THE MOST TRUSTED COPYCAT RECIPES
THE MOST TRUSTED COPYCAT RECIPES

IHOP

Products: 123 of 23
Show: 24
  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    IHOP Red Velvet Pancakes

    By making a few tweaks to basic pancake batter, including adding a little cake flour to the mix, traditional flapjacks are deliciously converted into ritzy, flat red velvet cakes just like those offered for a limited time at the world's largest pancake chain.

    But my IHOP Red Velvet Pancakes copycat recipe would not be complete without a sweet clone for the cream cheese icing that's drizzled over the top, so that's included here as well.

    Cooking these pancakes on a griddle pan set over medium/low heat seems to work the best. Just be sure to give your pan plenty of time to heat up and only add the nonstick spray once.

    I've copied a ton of items from IHOP. See if I hacked your favorites here

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  • Not rated yet
    IHOP Mexican Tres Leches Pancakes

    Menu Description: “Four buttermilk pancakes layered with vanilla sauce and dulce de leche caramel sauce. Crowned with whipped topping.”

    Re-creating this pancake version of Mexico’s mucho moist tres leches cake boils down to mastering two easy sauces: dulce de leche caramel and a vanilla sauce.

    For the dulce de leche we’ll use a can of sweetened condensed milk, as do many traditional recipes. But I found that undiluted condensed milk produced caramel with an unpleasant canned-milk aftertaste. To improve the flavor, I first combined the condensed milk with whole milk, then cooked it down in a water bath the same way. The caramel sitting in the bottom of the pan was smooth and creamy, it tasted much better, and the process was as simple as it gets.

    Turning to the vanilla sauce, I expected a basic formula at IHOP flavored with just vanilla extract, but I was pleasantly surprised to see real vanilla bean seeds in there. I excitedly added the seeds of a whole vanilla bean to our clone, in addition to the vanilla extract. But that’s not all the flavor we need for a match. I taste some butterscotch in there as well, so I’m including a little butterscotch flavoring in the final formula. If butterscotch isn’t your thing, feel free to replace that flavoring with an equal amount of vanilla extract. 

    Use my IHOP Mexican Tres Leches pancake recipe below, put it all together, and you have a cool home version to enjoy anytime. 

    Check out more of your favorite recipes from IHOP right here

    Read more
  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    IHOP Mexican Churro Pancakes

    Menu Description: “Four buttermilk pancakes layered with a fiesta of warm cinnamon spread, crunchy mini-churros and sweet cream cheese icing. Crowned with whipped topping.”         

    IHOP's creative Mexican churro pancake is cloned by starting with my hack for IHOP’s famous buttermilk pancakes from Top Secret Recipes Step-by-Step. A fresh stack of these fluffy pancakes is then layered with the sweet cinnamon spread made with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

    Rather than making churros from scratch, we’ll save time by using frozen churros. I found some at Target and Walmart. Chop them into bite-size chunks and arrange them on top of the pancakes, then drizzle your stack with the homemade cream cheese icing recipe here, and prepare to accept your “oohs” and “ahhs.”

    Check out more of your favorite recipes from IHOP right here

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  • Not rated yet
    IHOP Swedish Crepes

    Menu Description: “Four delicate crepes topped with sweet-tart lingonberries and lingonberry butter.”

    Good crepes should be soft in the middle, crispy around the edges, buttery, custardy, a bit sweet, and slightly salty, and there are many ways to achieve all this. But to make crepes like those served at IHOP, the formula needs to be specific.

    Over two days I made dozens of crepes with minor adjustments to all seven ingredients until I finally settled on the version here that best mirrors the look and taste of the delicious IHOP Swedish Crepes. You'll get ten tasty crepes using a 10-inch non-stick skillet, and the recipe is very easy.

    Top them with my simple formula here for the lingonberry butter using bottled lingonberries and softened butter, and now your IHOP Swedish Crepe recipe hack is complete. If you like crepes, you’ll definitely love these.

    I cloned a ton of items from IHOP. See if I hacked your favorite here.

