The Popular Breakfast Menu Item That's Too Overpriced To Order

Many family outings, brunches, or casual dates have included a trip to the party's favorite breakfast joint, anticipating a hearty and delicious meal to kick the day off and facilitate good convo. Speaking from experience, I am never going to a breakfast spot and not getting pancakes ... it's ritualistic at this point. But have you ever considered that the stack of pancakes you know and love is sometimes grossly overpriced, and you could actually do it yourself for a lot less? 

I mean, outside of Cracker Barrel, which has the best pancakes ever in any restaurant, and those delightful tiny bottles of syrup, you can really make yourself a tasty stack of hotcakes at home for a lot less.

When you break it down, you're paying restaurant prices for a dish that costs pennies at home. Requiring basic ingredients like flour, eggs, milk, and baking powder, pancakes are one of the most overpriced items you can order at a restaurant. And most of the time, the version you make yourself turns out just as fluffy and satisfying — if not better. 

Add in the fact that pancakes are one of the easiest dishes to whip up from scratch, and suddenly that $12 short stack feels a little harder to justify. If you're dining out on a budget or just trying to get your money's worth, fluffy pancakes might be the first thing to skip.

Let's get into it. The average pancake recipe calls for simple ingredients: flour, eggs, milk, butter, baking powder, sugar, and maybe some vanilla if you're feeling fancy. (I like to add cinnamon to mine.) That's pantry-level stuff, so you probably already have everything you need, and even if you don't, a few bucks at the grocery store will cover it all so you can make a dozen or more pancakes. And to be honest, if you were really trying to be frugal, you could make hotcakes with just three ingredients.

The cooking process is just as easy. There's no special equipment involved; just a mixing bowl, a pan or griddle, and a spatula. They only take a few minutes per side to cook, and cleanup is minimal (unless you let your kids help ... bless you if you do). That's part of what makes the price tag at restaurants stand out so much. You're often paying several dollars per pancake, even though you could make a dozen at home for a fraction of the cost.

Restaurants typically charge more for the overall experience and service, which makes sense in many cases. But with pancakes, the effort and cost on their end is so minimal that the markup feels hard to ignore. If you're ordering them alongside other items, that's one thing, but if pancakes are your main dish, the price doesn't reflect what goes into making them.

When pancakes show up on a breakfast menu, they're often treated like a premium item, especially when topped with fruit, whipped cream, or syrup. Those extras help justify the price, but the base remains the same. Some restaurants even use boxed mixes, which brings the cost down even further while charging customers double or triple what it would cost at home.

Of course, you're also paying for presentation, ambiance, and the convenience of not having to cook or clean. That's not nothing, but it's worth thinking about what you're really getting in return. In some places, a stack of pancakes with a little fruit and butter can run $10 or more — and that doesn't even include coffee or sides.

At the end of the day, if you're looking for value when eating out, pancakes usually aren't it. They might hit the spot comfort-wise, but they rarely live up to their price tag. If you love them, making a batch at home is often the better route; you can control the ingredients and add the toppings you want.