These Red Velvet Pancakes are the most decadent, tastiest breakfast treat. Fluffy gorgeous red buttermilk pancakes with a hint of cocoa, topped with an easy 2-minute no-mixer-needed cream cheese glaze.
These red velvet pancakes make such a perfect Valentine's Day breakfast for the whole family, or can venture into dessert territory real quick with all the pancake topping ideas you'll see below. You can't go wrong either way!
Easy red velvet pancakes
I'll tell you a secret. Making red velvet pancakes is just as easy as making regular pancakes. You just need 2 additional ingredients: cocoa powder and red food coloring. You add the cocoa powder to the dry ingredients and the food coloring to the wet ingredients.
That's it.
Related recipe: Churro Pancakes
You can use your favorite pancake recipe, whether it's buttermilk pancakes, whole wheat pancakes, or pancake mix pancakes. Your family will think you are a kitchen magician, whipping up these stunning red velvet pancakes. They don't have to know that it was actually super easy. 😉
These red velvet pancakes are buttermilk pancakes. The recipe below uses 2 cups of flour to make a LARGE batch of pancakes (about 16 pancakes). You can definitely halve the ingredients if you want, but keep in mind that pancakes freeze well, so you might as well make a large batch and then have pancakes ready to pop into the toaster for a quick and easy pancake breakfast another day. Your future self will thank you.
You can find tips for freezing pancakes below the recipe.
Related recipe: Carrot Cake Pancakes
2-minute cream cheese glaze without a mixer
These red velvet pancakes are so gorgeous that I wanted a cream cheese glaze instead of syrup, so that the white glaze can stand out against the deep red of the pancakes. This recipe for a cream cheese glaze is made in 2 minutes without a mixer!! I figured if you're making pancakes for breakfast, you don't want to have to get the mixer out first thing in the morning.
The cream cheese glaze / syrup is made by microwaving 4 oz cream cheese, 3 tablespoons milk, and ½ teaspoon vanilla for 30-45 seconds, or until the cream cheese is super soft. Then you mash the cheesecake with a fork and stir in ½ cup powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar). Mix with a fork until you get a smooth sauce. No mixer needed!
If you want, stir in another tablespoon of milk to thin it out and make it more drizzle-able.
DONE!
Of course, you can use regular syrup for these pancakes, or serve them with chocolate sauce (try the sauce from this chocolate pancakes recipe), condensed milk, whipped cream, or just some powdered sugar on top. They're delicious either way!!
Ready to make a large batch of red velvet pancakes?
Related recipe: Eggnog Pancakes
Ingredients
For the pancakes:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (can use up to 3, but that will make more chocolatey pancakes)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups buttermilk (use up to 2.5 cups for thinner pancakes) - hint: got leftover buttermilk? Make this buttermilk smoothie!
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus extra for cooking
- 2 eggs
- 2-3 teaspoons liquid red food coloring (or as needed to make a red batter)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Got leftover buttermilk from these pancakes? Make Russian Blini!
For the cream cheese glaze (aka icing/syrup):
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 3-4 tablespoons milk (any kind)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
Related recipe: Red Velvet Mug Cakes
Instructions
Step 1: In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, from the flour to the sea salt. Mix well.
Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients, from the buttermilk to the vanilla extract. Whisk well to combine the egg and the oil into the buttermilk. Add more food coloring, as needed, until the color is a nice red color and no longer pink.
Step 3: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and whisk until just combined and no large lumps remain. Do not overmix.
Step 4: Preheat a nonstick skillet. Add ½ - 1 teaspoon vegetable oil or spray with oil or cooking spray. Pour a scant ¼ cup of batter into the skillet and cook over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes, or until small bubbles form on the top. Use a silicone spatula to flip the pancake and cook for another 30 seconds - 1 minute, or until fully cooked. Set aside, and repeat until all the pancakes are cooked.
Cooking tips:
→ I love using a squeeze release ice cream scoop to get a perfect ¼ cup of batter with minimal dripping. A measuring cup or small ladle would work too!
