IHOP’s National Pancake Day 2025: How to get free pancakes

LOS ANGELES - Pancake lovers can celebrate National Pancake Day at IHOP with a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. 

The offer is available for dine-in customers only from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., with a limit of one free stack per guest, the company announced.

The backstory:

The tradition marks 20 years since IHOP first launched the free pancake giveaway, and the company says it expects millions of pancakes to be served nationwide.

IHOP’s world record attempt in Los Angeles

Ahead of the giveaway, IHOP hosted a special event at the Santa Monica Pier on March 1 in an effort to set a Guinness World Record.

The restaurant chain’s "20K for Pancake Day" event aimed to break the record for the most pancakes served in an eight-hour period. From 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., IHOP plans to give away 20,000 free pancakes at the pier.

FILE - A plate of pancakes are ready for a customer during National Pancake Day at IHOP.  (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

For every pancake served at the event, IHOP will donate $1 to Feeding America, benefiting the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, the company said.

"National Pancake Day is a holiday our fans have come to know and love, which is why we wanted to make the celebration even bigger for our 20th anniversary," Lenna Yamamichi, IHOP’s vice president of brand creative, said in a statement.

How to give back

What you can do:

Even if customers can’t attend the Los Angeles event, IHOP is offering another way to support the cause. From March 1 to March 31, guests can choose to donate between $1 and $3 at participating IHOP restaurants, with proceeds going to Feeding America.

IHOP’s Month of Giving campaign last year raised the equivalent of one million meals, the company said.