    Read more
  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 2)
    IHOP Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pancakes

    A scoop of cocoa powder and a handful of chocolate chips are mixed into the chain’s famous buttermilk batter for a bold stack that is a chocoholic’s dream come true. And making a picture-perfect home hack with my IHOP Chocolate Chip Pancake recipe is about as easy as cooking can get.

    Just before you serve up each stack, drizzle it with chocolate syrup and add more chips. Finish it up with a pile of whipped cream on top, and some warmed maple syrup on the side.

    Check here for many more of my IHOP copycat recipes.

    Read more
  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 2)
    IHOP Thick 'N Fluffy French Toast

    IHOP upped its French toast game in 2022 with the introduction of a new recipe that suggests your French toast is only as good as the bread you start with, and IHOP’s new Thick ‘N Fluffy French Toast starts with thick specialty artisan bread, rather than the more commonly used Texas toast white bread.

    For my IHOP Thick 'N Fluffy French Toast recipe, you can use any thick-sliced bread from your bakery, but there are two national brands that work well: Nature’s Own Perfectly Crafted Thick-Sliced White Bread and Sara Lee Artisano. Either of those will do, but of the two, Nature’s Own is shaped more like IHOP’s version.

    Adding vanilla and a little cinnamon to the easy batter will set these waffles apart from most others, and in no time, you’ll have 6 beautiful slices of French toast for a total of 3 servings. Dust them with a little powdered sugar, add some butter and maple syrup on the side, and it’s like you just opened a mini IHOP in your house.

    This recipe was my #5 most popular of 2023. Check out the other most popular unlocked recipes of the year: Church's Chicken Original and Spicy Fried Chicken (#1), IKEA Swedish Meatballs (#2), Chipotle Guacamole (#3), Subway Cookies (#4).

    Check out this list of our most popular recipes of all-time.

    Read more
  • Not rated yet
    IHOP Cinnamon Bun Crepes

    One of IHOP’s creative new crêpes is this cinnamon bun/cheesecake mashup that’s probably more dessert than breakfast food, although no one at my house complained. Two delicate crêpes are filled with cheesecake mousse and drizzled with cinnamon bun filling and cream cheese icing, and it looks beautiful on the plate.

    For my take on the IHOP Cinnamon Bun Crêpes recipe, I reworked the cinnamon topping which I previously hacked for IHOP’s Cinn-A-Stacks to hold its shape better when applied with a squirt bottle. And I’m including two easy new hacks for the cream cheese icing and cheesecake mousse.

    Once your mousse and icings are done, use this original crêpes formula to make eight beautiful, delicate crêpes for four servings, topped with sliced strawberries and a dusting of powdered sugar.

    Find more of my IHOP copycat recipes here.

    Read more
  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    IHOP Classic Eggs Benedict

    In 2023, IHOP introduced some creative new eggs Benedict dishes, including one made with bacon jam and another with shredded beef and poblano hollandaise sauce. I can certainly appreciate the chain’s novel approach to the traditional recipe, but your taste buds may not be quite ready for those big flavors in the early a.m. That’s why, for this hack, I'm turning to the classic version of the chain’s Benedict, which will be extremely kind to your palate, no matter what time of the day it is.

    For my IHOP Classic Eggs Benedict copycat recipe, I’ll show you how to make hollandaise sauce from scratch in just a few minutes, and how to easily poach perfect eggs just as quickly. Hopefully, this recipe is one that you return to whenever you want an impressive breakfast that doesn’t take much work. 

    Once the poached eggs are done, stack them on black forest ham (a much better choice than Canadian bacon) and English muffins, douse them with the great hollandaise, and serve the dish with crispy hash browns or fruit on the side.

    Read more
  • Not rated yet
    IHOP Protein Power Pancakes

    Protein is very powerful these days. According to a 2024 International Food Information Council survey, 71% of participants are trying to eat more protein. That's up from 67% in 2023, and 59% in 2022. Noting the trend, manufacturers have been developing ways to add protein to more products, and restaurants are following suit, as IHOP did with this new protein-packed stack.

