These Lemon Pancakes are thin and delicate yet bursting with fresh lemon flavor. They’re made with everyday pantry ingredients and can be garnished any way you want!

A tall stack of lemon pancakes on a gray plate, garnished with berries and whipped cream, being drizzled with maple syrup.

I find it a little weird that Mother’s Day is generally associated with brunch food ideas, while Father’s Day is associated with meat and crockpot baby back ribs and such. My husband loves waffles just as much as I enjoy a good steak once in awhile.

But you know what? I’m a mom and I do love brunch, so I’m really not complaining.

My husband and daughter usually spoil me with a brunch that includes my favorite things – champagne and smoked salmon, along with vegetarian quiche or savory oatmeal, heart jam cookies and usually something lemon-y, of course. Sometimes bloodies with epic bloody mary skewers.

If the mom in your life also loves a lemon moment, I recommend that you make her these lemon pancakes. They’re thin and delicate yet bursting with fresh lemon flavor (just like my lemon smoothie and lemon curd cake), and you can garnish them with just about anything you want.

Small bowls of ingredients on a light background, including flour, milk, eggs, sugar and citrus zest and juice.

What you’ll need for this lemon pancakes recipe:

  • flour – nothing fancy, you’ll just need all-purpose flour for these lemon pancakes.
  • sugar – you’ll need a little bit of granulated sugar to sweeten these pancakes.
  • baking powder – this gives the pancakes their light, delicate texture.
  • salt – a little bit of salt balances the sweetness in this lemon pancakes recipe.
  • egg – you will need one egg to help bind and leaven the pancake batter.
  • lemon – you will need both zest and juice from 1 large lemon. Be sure to zest it before juicing! Buy a few extra lemons to make a batch of agave lemonade to enjoy this week.
  • milk – just like with baked goods, whole milk is best for pancakes. It lends the best texture and flavor to the pancakes.
  • butter – this adds fat and flavor to the pancake batter.
  • vanilla extract – a dash of vanilla really balances and enhances the lemon flavor.
A plate of three pancakes topped with whipped cream, lemon zest and raspberries.

Make these into lemon blueberry pancakes:

Do you love the combination of lemon and blueberry? Honestly, who doesn’t? It’s a flavor match made in heaven, as evidenced by my buttermilk blueberry muffins.

It’s easy to add blueberries to this lemon pancakes recipe! I recommend making the batter as written, and after you spoon the batter onto the griddle, add a few blueberries to each pancake.

Do this as soon as the batter hits the griddle so that the blueberries get “stuck” in the batter.

You can use frozen or fresh blueberries to make lemon blueberry pancakes. We usually have berries in the freezer for lemon blueberry smoothies, so we typically use frozen.

A fork removing a bite of a stack of lemon pancakes.

Make these into lemon poppy seed pancakes:

Poppy seeds are another classic pairing for lemon (see also: lemon cornbread), and adding them to this lemon pancake batter is a really fun twist.

To make lemon poppy seed pancakes, add 2 teaspoons of poppy seeds in Step 3 where you add the lemon juice and flour to the milk mixture (before stirring).

If you wait to stir the poppy seeds into the batter at the end, you run the risk of over-mixing the batter and ending up with tough pancakes.

A stack of hotcakes garnished with berries, cream and citrus curls.

My favorite garnishes and toppings:

There are so many fun ways to garnish this lemon pancakes recipe. Of course, you can keep it very classic and simply drizzle them with maple syrup (buy the good stuff for mom, she deserves it!).

But for a special Mother’s Day brunch, you can garnish these pancakes with so many other beautiful and delicious ingredients.

I love homemade whipped cream. It’s so quick and easy to make, and tastes worlds better than store-bought. It’s also excellent on top of caramel coffee.

A scoop of ice cream like my blueberry cheesecake ice cream makes brunch an over-the-top decadent affair.

Fresh berries are a classic garnish, of course. Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries or blackberries would all be great garnishes here. Any extra berries can be muddled into my Moscow mule recipe for an afternoon cocktail!

The kiddos might also love strawberry syrup, which can be saved for Halloween themed cupcakes, too!

A sprinkle of grated lemon zest or even lemon zest curls really enhance the lemon theme and make these pancakes so beautiful.

If you have some handy, a sprig of fresh mint always adds a fresh, pretty touch.

Whatever you do, don’t forget a side of salty, crispy bacon. See my culinary school-inspired guide on how to cook bacon in the oven to make it perfectly, every time.

A stack of lemon pancakes drizzled with syrup.
A tall stack of lemon pancakes on a gray plate, garnished with berries and whipped cream, being drizzled with maple syrup.

Lemon Pancakes

Yield: 4 servings (8 pancakes)
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 27 minutes

These Lemon Pancakes are thin and delicate yet bursting with fresh lemon flavor. They're made with everyday pantry ingredients and can be garnished any way you want!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 large egg
  • Grated zest of 1 large lemon (about 1-1/2 teaspoons)
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • Nonstick cooking spray
  • Whipped cream, maple syrup, fresh berries, lemon zest curls, and/or fresh mint, for serving

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
  2. In small bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until well combined. In medium bowl, whisk egg. Add grated lemon zest, milk, butter and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
  3. Add lemon juice and flour mixture to milk mixture and whisk until just combined. Batter will be slightly lumpy; this is OK. Do not overmix.
  4. Heat griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. In batches; spray griddle with nonstick spray, then pour batter by 1/4-cupfuls onto griddle. Cook 1 to 3 minutes per side or until golden brown and cooked through (pancakes are ready to flip when surface of batter is covered in bubbles).
  5. Transfer cooked pancakes to rimmed baking sheet and transfer to oven to keep warm. Repeat process with remaining pancake batter. Serve pancakes with desired toppings.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 256Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 68mgSodium: 448mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 1gSugar: 10gProtein: 7g

Nutrition information does not include garnishes. This website provides estimated nutrition information as a courtesy only. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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