Here’s How To Score FREE Pancakes At IHOP Today

It's that beautiful time of year again. No, not when flowers begin to poke through frozen soil signaling spring. Feb. 27 is National Pancake Day — a holiday that pancake powerhouse IHOP celebrates as their own kind of Christmas. If you're wondering how to get free pancakes at IHOP, it's really as easy as showing up. You don't even have to bring your own fork. There are no hidden fees for spreading jam on your short stack. There's no penalty if you forget your wallet altogether. It's all about the simple pleasures at life on this glorious day.

The gift of pancakes is something to appreciate. The breakfast staple holds up well on the plate for either lunch or dinner. Drenched with maple syrup and buried under a blizzard of powdered sugar, you could even enjoy pancakes as your dessert course. Versatile, pancakes can be made with buttermilk, whole milk or alternative milks and freckled with fruit or chocolate chips. Every fork full of the fluffy breakfast discs is a euphoric bite and so when that bite also doesn't extract a penny from your bank account? Pure maple syrup bliss.

IHOPs across the country will be celebrating the day of pancakes on Feb. 27 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. But, according to the fine print on IHOP's website, "some location hours may vary. Please check with your local IHOP^® for exact hours of participation." The question is, will you also be celebrating?

It's not everyday that we're offered ~free~ pancakes. So when the offer falls seemingly out of nowhere (who knew it was National Pancake Day on Feb. 27?!) it's not something to be taken for granted. Sure, you can whip up a short stack yourself Sunday morning, but there's nothing like a towering plate of pancakes gliding down the table to your placemat. It's special to have someone cook for you when all that's expected back is appreciation.

If you're already halfway out the door and have the nearest IHOP plugged into your Waze, you'll need to know a few more details before putting the pedal to the metal. The free offer you'll get is a short stack of buttermilk pancakes. Sounds good, right? But wait, there's more. The pancakes are for dine in only, so you can't take it back for the ultimate desk lunch. But free pancakes should be treated with undivided attention anyway, so let your emails build up a little. And it's limited to one offer per guest. So you can't expect round two to be on the pancake house.

While you can keep your wallet tucked away for this meal, IHOP is working with charities like Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, Shriners Hospital for Children, and Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Because a buttermilk pancake short stack is free, usually priced at $4.79, it doesn't hurt to donate a few dollars (or more) to one (or all) of these charities. Pay it forward. Doing good is sweeter than powdered sugar and it goes a lot further than your digestive tract too.

It's a beautiful day to be gifted with pancakes and then pay it forward, if you can. Everyday can't be National Pancake Day, so when it finally rolls around, we sure can celebrate it with leaning towers of the breakfast favorite. I don't know who made food holidays a thing, but I am not against making new traditions that revolve around the dinner plate. Oh, right. Now that you have all the details, feel ~free~ to slip out the door, start your engines and carefully and calmly navigate your way to the nearest IHOP. Don't skimp on the syrup and enjoy every bite!