    For my IHOP Protein Power Pancakes recipe, I carefully measured ingredients and calculated protein so that your counterfeit pancakes have 10 grams of protein each, just like the real ones—a stack of four pancakes like you get in the restaurant weighs in at a hefty 40 grams of protein.

    Also, as with the restaurant version, most protein is added as unflavored whey protein powder. I made sure to use the same combination of flour as the chain, including oat flour, which you can buy already ground or grind to flour yourself with a coffee grinder or small food processor.

    Once your batter is mixed, cook the pancakes on a well-buttered flat grill or on two or three non-stick sauté pans to make at least two pancakes at a time. The recipe yields 16 pancakes, so cooking multiple flapjacks simultaneously will streamline the process.  

    Check out my other IHOP recipe clones here.

    Read more
  • Score: 4.68 (votes: 205)
    IHOP Pancakes

    Even though the early press runs of the first book, Top Secret Recipes, excluded the buttermilk in my IHOP pancake recipe—a very important ingredient if you really want pourable batter—many figured out the missing ingredient on their own and the error was quickly corrected in later copies. Now we just like to call those copies of the book the "Collector's Editions." For any of you who were lucky enough to get one of the "Collector's Editions" we'd like to say "Congratulations!" 

    Now here's my full IHOP pancake recipe—with the complete list of ingredients—to make pancakes just like those served every day at IHOP

    Also check out my IHOP banana nut pancake recipe.

    Source: Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 4.75 (votes: 4)
    IHOP Country Griddle Cakes

    Menu Description: "Delicious blend of buttermilk and real Cream of Wheat."

    This nationwide chain, which is known for its big bargain breakfasts, serves an impressive number of non-breakfast items as well. In 1997, IHOP dished out over 6 million pounds of french fries and over half a million gallons of soft drinks. But it's the Country Griddle Cakes on the breakfast menu that inspired this Top Secret Recipe. The unique flavor and texture comes from the Cream of Wheat in the batter. Now with my IHOP Country Griddle Cakes recipe below, you can have your pancakes, and eat your cereal too.

    Check here for many more of my IHOP copycat recipes.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 12)
    IHOP Harvest Grain N Nut Pancakes

    Menu Description: "Hearty grains, wholesome oats, almonds and English walnuts."

    Wholesome grains and nuts get it on in this clone of the signature pancakes from the country's largest pancake chain. The whole wheat flour and oats add more flavor, while the nuts pitch in for a crunch in every bite. Take a break from gummy, bland traditional pancakes. Use my IHOP Harvest Grain N Nut Pancakes recipe for a breakfast that pacifies your pancake urge, and leaves you feeling peppy.

    Find more of my IHOP copycat recipes here.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    IHOP Banana-Nut Pancakes

    IHOP claims to sell over 400,000 pancakes each day. That's a lot of pancakes. So many, in fact, if all of those flapjacks were served up on one plate, it would make a giant stack taller than the Sears Tower in Chicago. And much tastier.

    Use my IHOP Banana-Nut pancake recipe below to copy one of the most popular stacks at the chain. I've included a recipe for the banana-flavored syrup, but you can use any flavor syrup, including maple, on these dudes. 

    Update 2/8/17: Rather than combining all of the ingredients together in step #2, use two bowls. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in one bowl. In the other bowl combine the buttermilk, egg, oil, sugar, and banana flavoring with an electric mixer on medium speed. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, mix until smooth, and move on to step #3.

    Check out my other IHOP recipe clones here.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 4.50 (votes: 2)
    IHOP French Toast

    Menu Description: "Six triangular slices with powdered sugar."

    Now in its 38th year, IHOP has become one of the recognized leaders for breakfast dining, serving up thousands of omelettes, waffles, blintzes, and pancakes each and every day.

    Among the popular morning meals is IHOP's classic French Toast. You'll notice that a little bit of flour is added to the batter to make my IHOP French Toast copycat recipe more like the dish you get at the restaurant. The flour helps create a thicker coating on the bread, almost like a tender crêpe on the surface, keeping the bread from becoming too soggy.

    Click here for more amazing IHOP breakfast options.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    IHOP Fajita Omelette

    Menu Description: "Seasoned chicken or beef with onions, diced green peppers, cheese and chili salsa."

