My favorite thing in the world is when I have a recipe idea that I can’t stop thinking about and when I make it, it turns out as good as I imagined it. These Pumpkin Roll Pancakes fall into that category. I wanted to incorporate the flavors of a pumpkin roll (ya know, a pumpkin sheet cake rolled up with cream cheesy frosting filling and sliced) into a breakfast appropriate pancake. So here we’ve got fluffy spiced pumpkin pancakes that get topped with a light and creamy cream-cheese-kissed whipped cream and drizzled in pure maple syrup. It feels naughty. It’s definitely delicious. And it’s completely acceptable to consume it before 9 am. Triple win.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Pancakes
- All-purpose flour
- Whole wheat flour – Hearty whole wheat pairs really well with pumpkin, so I threw some in there, but feel free to use all regular all-purpose flour if you’d like.
- Brown sugar
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Table salt
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Ground cloves
- Ground ginger
- Buttermilk
- Vanilla extract
- Canola oil
- Eggs
- Pumpkin puree – As always, make sure you are using 100% pumpkin puree (click here to make your own) and not pumpkin pie filling.
Topping
- Cream cheese – Full fat or low fat. Avoid fat-free.
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Whipping cream
- Real maple syrup – For drizzling.
How to Make Pumpkin Roll Pancakes
Step 1: Prepare Topping
- I like to make the topping first so it’s ready to go! Whip some plain whipping cream and set aside.
- Beat some cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until smooth and creamy. Add half of the previously whipped cream and beat until smooth.
- Add the rest of the whipped cream and use a spatula to gently fold everything together. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Step 2: Make the Pancakes
- First let’s mix up some dry ingredients. I use half all purpose flour and half whole wheat flour. You’ll also add a little brown sugar for sweetness, and cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Plus a little baking soda and baking powder. Whisk all of those together and make sure you get any lumps of brown sugar broken up.
- In a separate bowl, mix up your wet ingredients: buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and just a couple tablespoons of oil. And we can’t have pumpkin pancakes without pumpkin! Once that’s all mixed up, just combine your wet ingredients and your dry ingredients. I usually whisk at first and then use a rubber spatula to mix everything gently together.
- Make sure your griddle pan is nice and hot (but not piping hot, you don’t want to burn the batter! Find a nice medium.) and then use butter or nonstick spray to coat the pan. Drop batter by 1/4 cup onto the pan and cook until edges are set. Normally, I wait until I see little bubbles around the edges of pancake batter to know they’re ready to flip, but with these, usually the bubble stage is a tad too late. I flip them once I can see the edges are set and a spatula easily slides underneath.
- Flip those and cook the remaining side.
Step 3: Serve and Enjoy!
- Serve each pancake with a little dollop of the cream cheese topping and a drizzle of maple syrup. For everyday pancakes for my kids, I use good ol’ Mrs. Butterworth’s (or whatever else happens to be on sale), but I always keep 100% pure maple syrup for recipes and special pancakes like this.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 2-3 day for best results.
- Avoid over mixing the pancake batter. Stir gently until just combined so they stay light and fluffy.
- A lot of readers have recommended topping these with Buttermilk Caramel Syrup!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! Make your topping and store in the fridge in an airtight container. Cook up your pancakes, cool completely, and layer between parchment in an airtight container then store in the fridge. When ready to serve, warm pancakes gently in the microwave or oven.
Yep! Layer cooled pancakes between sheets of parchment and store in an airtight, freezer-safe container or bag. Freeze up to 2 months. Reheat straight from frozen or thaw in the fridge overnight. Make the topping fresh!
Nope. These are great with a little butter and maple syrup. They would also be delicious with a little squirt of canned whipped cream if that’s what you have available!
While it’s not designed specifically for waffle makers, readers have reported good results using this recipe for waffles. I would just be sure to oil your waffle maker well, since waffle-specific recipes usually contain a little more oil than pancakes for easy release.
Pumpkin Roll Pancakes
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Whipped Cream
- 4 ounces cream cheese low fat is fine, but not fat free
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup whipping cream heavy or regular whipped until medium peaks form
- Real maple syrup for drizzling
Pancakes
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoons ground cloves
- ¾ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1½ cups buttermilk
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 eggs
- ⅔ cup pumpkin puree
Instructions
Whipped Cream Topping
- Whip the plain whipping cream and set aside.
- Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Take 1/2 of the whipped cream (that you already whipped) and beat it in until smooth.
- Add the rest of the whipped cream and use a spatula to gently fold in (do not beat). Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Pancakes
- Prepare pancakes. Whisk together flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Make sure to break up any clumps of brown sugar.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, vanilla, oil, eggs and pumpkin. Combine wet ingredients with dry and gently combine until mixed. Do not overmix.
- Heat a nonstick griddle to medium heat. When hot, use butter or nonstick spray to coat the pan. Drop 1/4 cup pancake batter to form each pancake and cook until edges set (if you wait until they bubble, it might be just a bit too long). Flip pancakes and cook remaining side.
- Serve warm pancakes with a dollop of cream cheese topping and a drizzle of maple syrup.
Notes
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- Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 2-3 day for best results.
-
- Avoid over mixing the pancake batter. Stir gently until just combined so they stay light and fluffy.
- A lot of readers have recommended topping these with Buttermilk Caramel Syrup!
Questions & Reviews
Can I use the Hungry Jack pancake mix and just add pumpkin and the spices? Will they turn out funny if I do? Thanks!!!!!!
Sorry, I have no idea 🙂
Loved these.
These were unbelievably amazingly wonderful!! Just WOW! A bit labor intensive with all the whipping and such, but perfect for a lazy fall weekend morning. And I froze the leftovers for a treat all week long!
I made these yesterday for my husband and my 37th wedding anniversary breakfast. They were very tasty. My only problem was my cream cheese mixture kind of melt and my pancakes slid around, didn’t stay in a nice stack like yours, but hey, they were fabulous. I was going to use the rest of my pumpkin in the current pumpkin bread recipe, but alas, it takes a full can. I’ll just make another batch of the pumpkin pancakes on Saturday.
I’m usually not a fan of pumpkin (no one stone me please) but these look heavenly and with cream cheese whipped cream… Ummmm yes please. Too bad the hubs is dieting and I KNOW he wouldn’t be able to just eat one.
They look delicious. I love, love Pumpkin rolls and bars. But guess I can’t imagine eating this for breakfast. I would love a big plate to share with others for dessert in a nano!
Pumpkin pancakes are the BEST. But you have to try them with buttermilk syrup instead of the maple sometime. We call it “magic sauce” at our house. Sooooooo good!
So, this has been my favorite breakfast since I first tried them a few months ago. Anytime of year. In fact, I would eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I recently had some leftover cream cheesy delicious filling for these pancakes and spread it on waffles with some fresh berries. Not quite as good as with pumpkin pancakes, but definitely the next best thing.
I have a similar pancake recipe. It’s awfully great as well. Another suggestion is to top your pancakes, even with the cream cheese concoction, with some chopped pecans and then drizzle it with warm maple syrup.
WOW! These are amazing. I was trying to use up all my frozen pumkin and I came across your recipe. Health and ooh so good! I keep making double batches for the kid breakfasts for the week but they don’t seem to make it through the day. We eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks!