Olive Oil Pancakes: The Recipe and Why the Oil Beats Butter Here
Olive oil pancakes are fluffy, American-style pancakes made with extra virgin olive oil in the batter and in the pan instead of melted butter. In pancakes, oil is not a compromise: the butter is melted anyway, so it loses the solid-fat qualities that make it essential in pastry, and olive oil does the same job while mixing more easily, staying soft as the pancakes cool and giving the edges a light, golden crispness. Below is our own recipe, written for this article in metric and US measures, followed by exactly why the oil beats butter here, which olive oil to choose, and how to store and reheat leftovers.
For the oil we use ourselves, see our Cold-Pressed Single-Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Marrakech (500ml).
The Short Answer
- Yes, you can make pancakes with olive oil instead of butter, and in this recipe it works better: 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil replace the melted butter in the batter.
- Oil stays liquid when it meets cold milk and egg, so the batter mixes smoothly instead of the butter firming into flecks.
- A thin film of olive oil in the pan gives evenly golden pancakes with lightly crisp edges, without the milk solids in butter catching and darkening between batches.
- Choose a mild or medium-fruity extra virgin olive oil for sweet pancakes; save a robust, peppery oil for savoury ones.
- Cooked pancakes keep in the fridge for 3–4 days or in the freezer for up to 3–4 months, following USDA guidance for leftovers, and reheat well in a toaster.
Olive Oil Pancake Ingredients (Metric and US)
This makes 10–12 pancakes about 10cm (4in) across, enough for 3–4 people.
| Ingredient | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| Plain (all-purpose) flour | 190g | 1½ cups |
| Caster or granulated sugar | 25g | 2 tbsp |
| Baking powder | 2 tsp | 2 tsp |
| Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) | ½ tsp | ½ tsp |
| Fine salt | ½ tsp | ½ tsp |
| Milk (dairy or unsweetened oat or soy) | 300ml | 1¼ cups |
| Lemon juice | 1 tbsp | 1 tbsp |
| Large egg | 1 | 1 |
| Extra virgin olive oil, for the batter | 45ml | 3 tbsp |
| Finely grated lemon zest (optional) | ½ lemon | ½ lemon |
| Extra virgin olive oil, for the pan | 1–2 tsp per batch | 1–2 tsp per batch |
The lemon juice sours the milk, standing in for buttermilk; its acid is what the bicarbonate of soda reacts with to lift the pancakes. If you have buttermilk, use 300ml (1¼ cups) of it and leave out the lemon juice. We have deliberately left out vanilla extract; lemon zest, a pinch of cinnamon or a few cardamom seeds, crushed, give the batter a lift instead.
How to Make Olive Oil Pancakes, Step by Step
- Sour the milk. Stir the lemon juice into the milk and leave it for 5 minutes. Dairy milk will thicken slightly; plant milk may barely change, and that is fine.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, plus the lemon zest if using.
- Whisk the wet ingredients. In a jug, whisk the soured milk, egg and olive oil until the oil is broken into small droplets.
- Combine gently. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold with a spatula until no dry flour remains. Stop there: a few small lumps are correct. Over-mixing develops gluten and makes pancakes tough and flat.
- Rest the batter. Leave it for 10 minutes. It will thicken and turn slightly bubbly as the raising agents start to work.
- Heat the pan. Warm a heavy frying pan or griddle over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes, then add a teaspoon of olive oil and wipe it into a thin, even film with folded kitchen paper.
- Cook the first side. Pour in about 60ml (¼ cup) of batter per pancake, leaving space between them. Cook for 2–3 minutes, until bubbles open on the surface and the edges look set and slightly matte.
- Flip and finish. Turn each pancake and cook for 1–2 minutes more, until risen and golden underneath.
- Keep warm. Move cooked pancakes to a baking tray in a low oven, about 100°C (200°F), while you cook the rest. Re-oil the pan lightly between batches.
The first pancake is often paler or patchier than the rest; it tells you whether to turn the heat up or down. If the outside browns before bubbles appear, the pan is too hot. If the pancakes take more than 4 minutes to set, it is too cool.
