There is no time like… NOW!
(Now would be an excellent time to stop making excuses for why you don’t eat more pancakes.)
If these pancakes can’t be a part of your most immediate NOW, I’d really love for them to be a part of your most immediate weekend.
They’re indulgent. ย They’re best made in the late morning in your house-slippers. ย Allow the stars to align.
Lemon zest and a bit of sugar are key ingredients in this recipe.
I love to rub the zest into the granulated sugar. ย The essential oils from the zest are released and spread throughout the batter. ย Fragrance and flavor!
Poppy seeds provide a most alluring crunch and subtle earthy flavor. ย The lemon and poppy seed combination is my favorite muffin reborn in pancake form.
This recipe makes a hefty amount of pancake batter. ย Pancake breakfast for four? ย If not… this batter freezes well. ย Simply defrost batter in the refrigerator overnight for super fast pancake breakfast. ย I love this kind of recipe.
The crisp edges of pancakes just slay me. ย It’s my version of romance.
Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes are bright and poppy (no pun intended?). ย The batter is not very sweet at all, making them the perfect vehicle for pure maple syrup. ย The pancakes are made with buttermilk, giving the pancakes their fluffy texture and alluring tang. ย If you can’t easily get a hold of buttermilk, I’ve got all sorts of substitutes.
I want NOW to feel special and really all it takes is a big stack of pancakes. ย Real.
Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes
makes a lot of pancakes. ย enough for four. ย about 24 small pancakes
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
butter, shortening, or vegetable oil for frying
maple syrup for serving
In a small bowl combine granulated sugar and lemon zest. ย Rub together with your fingers until sugar is fragrant. ย Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. ย Stir in the lemon sugar. ย Set aside.
In a separate bowl (or you can use a large liquid measuring cup), whisk together buttermilk, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and melted butter. ย Pour the wet ingredients all at once into the dry ingredients. ย Add the poppy seeds and stir to combine. ย If a few lumps remain, that’s no problem. ย Let the batter rest for 10 minutes while the griddle heats.
Place a griddle, or a nonstick saute pan over medium heat. ย Add a bit of butter, shortening, or vegetable oil to the pan. ย A teaspoon of fat will do for a n0nstick saute pan, a bit more fat may be necessary for a griddle. ย Dollop batter onto hot pan. ย For small pancakes, I use about 2 tablespoons for each pancake. ย For larger pancakes, I use about 1/4 cup of batter. ย Cook until golden brown on the bottom and and bubbling on top. ย Flip once and cook until golden brown on each side.
Place cooked pancakes on an oven-proof plate and place in a warm (about 150 degrees F) oven until all pancakes are cooked and ready to serve. ย Serve with
butter and warm maple syrup. ย
218 Responses
Love this recipes, my family fevered!
Lemon and poppy seed in a pancake? Oh yes, please!! Yummi
These look absolutely perfect! Probably one of the most insanely perfect pancake I have ever seen in my life :D Thanks for sharing such a great recipe May God bless you.
I made these on a whim this morning. I had some lemons that needed using and found this recipe, and what I can say but – PERFECT! These are delicious. Thank you for sharing!
I made these with whole wheat flour, and 1T honey instead of sugar. Great recipe for light and fluffy pancakes!
how long will the batter last in the freezer?
The batter will last, three weeks in the freezer. But, I would make the pancakes and put them in the freezer. Wrap them individually, put them in the freezer and when you are ready put them in the toaster.
I never even considered using poppy seeds in pancakes. Awesome!
I made these for my family on one bright Sunday morning and they absolutely loved them. Voted a definite keeper. Thank you!
I very much enjoy your blog from the leafy burbs of gay Paree, but am put off trying your recipes because of the U.S. measurements, familiar as I am with them after 4.5yr living in NYC but I feel for others overseas for whom it is just a step to far to convert a whole recipe to metric, I know other food bloggers now post recipes in both U.S. and metric, it would be so grate fully appreciated by me the hordes of non-Americans who follow you :)
I love this recipe! I had to make a few modifications because I have a gluten, dairy, and egg allergy. All that aside they turned out splendid! They were still fluffy and flavorful, often when I start substituting the texture goes horribly wrong. I love trying new waffle recipes!
