Homemade funfetti pancakes are the perfect way to start a fun day! This quick and easy pancake recipe uses standard pantry ingredients and rainbow sprinkles to make an unforgettable breakfast.
Is there anything better than a big stack of homemade pancakes? Or any food more joyful than sprinkles? Mix these two things together to create the happiest and most fun pancake experience.
If you’ve been looking for birthday breakfast ideas, funfetti pancakes from scratch are super easy to do, and sure to bring a smile to a special someone celebrating a birthday!
This easy pancake recipe would also be super fun to make when hosting a sleepover. Or on a Tuesday night for brinner (breakfast for dinner) because adulting is hard sometimes and sprinkles are fun (we did this last week…no judgment!).
If you love this funfetti pancake recipe, you should definitely try these super fluffy oat milk pancakes, and double chocolate protein pancakes too!
Jump to:
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients Needed
- Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- Step-by-Step Instructions
- Pancake Toppings Ideas
- Possible Dietary Restrictions?
- Have Leftovers? How to Store Pancakes, How to Reheat Pancakes
- Expert Tips
- Helpful Equipment
- Recipe FAQs
- Love This Recipe? You May Also Enjoy
- Homemade Funfetti Pancakes
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
The most fun birthday pancakes! What better way to kick off a birthday celebration than with confetti pancakes?! Using the optional vanilla icing as a topping really amps up the birthday cake factor.
Soft and fluffy texture. The texture of these pancakes are awesome! A great classic, fluffy pancake (with sprinkles!).
Quick and easy to make. Making homemade funfetti pancakes is a breeze! Some measuring, mixing, and then time to fry up on the griddle (or in a pan).
Sprinkles make everything better. How can you not smile when you see a big stack of these sprinkle pancakes?! They’re just so cute, fun, and happy.
Ingredients Needed
- Sprinkles! Rainbow sprinkles are key to making homemade funfetti pancakes.
- Type of sprinkles to use: The best type of sprinkles to use for this recipe are the long, cylindrical shaped sprinkles often called jimmies (sometimes called sugar strands). Confetti sprinkles (also known as quins or sequins) can also work for this recipe. Both of these sprinkle types work well in bakes as the colors from the sprinkles will not bleed into the batter.
- Types of sprinkles to avoid: Do NOT use nonpareils (the small ball shaped sprinkles). The color will bleed into the batter, making it tye-dye like and splotchy.
- Vanilla Extract and Almond Extract. Using both of these extracts in this recipe helps give these pancakes that classic birthday cake flavor
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- Use butter instead of oil. If you prefer butter to oil, you can exchange these 1-to-1 in the batter for this funfetti pancake recipe.
- Use different color sprinkles for different occasions. Using rainbow sprinkles is fun for birthdays or just for fun. But you can use all kinds of combinations for various events:
- Pink, red, and white sprinkles for Valentines day.
- Red, white, and blue sprinkles for 4th of July funfetti pancakes.
- Orange, black, and purple sprinkles for Halloween.
- Red, green, and white sprinkles for Christmas pancakes.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Add egg, oil, and milk to a large mixing bowl.
Step 2: Whisk to combine.
Step 3: Add granulated sugar and salt.
Step 4: Add vanilla extract and almond extract. Whisk again to combine.
Step 5: Slowly add in baking powder and flour and whisk until nearly combined (a few lumps / streaks of flour are ok!).
Step 6: Add in rainbow sprinkles and gently fold in to distribute throughout the batter.
Step 7: Heat griddle (or pan of choice) over medium heat. Lightly spray with cooking spray if using a pan that requires it. Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop batter onto the griddle.
Step 8: Watch your griddle (or pan) closely, and use a spatula to turn pancakes when they begin to bubble and the edges begin to firm up.
Optional Vanilla Icing Instructions
Step 1: Add powdered sugar, milk of choice, and vanilla extract to a small mixing bowl.
Step 2: Use a fork or whisk to combine the ingredients and create a glaze. Add more liquid to thin, add more powdered sugar to thicken.
Pancake Toppings Ideas
Looking for pancake topping ideas for the fun sprinkle pancakes? Here is a list of some of my favorite toppings (including some healthy pancake toppings) that would be great on these confetti pancakes.
- Vanilla glaze (recipe outlined in the recipe card below)
- Vanilla glaze with whipped cream and more sprinkles
- Butter and pure maple syrup
- Plain or vanilla Greek yogurt, pure maple syrup, and berries
- Almond butter and pure maple syrup
- Whipped cream and berries
- Fresh fruit compotes or syrups
- Nutella hazelnut spread or chocolate syrup
- A drizzle of warm peanut butter (on a personal note, I love peanut butter and maple syrup together on pancakes and waffles!)
- Ice cream – if you’re really leaning into birthday pancakes, a generous scoop of your favorite ice cream can be a fun addition!
Possible Dietary Restrictions?
This homemade funfetti pancake recipe is vegetarian as written.
Make these into dairy free pancakes by using a non-dairy milk in the batter. Be sure to select dairy-free toppings too.
To make this into a gluten free pancakes recipe, replace the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour or gluten free all-purpose flour.
- Please note: I have not tested this myself, but have used this 1-to-1 baking flour in other recipes with success. Review the gluten free flour label for substitution ratios.
Have Leftovers? How to Store Pancakes, How to Reheat Pancakes
Leftover pancakes can be enjoyed at a later date for a quick and easy breakfast!
Option 1: Store in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you plan to enjoy your leftover pancakes soon, store remaining pancakes in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3-days. Reheat pancakes in the microwave, starting with 1-minute (adjust the time to heat your pancakes as needed to reheat to your desired temperature).