Why Olive Oil Beats Butter in Pancakes
Butter is the right fat when its solid state matters: creamed with sugar for a cake, or cut cold into pastry so it melts into flaky layers. In pancakes none of that applies, because the butter is melted before it goes into the batter. Once it is liquid, butter is roughly four-fifths fat and the rest mostly water and milk solids, while olive oil is all fat, so the swap comes down to how each behaves in the bowl, in the pan and on the plate.
| What matters in pancakes | Melted butter | Extra virgin olive oil |
|---|---|---|
| Mixing into cold milk and egg | Firms up again on contact with cold liquid, leaving flecks in the batter | Stays liquid and disperses evenly |
| Greasing the pan between batches | Milk solids brown quickly and can darken the next batch | A thin film gives even colour and lightly crisp edges |
| Texture as the pancakes cool | Fat firms as it cools, so pancakes feel a little denser | Stays liquid at room temperature, so pancakes stay softer |
| Flavour | Rich, dairy, familiar | Light and fruity in the batter; more noticeable with a robust oil |
| Dairy-free option | No | Yes, with plant milk |
The same logic explains why olive oil works so well in quick breads, which our recipes for olive oil banana bread, olive oil zucchini bread and olive oil pumpkin bread rely on: a fat that stays liquid keeps the crumb soft and moist. For the general rules of swapping butter for olive oil across cakes, breads and bakes, see our complete guide to olive oil for baking.
When butter still wins
If what you love about pancakes is the taste of butter, olive oil will not give you that. The honest middle ground is to make the batter with olive oil, for the texture, and put a little butter on the stack at the table. And in bakes that depend on solid butter, such as flaky or laminated pastry, the swap needs more thought; our olive oil pie crust shows how a butter-free pastry is built differently. Our comparison of olive oil and butter covers where each one earns its place, nutrition included.
Converting your own pancake recipe
If your favourite recipe uses melted butter, replace it with about three-quarters of the amount of olive oil, because butter is partly water and olive oil is not. For example, 60g (4 tbsp) of melted butter becomes about 45ml (3 tbsp) of olive oil. Grease the pan with oil too, and leave everything else as it is.
Which Olive Oil to Use for Pancakes
In pancakes the olive oil is cooked, and there is not much of it per pancake, so the flavour is gentle. It still comes through, especially in the crisp edges, which is why the style of oil matters more than people expect.
- Mild or medium-fruity extra virgin olive oil is the choice for sweet pancakes. It adds a soft, fruity note that sits well with lemon, berries, honey, maple syrup and cinnamon.
- Robust, peppery extra virgin olive oil can taste slightly bitter in a sweet stack. It comes into its own in savoury pancakes, with herbs, spring onions or a za'atar topping.
- Refined or "light" olive oil works technically, but adds nothing to the flavour. If you want neutral pancakes, it will do the job; if you want the oil to contribute, use extra virgin.
Pancakes cook over a medium heat, comfortably within what extra virgin olive oil handles in an everyday pan, as our article on olive oil for frying explains. If the oil in the pan starts to smoke, the pan is too hot for pancakes anyway: turn it down and wipe it out. Whichever oil you choose, it should be fresh; our guide to choosing a quality olive oil covers what to look for on the bottle.
Variations
- Blueberry and lemon: add the lemon zest to the batter, then drop a few blueberries onto each pancake straight after pouring, before you flip.
- Orange and cardamom: swap the lemon zest for orange zest and add ¼ tsp ground cardamom to the dry ingredients.
- Banana: lay thin slices of ripe banana on each pancake before flipping, and serve with honey.
- Wholemeal: replace half the flour with wholemeal (whole wheat) flour and add 2–3 tbsp extra milk; the pancakes will be a little denser and nuttier.
- Savoury herb: leave out the sugar and zest, add 2 tbsp chopped chives or spring onion, and serve with a drizzle of robust olive oil and a pinch of za'atar.
- Dairy-free: use unsweetened oat or soy milk with the lemon juice, as in the ingredient list.
Toppings that suit olive oil
- Honey or maple syrup with a final thread of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of flaky salt.
- Fresh berries, sliced peaches or poached pears.
- Yoghurt and chopped pistachios, or a spoon of nut butter.
- For a fuller Mediterranean-style breakfast, see our ideas for a Mediterranean diet breakfast.
Storing, Freezing and Reheating Pancakes
- Fridge: cool the pancakes completely, then refrigerate them in a sealed container or bag within 2 hours of cooking. The USDA's guidance for leftovers is to eat them within 3–4 days.
- Freezer: freeze in a single layer on a tray, then pack into a freezer bag with baking paper between them so they do not stick. The USDA says frozen leftovers are best used within 3–4 months for quality.
- Reheating: pop them in a toaster, or warm them on a baking tray in an oven at 180°C (350°F) for about 5 minutes (8–10 from frozen), until hot through.
- Batter: it is best cooked within 30 minutes of mixing. You can keep it covered in the fridge overnight, but the raising agents weaken, so expect slightly flatter pancakes.
Because the olive oil stays soft at room temperature and in the fridge, reheated olive oil pancakes tend to stay tender rather than turning leathery.
Why Sidr & Stone
In a stack of pancakes the oil is a supporting flavour, but it is the one you notice in the crisp edges and in the final thread over honey. That makes a fresh, well-made extra virgin olive oil worth using. Sidr & Stone's extra virgin olive oil comes from one place, our own farm on the plains outside Marrakech, and we control every step from tree to bottle.
