I’ve been diligently feeding, growing, nurturing, and baking with one or more sourdough starters since May of 2019 (oh my word, it feels like 100 years though!) and I’m always looking for new uses for my starter (which is why I love today’s sourdough starter pancake recipe so much!)
I’ll admit… at this point in my life, I’m not hugely excited about sourdough bread.
I’ve given it a valiant effort over the past 5-6 months (seriously, it feels like SO much longer than that) but the whole process of making sourdough bread just feels “too much” for me right now — especially since my kids don’t even like it!
Can you believe they didn’t even like my sourdough cinnamon rolls?? (They were GOOD, in my opinion!)
I’ve given up (at least for now) on the idea of sourdough bread…
However, my stubborn and strong-willed self just cannot let my starters die because I know how much effort went into “growing” them in the first place!
I currently have 2 starters — a whole-grain Kamut starter and an all-purpose starter — alive and well in my refrigerator. Of course, in order to keep them alive and well, I need to do something with them every week… and since I’m not making bread, I had to come up with another use for the starter.
That’s where my SUPER SIMPLE recipe for Sourdough Starter Pancakes comes into play!
As stated, this recipe is specifically for the STARTER — and you can pull the starter straight from the refrigerator if you want. It’s one of the best uses for sourdough starter I’ve found since I started my sourdough journey… and I’ve tried a lot!
I use a full 3 cups of starter to make a big batch of pancake batter that lasts our family 2 mornings. If you don’t have that much starter or don’t need that many pancakes, the recipe measurements are extremely easy to cut in half or into thirds.
And if you don’t have a sourdough starter but still want to give this recipe a try, I’ve included options for you too!
Whatever the case, our kids LOVE these sourdough pancakes!
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Easy Sourdough Starter Pancakes
If you need a way to use up a bunch of sourdough starter, these pancakes are a deliciously simple option! Our kids LOVE them; I hope yours will too!
Ingredients
- 3 c. sourdough starter (can be taken directly from the fridge or used at room temperature)
- 3 eggs
- 3 T. melted butter or oil
- 3 T. maple syrup, honey, or sugar
- 1/2 Tbl. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Instructions
- Measure sourdough starter into a large bowl
- Add remaining ingredients and mix well
- Drop batter onto hot griddle or frying pan
- Add optional chocolate chips or blueberries
- Flip when batter is bubbly and fry until both sides are done
- Enjoy with butter and maple syrup
Notes
If you don't have sourdough starter, simply substitute with 2 c. flour and 2 c. water or milk. Then replace the baking soda with 1 t. baking powder and 1 t. baking soda.
Nutrition Information
Yield
10Serving Size
2 pancakesAmount Per Serving Calories 217Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 65mgSodium 189mgCarbohydrates 34gFiber 2gSugar 6gProtein 6g
Nutritional information is approximate and does not account for additional ingredients or added toppings.
I believe I’ve made this exact recipe once a week for the last 3 to 4 months, and the pancakes are devoured every time!
They have just the right hint of sourdough taste without being too overpowering for the kids’ preferences.
NOTE: this is the fabulous 8-cup ” batter bowl” I use to mix up most of my pancake batters. It’s super convenient because it has measurements on the sides and it has a tight-fitting lid too.
When it comes to baking fresh, whole grain bread, I’ll stick with my tried-and-true recipe and use my sourdough starters for pancakes!
More Pancake Recipes:
If you’re not into sourdough but love pancakes, you should definitely try my Whole Grain Oat pancakes, my Baked Puff Pancakes, or my original recipe for “Perfect Pancakes“!
What are your favorite ways to use up sourdough starter?
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Lori says
This recipe is awesome. I’m trying to strengthen my starter, so I’m feeding it twice a day and this is a wonderful way to use the discard! My kids love it. Thank you!
Andrea says
glad you enjoy it — I make these pancakes AT LEAST once every week (usually twice) and they are always hit!
Rawlene Espinosa says
I don’t have the starter. I would like a recipe for the starter.
Andrea says
I do think you can buy starters… but you can also make them in your own kitchen (that’s what I did). Here’s a recipe for the starter (with a video)
Hope that helps!
Gabriela M says
Yum…. just made this and they are amazing. When kids heard I am making sourdough pancakes they were not that excited, but after tasting them….yum!! No one complained!
I served them with a strawberry jam I made from fresh strawberries my family picked at a farm!!! Delicious!
Definitely increasing my sourdough starter to have more discard!!!!
How is the search for the bread going, Andrea? I made 2 different recipes so far – one a success, the other not so much. But still good in my opinion! And I will still search for more.
Andrea says
yay — so glad you like these pancakes — I make them at least once a week (if not more!)
Also, this is an older post so I actually shared my “winning” bread recipe a year ago! Here’s the link.
Gabriela M says
Yes…. I was studying it yesterday. The only thing that I wanted to do some research on is the rice bran extract. I don’t have it and I was thinking what to replace it with. I do have the gluten. Maybe I’ll add more of that.
