Best Sourdough Discard Pancakes: A Fluffy Weekend Delight

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Irresistible vegan sourdough discard pancakes. Light, fluffy, and delicious. The perfect weekend breakfast that makes for a satisfying treat and a great way to start your day!

NOTE: This post has been updated since it was originally published on December 15, 2022.

When my kids were young, pancakes were a cherished weekend ritual. Not until they entered high school did I really up my pancake game to make fluffy sourdough pancakes. And my thought was at the time, “Why haven’t I made these sooner?”

Sourdough discard pancakes are incredibly easy to make and they transform a breakfast classic into a delicious and flavorful treat. The perfect Saturday morning breakfast indulgence.

By incorporating sourdough discard into the batter, not only do you reduce food waste but it also adds a delightful tanginess and complexity that you don’t find in regular pancakes.

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Why Use Sourdough Discard?

If you are familiar with sourdough baking, you know that maintaining a starter can sometimes lead to excess discard.

Instead of letting it go to waste, incorporating it into pancake batter is a great way to utilize its unique flavors.

The fermentation process of sourdough lends a natural yeastiness, which helps create incredibly fluffy pancakes without the need for excess leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda.

Handy Kitchen Tools To Consider

pancake griddle. If you do not have a pancake griddle, you can easily use a large fry pan. That said, a pancake griddle is not terribly expensive and allows you to make many pancakes at one time.
large mixing bowl. Having mixing bowls in a variety of sizes is very much worth the investment.
medium mixing bowl. This is the set I use and have owned for many years.
silicone spatula. I like using these types of spatulas for mixing up all kinds of batter and dough. They are soft, flexible, and can scrape every last drop off of the sides of bowls.
measuring cups. These are fun measuring cups to have on hand.
measuring spoons. The same with these, and they match the measuring cups nicely.

Vegan Sourdough Discard Pancakes Ingredients

• Sourdough starter – either fresh and bubbly or sourdough discard.
• Vegan butter – these days there are plenty of vegan butter to choose from. I like vegan butter made with mono and polyunsaturated fats versus a saturated fat like coconut oil.
• Pure maple syrup – make sure it is pure maple syrup and not the kind with corn syrup and added oils and sugars…yuck!
• Ground flax seed
• Lemon juice – fresh lemon juice is best.
• Pure vanilla extract – I prefer the kind without alcohol.
• Plant-based milk – I like to use organic unsweetened soymilk.
• All-purpose flour – preferably organic.
• Baking soda
• Kosher salt

optional ingredients you may want to consider

Feel free to add other additions to your pancake batter such as mini chocolate chips, crushed walnuts or pecans, blueberries, raspberries, etc.

How To Make Vegan Sourdough Discard Pancakes

Preheat oven to approximately 175°-200°F.

NOTE: You are going to place the pancakes that are cooked in the oven to keep them warm while you are preparing the remaining batter.

Turn on the pancake griddle and preheat on a medium to medium-high setting.

In a small dish, measure out the flax seed and add 6 tbsp of filtered water. Stir to combine, and then set aside to thicken.

In a small dish, measure out the vegan butter and melt it either in the microwave or on the stove with the setting on low, being careful not to burn the butter. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, measure out the flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine, and then set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, measure out the milk, lemon juice, maple syrup, flax eggs, and vanilla. Stir to combine.

Add the sourdough starter to the milk mixture and combine completely.

Pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir to combine thoroughly.

NOTE: It may be necessary to add a bit more milk to your pancake batter to give it a smooth consistency. If this is the case, then add the milk 1 tbsp at a time to ensure it is not too runny.

Using a 1/4 or 1/3 measuring cup, pour the pancake batter onto the griddle making small pancakes roughly 3″ in diameter.

Allow the pancakes to cook and get bubbly. Once golden underneath, flip the pancakes and cook on the other side.

Let the pancakes cook thoroughly on the second side before placing them on a serving plate and putting them in the oven to keep warm.

Once all of the pancakes are cooked, turn off the griddle, serve, and ENJOY!