Thank you for the delicious breakfast!
Just made these and they are incredible!!!!Amazing recipe I definitely recommend it !!! Thanks Joy :)
Oh my these look amazing!! I love lemon/poppy combinations. I made lemon poppy seed cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and they were one of my faves. Thanks for sharing, I love your blog and hearing all about your experiences in NOLA!!
Oh my goodness Joy this is so amazing!! I made this for my parents 30th anniversary breakfast. I even made little 30 shapes. Me and my sister made a lemon syrup which was perfect!! 1 cup sugar, lemon peel, 1 tbsp cornstarch and lemon juice. Mmmm, simmer until thick! So incredibly good!
Made a batch of these today and OMG, they are so good! These are gonna become a staple of my weekend, I can feel it.
Joy,
I serve these at my B and B here on the windy Plains of SW Kansas. They are topped with my homemade blueberry syrup. Everyone loves them, and I share Joy’s Lemon Poppyseed pancakes recipe ! Thanks !
Marla
Ok, so I did something wrong here. I will be the first to admit I can never follow a recipe exactly. I added a little oatmeal for some texture (i love texture differences) I did a little coconut flour instead of just plain all purpose.
And these were TERRIBLE. I made the smashed raspberry on Friday. And they were The. Best. Pancakes. Ever.
My sister said the lemon ones were her favorite in the world, so I had to give them a try.
It was an epic failure :( I couldn’t even eat them. I threw most of the batter away. It was a lot of batter.
i made them! so, so good. super fluffy and you are totally right about the perfect amount of sweetness. thanks joy!
How have I never seen these recipes before?These look like heaven! The minute I wake up, I am headed to the shops!!
hello! i made this pancakes for my husband’s family on January 1st for breakfast!!! it was a blast!!! changed the lemon zest for orange zest and equally lovable!
thank u!
Turned out fairly well – I think next time Ill pass on trying to be healthy and NOT use whole whear flour. They didn’t seem to puff up as nice as yours. But they were delicious! Even the bf enjoyed em for our breakfast-dinner. Thanks joy
I made these this morning for my son’s birthday breakfast. They are perfection! He inhaled them! Thank you!
Best pancakes EVER! Pancakes 2.0 really.
OH MY GOSH! I made these tonight for “breakfast for dinner” and they are AMAZING! They were a huge hit. The recipe could not be simpler to throw together, and the batter was so light and airy that I would have sworn the recipe had called to beat and fold in the egg whites separately, but nope! Easy and delicious. Bravo!
joy can i first say you are truly my friend in my head. these pancakes are divine. i went to three stores to find the poppy seeds. i took a stick to beat down the lemons from my tree. the crispy edges. the sweet lemony poppy-ie goodness. worth.every.bit. of. hassle.
I made these with 1 teaspoon almond extract instead of the lemon, and made an almond-buttermilk syrup to go with- they were AMAZING!!! So light and fluffy, and tasted like glazed almond-poppyseed cake!!
These are beautiful, Joy.
I love these! Except I tried kefir instead of buttermilk…amazingly zingy!
Joy, I have never seen such an irresistible stack of fluffy pancakes. Making these pronto.
Added white chocolate chip and blueberries.. my husband thinks I’m the pancake queen :)
These pancakes are great! I topped mine with blackberry sauce.
Joy, I’m prego and craving pretty much everything in your blog… care to come to Spain and cook a little something for me?! :) We live in a little town that just celebrated its 1000 year aniv. full of fig and olive trees… 10 minutes from the Mediterranean Sea? Can I make it any more tempting!? :) I’m going to try those pancakes tomorrow and see if my 3 sons and husband like them! I’m sure I will!
These pancakes are convincing me to give the lemon poppyseed combo another go. I had such a muffin the other day and although it looked lovely, it was quite disappointing!
