Save your sourdough discard and use it to make Sourdough Pancakes! My easy recipe makes thick, fluffy, and perfectly tangy pancakes in just 25 minutes, and it makes tasty use of discard that would otherwise go to waste. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Flavorful Sourdough Discard Pancakes
One of my greatest gripes when I started dabbling with sourdough bread was the waste. Since I use my sourdough starter often, I’m discarding half of it daily. And, being the queen of never-throwing-things-away (just ask Zach how much he loves this aspect of my personality), I immediately dove into the world of sourdough discard recipes, determined that half of my well-tended starter not end up in the trash bin. The very first recipe I tackled was these sourdough pancakes and ooh they were just too good not to share.
This recipe is a modification of my well-loved buttermilk pancake recipe. It yields fluffy sourdough discard pancakes with the perfect touch of tang. They’re tender and irresistible and (bonus!) the batter can be made up to two days in advance. I like to make the batter Friday or Saturday and we’ll have breakfast prepped for the weekend.
Side note: if discard is new to you, hop over to my sourdough starter post to find out exactly what this ingredient is.
Why try my sourdough pancakes:
- Thick, fluffy results that pair perfectly with syrup and butter (though sometimes my kids eat these plain, too).
- Batter can be made in advance, if you’d like to make it a day or two beforehand.
- Sourdough imparts a subtle tangy flavor, similar to buttermilk.
- Has some nutritional benefits from the discard, so these aren’t completely empty carbs 😉
What You Need
Sourdough discard pancakes are as simple to make as any other pancake recipe. Just a few key ingredients are worth noting before we get started:
- Sourdough discard. Discard is what you (literally) discard before you feed your sourdough starter. Even though it’s usually thrown away, it still contains vitamins and nutrients and imparts a lovely flavor into recipes. Here, the discard adds a flavor similar to buttermilk (which is actually why I use plain milk in this recipe!).
- Flour. Use all-purpose flour and make sure to measure it properly.
- Sugar. I use granulated sugar, but I’ve also made my sourdough pancakes with coconut sugar too. I find that the pancakes made with coconut sugar are not quite as flavorful, but it does work!
- Butter. I use unsalted, but if you only have salted on hand that will work fine. Melt the butter, then let it cool a bit so it’s not very hot when you add it to your other ingredients.
- Milk. I like to use whole milk, but really any kind will work as long as it is at room temperature before adding. Because the sourdough discard adds plenty of tang from the acidity, I found buttermilk to be overwhelming here, so stick with regular milk.
- Eggs. As with the milk, your eggs should be at room temperature before adding them to the batter. This helps everything combine nicely and means less mixing is required (which yields fluffier pancakes with a better texture!). If you forget to set yours out, you can always use my trick to quickly bring eggs to room temperature.
SAM’S TIP: The butter tends to re-solidify once it hits cooler ingredients like milk or eggs, so the batter can get a bit clumpy (this is another reason we want our ingredients to be room temperature, it helps minimize this!). This isn’t a huge deal! A lumpy batter is fine and it’s much better than over-mixing to try and get the lumps out, which will leave you with dense, rubbery, or flat sourdough pancakes.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Sourdough Pancakes
Preparing the batter
- Combine the dry ingredients with a whisk and set aside.
- Whisk together the discard, milk, eggs, and vanilla in a separate bowl.
- Slowly drizzle in the butter while whisking. Whisking while pouring the butter helps minimize lumps, but likely you’ll still notice some small lumps.
- Fold the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. This is important, over-mixing will make your pancakes dense or rubbery. Let the batter rest while you heat your skillet (you may notice it thickens a bit).
Cooking the Pancakes
- Grease your skillet and let it warm over medium heat.
- Add pancake batter to the warm pan. I use an ice cream scoop to scoop the batter. If it doesn’t spread on its own, use the back of your spoon to nudge the batter outward.
- Flip your pancake once the bubbles in the batter start to burst and the edges look cooked.
- Cook on the other side until golden, then remove to a plate. Repeat with the remaining pancake batter.
SAM’S TIP: Don’t get discouraged if your first pancake comes out a little less than perfect–I like to think of this as the test pancake. Use it as a gauge for whether you need to bump your heat up or down, and know that your second, third, etc. sourdough pancakes will look much better as a result.