Option 2: Freeze to enjoy at a later date! The best way to do this takes a few steps, but they are worth it to make a future morning easy! Reheat frozen pancakes (from frozen!) in the microwave for about 1-minute. Option to then pop them into the toaster to crisp them up a little too.
How to Freeze Pancakes
- Step 1: allow pancakes to cool completely to room-temperature on a cooling rack.
- Step 2: do an initial freeze of your pancakes in a single layer on a baking sheet. This only needs to be for about 30-minutes, but this will help prevent your frozen pancakes from sticking together.
- Step 3: transfer pancakes to a ziplock bag labeled with the type of pancake and date made, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Expert Tips
Do not overmix your batter. Overmixing your batter can lead to tough, rubbery pancakes. You want to mix your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients until just blended in (if you have a few little lumps, or small streaks of flour, that is ok!).
Keep an eye on the heat of your griddle. It is recommended to cook pancakes over medium heat. However, if your pancakes are coming out darker than desired, turn down the heat. Burned pancakes are no fun! If you’re worried, you can always do one test pancake to see how your heat is and adjust accordingly.
Do not overcrowd your pan when cooking. Make sure to leave room between your pancakes when cooking your batter. This will make sure your pancakes have enough room to puff up and rise, and you’ll have enough room to get your spatula in and flip your birthday pancakes!
Helpful Equipment
It’s easy to make a lot of pancakes at one with the use of a griddle! We personally love and use an electric griddle. There are also griddle pans that sit on top of your stove’s burners that can work too. I will note we did upgrade to the electrical griddle because it was harder to get even cooking with a griddle pan (at least on our electric stove with multiple sized burners).
Using a ¼ cup measure is helpful to get even sized pancakes. I usually just use a measuring cup that I’ve already used for measuring out ingredients for the recipe to minimize dishes.
Don’t forget a good spatula for flipping your pancakes! If you have non-stick cookware, be sure to use a spatula that won’t damage your griddle or pan.
Recipe FAQs
The best type of sprinkles to use for baking are the long, cylindrical shaped sprinkles often called jimmies (sometimes called sugar strands). Confetti sprinkles (also known as quins or sequins) are the next best option. Both of these sprinkle types work well in bakes as the colors from the sprinkles will not bleed into the batter.
Yes! The best way to freeze pancakes takes a few simple steps:
Step 1: allow pancakes to cool completely to room-temperature on a cooling rack.
Step 2: do an initial freeze of your pancakes in a single layer on a baking sheet. This only needs to be for about 30-minutes, but this will help prevent your frozen pancakes from sticking together.
Step 3: transfer pancakes to a ziplock bag labeled with the type of pancake and date made, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheat frozen pancakes (from frozen!) in the microwave for about 1-minute. Option to then pop them into the toaster to crisp them up a little too.
Pancakes are ready to flip after they begin to puff up and bubble. Signs that your pancakes are ready to turn include bubbles throughout the batter that are beginning to pop, and edges that have begun to firm up. The bottom of the pancake will be golden brown.
Generally it will take about 2 minutes to cook the first side of a pancake, and about 1 additional minute to cook the second side (however, this will depend on your heat).
Looking for pancake topping ideas? Here is a list of good toppings for pancakes (regular, whole wheat, or funfetti):
– Vanilla glaze
– Whipped cream
– Whipped cream and fresh berries
– Butter and pure maple syrup
– Plain or vanilla Greek yogurt, pure maple syrup, and berries
– Peanut butter (warm it up in a microwave safe bowl for ~10-15 seconds in the microwave to drizzle it over pancakes if desired)
– Peanut butter and bananas
– Peanut butter and pure maple syrup
– Almond butter and pure maple syrup
– Fresh fruit compotes or syrups (blueberry, strawberry, etc.)
– Nutella hazelnut spread or chocolate syrup
– Bananas and chocolate chips
– Nuts
– Sprinkles
– Ice cream (for dessert or birthday pancakes!)
Love This Recipe? You May Also Enjoy
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Homemade Funfetti Pancakes
Ingredients
Funfetti Pancakes from Scratch
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (or canola oil)
- 1 + ¼ C milk of choice (2% or whole dairy milk, or oat milk recommended)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 + ½ C all-purpose flour
- .5 C rainbow sprinkles (jimmies or confetti shape)
Optional Vanilla Glaze
- 1 C powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoon milk of choice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Funfetti Pancakes from Scratch
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, vegetable oil, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract until thoroughly combined.
- Add in the sugar and whisk to combine.
- Slowly add in the dry ingredients (baking powder, salt, and all-purpose flour) and mix just until a smooth batter has formed (a few small lumps are ok, don’t overmix!).
- Gently fold in the the rainbow sprinkles until distributed throughout the batter.
- Preheat a non-stick pan (or griddle) over medium heat.
- Spray the pan with cooking spray and scoop ¼ cup sized portions of batter into the pan, leaving room between the scoops of batter.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes until bubbles start to form on the top of the pancakes and the edges begin to form (they’ll look slightly raised/curved/dry). Then flip with a spatula to cook the other side for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Optional Vanilla Glaze
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together all icing ingredients (starting with 2 Tablespoons of milk). If too thick, add slowly add in additional milk and whisk until desired consistency is reached.
M. says
These sprinkle pancakes are so fun and super delish. My kiddo & their friend LOVED these at a recent sleepover!! Highly recommend.
Meredith says
So happy to hear the kids loved these! Thanks for giving the recipe a try.
Maren says
Love these!! They are so fun and, most importantly, very tasty!
Meredith says
I’m so happy you loved them too! Thank you, and hope you can enjoy more soon!
David says
So much fun, and tasty too!
Meredith says
Thank you!! Happy you enjoyed this funfetti pancake recipe! ❤