You may be surprised by how delicious these sweet potato pancakes taste. They’re made with classic warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg along with buttermilk to make them rich and fluffy. Even my husband who’s not a fan of sweet potatoes said these pancakes taste like heaven!😄 Trust me, they’re a whole lot better than your average pancake. I think you’re going to love this one!

Front facing view of a stack of sweet potato pancakes on a plate with butter and maple syrup poured on top.

My family absolutely loved these pancakes! I made TWO batches and they were delicious!
Deborah

If you’ve been around here for a while then you already know how much I love sweet potato recipes. At any given time I might be making my brown butter sweet potato pie or this warm and cozy sweet potato tortilla soup! But these sweet potato pancakes are always at the top of my list. They have all the things you love about traditional pancakes, but the flavor is simply incredible! Definitely save this one when you want something special for breakfast or brunch.

Ingredients Needed

Baked Sweet Potatoes: I like using baked sweet potatoes for this recipe because they have a rich caramelized flavor. But if you’re short on time you can definitely boil them on the stove or use my Instant pot sweet potatoes method.
Dry Ingredients: Just like traditional pancakes I use a combination of flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt for the foundation of the pancakes batter.
Wet Ingredients: Butter, buttermilk, and an egg get mixed in with the sweet potatoes to create the wet ingredients mixture.
Spices: To bring out that classic sweet potato flavor, I use a little bit of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract.

Overhead view of ingredients for sweet potato pancakes on a white countertop.

How To Make Sweet Potato Pancakes

Dry ingredients for sweet potato pancakes in a clear bowl.

In a large bowl, add all of the dry ingredients for the pancakes and whisk them together.

Mashed sweet potato flesh in a clear bowl.

In a separate bowl, add the cooked sweet potato flesh and mash or blend with a hand mixer. Then add in the rest of the wet ingredients and stir until combined.

Wet and dry ingredients for sweet potato pancakes mixed together.

Now pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Gently stir the two together until just combined.

One sweet potato pancake cooking in a skillet.

Cook the pancakes in a large non-stick skillet. You can cook 1 or 2 pancakes at a time depending on the size of your skillet.

Cooked sweet potato pancake in a skillet.

Once the first side is brown, flip the pancakes and continue cooking on the second side.

Ten sweet potato pancakes on a baking sheet.

Turn your oven on the warm setting and keep the pancakes warm in the oven on a baking sheet. Enjoy these sweet potato pancakes with butter and warm maple syrup.

How To Make Homemade Buttermilk

Buttermilk gives these pancakes its fluffy, airy texture. So whenever you can, I suggest using buttermilk. You can use store-bought or make your own by mixing 1 cup of whole milk and 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar. Let the milk sit for 5-10 minutes. You can also just use regular milk or your favorite plant based milk in this recipe. It won’t be quite as fluffy, but it will still taste delicious!

Important Cooking Tips!

Don’t overmix the batter. Gently combine the wet and dry ingredients, but be sure not to overmix. Overmixing will make your pancakes slightly rubbery and not as fluffy. So mix the wet and dry ingredients together until they are just combined and there are no more dry patches of flour left in the bowl.
Control your temperature. Cooking your pancakes on medium to medium-low heat will make sure they cook all the way through and give them a golden brown color. If your heat is too high, you may burn the pancakes before they’ve had a chance to cook all the way through. I always start at medium heat, then lower it to medium-low once my skillet is really hot.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Author: Marsha McDougal

These dreamy Sweet Potato Pancakes are fluffy, full of flavor, and the perfect way to switch things up for breakfast or brunch!

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings medium pancakes

Ingredients

1 medium sweet potato

Dry Ingredients

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
¼ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Wet Ingredients

1 cup buttermilk*
¼ cup butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg, beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Wash, dry, and prick the sweet potato several times with a fork. Bake in the oven at 400°F for 1 hour. Alternatively, you can boil the sweet potato on the stovetop or cook in your instant pot. Once it is done, scoop out the flesh onto a plate and let it cool. (You can also save time by baking the sweet potato the day before and then refrigerate until the following day)
In a large bowl combine all of the dry ingredients (flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg). Whisk them together until they're combined.
In a separate medium bowl, add the cooled sweet potato flesh and ¼ cup of the buttermilk. Mash them together with a potato masher or blend them together with a hand mixer.
Now add the rest of the buttermilk, melted butter, egg and vanilla extract to the sweet potato mixture. Stir them together.
Combine the sweet potato mixture with the dry ingredients. Gently mix them together until they are combined. Be sure not to overmix! The batter will be slightly thick.
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and add ½ tablespoon of butter. Scoop ⅓ cup of the pancake batter and add it to the skillet. You will be able to add 1 or 2 pancakes at a time depending on the size of your skillet.
Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. Flip once the edges start to puff and the bottom is golden brown. Lower the heat to medium-low heat and repeat with adding more butter and pancake batter to the skillet until all the pancakes are cooked.
Serve these sweet potato pancakes warm with butter and maple syrup. Chopped pecans also taste great added on top. Enjoy!

Notes

You can make your own buttermilk by mixing 1 cup of whole milk and 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
If you are using leftover cooked mashed sweet potatoes or candied yams that already have spices in it, then feel free to adjust or eliminate the cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in this recipe.
If you have a large 12-inch non-stick skillet you should be able to cook 2 pancakes at a time. If you are using a smaller 10-inch skillet then you may only be able to cook 1 pancake at a time which would increase the overall cook time.
Keep your pancakes warm in between batches by placing them in the oven on a baking sheet on the warm setting.
Cook time listed above does not include the time to bake the sweet potato.

Nutrition

Serving: 2pancakesCalories: 172kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 4gFat: 6gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 338mgFiber: 1gSugar: 8g

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine American

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Be sure to leave a RATING and COMMENT down below. Your review and feedback is greatly appreciated!

This recipe was originally published in September 2020. It has been completely updated and refreshed with new photos and information.