Making pancakes isn’t hard. With some pancake mix, all you have to do is add water and shake. But we get it—busting out the griddle is a whole thing. Most mornings, I’m lucky if I have time to eat a cup of yogurt; no way am I standing over the stove gingerly flipping flapjacks. Not happening. That’s where the best frozen pancakes come in. If you have a microwave and around 30 seconds, you can have a plate of fluffy pancakes that will (almost) fool the fam into thinking you made them from scratch.
For this taste test, I shopped for everything from frozen mini pancakes to the full-size guys. I tried Eggo frozen pancakes and a variety of generic brands. To be perfectly honest, the frozen pancakes landscape isn’t very diverse. All the frozen pancakes we tried tasted pretty similar, but some are a little bit better than others—softer and fluffier with a flavor that approximates batter that was browned on a griddle. Some of the frozen pancakes we tried tasted like almost nothing, but a little butter and syrup will fix ‘em just fine. This list will come in handy for the real time-crunched mornings, when you’re heating and eating on the go without any of the traditional pancake accoutrements. Read this, then fill your freezer with the best frozen pancakes.
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- Eggo Minis Pancakes
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These Eggo frozen pancakes are visibly taller than other microwave pancakes, and sure enough, they’re very nice and fluffy out of the microwave. If you like silver dollar-sized pancakes, these are some of the best mini frozen pancakes you can buy. You toss ‘em to your kids like dog treats to eat plain, or you can pile them with toppings—their fluffy nature will have them sopping up syrup.
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Pillsbury Funfetti Mini Pancakes
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I really thought these Funfetti frozen mini pancakes were going to taste like birthday cake. Alas, they are just regular mini pancakes with some sprinkles in them. If they are supposed to be birthday cake flavored, that is a dang dirty lie. But are they good? Sure! The sprinkles contribute just a little bit more sweetness than you’ll find in other brands of frozen pancakes, which is welcome if you’re sending a kid out the door with these minus butter and syrup.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Signature Select Mini Pancakes
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Signature Select mini pancakes, which you’ll find at Albertsons-owned grocery stores, have a flavor that other frozen pancakes don’t have. I checked the ingredients list for vanilla extract, but it only lists “natural and artificial flavors.” Anyway, these taste a little bit vanilla cake-y to me, and it’s definitely not a bad thing given how bland so many frozen mini pancakes taste. If you’re smothering them in syrup, you probably won’t even notice, but if you’re eating these on their own or with some berries and whipped cream, they’ll make an impression.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Eggo Buttermilk Pancakes
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Eggo Buttermilk frozen pancakes have a nice amount of salt. In fact, they’re the only microwave pancakes we tasted that have any dimension to their flavor. They really have that buttermilk tang, and it’s definitely welcome in an otherwise one-dimensional food. These full-size Eggo frozen pancakes aren’t as fluffy as the minis, but they’re nicely aerated all the same. I also like the larger size—these are real pancake breakfast fodder. Heat up some breakfast sausage and some hash brown patties, and have yourself a Big Breakfast at home.
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
Best Fluffy
Most Fun
Best to Eat Solo
Best of the Best
Other frozen pancakes we tried: Dewaffebakkers Buttermilk Mini Pancakes, Great Value Buttermilk Pancakes, Hungry Jack Minis, Signature Select Buttermilk Pancakes
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!