With the perfect texture of fluffy and chewy, these lemon blueberry pancakes are your favorite diner style pancake recipe, elevated!
This pancake recipe has made an almost weekly appearance in our kitchen this month. I don’t know if it was just the plethora of juicy summer blueberries, the refreshing zing of lemon, or the comforting chewy fluffy texture that everyone loved, but these pancakes are definitely a hit with the family!
Developing this recipe was kind of a happy accident. We moved recently, and after a few weeks of living in hotels without our own kitchen and full pantry, we just wanted homemade comfort food. Breakfast for dinner is definitely one of our comfort foods. Usually it’s something simple like eggs and toast, but we wanted sweet.
I’d just recently come across a recipe for diner style copycat pancakes, so it seemed meant to be. Except, the recipe calls for the use of seltzer water, and we only had lemon flavored seltzer water. Honestly, it probably would have worked out just fine, but you know I don’t leave well enough alone. With some gorgeous blueberries and fresh lemons in the house, a lemon blueberry pancake recipe just had to happen.
I’m using what ingredient in these lemon blueberry pancakes?
If you too haven’t spent copious amounts of time researching pancake recipes recently for no reason, the mention of seltzer water might have surprised you. BUT, it’s exactly what you want if you’re looking to make a fluffy, yet chewy, pancake. Replacing part of the liquid in the recipe with fizzy water gives the batter a lift and airiness without adding too much baking powder.
You don’t want to add too much baking powder or baking soda because you’ll taste it in the final product. Nobody likes that. Carbonated water adds neutral-flavored work around. For this recipe though, a lemon flavored seltzer water is great! And in a pinch, you could probably also use a lemon lime soda. If you use soda though, I’d reduce the sugar by half a tablespoon.
Can I use frozen blueberries?
Yes. Use an equal amount of frozen blueberries for fresh. You don’t have to thaw the berries at all, just toss them into the batter frozen. They’ll thaw while the pancake cooks and there’s no difference in the final product.
What do I serve with pancakes?
With these pancakes, I’ll usually serve some bacon or breakfast sausage if we have any. If we don’t, or I just don’t feel like making anything else, extra fresh blueberries are perfect. If you have them, hard boiled eggs make a great side to pancakes. They add a little protein, but aren’t as fussy as making fried or scrambled eggs while you’re already cooking pancakes. Simple is beautiful, darlings.
As for topping the pancakes, simple is good here too. These lemon blueberry pancakes are already pretty packed with flavor. You can top them with a light dusting of powdered sugar, a bit of butter, or a drizzle of maple syrup. Some combination of the three is most popular in our house. If you happen to have any blueberry syrup from my blueberry mint mocktail recipe though, that would be a super fancy addition!
I hope you love this lemon blueberry pancake recipe, darlings!
Lemon Blueberry Pancakes
With the perfect texture of fluffy and chewy, these lemon blueberry pancakes are your favorite diner-style pancake recipe, elevated!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/3 cups milk
- zest from 1 lemon (optional)
- juice from 1 lemon (2-3 tablespoons)
- 1/2 cup seltzer water (plain or lemon-flavored)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted plus extra for greasing pans (see notes)
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest (if using). Drizzle in the melted butter and stir to distribute.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, lemon juice, vanilla, and seltzer water.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just to combine. It's okay to have a few lumps. Fold in the blueberries.
- Place your oven on the warm setting, and have a baking sheet or oven-safe plate handy.
- Heat a griddle or skillet (see notes) over medium heat. Grease with a brushing of melted butter or a little nonstick spray.
- Add the batter in 1/2 cup measurements and cook for about 2 minutes. You'll see bubbling over the top of the pancake and the bottom will be a light golden brown. Flip and cook for an additional 45 seconds or so until cooked through. Transfer to your baking sheet or oven-safe plate and hold in the warmed oven while you cook the rest of the pancakes.
- Repeat until all the pancakes have been cooked. Serve immediately with your choice of toppings. Enjoy!
- Leftover, cooled pancakes can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 days or frozen up to one month. Microwave about 15-30 seconds to reheat.
Notes
- If you don't like the texture of lemon zest, you may omit it from the batter, but it does add a stronger lemon flavor. Be sure to zest the lemon before you juice it. That's easier!
- If you have 2 skillets you can use to make the pancakes, please do! It makes the process much quicker if you can make more than one at a time.
- I don't always melt additional butter for my pans, a nonstick spray works just fine if you are using nonstick or stainless cookware.
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