Perfect Air Fryer Pancakes
Your quest to find the perfect air fryer pancakes recipe is over! With this method, you’ll get perfectly cooked pancakes in the air fryer every single time! Super simple, crowd-pleasing, and done in less than 10 minutes, you’ll be whipping these up all the time.
Serve them up with a side of these air fryer hash browns or spoon this incredible caramel apple pie filling over the top!
What readers are saying...
“This is brilliant! I would never thought this was possible!! Tasted GOOD!
– MINDY
Pancakes in the air fryer?! What!?
You might not have known this was possible. You might have tried other air fryer pancake recipes and they just didn’t turn out quite right. Well, the search for the perfect, easy air fryer pancake recipe is over!
I tried this a zillion ways (including some TikTok FAILS!), until I finally came up with this simple technique that will get you perfect pancakes every time. These pancakes are just slightly “crisp” on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and come out perfectly shaped every single time. I show how to make them with pre-made pancake mix, but it will absolutely work with homemade batter as well. Be prepared to have your mind blown with these yummy pancakes in the air fryer!
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
You’ll need the following ingredients to make these delicious pancakes in the air fryer :
INGREDIENT NOTES
Buttermilk Pancake Mix: You can absolutely make your own homemade pancake batter. ((I love this Buttermilk Pancake Recipe HERE.)) The recipe works just the same and it will still come out great! Pancakes with buttermilk will yield the fluffiest pancakes.
Optional Toppings: I topped my pancakes with fresh vanilla whipped cream (recipe below), blueberries, walnuts, and lots of maple syrup. But of course, sky’s the limit! Top your pancakes with whatever your heart desires!
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
Typically my recipes don’t require any SPECIAL pieces of equipment, but for this recipe, I have one item that I feel is KEY for making your pancakes perfect in the air fryer:
6-inch disposable aluminum pie tins: These 6-inch pie tins actually are 4 inches across the bottom, so they make perfectly sized pancakes! The key is using an aluminum tin. This ensures that your pancake will get hot enough to crisp up a bit on the bottom. A ceramic or glass oven-proof container won’t do this.
Also, an air fryer is necessary! HA!! There are a lot of good air fryers, but my personal fave is the Cosori 12-in-1 Air Fryer. It’s not a “drawer” style air fryer which I think makes it so much more versatile! It’s also big enough to cook meals for my family of 5. I use this thing MULTIPLE times per day–it’s a powerhouse!
You can also use a drawer-style air fryer. You just might not be able to fit as many pancake tins in it.
HOW TO MAKE PANCAKES IN THE AIR FRYER: STEP-BY-STEP
Here are some quick visual instructions. Remember that full instructions with exact ingredients will be in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Combine pancake mix and water, according to package directions. Let the batter rest for a couple of minutes , which will give you fluffier pancakes.
Step 2: Spray your aluminum pie tins generously with cooking spray.
Step 3: With a measuring cup, drop 1/4 cup of pancake batter into your pie tins, making sure to cover the entire bottom of the pan.
Step 4: Air fry pancakes at 400°F for 7-8 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Allow 1-2 minutes to cool then carefully remove pancakes from pie pans with a small spatula and serve hot.
Casey’s Top Tip: For evenly cooked pancakes, make sure the pancake batter is evenly spread in your pan. You can do this by using a 1/4 cup measuring cup to make sure all pancakes are even. With a rubber spatula, spoon, or butter knife, gently spread the batter to the edges, then tap the pan on the counter a few times so the batter will spread evenly.
EXPERT TIPS
- For the best, perfectly cooked air fryer pancakes, using an aluminum pan is key. You can get these disposable pans or use a regular 9-inch pie pan for a big pancake! I like using the smaller ones because you can make multiple pancakes in your air fryer at one time.
- Don’t throw away your used aluminum baking tins! Just rinse them out and use them again next time.
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
Heck yes!!! I just use a store-bought buttermilk pancake mix in this recipe to show you the method, but the method works with almost ANY pancake mix! I prefer recipes with buttermilk and find they yield the most delicious, fluffy pancakes.
Yes, you sure can! In fact, I LOVE making big batches and freezing them. Cool pancakes completely. Then freeze in an airtight freezer bag. If you are storing large batches, freeze between sheets of waxed paper, so you can easily remove just a few at a time.
Reheat pancakes by just placing 2-3 of them on a microwave-safe plate, then microwave for 30-45 seconds on high until heated through. You can also reheat them in the air fryer at 350°F for a few minutes until heated through.
400°F is the perfect temperature to cook pancakes in the air fryer. I have found that a lower temperature will not get your pancakes golden brown on top. Note, however, temperatures vary from air fryer to air fryer, so the first time you cook them, check often for the golden brown color.
If you have seen the viral TikTok video of a guy singing and making stacks of pancakes on parchment paper in his air fryer…IT’S A SCAM!!!! Don’t believe everything you see on TV, kids! Just read the comments or do a YouTube search and you will see that this method works for no one. Myself included– yes, I TOTALLY drank and Kool-Aid and tried it!!
