Skip the box and make your own DIY pancake mix at home! With a few pantry staples you can mix up a diner-style pancake mix that’s budget-friendly and easy to store.
Why I Love This DIY Pancake Mix
- Tastier and cheaper than premade: Making your own dry mix reduces cost significantly—each batch of dry mix costs only a few cents, so a prepared batch combined with wet ingredients feeds a family for much less than boxed mixes.
- Save time and cleanup: Having the dry mix pre-measured means fewer bowls and less measuring when you want pancakes—just add wet ingredients and cook.
- No buttermilk required: These pancakes get fluffy and tender using regular milk, so you don’t need specialty ingredients.
- Customizable: Add chocolate chips, blueberries, extracts, or nuts directly into the dry mix or into the batter when you’re ready to cook.
Dry Mix Ingredient Notes
- All-purpose flour: No specialty flour needed—regular all-purpose works great. I haven’t tested with gluten-free blends, so results may vary if you try that.
- Granulated sugar: The mix is intentionally not overly sweet so you can control sweetness with syrup and toppings. Changing the sugar amount may affect texture.
- Baking powder: Use baking powder (not baking soda) to get a light, fluffy pancake.
- Salt: A small amount of salt balances flavor—kosher or table salt is fine; adjust to taste.
- Mix-ins: Add dry mix-ins like cinnamon or chocolate chips directly to the dry mix bag or container so they’re ready when you make the batter.
How to Make DIY Pancake Mixes
Option 1: Pre-Measured Bags
What you need:
- Quart-sized resealable bags
- Printable tags or a permanent marker to label instructions
- Label the bag with directions: For one bag, write or attach a tag that says: “Add: 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ cup (½ stick) melted butter, 1 cup milk, and ¼ cup water. Cook on a griddle around 300–325°F (medium-low). Wait for bubbles to form, then flip.”
- Measure the dry ingredients into each bag. Fold the top down a few inches to make filling easier, add the flour first to stabilize the bag, then add the remaining dry ingredients, seal, and shake to combine.
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (this is 1 tablespoon, not teaspoon)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Optional: ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Printable Tags
If you’d like to make these as gifts, attach a simple instruction tag to each bag or container. Handwritten directions work fine and add a personal touch.
Option 2: Large Container
What you need:
- Gallon-sized resealable bag or a 4-quart container
- Label or marker for instructions
- Label the container: For the scaled batch, write: “Add 1 ¾ cup dry mix, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ cup (½ stick) melted butter, 1 cup milk, and ¼ cup water. Cook on a griddle around 300–325°F (medium-low). Wait for bubbles to form, then flip.”
- Measure dry ingredients into the container for a larger batch (see below for quantities). Leave 3–4 inches of headspace so you can close and shake the container to mix thoroughly.
- 9 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.5 cups granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons salt
- Optional: 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Step 3: Make Pancakes
- When you’re ready to cook, combine the dry mix with the wet ingredients specified on your bag or container and stir until just combined — a few small lumps are okay.
- Cook on a preheated griddle at about 325–350°F (or medium-low on the stove). When bubbles appear and the edges look set, flip and cook until golden.
- Serve with butter, syrup, fresh fruit, whipped cream, or any favorite toppings.
Flavor Variations
- Chocolate Chip Pancakes: Fold in ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Blueberry Pancakes: Add ¼ teaspoon almond extract and ¾ cup frozen blueberries (do not thaw).
- Lemon Blueberry Pancakes: Add ½ teaspoon lemon extract, the zest of one lemon, and ¾ cup frozen blueberries.
More Make-Ahead Recipes
Better-Than-Box Fudgy Brownies-
Freezer Cookie Dough
-
Fluffy Sheet Pan Pancakes
-
DIY Cookie Dough Mix
Did you make this recipe? If so, please leave a review and rating so others know how it turned out for you—your feedback helps small creators continue sharing recipes and helpful content.
Homemade Pancake Mix
Makes: 8 large pancakes
Print
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 15 mins
Make a simple, money-saving dry pancake mix at home and have diner-style pancakes ready whenever you want.
Recipe by Melissa Rose
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (not baking soda)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Optional: ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup melted unsalted butter (½ stick)
- 1 cup milk (1%, 2%, or whole)
- ¼ cup water
⭐️ Before you begin: If you make this recipe, please leave a review so others know how it turned out. Your feedback helps small creators continue sharing recipes and content.
Instructions
- For individual mixes: Measure dry ingredients into quart-sized bags, seal, and shake to combine. Attach a label with the wet-ingredient directions. For a large container, scale the dry ingredients and mix in a bowl or container, leaving space to shake and combine.
- When ready to cook, add the wet ingredients to the dry mix and stir until just combined—the batter should be slightly lumpy.
- Preheat a griddle to about 325–350°F or set a skillet to medium-low. Pour batter, wait for bubbles to form, then flip and cook until golden.
- Serve with butter, syrup, fresh fruit, whipped cream, or your preferred toppings.
Did you make this?
I’d love to hear how your pancakes turned out—please leave a review and, if you like, share a photo of your creation.