    Pancakes are obviously the signature entrée, but IHOP serves a variety of breakfast selections—more than 65 items! Along with a cup of coffee from the trademarked "Never Empty Coffee Pot," diners can choose from about a dozen different omelette selections including the Santa Fe Omelette, International Omelette, Chorizo and Cheese Omelette, and the delicious Fajita Omelette.

    Make my IHOP Fajita Omelette recipe below with chicken or beef, and don't forget the pancakes!

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    IHOP Cheese Blintz

    Menu Description: "Crepe-style pancakes filled with a blend of cheeses with strawberry preserves and sour cream."

    Detroit's mayoral candidate Sharon McPhail and Detroit schools superintendent David Snead often dined in the city's hottest spot for power breakfasts—the local IHOP. Those morning breakfasts eventually led to the two exchanging vows in front of 1,800 guests in a 1995 wedding ceremony. It was dubbed Detroit's "wedding of the year."

    You'll enjoy this simple recipe for crêpes, which, when filled with cheese, become delicious blintzes. The restaurant uses a type of cheese that is similar to soft farmer's cheese, but you can make this with cream cheese, or even with yogurt that has been strained to make it thicker. Any way you decide to go, you're in for a treat.

    Can't get enough IHOP? Click here for all my clone recipes.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 5)
    IHOP Pumpkin Pancakes

    During the holiday season, this particular hotcake flavor sells like...well, you know. Pumpkin pancakes are one of 16 varieties off flapjacks served at this national casual diner chain. Follow my IHOP Pumpkin Pancake recipe below to make your own delicious version with a little canned pumpkin, some spices and traditional buttermilk pancake ingredients. Get out the mixer, fire up the stove, and track down the syrup.

    Check out my other clone recipes for famous items from IHOP here.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 4.00 (votes: 4)
    IHOP Country Omelette

    Sure, IHOP is famous for pancakes, but the joint makes a pretty killer omelette when put to the task. What makes this three-egg creation so cool is the top secret folding method. For all of IHOP's omelettes, the beaten eggs are mixed with the appropriate chunky ingredients, and the whole thing is poured out thin on a giant griddle. When the eggs have firmed up, two sides are folded over, the filling is positioned, and the omelette is rolled over once, twice, three times, so it ends up looking like a burrito, sort of. Now with this IHOP Country Omelette copycat recipe, we can execute the same egg origami at home with a 12-inch electric skillet, or a 12-inch stovetop griddle pan. You can find easy-to-cook hash brown potatoes in bags in the freezer section.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 4.86 (votes: 7)
    IHOP Cinn-A-Stacks

    Put away the maple syrup. Next time you whip up pancakes or French toast, try something new with this clone that makes your stacks taste like freshly baked cinnamon rolls. Spread the cinnamon sauce on each pancake or on each slice of cinnamon toast as you stack 'em up. Then drizzle the delicious cream cheese icing over the top. 

    As for the pancakes, we've got some great clone recipes here on the site:IHOP Pancakes, IHOP Country Griddle Cakes, and IHOP Harvest Grain 'N Nut Pancakes. And here's a simple clone for Denny's Fabulous French Toast. This mouth-watering new product from America's favorite pancake chain is a "limited-time-only" offering, but my IHOP Cinn-A-Stacks copycat recipe is yours to make whenever you crave it.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 4.83 (votes: 6)
    IHOP Funnel Cakes

    International House of Pancakes Funnel Cake Carnival promotion brought the famous fairground food to the masses for a limited time. As you would expect from the name, the first thing you'll need to make proper funnel cakes is, of course, a funnel. The funnel is used to swirl batter into hot oil where it will fry to a happy golden brown in about a minute on each side. Find a funnel with an opening that is at least 1/2-inch wide so that your funnel cakes will have approximately the same thickness as the IHOP version. For the frying, shortening works the best since that's what IHOP uses, but you can also use vegetable or canola oil. I used a trans fat-free shortening from Smart Balance and it worked great. Load your oil or shortening into a small saucepan with about a 6-inch diameter. This way the batter won't spread out when you funnel it into the oil, and you'll get funnel cakes that are all about the same size. When it's time to serve the dish, arrange two funnel cakes on a plate, dust them with powdered sugar, top 'em off with fruit and whipped cream, and enjoy fairground-style funnel cakes without any scary carnies watching you eat. 

