The idea of making food ahead and freezing it for a quick meal later is one shared by almost every busy household. At the grocery store, you’ll find many pre-packaged foods cooked and frozen to be reheated when needed and pancakes are one of them.
So, why not just plan ahead to cook and freeze pancakes yourself at home?
Pancakes are a delicious breakfast food that can be made in huge batches, with the extras frozen to be eaten at a later time. Freezing pancakes is a really good idea. It saves you the hassle of mixing up the batter and cooking it when all you want is a quick freezer meal.
Easy Way To Freeze Pancakes At Home
Let’s look at the step-by-step process for freezing these delicious and fluffy flapjacks for a later time.
Step 1: Choose Your Pancake Recipe
There are so many recipes available for making pancakes. Whether you are looking to try out a new recipe or remake your all-time favorite, make your choice and get to work.
You can also mix up two or three different pancake recipes to be frozen and eaten at a later date. A few extra minutes will be all it takes to whip up an extra batch(es) of yummy pancakes. These extra minutes are worth the effort as you’ll get an easy breakfast option for weeks or months to come.
Prepare your yummy pancakes as usual, making sure they are properly cooked on both sides. This will make them safer for consumption and freezing.
The best way to maximize your effort is to cook two batches of pancakes and separate the batch to be eaten now from the ones to be frozen.
Step 2: Eat One Batch While The Other(s) Cool
After separating the batch to eat immediately, leave the other batch(es) to cool down. You can spread them out on clean cooking trays to help them cool down faster.
Avoid adding butter, syrup, or any other topping to the batch to be frozen. The batch of pancakes to be frozen should be made simple with fewer ingredients. This will help them retain their fresh and delicious original taste whenever you choose to reheat.
Let your cooked pancakes cool at room temperature until they are well-cooled and ready to be frozen. The cooling process should take at most 20 minutes. Note: You will want to freeze your pancakes as soon after they reach room temperature as possible to avoid any bacterial contamination.
Step 3: Flash Freeze Your Cooled Pancakes
Once your pancakes have cooled down, you’ll want to pre-freeze them (aka flash freezing) before placing them in a long-term storage container. This will stop the pancakes from sticking to each other once frozen.
The ideal method for this is to cover a baking sheet in parchment paper and lay your pancakes on them without them touching. You will then place this tray in the freezer until each pancake is frozen solid (usually within an hour or less).
Step 4: Freezing the Pancakes (Packaging)
Once the pancakes are completely frozen, remove the tray from the freezer and stack a serving size of flapjacks. Put the pancakes into a sealable freezer bag, making sure to press out any excess air from the bag. This will help to eliminate freezer burn.
Next, you’ll want to label the bag or container with the date and the recipe used (if you made multiple recipes) and place it for storage in the freezer, where the pancakes will remain editable for 2 to 3 months.
Note: The sooner you eat the pancakes, the fresher they will taste when reheated. Eating your frozen pancakes within the first month or so will provide the best taste and texture overall.
Step 5: Reheating The Frozen Pancakes
When you’re ready to have your frozen pancakes, you can reheat them using one of three options.
Microwave – Wrap the frozen pancakes in a damp paper towel and reheat them for approximately 60 seconds or until warm.
Toaster – The great thing about having frozen pancakes is that they are so easy to heat and eat. Nothing can be easier than warming up your pancakes like a piece of toast.
Oven – If you’ve got a large number of pancakes to reheat, place them in the oven at 350°F until hot.
Whichever method you use, your frozen pancakes are sure to come out looking fresh and fluffy as can be.
There is nothing compared to the joy of a kid who knows he is about to have pancakes for breakfast. As a parent, having frozen pancakes in your freezer is an answered prayer for a quick meal.
While pancakes are generally considered breakfast food, they can also be pulled out of the freezer and warmed up quickly for an easy, stress-free diner.
