IHOP Has Big Plans For National Pancake Day (Hint: They Involve Free Pancakes)

Few things can get us to an IHOP at 7:00 a.m. One of them is never having gone to bed in the first place. The other one is free pancakes. Let Kylie Jenner’s sweet morning song guide you through your pre-dawn movements because IHOP is having its biggest event of the year. From 7:00 a.m. until closing today, IHOP will be celebrating National Pancake Day by giving away free buttermilk short stacks to every guest. 

Today is also Mardi Gras, which literally translates from French to “Fat Tuesday.” Originally a day that marks the countdown to Advent (the season that culminated with Easter), Mardi Gras encourages one last hurrah before we buckle down. Today is also Shrove Tuesday, a day when some Christians fuel up on pancakes before Ash Wednesday kicks off Lent tomorrow.

Why does IHOP’s National Pancake Day fall on Mardi Gras? Well, both are holidays rooted in excess. And the International House of Pancakes (it must be spelled out given all the recent attempts to remix it) is so proficient in flapjacks, it’s eager to frisbee them into any open mouth. No beads or public nudity required. 

Free pancakes just seem to be IHOP's new normal: the week leading up to National Pancake Day, the restaurant has already been offering all you can eat pancakes with any breakfast combo.

IHOP is also giving away over a million dollars in prizes, starting with ten $500 iHop gift cards. You can also win a bike, scooter, custom jacket, watch, blanket, duffle bag, drinking glasses, socks, water bottle, and even a trucker hat. 

In order to enter, you must first find your way to your local IHOP and bring your phone. While you’re enjoying a free stack of buttermilk pancakes, scan the QR code (or fill out the form) at the table and follow the instructions on the screen to be entered to win and find out if you get a prize on the spot.