Sourdough Cereal Pancakes (Pumpkin Pancakes)

Sourdough Cereal Pancakes are cereal-sized pancakes that will give you the best fall breakfast vibes!

Made with pumpkin puree and sourdough discard, choose between normal size or mini and have a delicious vegan meal on a chilly morning.

Cereal pancakes are nothing more than mini, cereal-sized pancakes.
It became viral on TikTok and suddenly, everyone wanted to try it.

They’re a bit time consuming, but if you're looking for a different way to have your morning pancakes, the effort is worth it.

Ingredients and substitutions

This is a sourdough recipe, so we'll need sourdough discard for it. Still don't have a sourdough? I can teach you how to make your own wild yeast culture!

Want to make mini pancakes but don't have sourdough? I have a dairy-free pancake recipe that also works for cereal pancakes: make the batter, and keep reading to learn how to get them mini-sized.

Milk: any milk, dairy or plant based, can be used for this recipe. For plant-based, my choices are almond, oat and cashew milk.

Brown Sugar: you can use light or dark brown sugar, granulate sugar or your choice of sweetener.

Flour: you can use all-purpose flour for a lighter, fluffier pancake, or use whole wheat for a version with more fiber, but a bit denser.

Butter: use unsalted. For a vegan alternative, substitute for vegetable oil or vegan butter.

Can I use this recipe to make regular sized Sourdough Pumpkin Pancakes?

Yes, you can! Instead of pouring tiny pools of batter, just make regular-sized pancakes.

Cook regular pancakes on medium-low heat for about 2 to 3 minutes, flip and cook 2 minutes more. This recipe makes about 6 regular pumpkin pancakes.

How to make them

Equipment you'll need for frying: a non-stick frying pan, a squeeze bottle or measuring spoon, and a spatula or pair of chopsticks to turn the mini pancakes.

Prepare pancake batter. Follow the recipe card instructions for the best result.

• Batter shouldn't be too thin, or pancakes will spread too much.

• If you're using a squeeze bottle, make sure there are no lumps in the batter or it won't pour properly.

Preheat frying pan. Don't start with a cold pan: preheat it for 1 minute on medium heat. Brush a thin layer of oil or butter in your pan before start pouring the batter.

Pouring the batter. Using a squeeze bottle or measurement spoon, drop the batter into a preheated pan. Pour less batter than you want the size of your pancakes to be, as the batter will spread.

Flipping them. I usually do it using a spatula, but you can try doing it with chopsticks. You can also flip more than one pancake per time using a big spatula if you’re not looking for perfection.

Tips for success

• Making without a squeeze bottle: a squeeze bottle can make things easier, but a measurement spoon also does the trick. Use ⅓ teaspoon for mini pancakes.

• Start small if you're not used to make pancakes: for each one to cook evenly on both sides, it’s better to start with 10 to 12 mini pancakes. Flip them, place them in plate/bowl, and repeat until all batter is cooked.

• Use oil for coating the pan: you can use both oil or butter, but the last burns more easily, and that can affect the flavor of pancakes.

• If you're slow (like me): Before start pouring the batter, turn heat to low, and only turn back to medium when the pouring is done.

• Start with a preheated pan: don't start cooking pancakes in a pan that's still cold.

• Never use high heat: cook on medium heat, or they might burn at the bottoms.

• Keeping them warm: preheat oven to 250° F for 10 minutes before starting the recipe. Turn it off before start cooking pancakes. As you make them, keep mini pancakes in a bowl inside the warm oven.

How to eat them

You can use a fork and poke the mini pancakes making mini stacks, or you can spoon them like cereal. It's really up to you.

It also can depend on how tiny you make your pancakes. If they're too tiny, a fork might be difficult to use. And if they're too big, a spoon would be tricky.

What about milk?

That's also a personal choice. I like my pancakes with berries and syrup, but if you're looking for a full cereal version with your favorite milk, go for it!

Topping suggestions

Apple Butter
Blueberry Compote
Blackberry Jam