This Brown Butter Apple Pancakes recipe has all the flavors of fall wrapped up into a light and fluffy breakfast. When topped with a simple caramelized apple sauce, you have a decadent pancake ready in about 20 minutes.
When fall is in full swing I love to put apples in just about everything. I love them in this Kale and Apple Slaw and especially for this Caramelized Apples recipe. I grew up in apple country (central New York) and now live in Vermont where there are a so many apple trees people use them as landscaping. So that's to say apples are a fruit I'm quite familiar with and love to use when they are fresh and delicious.
For these apple pancakes, I added brown butter to enhance the nutty flavor and add a bit more complexity. Brown butter goes incredibly well with the spices in the pancakes, including cinnamon and nutmeg. It's a small extra step that I think provides a good return on investment.
If you are on the search for more breakfast recipes, you cannot go wrong with these Fluffy Oat Milk Pancakes, perfect for anyone with a dairy-free dietary restriction. And if you are entertaining and looking for some make-ahead breakfast, or brunch recipes, try our Brioche French Toast Casserole, German Chocolate Cake Baked Oatmeal or our Strawberry Drop Biscuits.
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Ingredients that Matter
This recipe uses a lot of pantry staples along with fresh apples. Here are the ingredients you'll need for this recipe:
- Apple. I like to use a combination of apples for the pancake and topping, but use whatever you have that's fresh and you like to eat. A cooking apple like a Macintosh will breakdown as the pancakes cook while a firmer apple like Granny Smith will hold it's texture.
- Butter. The recipe calls for making brown butter. Use unsalted butter to avoid adding too much sodium to the pancakes.
- All-Purpose Flour. Use regular all-purpose flour for these pancakes. You could use half whole wheat and half AP flour if you want healthier pancakes.
- Brown Sugar. The recipe uses brown sugar in the pancake batter along with the caramelized apple topping. You can use regular granulated sugar if you prefer, but I like the molasses flavor of brown sugar in this recipe.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda. The recipe uses two leaveners to provide a light and fluffy texture. Baking powder gives lift to the pancakes while baking soda aids in browning the pancakes.
- Egg. A single egg is enough to hold the batter together.
- Milk. For this recipe, regular whole milk is our dairy of choice.
- Spices & Seasoning. To boost the fall apple flavor, the recipe uses ground cinnamon, freshly grounded nutmeg and vanilla extract.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
This recipe comes together in about 20 minutes. It's prefect for a busy morning or even a leisurely weekend brunch. Here is how the recipe comes together.
Start by making brown butter. Simply melt butter in a skillet over medium heat and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until golden brown. The color comes from the toasting of the milk solids. It should take about 2 minutes.
Whisk together the brown butter with the egg, milk and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth.
Add the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to a medium bowl and whisk until smooth.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stir once, then add the diced apples and fold until the mixture is combined but still lumpy; do not overmix. Set aside for 5 minutes.
Heat a griddle, non-stick skillet or cast iron skillet over medium-high, brush with oil then add a scoop of the batter (¼ cup is the ideal amount per pancake). Cook until bubbles form and start to set, about 2-3 minutes.
Flip and cook until golden brown on the other side, another 2-3 minutes. Then remove to clean plate and repeat with remaining batter. Serve topped with caramelized apples and maple syrup, if desired.
Hint: You can keep pancakes warm in a 250F oven while the second batch cooks.
Substitutions
There are some simple tweaks you can make for this recipe based on your dietary restrictions or preferences:
- Gluten-Free - To make this recipe gluten-free, swap out the AP flour for a one-to-one gluten-free flour alternative.
- Dairy-Free - You can make this recipe dairy free, but note it won't have the same toasty brown butter flavor without the butter. Swap the whole milk for a plant-based milk alternative and use oil (vegetable or coconut) instead of the butter.
- Granulated Sugar - Swap out the brown sugar for regular granulated sugar, if you prefer.
Making Caramelized Apples
You can check out our full recipe for making caramelized apples, but the basic process is to melt butter in a skillet then add peeled and diced apples and cook until starting to brown.
Then add brown sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt and cook until golden brown. Add a tablespoon or two of water at the end of cooking to make the caramelized apples more saucy.
Equipment
You can use a non-stick skillet or cast iron skillet to make the pancakes, but I prefer a griddle as there's more surface area, meaning you can cook more pancakes per batch. I especially like this GreenLife 20-Inch Electric Griddle as it's made with ceramic, has plenty of surface area, heats quickly and is easy to clean.
Storage
Store leftover apple pancakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, microwave until warm or heat in a 350F oven for about 5 minutes.
You can also freeze the pancakes by placing in a single layer on a sheet tray. Transfer to the freezer overnight, then transfer to a freezer-safe ziptop bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
FAQ
Use whatever apple is fresh and delicious. A softer cooking apple, like a Macintosh, will breakdown in the pancake as it cooks while a crisper apple, like Granny Smith, will keep its shape and provide a crunchy interior.
Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat then continue cooking, stirring frequently, until golden brown. The color comes from the milk solids toasting.
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Recipe
Brown Butter Apple Pancakes
- Total Time: 25 min.
- Yield: About 10 pancakes 1x
Description
This Brown Butter Apple Pancakes recipe has all the flavors of fall wrapped up into a light and fluffy breakfast. When topped with a simple caramelized apple sauce, you have a decadent pancake ready in about 20 minutes.
Ingredients
Caramelized Apples
- 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 3 medium apples, peeled and diced
- 3 Tbsp. light brown sugar
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- 1 pinch table salt
Brown Butter Apple Pancakes
- 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp. light brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp table salt
- ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1 cup finely chopped apples, from 1 medium apple
- oil for brushing
- maple for serving
Instructions
Caramelized Apples
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat then add apples and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the sugar, cinnamon and salt and cook until golden brown, another 2 minutes. Add a tablespoon or two of water as needed to make the mixture saucier.
Brown Butter Apple Pancakes
- Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat and continue to cook, stirring frequently until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Whisk together egg, browned butter, milk and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg until well combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and ingredients and stir once then add the apples and use a spatula to fold the ingredients together, being careful not to overmix (it should take about 10 stirs with the spatula). Set aside for 5 minutes while heating the skillet or griddle.
- Heat an electric griddle, nonstick skillet or cast iron skillet over medium-high. Brush with oil then add ¼ cup of the batter per pancake and cook until golden brown on one side and bubbles form and set in the center of the pancake, 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook until golden brown on the other side, another 2-3 minutes. Repeat with remaining pancake batter. Serve warm with caramelized apples and maple syrup.
Notes
- Keep warm in a 250F oven on a baking sheet.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To freeze, lay in a single layer on a sheet tray and place in the freezer overnight. Then transfer pancakes to a freezer-safe ziptop bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Reheat leftovers in the microwave or a 350F oven for about 5 minutes.
- To make dairy-free, substitute the milk for a plant-based dairy alternative and use oil (vegetable or coconut) instead of butter.
- To make the recipe gluten-free, substitute the all-purpose flour for a one-to-one gluten-free flour.
- Prep Time: 10 min.
- Cook Time: 15 min.
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Sautee
- Cuisine: American
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