Healthy Pumpkin Pancake Recipe From Scratch

This delicious, healthy pumpkin pancake recipe is the best, most simple recipe. It is a family fall favorite around here! The BONUS recipe option to turn these pancakes into a healthy protein pumpkin roll pancake is a fun addition. Whether you’re making the easiest and healthiest version or the BONUS protein pumpkin roll style version, these are sure to be a hit with your family too!

 

 

In this post I will give you the fastest options and the healthiest options. However, the free printable recipe below is for the healthiest, most nutrient dense quick version. Feel free to print it out and get started. A nutritious breakfast of healthy pumpkin pancakes will be served in 20minutes or less. 

 

Your options for the Healthiest Pumpkin pancake recipe vs  healthier vs  ‘I need it now with what I have on hand’ pumpkin pancakes: 

The following are based on my research, personal experience and personal opinion. 

Ingredients: 

Freshly milled whole grains vs All purpose or Self Rising Flour:

1. Healthiest option: I use hard white wheat currently. Use a 1 :1 ratio when substituting hard white wheat for the all purpose flour a recipe calls for. As for soft white wheat just add an extra 1/2 cup to what the recipe calls for flour. Example: if recipe calls for 1 cup flour, you’ll use 1 1/2 cup soft white wheat.
2. Healthy option: Organic all purpose flour. I buy this in bulk and often will make these using 1/2 organic all purpose and 1/2 freshly milled hard white wheat. It’s my current favorite way to up the nutritional value of pancakes!
3. I need it now version: Enter, self rising flour. This is a get it done now option. If you must use self rising flour because it’s all you have on hand, you can simply omit the salt and baking powder in the recipe. Use 1 : 1 ratio for what the recipe calls for flour. (example: if recipe calls for 1 cup organic all purpose flour-1Tbsp baking powder-1/2tsp salt, you can omit the previous three ingredients and substitute them all for just 1 cup of self rising flour. White Lilly brand is what I used to use. 

Leavening Agents to make it rise: 

1. Healthiest option: Sourdough. For a more easily digestible pancake that increases nutritional availability of the pancake, you can get this mix going the night before. Use all ingredient except the baking powder. Then just let it sit overnight in the fridge with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of your starter. Whether it is a discard or active starter doesn’t matter here. The sourdough starter will wake up and slowly begin breaking down the wheat and result in a long fermented pancake batter the next morning. Sourdough is great for that easy, pull it out and go mindset because you did the prep the night before! Use 1/4 tsp baking soda to add extra rise to them just before cooking. 
2. Healthy: Baking powder: However, sometimes you decide you want pancakes on the fly right? Same. For this, I use baking powder. Just be sure to get the kind without aluminum in it. Look at the nutrition label, you’ll see if it has aluminum or not. I recommend this, not because it doesn’t work for the recipe, but because, who wants to eat aluminum ? Not if I don’t have to.  
3. I NEED IT NOW healthier version: If all you have is the baking powder with aluminum, I would ask, do you have baking soda? If the answer is yes, use 1/4 tsp baking soda for every 1 tsp the recipe calls for baking powder. Easy healthy upgrade. And then put healthy baking powder on your list (the kind without that heavy metal aluminum in it).  Some options include argo non gmo, rumford and bob’s red mill for aluminum free versions. 

Salt:

1. Healthiest: fine Celtic or Redmond Real salt are the best salts for nutritional density ! 
2. Healthy: Himalayan and other seat salt are generally ok. 
3. I need it now option: whatever table salt you have on hand will work.

Sweetener options: 

1. Healthiest: Honey. Honey is by far the healthiest sweetener in moderation. Its benefits are well known (like helping decrease inflammation symptoms, allergies, being antibacterial, antimicrobial, anti fungal and more. Honey actually breaks down in the gut in such a way it nourishes the gut lining!). Honey is especially great if you can source it locally. 
2. Healthier: Organic Maple syrup. Be sure they didn’t add sugar to your syrup. I have noticed some brands actually add processed SUGAR to their maple syrup. Organic stevia or organic coconut sugar (which has lower glycemic impact than other granulated sugars), organic brown sugar and organic cane sugar. 
3. I need it now option: plain white sugar. 

