
Fluffy buttermilk pancakes loaded with vanilla flavor and juicy strawberries. Top with homemade honey butter for the ultimate weekend indulgence!
For this recipe, use my go-to buttermilk pancake recipe. It’s the one I use time and time again when I crave a stack of classic, diner-style pancakes. This basic recipe because makes the fluffiest, softest, most tender buttermilk pancakes—that taste anything but basic. I love it so much that I published these pancakes, packed with juicy blueberries, in my first cookbook (page 35!). I’ve even made birthday cake pancakes before! Obviously.
Now for the strawberry version. I changed the recipe ever so slightly by adding a touch more vanilla and loads of sliced strawberries. I also added a little more flour because strawberries are so juicy. The vanilla extract and strawberries, along with the melted butter, give these pancakes that little something extra. So much so that you don’t even need toppings. Except for honey butter. There is always a need for homemade honey butter.
Honey + butter + strawberries + fluffy pancakes. Ah yes.
Remember when I taught you about baking powder vs baking soda? Well, we are using both in today’s pancakes! In this recipe, buttermilk is used partly for its unmistakable tangy flavor. If we used only baking soda in the pancake batter, the soda could neutralize all of the buttermilk’s acid. And we’d lose that tanginess! So, by including baking powder as well, some of the buttermilk’s flavor is left behind, and there is still enough leavening to yield the fluffiest of fluffy pancakes.
For more fresh strawberry goodness, try strawberry bread next. I compare it to “summer in a loaf pan,” but just like these strawberry buttermilk pancakes, don’t limit it to just a few months out of the year!

Strawberry Buttermilk Pancakes with Honey Butter Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- Melt the 6 Tablespoons (85g) of butter first. Microwave or stovetop—either is fine. Set aside to slightly cool. You don’t want it piping hot.
- In a large bowl, preferably with a pour spout, toss the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract together until combined. Whisk in the melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently whisk to combine. Make sure there are no patches of dry flour at the bottom of the bowl. The batter is thick and a few lumps are fine. Very gently, fold in the strawberries.
- Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Coat generously with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Once it’s hot, drop/pour a heaping 1/4 cup of batter on the griddle. Cook until the edges look set and you notice holes in the pancake’s surface around the border, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until cooked through, about 1–2 more minutes. Coat griddle/skillet with butter or nonstick spray again, if needed, for each batch of pancakes.
- Keep pancakes warm in a preheated 200°F (93°C) oven until all pancakes are cooked. Serve pancakes immediately with honey butter and maple syrup. (Though I love them even without the maple syrup!)
- Cover and store leftover pancakes in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.