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3 by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 4.25 (votes: 16)
    IHOP Corn Cake Pancakes

    Menu Description: "These fluffy, moist and savory pancakes are made with just the right amount of cornmeal."

    If you like the taste of fresh cornbread, you will definitely dig this new twist on pancakes brought to us from America's largest flapjack factory. Cornmeal, plus extra helpings of sugar and butter, are added to delicious buttermilk pancake batter for a clone that will turn on the smiles. With my IHOP Corn Cake Pancakes recipe below, this new breakfast specialty is easy to make, crazy delicious, and any leftovers will freeze well for several months (check out the Tidbits below). 

    Click here for more amazing IHOP copycat recipes.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3 by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 4.17 (votes: 6)
    IHOP Shortcake Pancakes

    Menu Description: "Biscuit-flavored pancakes layered with your favorite fruit compote and crowned with creamy whipped topping. Choose from blueberry, strawberry or country apple."

    Since these fruit-covered pancakes are made with the same ingredients that go into biscuits, you won't need any eggs. The batter is like runny biscuit dough, and, when cooked on a hot griddle or in a skillet, you get dense pancakes that have the same flavor as buttermilk biscuits. For real! The fruit compote is canned pie filling if you are making the blueberry or apple versions. Each can supplies enough fruit for the 3 servings made with this recipe. If it's strawberries you want on top of your pancakes, just thaw out a package of frozen whole or sliced strawberries in syrup. You can also use fresh sliced strawberries that have been mixed in the strawberry glaze that's often found in your market's produce section, usually over by the strawberries.

    Find more great ideas for breakfast here

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3 by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Not rated yet
    IHOP Banana Macadamia Nut Pancakes

    Menu Description: "Two sweet golden pancakes, grilled with fresh sliced banana, drizzled with a rum-butter flavored glaze and crowned with creamy whipped topping and toasted macadamia nuts."

    This is the best of three varieties of pancakes that IHOP introduced as "Hawaiian Pancakes" in the summer of 2009. The country's largest flapjack house flavors the new pancakes with imitation banana flavoring and a yellow coloring, since real bananas will eventually turn a prepared batter brown. But we are going to use this batter right away, so I've incorporated real mashed banana in this batter to add the perfect sweetness and much better real banana flavor. A clone for the delicious rum-butter glaze is also included here, but these pancakes are also great when drizzled with plain old maple syrup.

    Try my IHOP Macadamia Nut Pancakes copycat recipe below, and find more of my famous pancake copycat recipes here.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3 by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Not rated yet
    IHOP Protein Power Pancakes

    Protein is very powerful these days. According to a 2024 International Food Information Council survey, 71% of participants are trying to eat more protein. That's up from 67% in 2023, and 59% in 2022. Noting the trend, manufacturers have been developing ways to add protein to more products, and restaurants are following suit, as IHOP did with this new protein-packed stack.

    For my IHOP Protein Power Pancakes recipe, I carefully measured ingredients and calculated protein so that your counterfeit pancakes have 10 grams of protein each, just like the real ones—a stack of four pancakes like you get in the restaurant weighs in at a hefty 40 grams of protein.

    Also, as with the restaurant version, most protein is added as unflavored whey protein powder. I made sure to use the same combination of flour as the chain, including oat flour, which you can buy already ground or grind to flour yourself with a coffee grinder or small food processor.

    Once your batter is mixed, cook the pancakes on a well-buttered flat grill or on two or three non-stick sauté pans to make at least two pancakes at a time. The recipe yields 16 pancakes, so cooking multiple flapjacks simultaneously will streamline the process.  

    Check out my other IHOP recipe clones here.

