Can you freeze pancake mix (AKA pancake batter)? Yes, you absolutely can. Today I’m going to give you all the details on freezing, thawing, storing, and cooking your pancake batter. I’ll also share how you can freeze cooked pancakes to save yourself even more time (or make a busy morning a breeze).
How to Freeze Pancake Batter
Freezing pancake batter is an easy way to save future you quite a bit of time, and it’s a relatively quick process. You can freeze leftover pancake batter when making a huge batch of pancakes, or you can mindfully make small batches of pancakes and freeze all of the batter. The latter is a great method if your goal is to have a wide range of batter flavours in the freezer, ready to go.
To start, make your pancake batter. This works with any type of pancake recipe, and you’ll follow the normal process. Mix the dry ingredients together with the wet ingredients. Once your batter has formed, you’ll either cook the batter in your frying pan or transfer the batter to a freezer safe container.
When I freeze pancake batter, I opt for reusable glass containers that stack well, which helps keep the freezer well organized. No matter how you choose to store your batter, be sure to label the container. Avoid freezing liquid batter in plastic baggies if possible. Once thawed, a good amount of batter will adhere to the bag when you make the pancakes. If that’s your only option though, go for it.
One of my kids’ favorite pancake recipes to have on hand in the freezer is this recipe for egg free fluffy pancakes.
BIG TIP: When freezing pancake batter, think about how many pancakes that amount of batter can make. You want to choose a container size that makes the amount of pancakes you’d normally need to cook.
How to Thaw and Use Your Frozen Pancake Batter
The easiest way to thaw your favorite batter is on the countertop, overnight. However, this isn’t advisable for all recipes. The pancake recipes that I share are all gluten free, dairy free, egg free, etc., meaning the hazard risk is incredibly low for a batter to sit out overnight for about 6 hours.
If your recipe contains raw eggs, cow’s milk, or other hazardous ingredients, thaw your batter in the fridge. It’s best to give it 24 hours to thaw in the fridge (some batters may thaw faster, especially if you’re thawing a small amount).
Once your batter is thawed, it should be very similar to the original consistency. Slight changes are OK, but it shouldn’t suddenly be extra lumpy, or have frozen chunks mixed in. When the batter is fully thawed, you’ll cook your pancake batter as normal. My kids like to have their pancakes cooked in a bit of melted butter (dairy free).
Your batter doesn’t need to be room temperature for you to cook up perfect pancakes. I often use batter straight from the fridge.
How to Freeze Cooked Pancakes
What You’ll Need to Freeze Cooked Pancakes: Baking Sheet + Parchment Paper + Freezer Safe Bags or an Airtight Container
If you’re not much of a morning person, freezing cooked pancakes can be one of your many saving graces when you only have a little time to serve up a hot breakfast. Whilst pancakes are a great breakfast food, they can take some time to make and cook. Freezing them can also be a great way for you to have a delicious easy breakfast any day of the week, without putting in too much effort.
You’ll start by cooking your homemade pancake mix, and allowing the leftover pancakes to cool completely. Once cooled, line a large baking tray (or a cookie sheet) with a sheet of parchment paper. Place cooked pancakes on the tray (it’s OK if they’re touching, but don’t stack them yet). When you have a full single layer of pancakes, add another piece of parchment paper to cover. Now, you add the next layer of pancakes. The parchment paper will prevent the pancakes from sticking together during the freezing process.
Once you have all of the pancakes on your tray, place the whole tray into your freezer. Allow the pancakes to freeze completely (the time varies from freezer to freezer, but at least a few hours). Once your pancakes are solid, transfer them to large freezer safe bags. Be sure to label the freezer bag with the creation date and flavour (this is the best way to easily rotate thru your freezer stock).
Labeling will allow you to use your delicious pancakes before they expire (time flies and it’s easy to forget about them). Depending on how many pancakes you make, you may need to use a second baking sheet in the freezing process, as you don’t want to crush your pancakes on the bottom layer (I don’t stack more than 3 layers high).
To prevent freezer burn, make sure you remove all excess air from your freezer bag. Whilst you won’t get it all, get as much as you can. That’s it! Now you’ve got freezer pancakes to pull from on days when you don’t have the time/energy/desire to cook.
How to Thaw Frozen Pancakes
Thawing your frozen pancakes is as simple as leaving them out on the counter. If your pancakes contain hazardous ingredients such as eggs, thaw them in your fridge overnight.
Now, you may wonder when you’d want to thaw a frozen pancake, but not heat it up. Many people overlook the superpower of homemade frozen pancakes: their ability to double as a fantastic lunch. When my kids were younger, especially on busy mornings, I’d grab homemade pancakes from the freezer, pop them in a lunch box, and add some produce & snacks. Talk about an easy lunch.