That video aside, you CAN, technically cook pancakes on parchment paper in the air fryer. But keep these things in mind:
#1: WHY?! I am giving you a much better method that actually works.
#2: It’s messy.
#3: You won’t get perfectly-shaped pancakes.
#4: If you have a drawer-style air fryer, they can be hard to remove.
#5: If you don’t spray the parchment paper really well, they’ll stick and it’s a mess (been there, done that, just sayin’).
The best way to make multiple pancakes in the air fryer is to make them small and make them in little 6 inch aluminum baking tins like these. The size of your air fryer will determine how many you can make at a time. In my Cosori 12 in 1 Air Fryer, I can fit (4) of these 6-inch tins.
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I hope you love these Air Fryer Pancakes! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Perfect Air Fryer Pancakes with Vanilla Whipped Cream
Equipment
- 6-inch aluminum pie tins (linked in Notes section)
Ingredients
For the pancakes
- 2 cups Buttermilk pancake mix See Note 1
- 1 1/2 cups water See Note 1
- Cooking spray
- syrup, berries, nuts, whipped cream, for topping (optional)
For the Vanilla Whipped Cream (optional)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 tbsp powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prep: Spray (4) 6-inch pie tins with a generous amount of cooking spray. Preheat your air fryer to 400°F. If your air fryer doesn't have a preheat setting, just turn it to 400 and give it about 3-5 minutes to come to temperature.
- Make batter: Combine pancake mix and water (or prepare pancake mix according to package or recipe instructions). Mix together until ingredients are incorporated, but don't overmix! A few lumps are fine.Allow pancake batter to "rest" for a few minutes.
- Fill pie tins: Drop 1/4 cup of batter into each pie tin. With a rubber spatula, spoon or butter knife, gently spread batter to the edges then tap the pan on the counter a few times and the batter will spread evenly all the way to the edges of the pan.
- Air Fry: Air fry for 7-8 minutes until pancakes are golden brown on top. Remove pancakes from the air fryer. Allow 1-2 minutes to cool, then carefully remove with a spatula. Enjoy warm with toppings, if you like! Hint: My Caramel Apple Pie Filling is DIVINE spooned over the top of these pancakes!
- OPTIONAL: While the pancakes are air frying, with a hand or stand mixer on medium-high, beat heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla for 5-6 minutes seconds until soft peaks form and the mixture resembles whipped cream. Chill until ready to use.
Thank you for referencing the TikTok thing
I made the Sams Club brand pancakes in cupcake wrappers (didn’t have pie tins on hand) and they were perfect!!!!
i made pancakes in my french door airfryer oven.i put a small cookie sheet in to heat with oven.mixed my box cakes up.put 6 pancakes on pan put in oven and baked 7 min,flipped them over for 2 min.they came out great.with being on sheet pan,they are easy to flip.
What an ingenious idea to use aluminum pie tins for making pancakes in the air fryer! I can’t wait to try this!
This is brilliant! I would never thought this was possible!! Tasted GOOD!
I will never make pancakes on the stove again! These were so delicious!
Enjoyed these for breakfast this morning and started my day off right! Turned out quick, moist and delicious; easily, the best way to enjoy pancakes!
I only had a 9in disposable pie tin so I used that. The top cooked way too fast and the bottom wasn’t cooked at all so I couldn’t flip it.
Tried again with thinner mix and lower temp and same thing happened.
Third time, I added a piece of parchment paper so I could flip it halfway though and that worked the best! I actually like how they are crunchy on the inside but fluffy in the middle! Once I made the adjustments, they turned out great and I will try again!
how much mix do you put in each tin?
Hi Lisa, 1/2 cup per tin.
Absolutely amazing that you can make Pancakes in an air fryer 😃 I was wondering, my air fryer has a round drawer with a basket that you can take out. Can I use a metal or glass pie pan to cook the Pancakes in instead of the tins? Thank you so much for the recipe. Looking forward to trying more.
Hi Patsy! I haven’t tested it with a pie pan but if you experiment, let us know how it works! XO ~ Casey
Did you layer tins or do 1 at a time
Hey Amanda, My air fryer holds 4 tins total (see photo). I don’t layer them. Hope that helps! 🙂
These were so easy to make. Most importantly they were delicious. Mine didn’t come out flat, but believe that was due to the size tin I used. They looked like the tops on a muffin. Doesn’t matter it was still delicious. I used a gluten free pancake mix, worked well.
Yay! Can’t argue with muffin tops! LOL! XO
Omg I had no idea you could make pancakes in the air fryer until I tried your recipe! These turned out so well and were so much easier to make than on the stove top!
LOL! So glad you liked them!! XO ~ Casey
Love, love, love that you can make pancakes in the air fryer! These were so fluffy and delicious! I can’t wait to make them again!
Yay! 🙂 XO ~ Casey
Pancakes in an air fryer – who knew? Wow, kids are all about these and they are fast enough for school days.
Right?! So easy! XO ~ Casey
WOW!!! so excited about making these with the kids tomorrow! Thanks so much for sharing!
Let us know how they turn out! XO ~ Casey
These are literally life-changing!
Right?! XO ~ Casey