Frequently Asked Questions
Discard contains vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial nutrients and bacteria (just like sourdough starter!), so yes, it has health benefits. That being said, we’re still pairing these sourdough discard pancakes with butter, syrup, maybe even chocolate sauce or whipped cream etc. if we’re feeling extra indulgent, so this isn’t exactly health food.
Yes! This batter can be prepare and stored in the fridge up to 2 days in advance. Note that your sourdough pancakes may not be as fluffy if you make the batter in advance.
So far these sourdough discard pancakes are my only discard recipe, but if you are interested in seeing more, please let me know in the comments below. I do have a sourdough pizza crust recipe though, and plenty of other pancake recipes though–keep scrolling down for those!
I’d love to hear how you like these sourdough pancakes compared to my buttermilk pancakes!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Sourdough Pancakes
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 ¼ cups (155 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup (200 g) sourdough discard
- 1 cup (236 ml) whole milk room temperature preferred
- 2 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Oil or butter for brushing skillet
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Melt butter and set aside to let it cool.4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.1 ¼ cups (155 g) all-purpose flour, 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon table salt
- In a separate bowl, whisk together sourdough discard, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract until well-combined.1 cup (200 g) sourdough discard, 1 cup (236 ml) whole milk, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- While whisking, drizzle in melted butter (it’s OK if the butter forms small clumps).
- Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and use a spatula or wooden spoon to gently fold together the batter until just combined. All the flour should be absorbed, if you notice small lumps or small bits of butter in the batter that is fine, don’t over-mix or your pancakes could be rubbery and dense.
- Set the pancake batter aside and brush a skillet with olive oil or melted butter. Turn the stovetop heat to medium and let it the pan warm until you can feel the heat radiating from it if you hover your hand several inches above the pan. It is also good to let your pancake batter to rest while the pan warms, this will thicken it slightly and help make for thicker pancakes.Oil or butter for brushing skillet
- Portion pancake batter into center of the pan (I use ½-⅔ cup of batter per pancake) and cook until bubbles in the batter burst and the edges begin to appear cooked.
- Use a spatula to carefully flip the pancake and continue to cook until pancake is golden brown.
- Remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining pancakes.
- Serve immediately, we like to add butter, maple syrup, fruit or even whipped cream to our pancakes!
Notes
Storing
Sourdough pancakes taste best fresh but we have also made the pancakes and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two and reheated. They may also be cooled completely and then frozen in an airtight container or plastic bag.The pancake batter may be prepared up to 2 days in advance, just store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and note that the pancakes may not be quite as fluffy the next day.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Miriam Rose Blanar
I made these into waffles and they were amazing!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Miriam! 🙂
Jena
The most delicious pancakes I’ve ever had!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jena! 🙂
Angelina
I haven’t made these yet but I have a quick question regarding discard recipes… since sourdough bread is so much better for us, I assumed that recipes made with discard would be better too. But if the batter doesn’t rest overnight (fermenting the flour), is it any healthier? And if not, is preventing waste the only reason for adding discard? Thank you for all the wonderful recipes!
Sam
Hi Angelina! There are minimal nutritional benefits here. There are some, but this is really a way to use the discard. 🙂
Brenda M Zangas
Hi Sam! Found your recipe today for Sourdough Pancakes and they were a big hit! My 23-year-old son said they were better than Cracker Barrel. lol I now mill wheat for fresh, nutritious, non-toxic flour and used 3/4 cups soft white wheat berries and 1/4 cups Kamut. I forgot the “sugar” i.e., that is honey for us and even forgot the vanilla…but they were still outstanding. This will be our go-to pancakes recipe.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Brenda! I love the idea of milling your own wheat. 🙂
Linda Massey
I would love more discard recipes. Like you I do not like the waste.
Meggjenn
This recipe worked as stated, the results were consistent and tasty. I ended up needing to substitute for the whole milk with 2% milk plus heavy whipping cream. And neglected to have the dry ingredients in the larger bowl 🙄, just made mixing more interesting. Very happy with overall results. I had given up on pancakes, apparently, I just needed the real thing. Glad you took the time to get this right, thanks for posting. Someday I’ll get to the real reason I have starter, planning to use your sourdough loaf recipe. The recipe set up is very thoughtfully organized, well done.
