As a waffle girl myself, it’s not often I crave a big stack of pancakes, but when I do, it almost always is a stack of fluffy, perfectly spiced, pumpkin pancakes. My grandparents live in the Bay Area and every single time we go to visit them, we make a trip to our favorite breakfast place: Fat Apple’s. Now Fat Apple’s has been a family favorite since my mom was born and it has everything you’d expect from a neighborhood favorite: diner style tables, big coffee mugs constantly being refilled with drip coffee, and a massive bakery display as soon as you walk in full of delicious pastries, pies, and their famous cheese puffs. Now as a waffle gal through and through, their waffle special is my most common order: a perfectly thin and crispy waffle doused in maple syrup and dollops of jam. BUT… the one menu item that has stolen the hearts of everyone in my family and the order always on our table is their pumpkin pancakes. They are perfectly spiced, comforting, and ever so fluffy, dusted in this cinnamon powdered sugar that just makes your mouth water as it walks its way over to you.
As we are currently in full cozy season, I wanted to recreate those pancakes that make even a pancake averse gal like me swoon, but I wanted to somehow find a way to make them a bit healthier, higher in protein, but keep the same flavor and fluffiness of the pumpkin pancakes we adore so much. It was a tall ask of myself, but I knew I was up for the challenge.
Enter: these pumpkin pancakes – so effortlessly fluffy, full of warm fall spices, and with a flavor so addicting you may just eat the whole stack yourself. Even better? They’re not only healthier by using oats, higher in protein thanks to the Greek yogurt, but they’re made all in one blender making them extremely easy to make. Easy enough for a weekday breakfast, but delicious enough for a Saturday morning, this is the recipe your whole family will love!
Key Tips:
- As long as you have a powerful blender, you can just blend all of this together and it will come out perfectly smooth. The order in which you put the ingredients is important as well, as we want the oats to process first before blending with the rest of the ingredients. If you don’t have a powerful blender, try blending the dry ingredients first, before adding the wet ingredients and combine from there. You can also use oat flour and just whisk the ingredients by hand.
- In order to make these pancakes fluffy, the batter is quite thick. This is on purpose to have the right texture, but if you like a thinner pancake you can always add a splash more milk.
- I love using a cast iron for making pancakes because it gets those beautiful crispy edges, but you can cook these in a nonstick as well. The key is to make sure your pan is properly preheated before you add the butter, then add the pancake batter when the butter is foaming.
- For proper storing, I like keeping them in an airtight container with parchment paper in between either in the fridge or freezer, then searing in a skillet to warm them up.
Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes
- Total Time: 25
- Yield: 2
Description
Fluffy, cozy, and packed with fall flavor, these gluten-free pumpkin pancakes are made right in the blender with oats, Greek yogurt, and warm spices for a healthy, high-protein breakfast that rivals your favorite diner stack.
Ingredients
For the Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes:
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 2 tsps baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ tsp ground ginger (optional)
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp pumpkin spice extract (optional)
- 3 tbsps maple syrup + more for serving
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp milk or dairy free milk
- Salted butter or coconut oil for cooking
- Cinnamon sugar (for topping)
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
For the Fluffy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pancakes:
- Add oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, ground ginger, pumpkin puree, Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, pumpkin spice extract, maple syrup, eggs, and a small splash of milk to a high powered blender and blend until smooth. The batter will be quite thick – that’s what make these fluffy! If it’s too thick to blend, add an extra splash of milk.
- Heat a cast iron skillet or nonstick pan over medium heat. Once hot, add in about 1 tbsp of butter or coconut oil. Properly preheating your cast iron will keep the pancakes from sticking and will ensure they get a nice golden brown edge.
- When the butter starts to foam, ladle about ⅓ cup of batter into the skillet, working in batches of ~2 pancakes at a time to not overcrowd the pan.
- Cook until you start to see bubbles rise to the surface and the edges look set and golden, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook the second side for another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove and set aside while you continue cooking the rest of the pancakes. Adjust the heat as needed, adding more butter to the pan before each batch.
- While the pancakes are cooking, whisk together powdered sugar and cinnamon for the cinnamon sugar topping.
- Once pancakes are cooked, serve immediately with a dusting of the cinnamon sugar, maple syrup, and a pad of butter if desired.
- If making a larger batch, keep the pancakes warm on a baking sheet in a 200 degree oven for up to 15 minutes.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: Breakfast