Any time is a good time for pancakes! I love lemons and I’ve never tried them in pancakes. Thanks so much for posting since I now know what we’re having for brunch on Saturday.
I made these _immediately_ after reading this post. And made a buttermilk substitute to boot, and felt very pleased with the whole affair. Mine could’ve handled more lemon zest in them. But I made an orange/honey syrup to go on top, which was quiiiite nice.
I made these with whole wheat flour and omitted the eggs… deeeelicious!
Joy, that stack of pancakes totally has my name on it. Out of interest, how many do you usually indulge in, in one sitting???
These look so fun! I’m a huge fan of lemon poppyseed cake myself =) Also wanted to share a quick story from my college hippie co-op days I thought you’d appreciate. One quarter, a kitchen manager decided to buy 10 lbs of poppy seeds to leave as her legacy. Let me tell you. It’s a heck of a lot of poppy seeds, and you can only eat so much poppyseed cake, no matter how much you love it. We felt defeated. One morning, I walked into the kitchen to find stacks of the blackest waffles ever — black not from burning, but from the sheer volume of poppy seeds packed into them! They were tasty, but I’m glad I did not have to pass a drug screen any time soon ;)
Breakfast? Bah! Just made these for dinner for my twin toddlers and husband. (They are already huge fans of your carrot cake pancakes). I use kefir in place of buttermilk for both recipes by the way… Thanks for the ongoing pancake inspiration!
those looks delicious!!! just the recipe i needed! thanks, joy!!!
calorie count?
Joy, these pancakes were amazing. So fluffy! Thanks a lot for the recipe.
YUMMY! I love pancakes. It’s our favorite Saturday morning breakfast.
Just when I thought pancakes couldn’t get any better…jtb to prove me wrong. I was thinking of how I could make this into a single lady situation but heck, I think I’ll just make the whole stack.
Oh my goodness! These look spectacular! Your recipes always look amazing! (adding things to my shopping list now)
I will find an excellent excuse to make these ASAP!
awesome. I think pancakes are in order for lunch.
Saw this recipe and 2 stores later, for poppy seeds – I was making them for dinner. Soooooo good! Thank you Joy
Once again, Joy, you are brilliant! Can’t wait to try these.
Yessss! Tomorrow morning’s breakfast all figured out then.
Thanks for the recipe Joy. I was just wondering when I was going to use some of my new spices, specifically the poppy seeds.
I made these for dinner last night. They were awesome! :)
I am slightly (way more than slightly) addicted to pancakes. morning or evening. in every flavor and fashion. thank you for enabling me.
:)
-Anna Kae, novice baker
yes, i need to make pancakes right now.
xo, cheyenne
Pancakes are very american, for french people and I never tasted them. I would like to. One day, I’ll try to cook.
Hi, Joy. Long-time fan. I just made these pancakes and they literally made my day. I appreciate that they’re not as sweet as a poppyseed muffin, which is what I was expecting. Perfect start to the day. You are an inspiration, Joy! Take care.
Oh my…I made these this morning and they were so, so delicious. I’m going to have to work out on my little glider thing twice as long now. Thank you very much!
I am, however, in a bit of a pancake slump. I can’t get my pancakes to be fluffy. My baking powder is fresh. My flour is fresh. No matter which recipe I make, they come out flat. Delicious. But flat. The only thing I can think is that I’m over mixing but I feel like a barely stir them. This sounds silly, but does anyone know about how many turns they do with the spoon before it’s done? Also…if I half the pancake recipe, would that in some way affect fluffiness?
Again…these pancakes are amazing. They will be in my regular rotation…but I so need help with the fluffy!
It helps if your buttermilk and eggs are room temperature. There should still be some lumps of flour in the batter when you stop mixing. I have found that very slightly reducing the amount of liquid makes for a fluffier pancake. Thinner batter makes flatter pancakes. Good luck. (And at least the flatter pancakes are still edible!)
AHHHH. Of course! Warm eggs and buttermilk. I always bring those things to room temp for bread or anything else. I don’t know why I never thought to do it for pancakes. And I will try reducing the liquid. Thank you so much for the hints!