Sam
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
SANDRA L OLSEN
Yes keep playing with recipes for sourdough!!!!🙏🏻🙏🏻🤘👌👍🤗🌞👏 I have copied some to my email to try. And about to download the brownie sourdough recipe . That seem really interesting and intriguing. I think that is going to be ever so surprising of a unique taste, maybe texture also. Can’t wait to give these recipes a try. How would a sourdough potato rolls, and maybe a sourdough Hawaiian rolls be? I bet you could figure out some creative recipes for them and others, just a thought for you. Oh, Oh, What about sourdough cake,cupcakes? Because people make sour cream cake. Would you change anything on your sourdough pancakes to make them into waffles or Belgium waffles? Or would be use the same recipe but cook then in a waffle maker. HOPE this might inspire you instead of confusing you, I got carried away . ADHD reallly bad🙄😏😇 LOL LOL. So sorry!!! Sincerely, Sandy Olsen
Sam
Thank you so much for the suggestions Sandy! I will keep experimenting with the sourdough, for sure! As for the pancakes, I personally would take this recipe and cook it in a waffle iron, I think it would work just fine that way. I Hope that helps, and thank you for the kind words! 🙂
Kristine
I am loving the new sourdough recipes! Everything I have made from your site has been amazing. Thank you! And I really love the videos. Being able to watch as well as read about how to make a particular recipe is so helpful and also helps me remember for the next time.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for the feedback, Kristine! We’re so happy you’ve been enjoying the new recipes and the videos too 💕
Joel and Hanae
We thought that nothing would top your Buttermilk Pancakes, but we were proven wrong. These pancakes (made with our first batch of sourdough starter, following your instructions) were truly the best we’ve ever made. Thank you!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much! They really are an awesome pancake! Sourdough starter has so many uses. 🙂
Cara
I made these this weekend because my 3 year old requested pancakes and I have SO much discard I’m needing to use. (I also hate being wastful! 😅) These were SO good!! I will definitely be making them again! I was very surprised when I read that they could be kept on the counter in a airtight container verses putting them in the fridge, but I did as you said and left them on the counter. They were gone by the next morning.
They were so delicious!!! But your right, they are definitely better right after they are cooked. They were still good the day after, but I felt that they were fluffier the 1st day.
Please bring on more discard recipes!!! I have so much in my fridge that needs to be used!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Cara! 🙂
SANDRA L OLSEN
How long can you keep your discard sourdough please? Can you freeze or dehydrate it? Or would it spoil if you put it in a jar and vacuum seal it? Sorry I am totally new to all of this. But I did see something on it before on the Utube. I think you can dehydrate it, not for sure If I remembered if you could freeze it. Plus I don’t remember for how long. But I definitely don’t want to throw it away, that would get to wasteful and expensive in my situation. OH,YAH, I remember the Kneady Homesteader said that she also uses it for the septic system when she has to much. Then she doesn’t feel that she is wasting it as much then. Because it does help you septic system to.
Sam
Hi Sandra! I will keep my discard in the refrigerator, covered, for up to a week. I am not sure how it would do being vacuum sealed, unfortunately.
Kathleen
I love how you have the list of ingredients right below your directions. Eg. Mix dry ingredients – you have the dry ingredients and how much of each. Makes it so much easier. First time I have seen anyone do this. Thank you!
Sam
You’re welcome! Kathleen! I hope it’s helpful and I hope you love these. 🙂
Tricia
Yes, please, Sam! More sourdough discard recipes. I have loved EVERY recipe that I have tried from your site. Your videos are so informative and positive. You make everything so approachable. THANK YOU!! And big hugs to your beautiful GS dog! ;0-)
Sam
I’m so glad you are enjoying the videos and sourdough recipes so much. I really appreciate hearing that the videos are helpful.. 🙂
Pam
I can’t wait to try this recipe. My starter is on day 10. I forgot to discard yesterday and ended up feeding it without doing that. I discarded really early this morning after discarding and it’s still growing fast. So I must not have messed up too badly then 😅
Sam
I hope you love them! Sourdough starter can be pretty forgiving especially once it’s established. 🙂
Allison
Yes, bring on more sourdough discard recipes!