Halloween Pancakes with Marshmallows
Colorful Halloween Pancakes with decorated marshmallows are all about Halloween fun. They’re a festive treat for the fall and a clever Halloween breakfast idea the whole family will appreciate!
Watching your kids’ expressions is worth the (very minimal) extra effort it takes to make it the best Halloween morning ever. Talk about a surprise to wake up to!
This recipe calls for orange, black, purple, and green food coloring. If you can’t get your hands on black food coloring, check out this black pancake recipe that uses activated charcoal as a tasteless, odorless natural alternative that works just as well.
About this recipe
These Halloween pancakes with decorated marshmallows are going to be a hit with the kids! They’re bright, vibrant, colorful, and yet still scream Halloween. To see them assembled stacked and decorated, eyeballs and everything, they’ll think they’ve stepped into a world where Dr. Seuss meets Tim Burton!
Colorful pancakes are as easy to make as your everyday pancakes, you just want to make sure to pick up some good quality food coloring and a couple of extra items. The bright-colored batter is what makes the pancakes so vibrant, so gel food coloring is your best bet.
Orange and black are traditional Halloween colors and purple and green make the entire stack come alive! You can decide whatever colors you want to use, there are no hard and fast rules. So, get creative with it!
Don’t forget to grab some marshmallows and toothpicks to use as toppers as well as an edible black marker to draw the eyeballs. These are going to look awesome!
What you need
- Basic Pancake Ingredients: Make sure to grab all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, vegetable oil (or melted butter), egg, and whole milk.
- Food coloring – We used orange, green, purple, and black, but choose any combination of four colors that you want!
- Toppings – Large marshmallows, mini marshmallows, toothpicks, edible black marker, and black sprinkles will enable you to make the perfect mix of spooky and fun!
- Whipped topping – Whipped cream and green food coloring. Either store-bought or homemade whipped cream will work!
FAQ
For a recipe that requires vibrant colors, gel food coloring is the way to go. Standard liquid food coloring is typically more cost-effective; however, the colors will be lighter. Gel food coloring is much more concentrated than liquid food coloring, so you need far less to get the same depth of color.
Once you pick up gel coloring you’ll have lots left to make green Christmas pancakes in December, red velvet pancakes in February, and then red white, and blue pancakes in July!
How to make it
Prepare the toppings first. Cut the mini marshmallows in half and draw a black dot in the middle for the eyeball. On the larger marshmallows draw zombies, spiders, zombies’ faces, or write the word BOO. Stick toothpicks in them. Allow the marker on the marshmallows to dry by placing them on a plate or in the fridge.
Mix whipped topping with green food dye in a small bowl gently – don’t overmix or it will deflate. Place in the refrigerator.
To make the pancakes, whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl; then add the milk, egg, and oil.
Mix to combine. Divide the batter into 4 separate bowls.
Add one color to each bowl of batter, using as many drops as you need to get the vibrant color you want. Start with a couple of drops, then work your way up.
Heat a medium non-stick skillet on medium heat. Do not use any oil or butter or it will brown your pancakes. Pour ¼ cup of pancake batter to make 1 pancake. Cook one side until you see bubbles popping and flip immediately. Cook the other side for a few seconds.
You will get 5 pancakes per color. Repeat until no more pancake batter is left from each color.
Stack the pancakes by starting with orange, purple, green, and then black. Really, you can put them in any order you like. Place whipped topping on top.
Add the marshmallow toppers, the eyes, and black sprinkles. Spread a little bit of whipped topping behind the eyes to glue them around the pancakes.
TIP! Make sure your heat is not too high otherwise your pancakes will turn brown too quickly and lose the bright color.
How to make these colorful Halloween pancakes your own
- Stick to orange and black for a more traditional look!
- Drizzle with chocolate sauce or strawberry sauce if you’ve got older kids who like a little vampire blood with their morning pancakes!
- For a lighter version, skip the toppings and serve with whipped cream and fresh blackberries and raspberries.
- Play around with the whipped topping colors. It doesn’t have to be green!
- Save some of the black sprinkles for these baked chocolate donuts for dessert!
- More Halloween recipes: Try Bat-Shaped Halloween Waffles or Black Pancakes for Halloween (naturally colored!).
Make Ahead Ideas
Decorate the marshmallows ahead of time and let them dry. They will start to harden over time if left exposed for too long, so be sure to cover them if you’re making them more than a couple of hours in advance. A zip top bag works really well to keep them fresh.
Use store-bought whipped topping. Making homemade whipped cream in advance is possible; however the longer it sits, the more the consistency changes.
Storage Suggestions
Keep pancakes stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days without any topping. You can transfer them to a freezer-friendly zip-top bag to be kept frozen for up to 1 month. Separate each pancake with parchment paper so they don’t freeze in one clump.
Reheating Tips
Reheat from frozen in the toaster. They’ll be nice and crisp that way. For a softer pancake, you’ll want to use the microwave.
Fall beverages to pair with these pancakes
Need something to sip on? Try these recipes:
Get the Recipe: Halloween Pancakes
Ingredients
For the Pancakes:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (or melted butter)
- 1 large egg
- 2 ¼ cups whole milk
- orange food coloring
- green food coloring
- purple food coloring
- black coloring
For the Toppings:
- large marshmallows
- mini marshmallows
- toothpicks
- edible black marker
- black sprinkles
- 1 cup whipped topping (or whipped cream)
- green food coloring
Instructions
For the Toppings:
- Halve about 10 mini marshmallows and draw a dot in the middle to make the eye. Place on a plate and allow marker to dry. You can also place them in the refrigerator. On the large marshmallows, draw zombie faces, spiders or cockroaches and write “Boo” on some. Place toothpicks in the middle of medium marshmallows. Also place on a plate to dry.
- Mix whipped topping (or whipped cream) with green food dye in a small bowl gently – don’t overmix or it will deflate. Place in the refrigerator.
For the Halloween Pancakes:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
- Add oil, egg and milk to the bowl. Whisk all together until you get a smooth pancake batter.
- Divide the pancake batter into 4 small bowls. It will be about 1 ¼ cups per bowl. Add 1 or 2 drops of each food coloring to each bowl. You want vibrant colors. Add more if needed.
- Heat a medium nonstick skillet on medium heat. Pour ¼ cup of pancake batter to make 1 pancake. Cook one side until you see bubbles popping and flip immediately. Cook the other side for a few seconds. Make sure your heat is not too high. You should get about 5 pancakes per color. Repeat until no more pancake batter is left from each color.
- Stack the pancakes by starting with orange, purple, green then black. Place whipped topping on top. Add the marshmallow toppers, the eyes and black sprinkles.
- Spread a little bit of whipped topping behind the eyes to glue them around the pancakes. Serve immediately.
Notes
- If you have Halloween cookie cutters, it can be fun to serve these in shapes on a pancake platter.
- Storage suggestions: Allow to cool down completely. Store leftovers without toppings in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezing suggestions: Freeze by storing each color separately. Place in zip-top bags or airtight containers to freeze. Defrost completely before reheating.
- To Reheat: Reheat on the stove on low medium heat until warm through. You can also use the microwave or a toaster oven.