Campfire pancakes — so what makes them different from the ones you make at home? Two things. You made the batter from scratch, and you cooked it over a live fire. That is the whole trick, and it is enough to turn a weekday breakfast into the best part of a camping trip.
Cowboys made pancakes on the trail for a reason: flour, sugar, baking powder, a pinch of salt, and whatever milk, butter and eggs were on hand. A handful of ingredients, one hot cast iron pan, a couple of minutes a batch. Below you will find the recipe, the rules that keep them from sticking, and rather more pancake history than you asked for.
🥞 How Many Kinds of Pancakes Are There?
Far more than three. In North America we call them pancakes. In France, crêpes. In Belgium, waffles. In Japan they are tall, wobbly and called fuwafuwa pancakes. Nearly every country has its own version of batter cooked flat on a hot surface.
Pancakes have been part of human diets for a very long time. Researchers found pancake remains in the stomach of Ötzi the Iceman, dating back 5,300 years. In ancient Greece and Rome they were made with wheat flour, olive oil, honey and curd — the Greek poets Cratinus and Magnes both wrote about them.
Shakespeare mentions pancakes in his plays. During the English Renaissance they were flavoured with spices, rose water, sherry and apples. The word “pancake” appeared in the 15th century but only became standard in 19th-century America; before that they were johnnycakes, travel cakes, buckwheat cakes and flapjacks. The first American pancakes were made with buckwheat or cornmeal, and Thomas Jefferson liked them enough to send a recipe home from the White House.
🔥 The Secret to Perfect Campfire Pancakes
You can cook pancakes on almost any surface. I like cast iron because it is so versatile — it goes on the barbecue, straight onto the fire, or on a camping gas grill. My husband swears by a griddle, and he is expert level, so if you have a home griddle or a gas camping griddle, by all means use it.
There are a few rules you have to stick to so your pancakes do not stick to your pan (see what I did there?):
- Cook the batter right away. Once it is mixed, do not leave it sitting around — the baking powder is already working.
- Get the pan properly hot, then add a knob of butter right before the batter goes in.
- The first pancake is for the pancake gods. Do not ask me why. It is ALWAYS the messed-up one.
- Use a ladle and pour into the middle of the pan, then into the middle of the growing pancake, so they come out round.
- One at a time. Crowding the pan drops the heat and you lose the edges.
- Stay close. The moment bubbles appear on the surface, it is time to flip.
- Eat them warm. Pancakes do not wait.
🫐 Plain or Flavoured?
There are endless ways to dress up a pancake. Is there a blueberry patch near the campsite? Bam — fresh blueberries. Found bananas? Add chocolate chips and serve with sliced banana on top.
You can fold these into the batter or scatter them on the wet surface just after you ladle it in, which keeps them from sinking. Personally I am a sucker for the classic plain pancake: butter and maple syrup, nothing else.
🧈 What Goes Into Pancakes Made From Scratch
If you want to eat the best pancakes you have ever eaten, you have to use the best ingredients — or at least the best majority of them. The full list is in the recipe card below, and none of it is exotic. Flour, eggs, milk, butter, sugar, baking powder, salt. Everyone has these at home, and they travel to a campsite without complaint.
You can, of course, use a boxed pancake mix and add the eggs, milk and butter it calls for. I might like you slightly less. 😉
🍁 How to Serve
Butter and real maple syrup is the house standard. After that: berries, granola, whipped cream, chocolate spread, honey, or a spoonful of jam. Away from a kitchen, bacon cooked in the same pan first — and the pancakes cooked in the fat afterwards — is a decision you will not regret.
❄️ Storage and Leftovers
Pancakes are best the minute they leave the pan, but leftovers keep two days in the refrigerator, wrapped. Reheat them in a dry cast iron pan rather than a microwave, which turns them rubbery. Leftover batter does not keep — the baking powder gives up after an hour, so mix only what you will cook.
Cowboy Campfire Pancakes
Equipment
- 1 cast iron pan
- 1 ladle
Ingredients
For the batter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 tbsp
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 2 eggs
For the pan and the table
- butter a knob for the pan, plus more to serve
- maple syrup to serve
Instructions
At the fire
- Burn your fire down to a steady bed of coals and set a cast iron pan on a grate to preheat. You want moderate, even heat — flames will scorch the outside before the middle sets.
The batter
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another, whisk the eggs with the milk and the melted butter. Pour the wet into the dry and whisk with a fork just until it comes together. A few lumps are fine; overmixing makes tough pancakes.
- Cook the batter right away. Baking powder starts working the moment it meets liquid, and batter left standing gives you flat pancakes.
Cooking
- Drop a knob of butter into the hot pan and swirl it. With a ladle, pour the batter into the middle of the pan — pour into the centre of the growing pancake so it spreads round.
- Cook one at a time. When small bubbles appear across the whole surface and the edges look set, flip once and cook the second side for about a minute, until golden.
- The first pancake is for the pancake gods. It is always the messed-up one — carry on.
Serve
- Serve warm with butter and maple syrup, or with berries, granola, whipped cream, chocolate spread or honey.
Notes
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my first pancake always a failure?
Because the pan has not settled at temperature yet and the butter is either too cool or already browning. Sacrifice it cheerfully — from the second one on, the pan is right.
How do I know when to flip?
When bubbles appear across the whole surface and the edges look set and matte rather than wet. That is usually 1 to 2 minutes over a good bed of coals.
Can I make the batter the night before?
I would not. Baking powder starts working as soon as it meets liquid, and by morning you get flat, tough pancakes. Mix the dry ingredients ahead instead and add the liquid at the fire.
Do I need a griddle, or is a cast iron pan enough?
A cast iron pan is plenty and it is what I use. A griddle just lets you cook several at once — handy for a crowd, unnecessary for four.
My pancakes burn outside and stay raw inside — what now?
Your fire is too hot. Move the pan to the edge of the coals or raise the grate. Pancakes want steady moderate heat, not flames.
Can I add blueberries or chocolate chips?
Yes — scatter them onto the wet surface right after you ladle the batter in, rather than stirring them through. They stay put and they do not burn on the pan.
Can I make these dairy-free?
Yes. Any plant milk works, and oil or a dairy-free spread replaces the butter in the batter. You will lose a little richness, not the pancake.