Oh wow, these look awesome. I haven’t tried to make pancakes in ages. Maybe this weekend is a good time to give it a go!
Crisp pancake edges make me giddy. Also, I can’t believe I’ve never had lemon poppy seed pancakes before. How are these not on every menu?
Oh sweet jezuz.
I see you’ve now trained your kitty to pour syrup whilst you photograph. Nicely done!
Lemons and Poppy Unite! Loves.
your take on:
Pizza cups ???
Muuuums! De ser godt nok helt utroligt lรฆkre ud.
They look fabulous! What a great post. I think I might just let the “stars align” and make some over the weekend “)
That look so yummy (: Pancake it is for breakfast!
Beautiful pancakes. Beautiful photos of the cooking process, too.
serious romance
What summery looking pancakes! Can’t wait to try them.
Now i know what i’m making both weekend mornings! Thanks, Joy.
Crispy pancake edges are the best… I usually try to save them for last. These pancakes look delish… will have to try them soon! :)
These look divine! Can’t wait to try them :)
Yes Sunday morning breakfast has been confirmed :) My poor husband has been doing shift work and also working on all his days off trying to finish his PhD research, this is exactly the kind of treat he deserves. You are an incredibly clever lady!!
Joy, you have perfect timing! These look delicious and its my birthday today/tomorrow (Friday). Perfect birthday breakfast!
you can also freeze the cooked pancakes (wrapped individually in plastic wrap) then pop them frozen into the toaster for a quick weekday morning treat.
joy– this is perfect. i am having guests sleep over this weekend and i cannot wait to bust these out while at the same time saying– oh what? me? i totally do this all the time, really its no problem….when the truth is my boyfriend and i eat yogurt every morning.
thanks homie
i love lemon poppyseed muffins so i definitely think i would love these pancakes!
Joy,
You inspire me. I hope you know how much your readers appreciate you. This blog is a comforting place for me and I am grateful.
Blessings,
Julianne
Oh my goodness…that pancake stack photo is absolutely perfect.
LOVE lemon and poppy seeds together! This looks amazing, Joy!
my older sister would love these! as lemon poppy seed is one flavor favorite combo of hers!
Joy, when do I include the zesty sugar? If it’s in there I’m missing it again and again and again…
fixed!
Oh, I love these! Lemons and poppy seeds are a perfect match!
Yum, Joy!! If you say pancake, I’ll eat it. I’m very non-discrimating ;-)
how’d you know i have buttermilk i’m trying to find ways to use? looks like the BF is getting a special breakfast this weekend!!
Yum! I am all over these. Including freezing these (I can find space in my freezer!) and enjoying them for the next few weeks before I try some more of your amazing pancake recipes! By the way, you tip about rubbing citrus zest and sugar together has rocked my world. I do it for everything I possibly can and just sit over the bowl, inhaling that delicious scent. Thank you!
I’m putting blueberry syrup on these babies.
right on!!
*drool*
lemon poppy seed pancakes … a genius marriage of muffin flavoring in a pancake form. you rock.
I absolutely agree about the late morning and slippers thing, I do this regularly to indulge on a day off :)
love-bookmarked. will have to make without the poppy seeds- you know- you can’t buy them here or things like nutmeg or vanillia extract…maybe kuwait is not a shoppers paradise after all!
I was going to make Bacon Pancakes this weekend, but I think these might have made it to the top of the ‘To-Make’ list instead
Too good! Thanks for this, I will DEFO be making these!! xx
themusingsofateenagemind.blogspot.co.uk/
Agreed every moment is special and we should savor every minute…eh bite of it ;) Definitely woke up craving some pancakes after seeing this delicious stack of them!
I was just saying to myself the other day: “Diane, why don’t you make more pancakes? Especially since your gentleman friend wakes you up with this video nearly every morning?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrcT7sseLZI
I love lemon ANYTHING!
These look fantabulous!