Dairy options: 

1. Healthiest: this is debatable but I’m willing to get in there and tango on this one! Cultured buttermilk from Raw milk from a trusted source is the best option. Second to that, I’d say organic cultured buttermilk from the store is second best. Cultured milk has been cultured with probiotic bacteria! It can actually help your gut which in turn helps your immune system! 
   1. Grassfed butter! Salted, preferably but you do you! 
2. Healthy: Organic, grass-fed milk or if you’re vegetarian, etc you can sub for any organic milk of your choice. Just know as you move away from buttermilk, the flavor profile changes and the health benefits do go down a notch. But they’re still delicious pancakes & still very goof for you! 
   1. Lando lakes or any real butter (no margarine or crisco here). 
3. I need it now: No milk? use whatever you have in its place. I have even used water in the past when we were in a season of low budget and out of milk, and guess what? STILL delicious pancakes! 
   1. Use whatever butter you have! No butter? Use whatever neutral oil you have. I have been out of butter completely and still made these pancakes using coconut oil, avocado oil, or bacon grease. They filled our bellies with a delicious breakfast even so! 

The Process-How to make healthy pumpkin pancake recipe:

For the purposes of this recipe, I will go with the healthy option that is both healthier, readily available in most people’s homes and quick to prepare for mamas of many littles.

Here is how to make healthy pumpkin pancakes from scratch: 

1. First, preheat your skillet over medium heat (put your butter in the pan to melt while the pan heats up, and the residual will be enough to cook your first batch of pancakes).

1. Then combine all your dry ingredients and whisk until well combined.

1. Add all your wet ingredients next (including the melted butter) and whisk. *if batter is too thick to dollop out your pancakes, add a little splash of water until it’s the consistency you prefer.* 

1. Make sure theres about 1 tbsp of butter or oil in the pan. Using 1/4 cup measuring cup (not to measure but it just helps me spoon out my pancakes evenly and give you a clearer measurement as the reader) scoop up to 4 pancakes per 10″ skillet. Pancakes should sizzle just a little bit when hitting the hot pan. (Tip: add extra table spoon of oil to fry your pancakes and make them crunchier if desired.) 

1. Cook on medium heat about 3-4 minutes for the first side and flip when it has risen and no more bubbles are forming on the top and the bottom is set. Let it cook for just 2 more minutes on the other side and transfer them to an oven safe pan to stay warm if desired–that’s about 170F on my oven.
2. If at any point your stove is cooking them too brown too fast, just turn the heat down a notch. Adjust heat as necessary. 
3. When all pancakes are done, serve with your choice of syrup, honey &/or whip cream (or top with the BONUS recipe healthier pumpkin roll protein filling).
4. Enjoy your healthy pumpkin pancakes!

 

BONUS RECIPE:

If you’re feeling fancy & want to take this recipe up a notch [think 5 extra minutes max], you can make this homemade cream cheese topping (the day of or the night before). 

1. Using your mixer or spoon in a bowl: take 1 block (8oz) cream cheese-softened
2. 1/4 stick of butter –softened
3. 1 cup powdered sugar
4. 1 tsp vanilla
5. 1 scoop vanilla protein powder–optional
6. 1-2 TBSP cream or milk if needed to thin out the mixture to your liking. 
7. Whip butter and cream cheese together first until smooth (add 1-2 TBSP cream or milk to thin it out a little if needed). Then add all other ingredients together. Whisk it once more, slowly at first then on high until well combined.
8. Squish it between 2 pancakes, (or just pop a dollop on top for kiddos) and BOOM, you have a protein rich, pumpkin roll pancake. Top with a drizzle of syrup. Enjoy!

