There’s nothing quite like a freshly baked muffin. But what if you’re missing a key ingredient, like flour or baking powder? You can use pancake mix for an easy substitution!
Start with pancake mix and simply add a little sugar, butter, milk, and an egg. And I wanted to make blueberry muffins with my pancake mix, so I added fresh blueberries and a little lemon zest.
The result? Fluffy and delicious muffins, bursting with fresh blueberry taste in every bite.
Why you will love this recipe
Using pancake mix reduces the measuring step a little, which makes these muffins a little more kid-friendly to make. I made them with my granddaughter, who loves to help with the mixing and spooning into the muffin tin.
Its exactly the kind of recipe that makes wonderful memories with children. And, you have something delicious to eat when you’re done!
Ingredients
How to make blueberry muffins with pancake mix
Simply stir together the dry ingredients: pancake mix and sugar. Then add the wet ingredients: egg, milk, and melted butter. Stir until just combined. This means as soon as the dry flour has disappeared, stop stirring.
This is just as I do for my other muffin recipes, because over-stirring can result in tough, rather than tender, muffins.
Now add in the blueberries and lemon zest.
Technically, the lemon zest is optional, but when I made these without it, I could taste the “pancake” taste in these muffins. Adding a little lemon zest enhanced the blueberry flavor and also took away that pancake taste. The zest of about half a lemon is enough.
Gently fold in the blueberries and lemon zest until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Line a muffin tin with paper liners and divide the batter to fill 12 muffin cups.
Bake at 400F for 15 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly, then remove from the muffin pan and enjoy right away or save for later.
Serving suggestions
Muffins are yummiest when served warm, right from the oven. I think they’re delicious as-is, but feel free to add a little butter, honey, or whatever you like on your muffins. 🥰
When having a muffin the next day, I like to use 10 seconds in the microwave to deliver that warmth.
Substitutions and Variations
I’ve made these muffins with 3 different types of pancake mix: Hungry Jack, Krusteaz, and Kodiak, so I am confident you can use whatever you have on hand!
I will say that my 7-year-old taste tester noticed that the Kodiak mix muffins were a little less sweet than the others. I think I might add a little vanilla the next time I make them with Kodiak. They were still yummy, and I love that the Kodiak mix is higher in protein, so you can feel the muffins are a little bit healthier.
I didn’t add any streusel to these muffins, in the interest of keeping it simple. But a sprinkling of coarse sugar on top before baking might be a delightful addition to the muffin top. 😁
Storage
These muffins should be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for just a couple days. If you plan to keep them longer, I recommend freezing them for later.
Sula’s Tips/FAQ
As mentioned, I like to add lemon zest to help enhance the flavor and mask some of the “pancake” taste of the mix. I only used the zest of ½ a lemon per batch, but you could zest the whole lemon if you want even more lemony flavor.
If using Kodiak or a similar high-protein pancake mix, consider adding about a teaspoon of vanilla to increase the sweetness profile.
More Recipes to satisfy your Muffin Craving
📖 Recipe
Blueberry Muffins with Pancake Mix
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups pancake mix
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ cup butter melted (½ stick)
- 1 ½ cup blueberries
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest about half a lemon
Instructions
- To prep: preheat oven to 400F and line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners.
- In a large bowl, stir together the pancake mix and sugar. Then add the milk, egg, and melted butter. Mix until just combined (when the dry flour disappears).
- Now add the blueberries and lemon zest. Fold (gently stir) into the batter, just until the blueberries are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Divide the batter into the 12 liners in the muffin tin. The batter will be a little more than ¾ full.
- Bake the muffins for 15 minutes. The batter will be cooked through and tops will be lightly brown.
- Cool slightly in the pan, then remove to enjoy right away or cool completely before storing.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
Kellie
I absolutely loved this! I thought to myself tonight- I’m really craving a pumpkin chocolate chip muffin… but I only have pumpkin pancake mix and chocolate chips.
I looked up “pancake mix muffins” and landed here… thinking there’s no way it could be this easy… so I gave it a try. I have to say that this recipe is extremely forgiving!
I had about 2 cups of pumpkin pancake mix, so the other half cup was just almond flour. I added a bit of maple syrup in the melted butter, and used date sugar for the half cup of sugar. Oh, I also didn’t have any eggs, so I did a flax-egg, and I didn’t have milk either, so I just used about a whole cup of vanilla yogurt (with a dash of added vanilla extract). Of course I added dark chocolate chips and I even sprinkled the tops with chia seeds, turbinado sugar and salt.
Anyways, despite all of those deviations from the recipe…these turned out absolutely divine. Thank you!!!
Sula
Thank you Kellie and I LOVE all the adjustments you made. You're right, it's very forgiving, and anyone can do it!! Thank you so much for sharing your experience!
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
This is just perfect! I love how easy it is to make and this is the perfect recipe to teach my son to make over the summer. I loved the flavor and it is perfect as I always have way too much pancake flour in the pantry.
Sula
Yes I always seem to have leftover pancake mix, and these muffins are the perfect way to use it!
Jessica Waldron
I have a question, the pancake mix with just add water, do you not add water and replace that with the milk? or do you add milk and water? that would be too moist I think but I wanted to ask. I also want to know if I could use vanilla extract instead of lemon zest. I don't have lemon zest.
Sula
Correct, you are adding milk, not water. Adding both would be too much liquid. Yes, you could add a little vanilla extract for flavor, I think a teaspoon would be about right.
Erica
These taste so much like my grandmother's blueberry muffins - now I guess I know what he real secret was! 🙂
Sula
Ha- now you have the secret too!
laura
SO EASY!! You really saved our morning with these pancake muffins!! WHEW!!
Sula
It really does make the morning easy!
Anne
This is such an easy way to speed up making muffins, very clever! The muffins tasted amazing, very tender and moist.
Sula
I'm so glad you enjoy them!
Jennifer
What a clever idea to use pancake mix! These are just about the easiest and tastiest muffins ever - so good and so easy! Love Love Love!
Sula
Enjoy!
Sage Scott
What a brilliant way to speed up muffin making -- pancake mix! I also love the lemon zest in these!
Sula
I love a good baking hack, don't you?
Rose
I love these blueberry muffins using pancake mix! my kids always request muffins in their lunch boxes, and I found this recipe to be very quick and easy!
Sula
Yes they were a big hit with my granddaughter's first grade class!
Lisa
These pancake mix muffins were perfect for a grab-and-go breakfast to enjoy on the way to work.
Sula
Yes, that's what I like too, something quick I can grab on my way out the door!
Jan
A great idea for using heaps of pancake mix. I had wayy to many sitting in the pantry. Love it!
Sula
Yes, I made these once by using up 2 different brands of pancake mix, so it's very useful for clearing out the pantry!
Sharon
I think the blueberry season is my favorite of the whole year! And now we have this muffin recipe to add to the rotation. They came out lovely and the batch quickly disappeared. 🙂
Sula
I'm with you on blueberry season - it's the best!