If you follow my Facebook page, you may have seen a post I made a few weeks ago about making pancakes for the freezer. So, I thought I’d type up a quick post to show you guys how to do it (it’s not difficult at all)!
Freezing pancakes is one of those tricks of the trade that our grandmothers used to do and I remember my frugal mom doing so we could have hot breakfasts before school. If you add in Making Your Own Butter or Making Freezer Jam, all of this will take you back a few years and feel nostalgic.
🍴 Why This Recipe Works
Been Around for Decades – This trick has been around forever and is a tried and true technique for busy families.
Meal Prep – This is one of those perfect meal prep recipes that you need in your back pocket for breakfasts, after school snacks or those famous “breakfast for dinners” that a lot of us love to have.
Frugal – There is no need to buy these from the freezer department at the grocery store when you can make your own at home for pennies.
Fast – Busy families don’t need more added to their plate, so making a few batches of these will be super fast. It will cut down on the stress of crazy mornings when you need to get everyone fed and out the door.
🧈 Ingredients
Pancake Mix – Whether you choose to buy a store bought version or make your own is all up to you for this recipe. Both work out great and the key is to just get them made and in the freezer for later use.
🥞 Instructions
Step One: Cook up the pancakes. I usually make it from scratch, but just didn’t feel like making a big mess this morning, so I used a box mix. It made about 20 pancakes. I know it could’ve been cheaper had I made it from scratch, but sometimes efficiency is worth just as much as frugality. Even so, $1 for several days of breakfast for two is extremely cheap.
Use a nonstick pan to make a couple of pancakes at once.
Step Two: Lay them flat on a cookie sheet and separate each “tier” with aluminum foil to prevent sticking. Once all of the pancakes are cooked up, put the sheet pan into the freezer for two to three hours. It is ready when you can lift the aluminum foil from the pancakes without much sticking.
The reason I freeze them on a tray instead of just stuffing them in a bag immediately after cooking is to prevent them from sticking together. By using this method, you can freeze as many pancakes as you’d like because you can just keep stacking and separating with aluminum foil.
Freezing them on a tray and separating allows you to pull them out individually and only heat up the exact amount you need. Wouldn’t it suck to pull out seven stuck-together-pancakes and only need three?
I don’t have a ton of room in my freezer and actually had to transfer my ice maker tray (it takes up HALF of my bottom-shelf freezer space!) to the fridge while the pancakes were freezing.
Step Three: After freezing, stack them and separate them with small squares of parchment paper.
This made it so much easier to take just one or two out of the bag to reheat for breakfast. I didn’t have to worry at all about them sticking.
Note: I have been grabbing one as a snack in the evenings too, when I get hungry and want something sweet. I add a dab of maple syrup and this really satisfies my sweet tooth!
Step Four: After the pancakes are stacked, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag. They fit perfectly without taking up much space.
Step Five: Reheat these in the toaster, toaster oven or microwave.
❗ Expert Tips
Use the Parchment Paper – If there is just one big thing I would suggest with this technique is to make sure you use parchment or wax paper to separate the flapjacks as they will stick and not come apart.
Use Freezer Safe Bags or Containers – If you don’t use freezer grade bags/containers then the pancakes will get freezer burn very fast and all your hard work will be in the trashcan.
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Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with me through social media by following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
How to Freeze Pancakes
Ingredients
- Pancake Mix Store bought or homemade
- Parchment Paper
- Ziplock Freezer Bags Gallon Sized
Instructions
- Prepare pancakes as your normally would and allow to cool.
- Lay them flat on a cookie sheet and separate each "tier" with aluminum foil to prevent sticking. Once all of the pancakes are cooked up, put the pancake-filled sheet pan into the freezer for two to three hours. It is ready when you can lift the aluminum foil from the pancakes without much sticking.
- After freezing the pancakes on the sheet pan, stack them and separate them with small squares of parchment paper.
- Transfer them to a freezer-safe bag and they fit perfectly without taking up much space. Some people use a bread bag to store and stack their pancakes. I think that is such a great idea because it would save TONS of space.
- Reheat in toaster, microwave or toaster oven.
Notes
Hi!
Ginny Collins is a passionate foodie and recipe creator of Savor and Savvy and Kitchenlaughter. Indoors she focuses on easy, quick recipes for busy families and kitchen basics. Outdoors, she focuses on backyard grilling and smoking to bring family and friends together. She is a lifelong learner who is always taking cooking classes on her travels overseas and stateside. Her work has been featured on MSN, Parade, Fox News, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and many local news outlets. She lives in Florida where you will find her outside on the water in her kayak, riding her bike on trails, and planning her next overseas adventure.
Hi Jazmin! I just wanted to let you know that I tried your pancake freezing method tonight with the leftover pancakes from our dinner. I am really thrilled with how well they seemed to freeze. I showed my 7 year old where I placed them in the freezer and how to reheat them and it is so easy even he can do it. (He told me that I can sleep late tomorrow morning and he will make me breakfast- haha.) Thanks again for sharing this! 🙂
I’m so glad that it’ll make your mornings easier, Dawn! Hooray for sleeping in!!
Great idea, would also like to know the best method for reheating. I dont want to go through the process and and chew tough pancakes, lol
I reheat them in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. The time truly depends on how many pancakes you heat up at once and how powerful your microwave is. For us a minute is usually perfect for reheating 3 small pancakes.
I too, would really like to know how you reheat them and for how long. Microwave, oven, toaster oven? What is the best method. Time, and temp?
I reheat them in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. The time truly depends on how many pancakes you heat up at once and how powerful your microwave is. For us a minute is usually perfect for reheating 3 small pancakes.
Great idea! I always just stick them in a ziplock bag, and fhat has not worked the greatest. Thank you!
I place cooled pancakes between squares of waxed paper *before* placing them in freezer bags, so they never stick together. Guess I’m just lazier than you guys! 😉
I freeze waffles all the time but have never tried pancakes! Thanks for posting on the Thankful HomeAcre Hop! Come back again on Thursday! Nancy The Thankful Home Acre Hop
Great idea, makes cooking simpler thats for sure!
Can you tell me how you re-heat them? Microwave; toaster; fry pan? Thanks
I’ve done this before, but usually just throw them in a ziplock all together after cooking–in which they proceed to all stick together! Thanks for the tips! Love your blog–quick question–how long do you heat them up for when you take them out of the freezer? Also, how long are they good in the freezer?
I definitely never would have thought of this! Thanks for sharing it today on the Daily Blog Boost!
~ Brooke ~
This is such a good idea, I’ve done it in the past with potato pancakes it is so nice to just grab some out of the freezer when you don’t have time or feel like cooking!!
Yep – it is super easy and makes my morning 10x easier! Great for us bloggers that are busy 24/7 lol
Great idea. I love making pancakes but it can be kind of a hassle. Making a double batch next time!
Making a double batch is a great idea!
Damn, I must get on this freezing train. No more spending triple that (ok that mqa be an exaggeration) for less pancakes in the freezer isle. Can’t wait to try this. May I ask, where do u find $1 pancake mix?
Yes! Get on the freezing train haha! The pancake mix was from Wal-mart – the cheaper ones are on the bottom shelf #frugaltip 😉
Great idea!! thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks, Marion!
I had no clue you could freeze pancakes! What a great idea! Going to pin this for later! Coming over from the DBB!
It is super easy to freeze pancakes. Thanks for stopping by, Cara!