For the freezer friendly pancake recipes that I share, refrigeration is not necessary (they’re all egg and dairy free). I can leave the pancakes on the counter at room temperature for about 90 minutes and they’re fully thawed. The thaw time is shorter for smaller pancakes such as a 3″ pancake (kind of like a silver dollar pancake).
If you plan to put pancakes in a lunch box that needs to be refrigerated, include an ice pack. Be sure to give this a test run at home to make sure the pancakes thaw completely in your allotted timeframe AND that they taste good cold. Alternatively, you can heat your frozen pancakes until *just* thawed (use one of the methods outlined below), then put it in a lunch box with an ice pack if needed.
How to Reheat Frozen Pancakes
Wether you’re reheating regular pancakes, or mini pancakes, your options are the same. Though, your cook times will vary based on the size. If you plan on reheating a lot of pancakes at once, make sure they’re in a flat layer for even heat distribution. Here are five different ways you can reheat your frozen pancakes.
Option One: Toaster Oven. This is my favorite method since it was something my kids have been able to do independently from a young age. This options works great for all sizes of pancakes. Heat your toaster oven to 375f or 400f and cook the pancakes until they’re thawed and a bit hot. Avoid overcooking the pancakes as this can alter the texture. The toaster oven method can add a hint of crips to your pancakes if they’re heated long enough.
Option Two: Regular Toaster. If you’ve purchased toaster waffles at the grocery store, you’ll know how easy it is to grab a frozen breakfast item put it in the toaster, and push the lever down. The key to using this method is to make sure your pancakes aren’t too large. They need to be able to fit into your toaster’s opening properly, and not be too tall for your toaster.
To thaw, simply place pancakes into your toaster, adjust the settings if needed, pop it down, and wait for toasted goodness to pop back up. The regular toaster option will add a little crisp to your pancake.
Option Three: Microwave. Confession: I don’t have a microwave, however, friends have told me you can thaw your frozen pancakes in the microwave. If you’re new to this method, start with a 1 minute cook time to gauge how long it takes your specific recipe/size to thaw and reheat. Be sure to use a microwave-safe plate when using this method.
Option Four: Regular Oven. This is my least favorite method because it takes time for your oven to preheat. Sure, you can put the pancakes in whilst the oven is preheating, but the overall time it takes is cumbersome. The only time I prefer this method is if I need to thaw and reheat larger numbers of pancakes and I’m doing so on a large baking tray. Should you be doing that as well, line a tray with parchment paper, place the frozen pancakes on, and heat the entire tray until the pancakes are done to your likeness. I usually set the oven at 350f for this method.
Option Five: Air Fryer. Most air fryers have a setting for reheating frozen foods. Start with 4 – 6 minutes. Your time and temp will vary based on the size of your pancakes. This is another great method if you have kids that need to exercise their kitchen independence.
Related Article: Pancake Batter vs Waffle Batter
An Ice Cube Tray: Your Ticket to Cute Mini Pancakes
There are two easy ways to make super cute mini pancakes. The first is to use a mini cookie dough scoop. I like the OXO brand, and it’s about 2 teaspoons in size. You’d use this when cooking your fresh pancake batter or thawed batter that’s been stored in a large container.
The other option, which I think is genius, is to use ice cube trays. Rather than freeze your pancake batter in a large container, place the batter into the openings of your ice cube trays. Pop the tray in the freezer and allow the batter to freeze solid. Once solid, eject the batter cubes and transfer them to a freezer safe baggie. Don’t forget to label it.
If your ice cube tray has a lid, you don’t need to transfer the batter to bags. For the easiest results, use a silicone ice cube tray so it’s super easy to eject the batter cubes.
To cook your mini pancakes, heat a pan on medium-low heat and add the frozen cubes. They’ll melt then cook up like a normal pancake. I would use this method with regular pancake batter rather than a fluffy pancake batter.
These mini pancakes are great for toddlers, little kids, and awesome for lunchboxes.
Delicious Freezer Friendly Pancake Recipes
Here’s a few pancake recipes if you’re needing something that’s gluten free and/or allergy friendly. They’re all gluten free, vegan, milk free, egg free, and top 9 allergy free.
- Zucchini Maple Pancake (my kids love these with a little homemade sugar free chocolate sauce)
- The Ultimate Gluten & Egg Free Fluffy Pancakes (this recipe makes an amazing fluffy stack of pancakes)
- Gluten Free & Vegan Fluffy Pancakes (this recipe is for incredibly easy pancakes)
- Fluffy Maple Rose Pancakes (my youngest loves eating these with fresh fruit piled on top)
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Answering Your Homemade Pancake Batter Questions
Can I freeze chocolate chip pancakes? I’m concerned about the chocolate chips.
I can totally understand you concern, but the good news is that you can absolutely freeze chocolate chip pancakes. My whole family agrees that this is one of their favourite types of pancakes to find stored in the freezer and ready to use.