    Read more
  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    IHOP Classic Eggs Benedict

    In 2023, IHOP introduced some creative new eggs Benedict dishes, including one made with bacon jam and another with shredded beef and poblano hollandaise sauce. I can certainly appreciate the chain’s novel approach to the traditional recipe, but your taste buds may not be quite ready for those big flavors in the early a.m. That’s why, for this hack, I'm turning to the classic version of the chain’s Benedict, which will be extremely kind to your palate, no matter what time of the day it is.

    For my IHOP Classic Eggs Benedict copycat recipe, I’ll show you how to make hollandaise sauce from scratch in just a few minutes, and how to easily poach perfect eggs just as quickly. Hopefully, this recipe is one that you return to whenever you want an impressive breakfast that doesn’t take much work. 

    Once the poached eggs are done, stack them on black forest ham (a much better choice than Canadian bacon) and English muffins, douse them with the great hollandaise, and serve the dish with crispy hash browns or fruit on the side.

    Read more
  • Not rated yet
    IHOP Cinnamon Bun Crepes

    One of IHOP’s creative new crêpes is this cinnamon bun/cheesecake mashup that’s probably more dessert than breakfast food, although no one at my house complained. Two delicate crêpes are filled with cheesecake mousse and drizzled with cinnamon bun filling and cream cheese icing, and it looks beautiful on the plate.

    For my take on the IHOP Cinnamon Bun Crêpes recipe, I reworked the cinnamon topping which I previously hacked for IHOP’s Cinn-A-Stacks to hold its shape better when applied with a squirt bottle. And I’m including two easy new hacks for the cream cheese icing and cheesecake mousse.

    Once your mousse and icings are done, use this original crêpes formula to make eight beautiful, delicate crêpes for four servings, topped with sliced strawberries and a dusting of powdered sugar.

    Find more of my IHOP copycat recipes here.

    Read more
  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 2)
    IHOP Thick 'N Fluffy French Toast

    IHOP upped its French toast game in 2022 with the introduction of a new recipe that suggests your French toast is only as good as the bread you start with, and IHOP’s new Thick ‘N Fluffy French Toast starts with thick specialty artisan bread, rather than the more commonly used Texas toast white bread.

    For my IHOP Thick 'N Fluffy French Toast recipe, you can use any thick-sliced bread from your bakery, but there are two national brands that work well: Nature’s Own Perfectly Crafted Thick-Sliced White Bread and Sara Lee Artisano. Either of those will do, but of the two, Nature’s Own is shaped more like IHOP’s version.

    Adding vanilla and a little cinnamon to the easy batter will set these waffles apart from most others, and in no time, you’ll have 6 beautiful slices of French toast for a total of 3 servings. Dust them with a little powdered sugar, add some butter and maple syrup on the side, and it’s like you just opened a mini IHOP in your house.

    This recipe was my #5 most popular of 2023. Check out the other most popular unlocked recipes of the year: Church's Chicken Original and Spicy Fried Chicken (#1), IKEA Swedish Meatballs (#2), Chipotle Guacamole (#3), Subway Cookies (#4).

    Check out this list of our most popular recipes of all-time.

    Read more
  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 2)
    IHOP Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pancakes

    A scoop of cocoa powder and a handful of chocolate chips are mixed into the chain’s famous buttermilk batter for a bold stack that is a chocoholic’s dream come true. And making a picture-perfect home hack with my IHOP Chocolate Chip Pancake recipe is about as easy as cooking can get.

    Just before you serve up each stack, drizzle it with chocolate syrup and add more chips. Finish it up with a pile of whipped cream on top, and some warmed maple syrup on the side.

    Check here for many more of my IHOP copycat recipes.

    Read more
  • Not rated yet
    IHOP Swedish Crepes

    Menu Description: “Four delicate crepes topped with sweet-tart lingonberries and lingonberry butter.”

    Good crepes should be soft in the middle, crispy around the edges, buttery, custardy, a bit sweet, and slightly salty, and there are many ways to achieve all this. But to make crepes like those served at IHOP, the formula needs to be specific.

    Over two days I made dozens of crepes with minor adjustments to all seven ingredients until I finally settled on the version here that best mirrors the look and taste of the delicious IHOP Swedish Crepes. You'll get ten tasty crepes using a 10-inch non-stick skillet, and the recipe is very easy.

