Rainbow Pancake Cereal
Add some color and whimsy to your breakfast with this rainbow pancake cereal recipe! Make it for St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, birthdays, and anytime you want a bowl full of teeny-tiny multi-colored pancakes.
These aren’t your everyday buttermilk pancakes, and they’re not silver dollar pancakes either. These are the tiniest pancakes you’ve ever seen—well, outside of our mini pancake cereal, that is. And if you liked that recipe, you’re going to love this one, because everything is better when it’s rainbow colored!
This rainbow pancake cereal puts a bright and colorful spin on the TikTok pancake cereal trend from a few years back. These wee bitty pancakes taste just like your favorite stack of pancakes, but they’re a tiny bit crispier thanks to their diminutive size, which means they cook up faster.
About this rainbow pancake cereal
Full disclosure: this rainbow pancake cereal takes some time to cook because you’re basically cooking eleventy-billion* tiny pancakes here.
*not the actual number
On the bright side, they do cook quickly, and once you get the hang of it, cooking this rainbow pancake cereal is oddly satisfying. It’s fun to put little dots of batter on the skillet, and even more fun to flip them over.
But the most fun is eating your rainbow pancake cereal when it’s done. I mean, can you imagine eating fluffy tiny pancakes out of a bowl with a spoon? And those pancakes are rainbow colored? I don’t think it gets any more joyful than that. Or maybe it can – serve it with a rainbow smoothie bowl.
While you can add fresh berries and a drizzle of maple syrup to this rainbow pancake cereal, we don’t recommend pouring milk over the tiny pancakes because they’ll get soggy. Our s’mores cereal and homemade cookie cereal are much better for pairing with milk!
What you need
- Wet ingredients – Milk, eggs, melted butter, vegetable oil, vanilla extract
- Dry ingredients – All-purpose flour, white sugar, baking powder, salt
- Food coloring – Gel food coloring will give you the boldest colors without watering down the batter, but liquid works just fine too.
How to make it
Make the batter. Whisk the milk, eggs, butter, oil, and vanilla in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients; pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
Rest. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes, then stir 2 or 3 more times.
Tip: The resting time lets the batter thicken, which is important for this recipe. A thick batter ensures that the pancakes keep their shape!
Color the batter. Divide the batter into smaller bowls; however many colors you want for your pancakes is the number of bowls you’ll need. Stir the food coloring into each bowl; start with a small amount, then add more until the batter reaches your desired shade.
Prepare. Set a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and spray it with non-stick spray, if desired.
Cook the pancakes. Use a spoon to drop tiny dots of batter onto the pan, then flip them over after 1 or 2 minutes, or when you see little bubbles start to form. Cook for an additional 30 seconds, then transfer to a large plate.
Tip: You can also pour the batter into small Ziploc bags and snip the corner to pipe the batter, or use squeeze bottles.
Repeat with the remaining rainbow pancake cereal batter.
FAQs
Mini pancakes don’t need as much time on the griddle as traditional pancakes. After a minute or two on the first side, they only need about 30 seconds more on the opposite side. Because they’re so small, mini pancakes are a bit crispier than traditional fluffy buttermilk pancakes. Even if you can’t flip every single one, they’ll likely still get cooked through.
No, you can’t put mini pancakes in the toaster, although you can heat them on a tray or a piece of foil in a toaster oven.
How to make this rainbow pancake cereal your own
Here are some ideas for customizing this rainbow pancake cereal recipe:
- Make it gluten-free. Just use your favorite measure-for-measure gluten-free flour blend instead of all-purpose flour. You might also like our gluten-free pancakes or our gluten-free sheet pan pancakes.
- Take them over-the-top. Add whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles, or even edible glitter for a breakfast worthy of a celebration. Try enjoying them with an Irish cream iced latte!
- Make them fruity. Use fruit-flavored extracts to make your rainbow pancake cereal flavors match its colors!
Storage Suggestions
Rainbow pancake cereal can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
If you’d like to freeze your tiny rainbow pancakes, arrange them in an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and pop them in the freezer until they’re frozen solid. Transfer the frozen pancake cereal to an airtight container or freezer bag.
Reheating Tips
Reheat your rainbow pancake cereal in a 350ºF oven for about 5 minutes (you’ll need a bit longer if it was frozen), or pop it in the microwave for a few seconds at a time until it’s warmed through.
More fun pancake recipes
Get the Recipe: Rainbow Pancake Cereal
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or imitation vanilla flavor
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup white sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- food coloring of your choice (we used pink, blue and green)
Instructions
- Add the milk, eggs, butter, oil and vanilla to a medium size bowl and whisk to combine.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl then pour the wet ingredients in.
- Stir just until combined and let it sit for 10 minutes then stir 2-3 more times before dividing the batter between 3 small bowls (or more if using more colors).
- Add 3-4 drops of food coloring to each bowl and stir to combine then add more food coloring as needed to reach your desired color.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and spray with non-stick spray if needed.
- Use a spoon to make tiny dots all over the pan with one of the colors then flip them over after 1-2 minutes or whenever you see little bubbles start to form. (You can also pour the batter into small Ziploc bags and cut a pin size hole in the bottom for more control.)
- Let them cook for another 30 seconds or until golden brown, and remove from skillet.
- Repeat the process with the remaining colors until all of the batter has been used.
- Serve with freshly chopped strawberries, blueberries and syrup if desired.
Notes
- Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- If you’d like to freeze them, arrange in an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and pop them in the freezer until they’re frozen solid. Transfer the frozen pancake cereal to an airtight container or freezer bag.
- Reheat in a 350ºF oven for about 5 minutes (you’ll need a bit longer if it was frozen), or pop it in the microwave for a few seconds at a time until it’s warm