Bring the magic of Whoville to your kitchen with these Copycat IHOP Grinch Pancakes. These fluffy green buttermilk pancakes are topped with a velvety cream cheese icing, a swirl of green whipped cream, and those iconic tiny red candy hearts. They are the ultimate festive Christmas breakfast for kids and adults alike!
There is something undeniably magical about "fun food"—the kind that makes you feel like a kid again the moment it hits the table.
When IHOP launched their Grinch-themed menu in conjunction with the release of the new Grinch movie, I knew I couldn't miss it.
My husband and I went out of our way to find an IHOP before heading to see the movie. I sat there in a packed restaurant, likely the only adult without a child in tow, happily digging into a stack of fluffy green pancakes and sipping on Minty Who-Hot Chocolate.
These Copycat IHOP Grinch Pancakes are my homemade tribute to that morning. They are light, airy, and topped with a silky cream cheese icing and neon-green whipped cream that would make any Who in Who-ville proud.
Ingredients You’ll Need
The Green Pancakes:
- all-purpose flour
- salt
- baking powder
- baking soda
- egg
- buttermilk
- granulated sugar
- butter
- pure vanilla extract
- green food coloring
Cream Cheese Icing:
- cream cheese
- powdered sugar
- vanilla extract
- milk
Toppings:
- Heavy whipping cream
- green food coloring
- red heart sprinkles.
How to Make Grinch Pancakes at Home
1. Prepare Your Toppings
I like to make the toppings first, so they are ready to swirl onto the pancakes while they’re still warm.
- Cream Cheese Icing: Beat together softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a splash of milk. If you want a "cartoonish" thick look, keep it stiff. If you prefer a melty glaze, add a teaspoon more milk until it’s pourable.
- Green Whipped Cream: Whip heavy cream with sifted powdered sugar and green food coloring until you reach stiff peaks. I love using a mix of neon and leaf green for a vibrant pop.
2. Make the Batter
- Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Pour the beaten egg into the buttermilk and whisk until well combined.
- Pour that into the flour mixture and stir just to combine.
- Add sugar, melted butter, vanilla, and green food coloring, and mix until combined but still lumpy.
3. Cook the pancakes.
- Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat with a tiny bit of vegetable oil.
- Spoon ¼ cup of the green pancake batter onto the pan.
- Cook until bubbles begin to form on the surface of your pancake. The edges of the pancake should start to set.
- Once the bubbles pop, flip your pancakes over.
- Cook the other side until lightly golden brown, and then, stack them high on a plate!
4. Add the Toppings.
Top with a generous spread of cream cheese icing, a swirl of green whipped cream, and—the most important part—the red candy hearts.
The Secret to Perfect "Grinchy" Green Pancakes
As a professional baker, I’ve experimented with plenty of methods to get that iconic look without sacrificing texture. To get these just right at home, there are two "golden rules" to follow:
- Embrace the Lumps: Do not mix until your batter is smooth. Over-mixing develops gluten, which leads to rubbery pancakes. You want those lumps; they are the key to a fluffy, tender bite.
- Test the Heat in Your Pan: Let the pan heat until the oil begins to separate into small droplets. To test if your pan is hot enough, you can add one drop of water into the pan; it should form little beads and dance around the pan.
- Wipe Out Excess Oil: Use a paper towel to rub the oil into the pan, leaving just a thin layer of oil. If you leave the drops of oil in the pan, the batter that sits directly over top of those drops will brown more quickly, forming dark spots on your pancakes.
- Grinch Green: While I usually love gel colors for frosting, I found that liquid green food coloring works best for the batter. It distributes evenly and provides that bright, nostalgic "Grinch" green that perfectly matches the movie's aesthetic.
Buy Supplies
You can find supplies needed to make these green Grinch Pancakes on Amazon (commission earned for sales).
McCormick Green Food Color,...Shop on Amazon 
Wilton Jumbo Heart Sprinkle...Shop on Amazon
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Tilt 'n' Drain Big Griddle ...Shop on AmazonRelated Recipes
Recipe
A homemade version of IHOP's Grinch's Green Pancakes. These fluffy green holiday pancakes are topped with cream cheese icing, green whipped cream, and candy hearts.