- Single-estate — Sidr & Stone grows its olives on its own family-owned farm near Marrakech, Morocco, with no blending across origins.
- Rain-fed — no irrigation; the trees take what the season gives.
- Organically grown — no synthetic fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides (not yet certified; certification is in progress).
- Single harvest — a small, limited batch, picked when the fruit is ready; once it is gone, it is gone until the next harvest.
- Cold-pressed within hours of harvest — to preserve flavour, aroma and polyphenols.
- Unfiltered extra virgin — minimally processed and never refined; a little natural sediment in the bottle is normal.
- 100% natural — one ingredient, olive oil, with nothing added.
- Dark glass with a gold label — a 500ml bottle that protects the oil from light.
- 10% of profits to charity, with fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US.
We will not tell you ours is the best olive oil for pancakes; a mild supermarket extra virgin will make a good stack too. What we will say is that it is single-estate Moroccan, rain-fed, organically grown and cold-pressed within hours of harvest, and that the product page carries the details of the current batch, so you can judge its freshness for yourself. Taste a little on its own first: if it is very peppery, keep it for the savoury version and the drizzle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it okay to use olive oil for pancakes?
Yes. Olive oil works well in pancake batter and in the pan. Because the butter in most pancake recipes is melted anyway, olive oil does the same job while mixing more smoothly and keeping the pancakes soft as they cool.
Can I make pancakes with olive oil instead of butter?
Yes. Replace melted butter with about three-quarters of the amount of olive oil, so 60g (4 tbsp) of butter becomes about 45ml (3 tbsp) of oil, and use a thin film of oil to grease the pan.
Which oil is best for pancakes?
For flavour, a mild or medium-fruity extra virgin olive oil. It adds a light fruity note that suits lemon, berries and honey. A neutral oil also works but adds no flavour, and a very robust olive oil is better kept for savoury pancakes.
Will my pancakes taste of olive oil?
Only gently. With a mild or medium extra virgin olive oil, most people notice a light fruitiness rather than an olive taste. A robust, peppery oil is more noticeable, so taste your oil first.
Can I fry pancakes in extra virgin olive oil?
Yes. Pancakes cook over a medium heat, well within what extra virgin olive oil handles in an everyday pan. Use a thin film wiped on with kitchen paper, and turn the heat down if the oil starts to smoke.
Is Sidr & Stone's olive oil good for pancakes?
It is a single-estate, unfiltered extra virgin olive oil with a fruity character, which works in the batter, in the pan and as a final drizzle with honey and flaky salt. If you find it peppery, use it for savoury pancakes and the drizzle.
How do I keep pancakes fluffy?
Mix the batter only until the flour disappears, let it rest for 10 minutes, cook on a medium heat, and flip once, when bubbles open on the surface. Check that your baking powder is in date, because old raising agents give flat pancakes.
Is olive oil a medicine?
No. Olive oil is a food, not a medicine. It has a long traditional history — including being honoured in the Prophetic Sunnah — and a substantial body of modern research, particularly around polyphenols, cardiovascular health, and the Mediterranean diet pattern. It can be a worthwhile part of a healthy routine, but it does not cure diseases and is not a substitute for medical care. Be cautious of any olive oil marketed with specific disease-cure claims.
Final Thoughts
Pancakes are one of the easiest places to swap butter for olive oil, because the butter is melted anyway and its solid-fat advantages never come into play. Olive oil mixes straight into cold milk and egg, gives an even, golden finish with lightly crisp edges, and keeps the pancakes soft as they cool and when you reheat them. Use about 3 tablespoons in the batter, a thin film in the pan, a mild or medium extra virgin olive oil for sweet stacks and a robust one for savoury, and do not over-mix. If you enjoy the result, our olive oil cake is the natural next bake.
Because the oil is part of the flavour here, it is worth using one with a clear origin. Our Cold-Pressed Single-Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Marrakech (500ml) — single-estate, rain-fed and unfiltered — is available to pre-order as a limited single-harvest batch, with fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US.
Our extra virgin olive oil is grown organically on our own single-estate farm on the plains outside Marrakech: we control every step from tree to bottle, and no synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers are used. It is not yet certified organic — certification is in progress, and we will publish it as soon as it comes through.
Disclaimer: This article shares a home recipe and general cooking and food-storage information, including USDA guidance on leftovers, at the time of writing. The recipe contains wheat (gluten), egg and, unless you use plant milk, milk; check every ingredient if you are cooking for someone with a food allergy. Olive oil is a food, not a medicine, and is not a substitute for medical treatment of any condition. For any health concern, consult a qualified medical professional.