Nothing beats a stack of warm pancakes for breakfast, and at Christmas time there’s no reason your pancakes can’t join in the festive fun too. From Rudolph faces to gingerbread men, snowmen to Christmas trees, these Christmas pancake ideas will turn an ordinary breakfast into a proper North Pole feast.
It might be the most important meal of the day, but when you serve up one of these, it’s also going to be the most fun.
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Christmas Pancakes for a Festive Breakfast
Christmas Tree Pancake Stack
Image: Betty Crocker
This Christmas tree pancake stack from Betty Crocker gives the Christmas morning table real wow factor. Add green food colouring to your pancake mix, then stack and decorate with edible glitter and sugar stars.
Strawberry Santa
https://www.instagram.com/p/wBG6ydRWN5/
This one is super cute — decorate a pancake with strawberries and cream to make a delicious strawberry Santa that every child will be delighted to eat on Christmas Day. All you need is whipped cream, strawberries and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Image: Siempre Navidad
Make a Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer with one big pancake for his head, a smaller one for his nose, and two even smaller ones (or two pancake halves) for his ears. Siempre Navidad did a great job with this one, complete with a strawberry for his red nose, whipped cream and chocolate buttons for eyes, and bacon antlers.
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Christmas Tree Pancake
With a spot of green food colouring, make your pancakes, then fold them into quarters and stack them with a sausage for a trunk and decorations like Smarties for baubles. Add a swirl of whipped cream for the star and you’ve got a Christmas tree pancake just like this one.
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Banana Strawberry Santa Pancake
This banana strawberry Santa pancake is simple but very effective. Decorate the pancake with strawberry halves for the hat, banana slices for the beard, and blueberries and raspberry for the eyes and mouth.
Snowman Pancakes
Image: Fruit Bouquets
These smiling snowman pancakes from Fruit Bouquets would turn any morning into a great day.
Penguin Pancakes
Image: Listotic
Isn’t he adorable? Nutella, icing sugar, marshmallows and strawberries transform a simple pancake into this festive penguin.
Gingerbread Man Pancakes
Image: Edible Crafts
This idea for gingerbread man pancakes is really effective. Use a gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut the shape out of one pancake. On another pancake, spread Nutella or chocolate spread over the top, then place the cutout pancake on top to reveal the chocolate gingerbread man underneath.
Mini Santa Hat Pancakes
Image: Savor and Savvy
Not only are these Santa pancake skewers the cutest thing ever, they also only need a handful of ingredients.
Grinch Pancakes
Image: Hungry Happenings
Savour every bite of these fluffy green Grinch pancakes, topped with a sweet cream cheese icing and a swirl of green whipped cream.
Banana Pancake Snowmen
Image: Taste of Home
Both kids and adults will love these snowman pancakes. Invite your little ones to help decorate their snowmen and they’ll be out of bed in a hurry.
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North Pole Pancakes
Image: Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons
These North Pole pancakes will have the whole table asking for seconds.
Snowflake Pancakes
Image: What’s For Dinner, Gena
Try your hand at some pancake art with these snowflake pancakes. Remember, no two snowflakes are the same, so just get creative.
Gingerbread Men Pancakes
Image: McCormick
These gingerbread men pancakes take everything you love about their cookie cousin — ginger, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg — and wrap it up in one fluffy pancake.
Gingerbread Pancakes
Image: BBC Good Food
Skip the gingerbread man cutters and go straight for the flavour instead — the smell alone is pure Christmas. Gingerbread pancakes like these from BBC Good Food are a real seasonal treat.
Christmas Pancake Tutorial
This step-by-step video tutorial from Minnesota Cold shows you how to create twelve different Christmas pancake designs — Santa, ornament, mitten, Christmas tree, candy cane, stocking, holly, Santa’s hat, gingerbread man, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, snowman and snowflake. It’s a great one to follow along with the kids on Christmas morning.
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Eggnog Pancakes with Maple Cranberry Syrup
Image: Grandbaby Cakes
This recipe for eggnog pancakes might be the ultimate Christmas pancake. Eggnog has a similar consistency to buttermilk, which makes it perfect for pancake batter, and combined with warm spices and a cranberry maple syrup, it tastes really Christmassy.
Cranberry Orange Pancakes
Image: Taste of Home
As special as the holidays themselves, these fluffy cranberry orange pancakes are ready in minutes and brimming with sweet, tart, tangy flavour.
Funfetti Christmas Pancakes
Image: Easy Family Recipe Ideas
If you’re looking for a fun breakfast to kick-start the day, you can’t go wrong with these funfetti Christmas pancakes. Simple, easy and delicious — it’ll be hard to share them.
Christmas Tree Pancakes
Image: Berry World
Choose a thinner, crêpe-style batter to create these Christmas tree pancakes. Berry World use blueberries as a garland, a raspberry as the star, and a base of strawberries and blackberry.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the easiest Christmas pancake design to start with?
Rudolph and simple snowman faces are the easiest place to start — they just need one round pancake plus a few toppings like fruit, marshmallows or chocolate buttons for the features. No special tools or piping needed.
Can I make Christmas-shaped pancakes without food colouring?
Yes. Many of the designs here rely on toppings and arrangement rather than coloured batter — snowmen, penguins and Rudolph all work with plain pancakes decorated with fruit, cream and chocolate. Green food colouring is only needed for the tree-shaped stacks.
Can I prepare any of this the night before?
Pancake batter can usually be mixed the night before and kept covered in the fridge, and toppings like fruit can be washed and sliced ahead of time. This makes Christmas morning much quicker with excited kids around.
Are these pancake ideas suitable for younger kids to help with?
Most of the decorating steps — placing fruit, adding chocolate buttons, drizzling sauce — are great little-hands jobs. Younger children may need help with anything involving the hob or hot pans.
Related Articles
- 10 of the Yummiest Christmas Brunch Ideas to Start Your Festive Feast
- How to Make Pancakes in Fun Shapes for Kids
- 4 of the Best Simple Recipes for Homemade Pancakes
- 5 Simple Recipes for Healthy Pancakes The Whole Family Will Love
- This is the Easy Pancake Recipe Your Family Will Love
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