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3-5 tablespoons milk
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- green food coloring
- 1-¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1-¼ cups buttermilk
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- green food coloring
- small red heart candies or jumbo red heart sprinkles
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Beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and 3 tablespoons milk until smooth and creamy, adding more milk as needed until the icing is the desired consistency.
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Set aside until needed.
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Pour heavy whipping cream, sifted powdered sugar, vanilla, and a few drops of green food coloring into a mixing bowl.
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Beat on low speed using an electric mixer until bubbles form then increase the speed to high and beat until the whipped cream holds stiff peaks.
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Keep whipped cream refrigerated until needed up to 1 hour.
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In large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
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Whisk together the egg and buttermilk.
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Pour into the flour mixture and stir just to combine.
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Add sugar, melted butter, vanilla and green food coloring and mix until blended but with lumps remaining.
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Drop a small amount of vegetable oil into a skillet or on a griddle and place over medium heat.
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Once the oil begins to separate and move around the pan, use a paper towel to rub it into the pan, leaving just a light coating on the pan.
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Ladle about ¼ cup of the green pancake batter onto the pan. Cook until bubbles begin to form on surface and edges begin to set.
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Gently flip your pancakes over and cook until lightly browned on both sides.
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Repeat with remaining batter making between 8 and 10 pancakes.
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Stack warm pancakes on a plate then spread on some of the cream cheese icing and add a dollop or swirl of green whipped cream.
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Sprinkle on some candy hearts and serve immediately.
Recipe Video
To Keep Pancakes Warm While Cooking More:
- Place a cooling rack in a warm oven (250 degrees F).
- Set the cooked pancakes on the cooling rack, allowing them to stay warm.
- Using a cooling rack allows even heating from above and below the pancakes.
- If you just set them on a baking sheet, the bottoms may become soggy.
- If you don't have a cooling rack, then flip the pancakes over to allow the underside to heat up and dry slightly.
See more festive Christmas Recipes here.
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- Pineapple Fudge (No Candy Thermometer Needed!) - March 4, 2026
- No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie Recipe - March 3, 2026
J says
Great Grinch recipe - my 9 grandkids will love them (me, too).
Where do you get the heart sprinkles? Or do you make them yourself?
thanks!
Merry Christmas
Beth says
I used Wilton Jumbo Heart Sprinkles. You can find them at Walmart and at craft stores like Michael's and JoAnn's. I purchased them from Amazon but realize it might be too late to order them in time for Christmas this year. You can also melt Red Candy Melts and pipe the hearts using a pastry bag onto parchment paper. Freeze for a few minutes, then peel off the paper. They will taste even better than the sprinkles! You could also use fondant or modeling chocolate to make the hearts.
I hope everyone loves them!!! Merry Christmas.
Sarah says
They recipe was delicious! For some reason after they cooked they turned pink🤔😂
Beth says
I'm happy you enjoyed the pancake recipe. I can't imagine why the pancakes would turn pink. I know some food coloring can change colors after being heated but going from green to pink does seem very odd or magical, depending on how you look at it! LOL!
Sara H says
I commented last summer asking about buttermilk and whipped cream and here I am exactly a year later and we’re having another Christmas in July and I’m making these again. My son loves them!!!
Beth says
That is so fun! I love that you and your son are celebrating with these pancakes. Enjoy!!
Nikki says
This is by far the BEST Grinch Pancake recipe out there - and I've had the ones from IHOP. Thank you for the suggestion in the comments about making your own buttermilk on the fly, too. Super helpful.
Beth says
Thank you! I'm glad you found the homemade buttermilk recipe helpful too!
Jessica Coleman says
I'm so in love with these amazing IHop look alike Grinch Pancakes! I just love Hungry Happenings amazing an fun ideas!
Beth says
Thanks so much Jessica! You just made my day.
Kennedy says
These are the BEST pancakes I’ve ever had! They’re perfect for Christmas breakfast and are so fun. I love how flufffy they are!
Beth says
I'm so happy you liked the pancake recipe!
meaghan says
These are so so good and so fun! My kids love them. Plus, I love all things Grinch.
Beth says
I'm so glad your kids enjoyed their Grinch pancakes!
Kelly says
My daughter has a gluten gallery, I can substitute GF flour for the wheat flour. Would you recommend any other adjustments? Or I could use Krustez, thrt has a good GF pancake mix. Which would you recomend?
