
Step 3: In a large bowl, whisk together the active sourdough starter, egg yolks, strained pumpkin puree, honey and melted butter until smooth.
Step 4: Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt to the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
Step 5: Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the batter using a spatula until just incorporated. Leave a few streaks and small lumps of egg white for the fluffiest pancakes.
Step 6: Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Add butter or oil. Scoop about ¼ cup of batter onto the hot surface. Cook until the bubbles begin to form on top and the edges look set, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Repeat with remaining batter.
Step 7: Serve warm with butter, maple syrup, whipped cream, chopped pecans or an extra sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.
Hint: If you don't have cheesecloth to strain your pumpkin puree, you can use a fine mesh strainer lined with paper towel and gently press the puree to remove the excess moisture. This helps keep the pancakes light and fluffy so don't skip the process!
Substitutions
- Dairy-Free - use coconut oil or another neutral oil in place of the butter
- Whole Wheat - feel free to use a whole wheat starter or make the ½ cup of additional flour your choice of grain.
- Eggs - if needed, flax eggs can be used but the pancakes will be denser in texture.
Variations
- 100% Sourdough - the addition of flour is optional (it helps create a fluffier pancake), but if 100% fermentation is important to you, they'll still taste wonderful!
- Deluxe - Add whipped cream, chopped nuts, berries or chocolate sauce!
- Kid friendly - add chocolate chips!
Try my Banana Sourdough Pancakes or my German Sourdough Pancake for more sourdough breakfast options, or try my Cranberry Walnut French toast for another great holiday brunch!
Storage
The first few days: Store leftover Sourdough Pumpkin Pancakes in an airtight container or bag in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezing: These pancakes freeze amazingly well making them great for meal prepping! Freeze them in an airtight container or bag for up to 3 months. You can take them out one by one and reheat or thaw the whole batch at once.
Reheating: My favorite way to reheat these Sourdough Pumpkin Pancakes is in the toaster. I would recommend letting them thaw at least a little on the counter and then pop them in the toaster for about a minute and they'll taste like they are (almost) fresh off the skillet.
Top Tip
1. There are a lot of extra little steps to this recipe that really make it shine - straining the puree, using active starter rather than discard and whipping the egg whites. Skipping any one of these things will result in denser pancakes. It's worth the extra effort.
2. Cook all of your batter within a couple of hours of mixing it. Unfortunately, making it ahead of time and leaving it n the fridge will result in dense pancakes.
FAQ
This recipe is designed for an active, bubbly sourdough starter, which give the pancakes their light and fluffy texture. While sourdough discard can be used, the pancakes will be denser and won't rise as much. If using discard, you may need to add a little extra baking powder.
There is some grace in this area with this recipe because we aren't asking the starter to fully rise the batter. As long as your starter is bubbly (and passes the float test), it will be fine.
Its best to cook the batter soon after folding in the whipped egg whites. Letting it sit too long causes the egg whites to loose volume, resulting in less fluffy pancakes.
Absolutely! Use your choice of neutral cooking oils! Avocado, coconut, ghee, canola or even olive oil can work well.
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Sourdough Pumpkin Pancakes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Pancakes 1x
Description
Bring the cozy fall flavors to your kitchen with these light and fluffy Sourdough Pumpkin Pancakes. Made with active sourdough starter they have exceptional lift and a wonderfully tender texture. Naturally sweetened with honey and warmly spiced to perfectly complement the pumpkin puree, every bite is full of classic fall flavor. Made with nearly 100% starter, these pancakes are wholesome, easy to digest, and perfect for leisurely family brunch or for meal prepping ahead for busy weekday mornings.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups (330 grams) active sourdough starter
1 cup (240 grams) pumpkin puree prior to being strained
2 eggs separated
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) butter melted
2 tablespoons (45 grams) honey
½ cup (70 grams) all purpose flour optional but recommended
2 teaspoons (9 grams) baking powder
1 teaspoon (7 grams) baking soda
1 teaspoon (7 grams) salt
½ teaspoon (2 grams) cinnamon
¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Place the pumpkin puree in cheesecloth and squeeze out as much of juice as possible. (Discard the juice or save for smoothies.)
- Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. In a clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks from. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the active sourdough starter, egg yolks, strained pumpkin puree, honey and melted butter until smooth.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt to the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the batter using a spatula until just incorporated. Leave a few streaks and small lumps of egg white for the fluffiest pancakes.
- Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Add butter or oil. Scoop about ¼ cup of batter onto the hot surface. Cook until the bubbles begin to form on top and the edges look set, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Repeat with remaining batter.
- Serve warm with butter, maple syrup, whipped cream, chopped pecans or an extra sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.
*All nutritional information is an estimation only. Exact nutritional value depends on exact amounts and ingredients used.
Notes
Strain as much of the liquid from the pumpkin as possible. The more moisture you can remove, the fluffier your pancakes will be.
The ½ cup of flour is optional but if you're wanting fluffy pancakes, I'd highly recommend it.
Don't skip beating the egg whites - it's also key in achieving the desired fluffy pancakes. Secondly, don't over mix when adding it to the batter. There should still be visible signs of the whites when you finish. Over mixing deflates the air from the whites which was the entire purpose of beating them.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: American
Jenice Wallace says
I love how perfectly balanced the flavors are in this recipe. It's not too much pumpkin or too sour from the starter. They are so great to make in a large batch and freeze for busy weekdays!