Apple Pancakes (with Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce)
Caramelized apples spooned over warm, fluffy, cinnamon-scented pancakes: this is the kind of breakfast that turns a slow morning into a small celebration. Do not resist the temptation and let a sweet, cozy day begin.
Apple pancakes are soft, spiced pancakes made from a simple flour, milk and egg batter, finished with a topping of apples caramelized in maple syrup, brown sugar and butter. The batter carries cinnamon and ginger plus a little finely grated apple for extra moisture, while the topping brings that jammy, spoonable sweetness on top. Together they turn an everyday pancake stack into an autumn breakfast worth waking up for.
This year I was blessed with a lot of apples. My apple trees were abundant like never before, offering me juicy, healthy, sweet apples, and I enjoyed them in cookies, cakes and other recipes with apples. Now the time has come to try them in a recipe for pancakes with apples, ideal for breakfast, and I hope you love them as much as we do.
Why you’ll love these apple pancakes
- Cozy fall flavor from cinnamon and ginger in every bite.
- Two textures in one plate: fluffy pancakes plus soft, jammy caramelized apples.
- Made with pantry staples like flour, milk, egg, apples and warm spices.
- Easy enough for a lazy weekend breakfast, special enough to serve guests.
Choosing the best apples
When choosing the perfect apples for these cinnamon apple pancakes, it helps to think about the texture and taste you want. Firm, slightly tart apples such as Granny Smith, Braeburn or Honeycrisp hold their shape as they cook and balance the sweetness of the syrup, while softer, sweeter varieties break down into a more jam-like topping. You can also mix different types of apples to create your own flavor combination. This recipe uses two apples sliced for the topping and one apple finely grated into the batter, so a little apple flavor runs all the way through.
The two parts: caramelized topping and spiced batter
This recipe comes together in two easy parts. For the caramelized apple topping, the sliced apples are first coated in lemon juice to keep them bright, then simmered with water, maple syrup, brown sugar and a little butter until the liquid boils and turns glossy, about 7 to 10 minutes on low heat. For the pancakes, you whisk all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, brown sugar, salt, vanilla, one egg, full-fat milk and the finely grated apple into a batter, leaving a few lumps in place. Cook the pancakes in a little ghee or oil for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, then spoon the warm apples over the top.
Tips for getting them just right
A few small habits make a big difference. Whisk the batter only until it comes together; a few lumps are fine, and overmixing is what makes pancakes tough. Cook over steady medium heat so the outsides turn golden before the centers are set. If you like crispier pancakes, here is what I do: I reduce the amount of milk or water in the recipe to obtain a thicker dough, which will result in denser pancakes with crispy edges. Keep the finished pancakes warm in a low oven while you cook the rest, and add the apple topping just before serving so it stays glossy.
Make ahead, storing and reheating
Leftover apple pancakes keep well. Store the pancakes and the caramelized apple topping in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days, then reheat the pancakes in a toaster, a dry pan or a low oven. The topping warms gently on the stove or in the microwave with a splash of water to loosen it. You can also freeze the plain pancakes in a single layer until firm, then stack them with a piece of parchment between each one and reheat straight from frozen, making this an easy breakfast to prep ahead.
Serving ideas and more pancakes to try
Serve these apple pancakes warm and stacked, generously topped with the caramelized apples and their syrup. A dusting of extra cinnamon, a spoonful of yogurt or a handful of toasted nuts all work beautifully alongside. If you are cooking your way through a big apple harvest, my roundup of autumn apple recipes for fall has plenty more ideas. And if you love a good pancake stack, try my coconut flour pancakes, warmly spiced gingerbread pancakes, or fluffy banana pancakes without eggs for another easy breakfast.
If these apple pancakes brighten your breakfast table, I would love to hear about it. Leave a star rating and a comment below telling me which apples you used and how you topped your stack.
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Apple Pancakes
Ingredients
For the topping:
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 apples peeled, cored and cut into slices
- 1 cup filtered water
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter
For the pancakes:
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 apple finely grated
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 egg large
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup full-fat milk
- ghee or cooking oil for frying
Instructions
- Prepare the caramelized apple topping.
- Coat the apples in lemon juice.
- In a pan, add the water, maple syrup, sugar, butter, and apples. Put the pan on medium heat and let it heat up. When the sugar melts and the liquid boils, mix and leave on low heat for 7-10 minutes.
- In a bowl, add the ingredients for the pancakes and whisk until you get a homogeneous batter, a few lumps are fine.
- In a non-stick frying pan, over medium heat, add a little bit of oil or ghee and cook the pancakes for 1-2 minutes on each side.
Continue the process with all the remaining apple pancake batter mixture. - Serve the pancakes with the caramelized apple topping.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. As written, the recipe includes one large egg, butter in the caramel topping, full-fat milk in the batter and ghee for frying, which makes it vegetarian rather than vegan. To make it plant-based you can swap the milk for a plant milk, the butter and ghee for a neutral oil or vegan butter, and the egg for a flax egg, though the texture will change a little.
Firm, slightly tart apples such as Granny Smith, Braeburn or Honeycrisp hold their shape well and balance the sweet maple-and-brown-sugar syrup. Softer, sweeter apples cook down into a more jam-like topping. Mixing two varieties gives you both texture and a more layered apple flavor.
For the caramelized topping the apples are peeled, cored and sliced so they turn soft and glossy without chewy skins. The single apple that goes into the batter is finely grated, and you can grate it with or without the peel, since it melts into the pancakes either way.
The two most common reasons are overmixing the batter and old baking powder. Whisk only until the ingredients come together, leaving a few lumps, and make sure your baking powder is fresh so the pancakes rise. Cooking over steady medium heat also helps them puff instead of scorching before the center sets.
Yes. Store the pancakes and the apple topping separately in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days, then reheat the pancakes in a toaster, dry pan or low oven and warm the topping on the stove. You can also freeze the plain pancakes in a single layer, then stack them with parchment between each one and reheat from frozen.
Yes. Maple syrup adds flavor and helps the topping turn glossy, but you can replace it with a little more brown sugar plus the water already in the recipe. Simmer the apples until the liquid boils and thickens into a syrup, about 7 to 10 minutes on low heat.
