As the weather begins to drop and the leaves are falling, nothing celebrates the season than a pumpkin recipe. These fluffy sourdough pumpkin pancakes are the perfect breakfast to enjoy the autumn weather. Reminiscent of my favorite sourdough pumpkin bread, these sourdough pancakes are a fast and easy breakfast that are sure to satisfy your pumpkin craving.

There is a stack of sourdough pumpkin pancakes on a plate with a pat of butter on top and syrup pouring over the pancakes.

How to Use Sourdough Starter in Pancakes

The sourdough starter used in pancakes is typically used to prevent wasting sourdough discard. This means the starter is not used to leaven the pancakes. Baking powder is the main leavening agent in these pancakes. The starter will add a slight tang taste but you probably won’t even notice it.

Pancakes are very forgiving when it comes to the moisture content in the batter. So use whatever sourdough discard you have on hand. It can be any percentage of hydration and it will work just fine.

Ingredients

All purpose flour: You can also substitute bread flour or whole wheat pastry flour.
Baking powder
Pumpkin pie spice
Cinnamon
Salt
Milk: You can use any type of milk or vegan milk in these pancakes.
Sourdough starter: Discard or active starter will work well in this recipe.
Pumpkin puree: Be sure you are using pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling will have extra ingredients that will affect the flavor of these pancakes.
Eggs
Maple syrup: You can substitute agave, honey, or even plain sugar in this recipe.
Butter: You can use unsalted butter or salted butter or your favorite vegan butter substitute.
Vanilla extract: Although I always recommend pure vanilla extract, imitation vanilla is a fine substitute.

How to Make Vegan Sourdough Pumpkin Pancakes

To make these pancakes vegan, simply substitute the eggs, milk and butter for vegan alternatives. I love the Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer and ener-G egg replacer. You can also make a flax egg by mixing 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds with 3 tablespoons of water.

I recommend oat milk, coconut milk, or almond milk in substitution but other varieties will work well too.

How to Make Sourdough Pumpkin Pancakes

Step 1: Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. I love cooking in cast iron skillets. They maintain even temperatures and are teflon-free.

Step 2: Whisk together the dry ingredients.

sourdough pumpkin pancake dry ingredients in bowl.

Step 3: Combine the wet ingredients.

sourdough pumpkin pancakes wet ingredients mixed together in large mixing bowl.

Step 4: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

sourdough pumpkin pancake batter in large bowl with a wooden spoon.

Step 5: Melt butter in the preheated pan and scoop pancakes batter into the pan. I highly recommend using a measuring cup for portioning the batter in your pancakes. I use a 1/3 cup measuring cup which creates 8-10 5 inch pancakes.

Step 6: Cook for 3-4 minutes per side. The edges should appear set and the top will have bubbles.

sourdough pumpkin pancakes in two skillets being cooked.

Step 7: Transfer to a plate and serve immediately.

sourdough pumpkin pancakes on a plate with garnishes around the plate..

How to Store Sourdough Pancakes

Store these pancakes in an airtight container, gallon ziplock bag or on a plate wrapped in plastic wrap. These pancakes can be stored in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can also freeze them in a gallon freezer bag.