I will definitely give it a try. I like that it is a big quantity. I want to do 2 breads, cinnamon rolls, and buns out of the first batch. ☺️
Andrea says
HI again — don’t stress about the rice bran extract. Just try it without.
I find that it makes the bread softer when I’m using all whole grain — so you could always sub a little all-purpose flour for the whole grain stuff and that might balance it out!
Elisabeth says
Hi, not sure if you are still maintaining your starter, King Arthur flour has quite a few recipes using the discard from your starter https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/collections/sourdough-discard-recipes My kids did not like their waffle recipe (to sour) so I’m eager to try your pancake recipe. On a side note, a couple of years ago I too spent a year making all of my own bread and stopped because I couldn’t find a recipe my family really liked, tried yours a couple of weeks ago and it was perfect (and quite simple for a yeast bread). So thanks!!
Andrea says
Thanks Elisabeth! I AM still maintaining the starter but I don’t bake bread with it (we don’t like the sourdough as much as my whole grain bread!)
I use our starter almost daily though — for pancakes, waffles, brownies, English muffins, biscuits, etc. I should share more recipes on the blog but I don’t really think of myself as a sourdough expert so I’ve sort of left that part of my life “off the blog” for now 🙂
That said, I’m THRILLED you have enjoyed my bread recipe — it IS fairly simple… I just follow the same steps every time and it always turns out now!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Cindy says
Tried these today, possibly the best pancakes I’ve ever made!
Andrea says
yay — this makes me SO happy! Thanks for sharing!
Bridget says
I just made these after feeding my starter (1/3 of recipe to try it) and they were delicious! So fast to make and I couldn’t believe there was no milk. I will be making these often as I love my sourdough bread and am always looking for good uses of discard.
Andrea says
yay — thanks for letting me know! They are a great way to use up starter and not nearly as “fussy’ as baking bread!
Karen Rueger says
I’m amazed at how much the sourdough flavor disapears! My family also does not like the flavor of sourdough but I have so much discard that I just keep in the fridge. Thanks for this recipe! (Wow- when I added that baking soda it bubbled up like a science fair volcano! So fun!)
Andrea says
yes! That’s why we like these pancakes so much!
Enjoy the recipe — and next time, let your kids watch the “science experiment” — that’s always my kids’ favorite part!
Clare says
I’ve had similar frustrations with sourdough too. It is a lot of work and so disappointing when the end product doesn’t work out. Did you know you can freeze the starter to store it for extended periods? I’ve read this in a few different books although haven’t tried it myself.
Andrea says
I did know about freezing, but I sort of “forgot”. I might have to take a longer break over the holidays 🙂
Susanne says
One of our family favorites is the Overnight Sourdough Waffles from King Arthur Flour.
Andrea says
Sounds good — I’ll have to look those up!
Diana Still says
Yum! I had a starter for awhile and it allowed me to make dairy and egg free pancakes that were surprisingly delicious! I bet yours with the dairy and eggs are even better 🙂 I don’t need the allergen-free pancakes anymore, so I let my starter go. It was just too much. But if I need it again, I’ll buy the San Francisco starter from Cultures for Health. It also made delicious, crispy, almost cheesy-tasting crackers.
Good effort on yours!
Andrea says
interesting — so cool that you could do without the eggs by using sourdough.
And yes, if my starter ever dies (or if I purposely kill it) I would buy a new one before going through all the work of making my own again 🙂
Ashley says
Love this! I make crepes frequently because of a recipe straight from the starter. We really enjoy pancakes too so looking forward to using this. Do you have a similar waffle recipe?
Andrea says
yes, the waffles are so similar! I use 2 eggs instead of 3, and use 1 t. soda, 1 t. powder, 1/2 t. salt
Ashley says
Fantastic! Thank you for your reply!!
Annette Silveira says
Have you done a post on creating a sourdough starter and keeping it going? I know I can find information online but your experience with it would be interesting too.
Andrea says
no sorry — I am not experienced enough to write about that. But you’re right, there are TONS of resources online for sourdough!
JoAnn C. says
bakerbettie.com refers to this article about sour dough starter that I found helpful. https://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2015/05/01/putting-sourdough-starter-hold
Hope this helps you, Andrea.
Andrea says
thanks so much JoAnn!
I know most of my issue is that I’m trying to make the bread with freshly ground whole grain flour, so it’s just not the same as baking with light and fluffy all-purpose flour.
I’ll have to check out your link though 🙂
Stel says
Oooh Andrea!!
Sympathy 😀
I attended a two-day sourdough workshop recently – which I loved! – but will return to my valiant attempts after the exams. It is a fascinating science, and we were taught to calculate the recipe working backwards from the required number of loaves, formulating a batch with a spoon of original starter every time.
I haven’t been too successful at home! My starters died twice 🙁
For now, back to yeast until there’s more time.
Well done with the pancakes!
Andrea says
haha — thanks 🙂
A sourdough workshop sounds fun!
and yes, yeast bread for the win over here too!