I’ll also add this: I’ve only ever frozen allergy friendly chocolate chips (dairy free, soy free, etc.) due to food allergies in our home. If you use standard chocolate chips and are still concerned, do a test freeze/thaw to make sure you’re happy with the texture of your thawed pancakes.
Do fluffy pancakes freeze well?
Yes! The great news is that both regular and fluffy pancakes freeze well. So well in fact that I often make a double batch or triple batch of pancakes so I can freeze the extra pancakes. This makes for a very easy breakfast at a later date.
Can I use a sheet of wax paper instead of parchment paper when freezing cooked pancakes?
Technically yes, but I don’t, nor do a lot of other chefs. Personally, I don’t like the feel of wax paper in my hands, so I exclusively use parchment paper. However, wax paper isn’t the best for freezing all types of foods. It’s great for meats and some desserts, so if possible, use parchment paper.
If wax paper is all you have on hand, you can use it in the freezing method I outlined in the above section, especially since it will only be in contact with your pancakes for a few hours rather than for several months.
Should I wrap my pancakes in plastic wrap before freezing them?
You may have heard that you should wrap leftover pancakes in plastic wrap before freezing them. I’ve found this to be unnecessary, especially if you’re using freezer safe bags or an airtight freezer container. Be sure to check out the steps I share in the section above on how to easily freeze your pancakes.
Is a sheet pan the same thing as a cookie sheet/tray?
Not always. Usually when a tray is marketed as a cookie sheet, the material may be different. Additionally, some cookie sheets have small holes in them to promote air circulation. A baking tray will generally be a thick slab of some type of metal with curved edges.
You can use a baking tray for cookies, however, you can’t use a cookie tray in all situations. You wouldn’t be able to use one when making a cake, or with recipes that have a wet batter. In our case, since we’re using these to freeze pancakes, both a baking tray/sheet pan and a cookie sheet/tray will get the job done just fine.
Can I reheat frozen pancakes on a griddle?
I wouldn’t suggest reheating your frozen pancakes on your griddle, and that’s because you run the risk of burning the outside before the inside is fully thawed. A better option would be leaving the pancakes out on the counter to defrost and thaw naturally, or reheating in the oven until *just thawed*.
Like the griddle, I’d also avoid reheating frozen pancakes in skillet/pan on the stovetop for the same reason.
Would pancakes with berries mix in freeze well?
In my experience, both pancakes and waffles made with berries (and even chocolate chips) freeze and thaw very well. Just be sure to follow all of my tips on how to freeze cooked pancakes further up in this article.
Should I defrost cooked pancakes in the refrigerator?
If you want to eat the pancakes the next morning for breakfast, thawing them in your refrigerator overnight can work. Personally, with free-from pancakes at least, I avoid the refrigerator as much as possible. Even when the pancakes are sealed well, extended time in the refrigerator degrades their quality and they lack the freshness of day one pancakes.
You’ll have to test this out with your pancake mix and see what happens, and if they make for good breakfasts when thawed this way.
Do you have tips on preventing food waste with a toddler? I make pancakes and they go uneaten.
I have a couple of tips for you to try. First, make sure your pancakes taste great. If your kiddo is avoiding them, they may not like them. The next big tip to prevent waste: serve super small portions. Rather than make your child several large pancakes, make a few small ones. The rest should be for you and anyone else in your household to enjoy.
Another way to encourage your kiddo to eat the pancakes is to pair them with something they love. If your child loves apples, yogurt, or blueberries, add that to the plate. Then, model the behaviour. Sit with your kiddo, take a piece of pancake, put some of the apples on top and take a bite. Make an mmmm sound, and be their hype man. Repeat this with the blueberries and the yogurt to see if that interests them.
Finally, try to add some novelty. Perhaps you can serve the pancakes with really fun utensils, or make a tasty glaze for dipping. Also, don’t forget to get your kiddo involved in the cooking process. They can help wash the blueberries and apples if you plan to add those to the plate, or help add ingredients to the mixing bowl. Kids are much more likely to try food they helped make. Wishing you all the best on this!!
What’s the best storage container for storing pancakes in the freezer?
The best storage container that’s going to give you the maximum shelf-life for your pancakes will be an airtight container. I like to use Ziplock baggies (the freezer ones specifically) for frozen pancakes. If you have an airtight container that freezes well, you could use that as well.
I haven’t found there’s any magical type of storage container such as glass etc., just that it needs to be airtight to be successful. When your storage container isn’t airtight, you can have freezer burn on your pancakes which can degrade their quality and shorten their shelf-life (where taste is concerned, not that the ingredients went bad).
Plus, when you thaw and try to eat pancakes with freezer burn, not only do they lack freshness, but they have an awful taste to them.
