If you love the crunchy, sweet cinnamon sugar topping on churros, you are going to love these Churro Pancakes: fluffy buttermilk cinnamon pancakes coated in crunchy cinnamon sugar served with chocolate sauce to mimic the churro experience. Such a delicious breakfast or dessert!
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Easy Cinnamon Churro Pancakes
Is it breakfast? Is it dessert? Don't ask too many questions, just make these Churro Pancakes!! Yes, they're probably too decadent for just a regular breakfast, but they're so so good!
The crunchy cinnamon sugar definitely takes these pancakes up a notch, and we love serving these pancakes with something a little different yet so perfect for churros: chocolate sauce instead of maple syrup.
My husband also dips his churro pancakes in condensed milk, and that's pretty good as well.
If you've ever eaten toast with cinnamon sugar on top as a kid, you'll know exactly what to expect from the crunchy cinnamon sugar topping on these pancakes! It's nostalgia and deliciousness all in one.
Related recipe: Chocolate Pancakes with Chocolate Sauce
Ready to make these??
Ingredients
For the pancakes:
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1.5 - 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, to taste
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1.5 cups buttermilk (or regular milk)
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus extra for cooking
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Got leftover buttermilk after making these pancakes? Use it for Russian Blini with Buttermilk!
For the churros topping and serving:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (optional but recommended - see notes below)
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- chocolate sauce or condensed milk (or maple syrup) for serving
Want more breakfast ideas that are topped with chocolate sauce? Make this Chocolate Cream of Wheat!
Ingredient notes
→ If you don't have buttermilk, you can use any milk (cow's or plant milk). By the way, if you open a container of buttermilk for this pancake recipe and don't know what to do with the leftovers, try this buttermilk smoothie!
→ You can use store-bought cinnamon sugar. It's convenient to have on hand. But I do also like just making my own and storing it in a spice jar with a shaker. I usually save an old spice jar and wash and dry it, but you can buy nice glass spice jars.
→ The melted butter is optional but helps the cinnamon sugar stick to the pancakes because I brush them with butter first. It also gives the pancakes an AMAZING buttery flavor. If you want to skip the extra calories, you might need to press the pancakes into a plate of cinnamon sugar to get the cinnamon sugar to stick better.
→ I used regular Hershey's chocolate syrup. If you want a homemade chocolate syrup without any artificial flavorings and with more REAL chocolate, I highly recommend this chocolate sauce. It takes just a few minutes to make and keeps well in the fridge.
→ Cinnamon sugar topping: You can buy pre-made cinnamon sugar, but it's definitely pricier than making your own! Just remember that you'll need about ¼ cup to coat all the pancakes, so don't buy one of those small spice containers because it won't be enough.
Related recipe: Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese Glaze
Instructions
Step 1: In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, ground cinnamon, baking powder, and salt).
Related recipe: Eggnog Pancakes
Step 2: In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until well combined.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and whisk together until just combined. Do not overmix.
Step 4: Preheat a nonstick skillet, and spray or brush with vegetable oil. Add a scant ¼ cup of pancake batter to the pan and cook over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes, or until small bubbles form at the surface and the bottom is golden. Carefully flip and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minutes, or until the pancake is fully cooked. Repeat until all pancakes are cooked.
Step 5: Combine ¼ cup sugar and ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon and whisk together. You can add a little more cinnamon to taste, if you like. You can either spread this cinnamon sugar out on a plate, or put it in a spice container shaker. If you already have store-bought cinnamon sugar in a shaker, that's perfect to use!
Step 6: After cooking the pancakes, brush the pancake with melted butter on both sides and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, or press the pancakes into a plate of cinnamon sugar. Set aside.
Step 7: Serve pancakes coated in cinnamon sugar with chocolate sauce or condensed milk, or maple syrup.
Related recipe: Carrot Cake Pancakes
More topping ideas for churro pancakes
- Whipped cream
- Powdered sugar
- Chocolate sprinkles
- Vanilla bean ice cream
Related recipe: Pumpkin Protein Pancakes
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Churro Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1.5 - 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon - I use 2 teaspoons for extra cinnamony pancakes
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1.5 cups buttermilk - (or milk)
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil - plus extra for cooking, or oil spray
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter - melted (optional but recommended - see notes)
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon - or more, to taste
- chocolate sauce or condensed milk - for serving
Special equipment
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, ground cinnamon, baking powder, and salt).
- In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and whisk together until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Preheat a nonstick skillet, and spray or brush with vegetable oil. Add a scant ¼ cup of pancake batter to the pan and cook over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes, or until small bubbles form at the surface and the bottom is golden. Set aside. Carefully flip and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minutes, or until the pancake is fully cooked. Repeat until all pancakes are cooked.
- Combine ¼ cup sugar and ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon and whisk together. Put the cinnamon sugar in an empty spice container with a shaker lid, or spread it on a plate.
- After cooking the pancakes, brush the pancake with melted butter on both sides and dredge with cinnamon sugar, or sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Set aside.
- Serve pancakes coated in cinnamon sugar with chocolate sauce or condensed milk.
Notes
- The melted butter is optional, but helps the cinnamon sugar stick to the pancakes and makes the pancakes taste so good and buttery. If you want to skip the butter, just dredge the pancakes into a plate of cinnamon sugar and press down gently to get the sugar to stick to the pancakes better.
- You can buy pre-made cinnamon sugar, but it's definitely pricier than making your own! Just remember that you'll need about ¼ cup to coat all the pancakes, so don't buy one of those small spice containers because it won't be enough.
- The nutrition facts are estimated and do not include syrup or sauce.
- More topping and serving ideas: Whipped cream, powdered sugar, chocolate chips.
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.