I love Joy The Baker pancakes! Brunch is my favourite meal of the week, and pancakes are almost always featured. My friends were so impressed with the carrot cake pancakes and the pumpkin pancakes. In Vancouver, a gourmet food store sells bourbon maple syrup which I have a sneaking suspicion you would love, book signing tour round two? Thanks for a very Joy post – from a regular reader/baker/cooker of your site but a first time commenter.
I love lemon poppyseed anything! I cannot wait to make these!
Lemon poppy seed pancakes are my favorite! There’s a cafe in Providence that serves them with fresh raspberry butter – delightful!
I love your lemon zest art in the top pictures! I luckily have people staying here tomorrow night, so I am thinking this is the perfect recipe to wake up to…. or to wake up and cook, most likely without a bra and with messy hair and then quickly get ready beofre everybody else wakes up! ha!
I need this in my life on the immediate. Along with a pair of house slippers.
I read this, looked over at my fiance, and was all, “GUESS WHAT WE’RE MAKING FOR BREAKFAST TOMORROW”. It was serious.
Joy! What are you doing? These pancakes sound so amazing. I want to make all your recipes all the time! Thanks for the pro-tip on freezing batter… I think this will help me feel less compelled to eat 4 servings of pancakes in one fell swoop.
This is a great reminder to eat lemon poppy seed pancakes….I can’t recall the last time I had them or if I’ve ever had them at all! These look classy yet earthy…perfect for a relaxed weekend brunch with friends or family! I also love the idea of freezing pancake batter – the thought never occurred to me and this is a great option!
yum!
we love pancakes in this house :)
Totally obsessed. As in, I will TOTALLY die a horrific death if I don’t make these THIS weekend. As in, I am TOTALLY making this this weekend.
Mmm… late morning pancakes sound delicious. I love lemon and poppy seed. That’s Sunday morning sorted :)
Lemon poppy seed muffins were one of my favorites growing up. There is a perfect balance of tartness and sweetness that completely satisfies the palate- and freckles of poppy seeds breaks up the monotomy of sunshine…pure perfection!
I like lemon poppy seed muffins too and the poppy seed cake my Great Aunt Mamie use to make when I was young. These pancakes are for me.
I love the combination of lemon and poppyseeds. These look fantastic!
How do you get them to be so fluffy?
Um can you say, maj pancakes?! Loving this, happening this weekend.
The perfect weekend breakfast– you’re tempting me by posting on a Thursday!
Yum, yum, yum!! I need make these (turned gluten-free, of course) like stat!
Yum:)
These pancakes would brighten any gloomy, cold morning.
Hellooooo Sunday morning breakfast!
Oooohhhh…..poppyseed muffins are my favorite as well, but as pancakes? That is the best idea ever. Can’t wait to make these!
Do you think these would be frees able after cooked and then warmed up in the toaster? That would make these doable for during the week when there isn’t time to cook pancakes.
These look fabulous! I absolutely love this idea!
I loveeee lemon-y food. Definitely trying these :-)
Thank you!!!! These loook gorgeous, yummmmmyyyy….!
I love the combination of poppy seeds with lemon in muffins. I guess it’s going to be as successful in pancakes; will need to give those a go asap!
They are so pretty and fluffy and perfect looking. Thanks for the reminder about your buttermilk substitutions. Good reminders!
I need to make this for Saturday morning breakfast. It looks super tasty! I love the idea that we can freeze the batter. I hadn’t thought of that and usually we just eat an unhealthy number of pancakes instead.
I need these in my life asap. I’ll definitely be making these come saturday morning!
I’ve never thought about freezing pancake batter before; that’s a little bit of genius.
So right! I do need more pancakes in my life. Lemon flavored sounds so delicious. I might even go out on a limb and make a lemon glaze for something like this. Yum!
It’s a good thing you’ve triple-plated the plates, you’re about to have a maple syrup river overflow situation! ps Fact. no such thing as too much maple syrup.
I’m not much of a breakfast eater, except for the weekends, when it becomes more of a brunch. But, these look too good to pass up.
Even thought it’s 9 in the morning and I already had breakfast (nutella on fluffy bread) I would like some of those. Thank You.