Can the pancake batter be refrigerated overnight?

Pancakes are almost universally adored, and many people would gladly eat them for breakfast every day if they didn’t take so long to make. For a lovely Sunday brunch, spending 30 minutes preparing breakfast might not be a problem, but if you’re trying to beat traffic on your way to work or dropping the kids off at school, every minute counts.

The logical solution would be to simply make the pancake batter ahead of time so it’s ready to go in the pan first thing in the morning, but will it still create light and fluffy pancakes if done ahead of time?

Can pancake batter be refrigerated?

Yes, you can refrigerate the pancake batter overnight or up to four days. For best results, be sure to store the pancake batter in an airtight container before putting it in the fridge. You can also place the pancake batter in a liquid-safe Ziploc bag or resealable piping bag.

In this article we will look at the different types of pancake batter you can make and the best ways to store it overnight.

What happens when pancake batter is refrigerated overnight?

There are a surprising number of recipes for creating the ideal pancake, each incorporating ingredients that store in unique ways and can end up changing the consistency of your final product.

The biggest concern is the increase in mass.

If you like fluffy American-style pancakes, before you decide if your batter can store effectively overnight, check to see if your recipe contains the following ingredients that we’ll discuss in the next section.

Also, whatever type of pancakes you want to refrigerate, you’ll need some food-grade airtight jars, or you can even store it in a batter dispenser with a lid.

Refrigerate the pancake batter: thin pancakes or crepes

If you want to make thin, flat pancakes or crepes in the morning, the ideal is to prepare the batter in advance.

By mixing the dry and wet ingredients in the dough, the dough aerates and creates bubbles. The air bubbles are what help the pancakes to puff up and rise, which is not what you want from a crepe. To get really flat pancakes, you want all the bubbles to collapse.

These pancakes are perfect for rolling up on the go with a little peanut butter and jelly or other fillings inside, or topping with a dollop of whipped cream for an elegant feast in just a few minutes.

Refrigerate pancake batter that contains baking soda

Baking soda is a leavening agent, which means it helps the dough rise so that the pancakes are nice and light and fluffy.

Unfortunately, baking soda starts to work as soon as it’s mixed into the batter and falls apart if not cooked relatively quickly . If your recipe calls for baking soda as the only means of getting the dough to rise, it’s not an ideal recipe to make ahead of time.

Refrigerate pancake batter that contains baking powder

Baking powder, on the other hand, tends to keep quite well.  Most baking powder is “double acting,” meaning it will activate as soon as it comes in contact with wet ingredients, but will reactivate when it comes in contact with heat.

Your pancakes may not be as tall as if you made them immediately, but if you notice that the first cooked pancake seems a little too flat for your liking, you can add a little more baking soda to the batter in the morning to freshen it up.

Try to stay within 25% - 50% of the original required amount.

Refrigerate pancake batter that contains yeast

Making pancakes with yeast is usually a great option to prepare them in advance. The yeast stays active, which means your pancakes will have the volume you like even if they’re cooked the next morning. Some people even think that letting the yeast sit and proof overnight increases the flavor.

It is even possible to make your pancakes or waffles with sourdough, which is usually done weeks before cooking.

In both cases, it is best to take the dough out of the fridge an hour before cooking so that it is back to room temperature.

Refrigerate the buttermilk pancake batter overnight.

If buttermilk pancakes are your raison d’etre, making them ahead of time can be a bit tricky, but not impossible.

Buttermilk deflates if it sits too long , so the solution, in this case, is to mix all the dry ingredients together in advance and add the wet ingredients just before you’re ready to fry the batter.

You don’t even need to refrigerate the dry ingredients, and the wet ingredients can be combined in a single bowl and stored in an airtight container overnight, but it’s best to whisk them together just before adding them to the dry ingredients in the morning.

This isn’t the latest in time-saving techniques, but it’s not the worst either. In most cases, it will take no longer to mix the ingredients than it will to heat up the pan or griddle.

If you’re determined to mix all the dough together and refrigerate it overnight, just find a recipe that also uses yeast and you’ll have no problem mixing everything up ahead of time.

If you’re curious about how to store dry pancake mix long-term, check out this article we wrote.

How to refrigerate pancake batter that contains egg whites

In some recipes, beaten egg whites are used as a leavening agent, instead of yeast or baking soda.

If this is your favorite recipe, the best solution is to make the pancake batter the night before, but save the egg whites for whipping and add to the batter just before cooking.

This will give you the convenience of pancakes overnight with the light and fluffy effect of making them the same morning.

How to save pancake batter overnight

If you are going to store the dough for pancakes from one day to the next, the most important thing is to pay attention to the complete absence of exposure to air.

For best results, here’s how to refrigerate pancake batter overnight:

• Pour the batter into a sealable Tupperware container.
• Before closing the lid, cover the surface of the dough with plastic wrap. This will give you the maximum possible protection against air. 

Another method of refrigerating pancake batter overnight

• Pour the batter into a liquid-safe Ziploc bag
• Squeeze out as much air as possible before closing it
• When you’re ready to use it, you can simply cut off a corner of the bag and squeeze it out, similar to using a pastry bag.

Or you can even store it in a pancake dispenser like this one from Amazon.

Some people like to eat pancakes every day, and to those people I say, “why not?”

If this sounds like you, you may find it easier to make a large batch of pancake batter on your day off and store it to use throughout the week.

The most convenient way I’ve found to store large batches of pancake batter is inside a large, empty ketchup bottle or other type of squeeze bottle that has a decent closure.

This makes it easy to squeeze the batter directly into the pan or griddle for almost instant à la carte pancakes.

If you want to keep your pancake batter for a long time, it’s best to use a pancake batter that contains yeast, rather than baking soda or eggs.

The flavor and rise will develop better over time and you won’t have to worry about mixing more when you’re in dire need of breakfast.

The exception to this, of course, is if you prefer Scandinavian-style flat pancakes or crepes, in which case it won’t matter if the baking soda or powder loses its lifting power over time.

The last ingredient you should pay attention to is milk. If your recipe calls for milk, you don’t want to store the pancake batter for more than a week to make sure it doesn’t crack.

Related questions

Why does my pancake recipe call for standing?

It is unusual, though not unheard of, for a pancake recipe to call for a standing period. Whenever you work with flour, too much mixing can cause the gluten to harden and resting your dough or batter will loosen the gluten again, preventing a gummy pancake.

That being said, the secret to a great pancake is not to over mix the batter. Lumps are fine, but an overly mixed batter will be flat and, as this question indicates, potentially rubbery.

Can the pancake batter be frozen?

If possible. Keeping all of the tips above about refrigerating the dough in mind, you can pour it into a liquid-safe, freezer-safe Ziploc bag to freeze for up to 3 months.

Be sure to remove as much air as possible before placing it in the freezer.

To defrost the dough, simply take it out of the freezer and let it come to room temperature on the counter. You can also place it in a bowl of warm (not hot!) water to thaw more quickly.

Can I freeze pre-cooked pancakes?

Yes you can. In fact, many people find it easier to cook a large batch of pancakes and freeze them for quick eating later than to make the batter ahead of time. Once the pancakes are cooked, allow them to cool completely before individually wrapping them in plastic wrap.

For extra protection, you can place all the individually wrapped pancakes inside a single freezer-safe Ziploc bag or Tupperware container. Label the container with the freezing date and try to eat your pancakes within 3 months.

To eat them, you can pop the frozen pancakes in the toaster or oven, or let them thaw on the counter and reheat them in a skillet or in the oven in larger batches.