    Top them with my simple formula here for the lingonberry butter using bottled lingonberries and softened butter, and now your IHOP Swedish Crepe recipe hack is complete. If you like crepes, you’ll definitely love these.

    I cloned a ton of items from IHOP. See if I hacked your favorite here.

    Read more
  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    IHOP Mexican Churro Pancakes

    Menu Description: “Four buttermilk pancakes layered with a fiesta of warm cinnamon spread, crunchy mini-churros and sweet cream cheese icing. Crowned with whipped topping.”         

    IHOP's creative Mexican churro pancake is cloned by starting with my hack for IHOP’s famous buttermilk pancakes from Top Secret Recipes Step-by-Step. A fresh stack of these fluffy pancakes is then layered with the sweet cinnamon spread made with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

    Rather than making churros from scratch, we’ll save time by using frozen churros. I found some at Target and Walmart. Chop them into bite-size chunks and arrange them on top of the pancakes, then drizzle your stack with the homemade cream cheese icing recipe here, and prepare to accept your “oohs” and “ahhs.”

    Check out more of your favorite recipes from IHOP right here

    Read more
  • Not rated yet
    IHOP Mexican Tres Leches Pancakes

    Menu Description: “Four buttermilk pancakes layered with vanilla sauce and dulce de leche caramel sauce. Crowned with whipped topping.”

    Re-creating this pancake version of Mexico’s mucho moist tres leches cake boils down to mastering two easy sauces: dulce de leche caramel and a vanilla sauce.

    For the dulce de leche we’ll use a can of sweetened condensed milk, as do many traditional recipes. But I found that undiluted condensed milk produced caramel with an unpleasant canned-milk aftertaste. To improve the flavor, I first combined the condensed milk with whole milk, then cooked it down in a water bath the same way. The caramel sitting in the bottom of the pan was smooth and creamy, it tasted much better, and the process was as simple as it gets.

    Turning to the vanilla sauce, I expected a basic formula at IHOP flavored with just vanilla extract, but I was pleasantly surprised to see real vanilla bean seeds in there. I excitedly added the seeds of a whole vanilla bean to our clone, in addition to the vanilla extract. But that’s not all the flavor we need for a match. I taste some butterscotch in there as well, so I’m including a little butterscotch flavoring in the final formula. If butterscotch isn’t your thing, feel free to replace that flavoring with an equal amount of vanilla extract. 

    Use my IHOP Mexican Tres Leches pancake recipe below, put it all together, and you have a cool home version to enjoy anytime. 

    Check out more of your favorite recipes from IHOP right here

    Read more
  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    IHOP Red Velvet Pancakes

    By making a few tweaks to basic pancake batter, including adding a little cake flour to the mix, traditional flapjacks are deliciously converted into ritzy, flat red velvet cakes just like those offered for a limited time at the world's largest pancake chain.

    But my IHOP Red Velvet Pancakes copycat recipe would not be complete without a sweet clone for the cream cheese icing that's drizzled over the top, so that's included here as well.

    Cooking these pancakes on a griddle pan set over medium/low heat seems to work the best. Just be sure to give your pan plenty of time to heat up and only add the nonstick spray once.

    I've copied a ton of items from IHOP. See if I hacked your favorites here

    Read more
  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 12)
    IHOP Harvest Grain N Nut Pancakes

    Menu Description: "Hearty grains, wholesome oats, almonds and English walnuts."

    Wholesome grains and nuts get it on in this clone of the signature pancakes from the country's largest pancake chain. The whole wheat flour and oats add more flavor, while the nuts pitch in for a crunch in every bite. Take a break from gummy, bland traditional pancakes. Use my IHOP Harvest Grain N Nut Pancakes recipe for a breakfast that pacifies your pancake urge, and leaves you feeling peppy.

    Find more of my IHOP copycat recipes here.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 4.17 (votes: 6)
    IHOP Shortcake Pancakes

    Menu Description: "Biscuit-flavored pancakes layered with your favorite fruit compote and crowned with creamy whipped topping. Choose from blueberry, strawberry or country apple."