Fun fact about my personality in the kitchen: I do not usually wait for things to soften. I just cut it up into chunks and turn on my mixer with the whisk attachment up to high with the butter and cream until it is combined. Then proceed with the recipe. I usually didn’t think that far in advance to be laying butter or cream cheese out to get soft. Anyone else?

Thank you for stopping by, I hope your family enjoys the recipes ! 

Brittany 

 

 

Check out these posts for other fall recipe, meals, and ideas: 

Delicious, fast and easy apple cobbler recipe (done in under 30 minutes).

Easy, fun and realistic fall family traditions for this season of motherhood with all littles that you’ll all look forward to doing again and again. 

 

If you loved this healthy pumpkin pancake recipe, I’d love if you came back and gave it 5 stars! 

 

 

Yield: 14

How to Make Easy Pumpkin Pancakes From Scratch

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These easy pumpkin pancakes are such a joy in fall ! Whip the batter up in minutes, cook and enjoy!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• A nice pinch of salt (about 1/2 tsp)
• 2 Tbsp honey/syrup/or sugar
• 1 cups milk (buttermilk preferred but use what you have)
• 2+/- eggs (use what you have, I've made this recipe with none and it still turned out delicious)
• 1/2 tablespoon Vanilla
• 1 stick of melted butter.
• 1/2 of a can (about 3/4 cup) of pumpkin puree.
• 2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice (or just 2 tsp cinnamon & pinch of nutmeg will favor it nicely).
• *4 Tbsp coconut oil or butter, separated, for frying--possibly optional: see notes.

Instructions

1. Preheat your skillet over medium heat (add the stick of butter to the pan to melt while the pan heats up)
2. First combine all your dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
3. Add all your wet ingredients (including the melted butter in your preheating pan-leaving about 1 Tbsp in the pan to cook your first batch of pancakes) and whisk. *note :if batter is too thick add a little splash of water until it's the consistency you prefer.*
4. Make sure theres about 1 tbsp of butter or oil in the pan, if not, add it.
5. Cook on medium about 3-4 minutes for the first side and flip when it has risen and no more bubbles are forming on the top and the bottom is set. Let it cook for just a 2 more minutes on the other side and transfer them to an oven safe pan to stay warm if desired--that's about 170F on my oven.
6. *if at any point your stove is cooking them too brown too fast, just turn the heat down a notch. adjust heat as necessary.*
7. When all pancakes are done, serve with your choice of syrup, honey &/or whip cream.
8. Enjoy!
9. See notes for pumpkin roll style filling BONUS recipe.

Notes

• If frying in cast iron pan, use about 1 TBSP oil per batch you fry. In my 10" cast iron I can get four scoops about 1/4 cup each cooking in one pan at a time. Speed it up with 2 cast iron pans. Or, you can minimize the butter/oil you need and just use one large nontoxic nonstick griddle.
• Stove tops tend to vary in how hot they get their pans at various settings and depending on the pan or griddle you choose to cook on you may want to adjust the heat up or down as well to get the desired brownness/consistency you desire.
• Preheat oven to 170 and put your finished pancakes in the oven to stay warm while you cook the pancakes.
• If you wish to freshly mill your flour (the pancakes in the image are freshly milled) just sub out the flour 1 : 1 with hard white wheat berried or if you choose to use soft white wheat you'll need 1/2 cup more of soft white wheat flour.
• BONUS RECIPE: if you're feeling fancy & want to take this recipe up a notch, you can make this homemade cream cheese topping (the day of or the night before). Using your mixer or blender or hands, take 1 block (8oz) cream cheese, 1/4 stick of butter --softened, 1 cup powdered sugar & 1 tsp vanilla, optional: 1 scoop vanilla protein powder. Whip ingredients together, squish it between 2 pancakes, and BOOM, you have a sort of stuffed protein rich, pumpkin roll pancake. Top with a drizzle of syrup! . *use milk or cream to thin it out if you desire a thinner consistency. Enjoy!