FREE GUIDE: 10 Delicious Vegan Cookie Recipes!

How To Store

Although I doubt you will have any pancakes leftover to store, you can place any remaining pancakes in a glass storage container and keep them either on the counter or in your fridge.

On the counter, your pancakes will stay fresh for approximately 1-2 days. In the fridge, your pancakes will stay approximately 3-4 days.

If you aren’t going to eat any leftover pancakes for more than 4 days, it would be best to store them in the freezer.

The vegan sourdough discard pancakes store beautifully in the freezer if you’d like to make a double batch to have some on hand for another day.

Just allow them to cool completely, and then place the pancakes either in a glass container with a tight-fitting lid, or a freezer-safe plastic bag or container.

Tips For Success

These pancakes are fluffy. Typically you wouldn’t pat down the pancakes when they are cooking but with these, a little tap or two is perfectly fine.

Consider using a 100% fresh fruit jam on your pancakes instead of maple syrup. This is the way I like my pancakes best. However, if you have a super sweet tooth, you can add jam, maple syrup, AND some powdered sugar on top too. Yikes! 😉

VIDEO: Step-by-step instructions on how to make Vegan Sourdough Discard Pancakes

Recipe Notes

It may be necessary to add a bit more milk to your pancake batter to give it a smooth consistency. If this is the case, then add the milk 1 tbsp at a time to ensure it is not too runny.

That said, this pancake batter is thicker than your regular batter due to the sourdough starter. 

Sometimes, if the griddle is too hot, the pancakes will cook quicker on the outside than the inside. Lower the heat just a touch, and feel free to pat down your pancakes just a bit to encourage inside cooking.

If your pancakes are golden brown on the outside but not quite done on the inside, don’t panic. Take them off the griddle and place them in the oven. They will finish cooking up on the inside when they are keeping warm in the oven.

Vegan “Bettermilk” Pancakes: Buttermilk Flavor Without The Buttermilk

Buttermilk Vegan Sourdough Pancakes sounds like an oxymoron, don’t you think? But similar to my Traditional British Dairy Free Scones or Sugar Free Peach Cobbler With Drop Sourdough Biscuits recipes, using just a few key ingredients you wouldn’t normally use otherwise can give these recipes that buttermilk flavor but without the dairy and high saturated fat.

Typically I am not a huge fan of pancakes. They can be super sweet, loaded with saturated fat, and after eating them they land in my stomach like a brick.

NOT THESE PANCAKES! This easy sourdough pancake recipe is made with sourdough discard, much less sugar and fat, and they never make me feel terrible afterward.

This sourdough discard pancake recipe makes the best pancakes and has quickly become Doug and my favorite weekend treat. Whenever my kids come home, this recipe is on the list.

5 Fun Facts About Pancakes

Here are some interesting facts about pancakes.

1. It is believed our ancestors have been making a type of pancake since the Stone Age but the earliest pancake known was made by the Romans in the 1st century.
2. Different countries have their own way of making pancakes. In Europe, the pancakes are thin, more like a crepe. In Japan, they are made more savory and crisp. And here in America, our pancakes are usually fluffy and thicker.
3. Pancake Day is usually celebrated on Shrove Tuesday (aka Fat Tuesday), the last day before Lent, which is a time of prayer and fasting for the Christians before Easter.
4. The world’s largest pancake was made in Manchester, England in 1944. It weighed 6614 pounds and was over 49 feet in diameter. The pancake had to be edible and flipped to qualify for the record.
5. The world’s most expensive pancake was invented by the Opus One restaurant at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel in England in 2014. Made with lobster, caviar, and Dom Perignon champagne, it was said to cost about $1050 in today’s currency.

Additional Sourdough Discard Recipes

• The Easiest Vegan Sourdough Discard Waffle Recipe
• A Simple & Comforting Banana Bread Sourdough Recipe
• The Best Sourdough Pretzels With Starter
• A Sugar-Free Peach Cobbler With Drop Sourdough Biscuits

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