→ Turn the oven on to the "warming" setting (or the lowest temperature it will go) and place the cooked pancakes on a large baking sheet in the oven to keep them warm until ready to serve.
The pancakes won't be perfectly pretty because they do get a little bit of a light brown color as they cook, but that is OK, because they will be covered in a delicious cream cheese glaze and will come out GORGEOUS in the end!
Step 5: Prepare the glaze while the pancakes are cooking: in a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, milk, and vanilla extract. Microwave for 30-45 seconds, or until the cream cheese is very soft. Stir in the powdered sugar, and stir until no lumps remain. You may need to microwave for an additional 15-30 seconds to fully melt the cream cheese. The cream cheese sauce will thicken as it cools. You can either microwave before serving, or stir in an additional tablespoon of milk to thin it out.
Step 6: Serve the pancakes warm with the cream cheese sauce.
Related recipe: Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
Red velvet pancake topping ideas
The pancakes are DELICIOUS with just the cream cheese sauce, but if you really want to wow your family or loved one, try some of these toppings to take these red velvet pancakes over the top:
- Powdered sugar (sprinkle it on through a colander to avoid large piles of sugar)
- Whipped cream
- Chocolate sauce
- Chocolate or red sprinkles
- Fresh strawberries or raspberries
- Freeze-dried raspberries crushed on top (I use them for topping these chocolate-covered brownies)
- Mini chocolate chips
- Candied pecans
- Condensed milk
Related recipe: Valentine's Day Cake Pops
How to freeze and reheat pancakes
Store pancakes in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat pancakes from the fridge, I recommend toasting them or putting them in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 5 minutes.
If you don't finish the pancakes in 5 days, don't worry! Pancakes freeze so well, I ALWAYS make a large batch, even if it's just for 3 of us. Freeze pancakes with a piece of parchment paper in between them, so they don't stick together. Reheat from frozen in the toaster or in the oven. It will take 1-2 minutes longer than reheating from the fridge.
You can also remove pancakes from the freezer and place them in the fridge the night before, to make sure they toast even faster.
Related recipe: Valentine's Day Hot Cocoa Bombs
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!
Red Velvet Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder -
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups buttermilk - (use up to 2.5 cups for thinner pancakes)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil - plus extra for cooking, or use cooking spray
- 2 eggs
- 2-3 teaspoons liquid red food coloring - (or as needed to make a red batter)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 3-4 tablespoons milk - (any kind)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup powdered sugar - (confectioner's sugar)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, from the flour to the sea salt. Mix well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients, from the buttermilk to the vanilla extract. Whisk until well combined. Add more food coloring, as needed, until the color is a light red color and no longer pink.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and whisk until just combined and no large lumps remain. Do not overmix.
- Preheat a nonstick skillet. Add ½ - 1 teaspoon vegetable oil or spray with oil or cooking spray. Pour a scant ¼ cup of batter into the skillet and cook over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes, or until small bubbles form on the top. Flip the pancake and cook for another 30 seconds - 1 minute, or until fully cooked. Set aside, and repeat until all the pancakes are cooked.
- Prepare the glaze while the pancakes are cooking: in a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the cream cheese, milk, and vanilla extract. Microwave for 30-45 seconds, or until the cream cheese is very soft. Stir in the powdered sugar, and stir until no lumps remain. You may need to microwave for an additional 15-30 seconds to fully melt the cream cheese. The cream cheese sauce will thicken as it cools. You can either microwave before serving, or stir in an additional tablespoon of milk to thin it out.
- Serve the pancakes warm with the cream cheese sauce.
Notes
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.
Jessica
Friday 11th of February 2022
Hi Kate, I wonder why you are using food coloring rather than a natural ingredient to color the dough? Is food coloring a natural product?
Kate
Sunday 13th of February 2022
The foot coloring I used was not natural just because I wanted the pancakes to be really red. I think in the 8 years of having a good blog I posted 4-5 recipes that have food dye added, but I typically don't use it. If you have natural food dye you can definitely use that!