Funfetti Pancakes
These Funfetti Pancakes will make a birthday shine or give an ordinary day a special start. A cake mix gives it that well-loved cake batter flavor, but these still have a wonderful pancake texture. And don’t forget the buttercream glaze on top!
Summertime is the season of birthdays in our family. In our house, no birthday is complete without SPRINKLES. I love starting the day with a healthy breakfast, but on birthdays all bets are off. The sugar comes out in full force and the best way to start the day is with a stack of birthday pancakes.
Funfetti Pancakes have been a huge hit at birthday sleepovers and family birthday breakfasts. Kids LOVE the colorful sprinkles inside. You’ve loved our sourdough pancakes and traditional griddle cakes…now it is time to brighten up that stack of hotcakes.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- “They taste like wedding cake!” What else is there to say?
- Soft fluffy pancake texture.
- A buttercream glaze that melts in your mouth.
- Freezer instructions for breakfast meal prep.
Can you make pancakes with a cake mix?
Yes! These pancakes are made with a box of Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix. Now we’ve showed you how to make a cake mix pancake recipe before and they’ve been a favorite ever since. Why change a good thing, you ask? For these Funfetti Pancakes, I wanted more of a pancake texture instead of a cupcake texture. A little firmer, not as “cakey”, but still super soft and fluffy. And of course, cake flavor.
To get the texture I wanted, I started with my favorite pancake recipe, Amish Griddle Cakes. I adjusted the ratio of the ingredients just a bit, then added in a Funfetti cake mix. After a couple test pancakes and adjustments, I had my perfect pancake texture.
How to Make Funfetti Pancakes
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cake mix. Set aside.
- In another small bowl, mix together the oil, eggs and milk.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Fold in the sprinkles. Batter will be thick. (If you’d like thinner pancakes, you can add a bit more milk.)
- Heat a griddle to about 250-275 degrees Fahrenheit (low heat so the pancakes do not burn). Spray the griddle with cooking spray.
- Ladle the pancake batter onto the hot pan and cook the pancakes for about 1-2 minutes or until bubbles start forming in the batter. Flip the pancake and cook for an additional minute or until cooked through.
Can you freeze these pancakes?
Yes! These pancakes freeze well. Place wax paper or parchment paper between each pancake and put them in a Ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 6 weeks. The wax paper will help them to separate easily so you can pull out the exact amount of servings that you need.
Pancake Toppings
Don’t forget the melt-in-your mouth vanilla buttercream glaze on top. It’s your classic vanilla buttercream turned into a fantastically sweet drizzle to spoon over your freshly made pancakes.
- Butter and brown sugar. Just try it. Trust me.
- Raspberry sauce
- Strawberry topping
- A drizzle of warm peanut butter
- Hazelnut spread
- Fresh fruit
- Powdered sugar
- Honey
- Dulce de leche
- Buttercream frosting
Funfetti Pancakes from a Cake Mix
These Funfetti Cake Batter Pancakes will make a birthday shine or give an ordinary day a special start. A cake mix gives it that well-loved cake batter flavor, but these still have a wonderful pancake texture. And don’t forget the buttercream glaze on top!
Servings 11 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 box Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix (15.25 ounces)
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 3 large eggs
- 2 1/3 cups 2% milk
- 1/3 cup sprinkles
Frosting:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons salted butter softened
- 2 tablespoons half & half cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cake mix. Set aside.
- In another small bowl, mix together the oil, eggs and milk.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Fold in the sprinkles. Batter will be thick. (If you’d like thinner pancakes, you can add a bit more milk.)
- Heat a griddle to about 250-275 degrees Fahrenheit (low heat so the pancakes do not burn). Spray the griddle with cooking spray.
- Ladle the pancake batter onto the hot pan and cook the pancakes for about 1-2 minutes or until bubbles start forming in the batter. Flip the pancake and cook for an additional minute or until cooked through.
- This recipes makes about 22 5″ pancakes.
For the Frosting
- In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, softened butter, cream and vanilla. This frosting will be at a spreadable consistency.
- If you’d like to drizzle the frosting, microwave the frosting for about 10 seconds and stir, then drizzle over the pancakes.
- Double the frosting recipe, if desired.
Video
Notes
These pancakes freeze well. Place wax paper between each pancake and put them in a Ziploc bag. The wax paper will help them to separate easily.
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 22 pancakes, with 1 serving being 2 pancakes. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**
Nutrition
Serving: 75g | Calories: 435kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 495mg | Potassium: 211mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 228IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 207mg | Iron: 2mg
Pancake Recipes
Our family loves to make pancakes on Saturday mornings or for a weeknight brinner. If you are looking for a new type of pancake, give one of these a try:
Peanut Butter & Jelly Pancakes 
Cinnamon Roll Pancakes Red Velvet Pancakes Cottage Cheese Pancakes Gingerbread Pacnakes Cornmeal Pancakes 
Peanut Butter Streusel Pancakes Homemade Pancakes 
Buckwheat Pancakes 
Whole Wheat Cinnamon Pancakes Oatmeal Pancakes Buckeye Pancakes 
Strawberry Shortcake Pancakes 
Honey Wheat Pancakes
Can you use this recipe in a waffle maker?
We’ve not tried that. If you do, let us know!
Can use in the waffle maker. That is what I primarily do!
Hi,
I was just woundering if you have to use the funfetti cake mix!😢😮😮😉😊😁😁😁😀😀😀😄😄😄😄😃😃😃😂😂😂
You could just add sprinkles to regular pancake batter if you’d like!
I just tried to make this ended up with a goopy thick batter …. Where did I go wrong!
The batter will be thick. You can cook them that way or thin it. If something else went wrong, i’m not sure what
I have made this quite a few times. It is very thick, but cooks up great! I just have to tell myself not to make the pancakes as big as I usually do or they won’t cook through.
Just made these. I have made many times before. I love them For birthday mornings: but thought I would comment. Don’t use the non pareil sprinkles. The little balls, in your batter. The color just mixes with batter and turns it like a muddled gray:/
do you think you could make these on a sheet pan and then just cut them into squares and serve?
We haven’t tried it, but I think it sounds like a good idea!
A few notes. I’ve made these twice. 1: batter will be very thick like brownie batter. Leave it. 2: you might try making it without added sugar first. Ours were too sweet. 3: the low heat is imperative. Don’t expect these to cook like normal pancakes. 4: cook these very small… like silver dollar size, and low heat. They’ll burn and be raw in the middle if you try to cook them like average pancakes. They cook slowly. 5: Make ahead of time if you have company over because they cook very slowly. 6: DONT use Annie’s funfetti cake mix with this recipe. Disaster. I warned you.
Absolutely AMAZING! They were the perfect combination of cake and pancake with an obscure but delicious amount of sprinkles!!! Personally I can’t tolerate overly sweet things so I eliminated the extra 2 tbs of sugar and they were almost perfect as far as sweetness goes. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, its most definitely a family favorite!