    Since these fruit-covered pancakes are made with the same ingredients that go into biscuits, you won't need any eggs. The batter is like runny biscuit dough, and, when cooked on a hot griddle or in a skillet, you get dense pancakes that have the same flavor as buttermilk biscuits. For real! The fruit compote is canned pie filling if you are making the blueberry or apple versions. Each can supplies enough fruit for the 3 servings made with this recipe. If it's strawberries you want on top of your pancakes, just thaw out a package of frozen whole or sliced strawberries in syrup. You can also use fresh sliced strawberries that have been mixed in the strawberry glaze that's often found in your market's produce section, usually over by the strawberries.

    Find more great ideas for breakfast here

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3 by Todd Wilbur.

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    IHOP Banana Macadamia Nut Pancakes

    Menu Description: "Two sweet golden pancakes, grilled with fresh sliced banana, drizzled with a rum-butter flavored glaze and crowned with creamy whipped topping and toasted macadamia nuts."

    This is the best of three varieties of pancakes that IHOP introduced as "Hawaiian Pancakes" in the summer of 2009. The country's largest flapjack house flavors the new pancakes with imitation banana flavoring and a yellow coloring, since real bananas will eventually turn a prepared batter brown. But we are going to use this batter right away, so I've incorporated real mashed banana in this batter to add the perfect sweetness and much better real banana flavor. A clone for the delicious rum-butter glaze is also included here, but these pancakes are also great when drizzled with plain old maple syrup.

    Try my IHOP Macadamia Nut Pancakes copycat recipe below, and find more of my famous pancake copycat recipes here.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3 by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 4.83 (votes: 6)
    IHOP Funnel Cakes

    International House of Pancakes Funnel Cake Carnival promotion brought the famous fairground food to the masses for a limited time. As you would expect from the name, the first thing you'll need to make proper funnel cakes is, of course, a funnel. The funnel is used to swirl batter into hot oil where it will fry to a happy golden brown in about a minute on each side. Find a funnel with an opening that is at least 1/2-inch wide so that your funnel cakes will have approximately the same thickness as the IHOP version. For the frying, shortening works the best since that's what IHOP uses, but you can also use vegetable or canola oil. I used a trans fat-free shortening from Smart Balance and it worked great. Load your oil or shortening into a small saucepan with about a 6-inch diameter. This way the batter won't spread out when you funnel it into the oil, and you'll get funnel cakes that are all about the same size. When it's time to serve the dish, arrange two funnel cakes on a plate, dust them with powdered sugar, top 'em off with fruit and whipped cream, and enjoy fairground-style funnel cakes without any scary carnies watching you eat. 

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3 by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 4.00 (votes: 4)
    IHOP Country Omelette

    Sure, IHOP is famous for pancakes, but the joint makes a pretty killer omelette when put to the task. What makes this three-egg creation so cool is the top secret folding method. For all of IHOP's omelettes, the beaten eggs are mixed with the appropriate chunky ingredients, and the whole thing is poured out thin on a giant griddle. When the eggs have firmed up, two sides are folded over, the filling is positioned, and the omelette is rolled over once, twice, three times, so it ends up looking like a burrito, sort of. Now with this IHOP Country Omelette copycat recipe, we can execute the same egg origami at home with a 12-inch electric skillet, or a 12-inch stovetop griddle pan. You can find easy-to-cook hash brown potatoes in bags in the freezer section.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 5)
    IHOP Pumpkin Pancakes

    During the holiday season, this particular hotcake flavor sells like...well, you know. Pumpkin pancakes are one of 16 varieties off flapjacks served at this national casual diner chain. Follow my IHOP Pumpkin Pancake recipe below to make your own delicious version with a little canned pumpkin, some spices and traditional buttermilk pancake ingredients. Get out the mixer, fire up the stove, and track down the syrup.

    Check out my other clone recipes for famous items from IHOP here.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur.

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I'm Todd Wilbur, Chronic Food Hacker

For over 30 years I've been deconstructing America's most iconic brand-name foods to make the best original copycat recipes for you to use at home. Welcome to my lab.

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