Beth says
Hi Kelly, I really don't have any experience with making gluten-free pancakes so I don't know if just swapping out the flour would be successful. If your daughter likes the Krusteaz GF pancakes, then that would be an easy option or I found a GF pancake recipe online that has a lot of 5-star reviews. You might want to try this one - https://www.mamaknowsglutenfree.com/easy-gluten-free-pancakes/
Suzanne says
These are so cute! Love the idea, thank you for sharing!
Yadira says
I don't like to use coloring food on my food unless is really necessary, so and option that I have used for the green color is spinach, I just blend a couple of spinach leaves with the milk and added to the batter, I also make milkshakes with banana and spinach, my son loves them, is healthy and he can not tell lol. Love your site.
Beth says
That is a great alternative, Yadira. I've used spinach to add green color to my naturally colored conversation heart cheesecakes and it worked great. The color is a bit more muted but I do also like that it's a healthier alternative. I'm so happy you love my site! That's so nice to hear.
Sara H says
I have a couple questions. Can I use regular milk for the pancakes? I do not have buttermilk. Second question, would half and half work for the whipped cream or does it need to Ben heavy cream?
My son and I are going to see this at a theater coming up this week for a summer $1 movie series at our local theater. He will love these!!!
Beth says
How fun! To enjoy Christmas in July with these pancakes. Buttermilk is used in the pancake recipes because the acid in the buttermilk reacts to the baking soda, producing nice and fluffy pancakes. It also breaks down the gluten giving your pancakes a fine, tender crumb.
If you don't have buttermilk you can create your own by mixing some lemon juice or white vinegar to your milk or by thinning out some yogurt or sour cream with milk.
To make homemade buttermilk for this recipe add 1 1/2 tablespoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to the 1 1/4 cups milk and set aside for 10 minutes before making your pancakes. The milk will begin to curdle (which is fine.) Or, you can blend together 1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream with 3/4 cup milk.
Heavy whipping cream (high fat) or whipping cream ( a little less fat) is needed to make whipped cream. You cannot use half and half. It won't whip.
Enjoy!
Sara H says
Thanks! I’m making them tomorrow morning! Or possibly for lunch if we don’t get up early enough. I appreciate the help with the buttermilk and I went ahead and bought heavy whipping cream. I’m so excited! My son has no idea!
Beth says
I hope you have a wonderful time with your son! Enjoy the pancakes.
Audrey says
They would work great for St. Patrick’s day too.
Beth says
It would be fun to pipe them into Shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day.
Robyn says
Thank you! My son has a nut allergy and ihops pancakes have nut cross contamination. He was so disappointed and really wanted grinch pancakes for Christmas. This recipe enables me to provide him this small wish. Thank you
Beth says
I am so happy to have been able to provide you with a recipe so you can make Grinch Pancakes at home for your son. I do hope he enjoys his fun Christmas breakfast! I am allergic to some nuts and had no idea IHops pancakes have nut cross contamination. That is good to know!
Farmhouse40 says
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Beth says
Thanks so much. I'm glad you liked these Grinch Pancakes enough to feature them on your site.
Julie says
I've seen the movie, at the IHOP Grinch pancakes, and even have a recipe for Grinch Fudge which was made this morn.......and yes I was planning to make and give to friends so they would be having these for breakfast Christmas morn! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!! Merry Christmas!!
Beth says
Yay, I'm so happy to hear you have made the grinch fudge which we posted over at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com! That's been such a popular recipe this season. I hope all your friends enjoy their Grinch Pancakes on Christmas morning. I'm sure your gathering will be a lot of fun.
Merry Christmas to you too. 🙂
Jessie says
These are just adorable an look tastier than IHops. I will have to make your adorable pancakes.
Beth says
These pancakes are really tasty and I do hope you and your kids enjoy making and eating them! I loved the ones at IHop too and if you have a change to dine there for some Grinch Pancakes I highly recommend it.
Karen @ Sugartown Sweets says
Your Grinchy pancakes warm my heart! I do have an IHOP near my home, but your version is even cuter!! Where have I been..I didn't even realize there was an updated version of one of my favorite movies!
Beth says
Awe, I'm so happy they warmed your heart. Definitely go see the new movie. It is so sweet. I bet you'll like it.
The Partiologist says
This is just so fun...the last time my family went to a movie, instead of dinner and a movie, it was breakfast and a movie, so this would be perfect!