The Best Store-Bought Pancake Mix, According to a Chef

As far as I'm concerned, the best pancake is the pancake someone else made for me. I'm not a morning person—hard stop. So if you ask me to whip up a fluffy stack first thing in the morning, you'd better believe I'm reaching for a boxed mix. At the end of the day, for me, pancakes are just syrup sponges and vehicles for butter and chocolate chips. 

That's why I turned to the ultimate pancake expert, Jared Forman, Chef & Owner of Deadhorse Hill in Worcester, Massachusetts. His seasonal American restaurant is known for its epic brunch and rotating pancakes, so I asked for his take on the best off-the-shelf shortcut to pancakes. From buttery Bananas Fosters flapjacks with banana rum caramel and candied pecans, to fluffy, peak-summer Peaches and Cream stacks and malted wild Maine blueberry pancakes with local maple syrup—this chef can sling a skillet cake like no other.

But what about those mornings when you don't want to leave the house? Putting on pants, facing traffic, and communicating with other humans can feel like too much sometimes. Luckily, Forman's favorite shortcut to restaurant-quality flapjacks, King Arthur Buttermilk Pancake Mix, is widely available and does all the heavy lifting.

The Perfect Pancake Can Come From a Box (or Bag)

The ideal pancake strikes a delicate balance between texture and flavor. It should be fluffy but never dry, with a tender, almost custardy interior. Whether from a box, scratch, or your favorite diner, the perfect pancake feels indulgent but not heavy. 

Forman explains that pancake nostalgia is seemingly "ubiquitous and untenable—it's so rare that expectation is delivered on," but he believes that King Arthur Buttermilk Pancake Mix brings the home cook closest to achieving that elusive perfect pancake. 

Just Add Water (Or More)

When it comes to mixes, there are two types of people in this world: the "just add water" crowd and those who prefer to add other ingredients. King Arthur offers the best of both worlds. It conveniently lies in wait, tucked away in the pantry for a spontaneous pancake morning and consistently delivers a solid stack made exactly per the package's "just add water" instructions. 

It's also highly customizable, with plenty of room for a DIY brunch, earning you the right to say, "Look what I made!" Forman says that you're "not beholden to the recipe" on the package of this reliable workhorse and encourages trusting your senses to enhance the recipe to your liking.

Easy Ways To Level Up Your Pancakes

• Add Richness: "Even if the mix doesn't call for eggs, if you've got your hands on local, farm-fresh eggs, add them in," Forman says. Just be sure to reduce the water called for in the recipe to keep the batter at the right consistency. 
• Add Stir-ins: Your favorite chocolate chips, seasonal berries, chopped fruit like apples, pears, and peaches, fresh citrus zest, toasty candied nuts—folding extras into the batter is the quickest way to a standout stack.
• Butter up the Batter: Instead of greasing your skillet with oil or butter (which often leads to dark spots and pock marks speckled across an otherwise beautiful pancake), use a well-seasoned skillet or griddle and whisk melted butter directly into the pancake batter. This helps the pancakes form their own even, golden crusts as they hit the heat for a picture-perfect stack without the splotches.
• Add Nostalgia: Forman swears by a spoonful of malt powder or malted milk powder. The toasty, nutty, almost caramelized flavor gives pancakes that old-school diner edge, the kind you remember from tall stacks on warm plates, served with endless coffee refills. It bridges the gap between a boxed mix and the classic griddle cakes etched in your memory. 
• Add Sweetness: His favorite upgrade? Whisking locally sourced, thick, grade B maple syrup right into the batter. It infuses the cakes with irresistible maple flavor and a true "sense of place." Pancakes are, after all, syrup sponges by design, so you might as well make them the best sponges they can be.