Healthy Pancakes (1 Base Batter – 6 Ways)

If you love healthy pancakes, add this healthy pancake mix recipe to the list! We are sharing 1 base batter and 6 different flavors to go with it.

Breakfast is life. Whether I am mixing up a healthy pancake batter, grabbing a healthy muffin on the go, or warming up an egg cup, I make sure I always have healthy breakfast options on hand!

6 Ways to Make Healthy Pancakes

Pancakes are just the best to whip up on a Sunday morning and eat alongside scrambled eggs, bacon, and orange juice.

We are huge pancake people and have a plethora of pancake recipes to choose from on FFF. We have banana pancakes, cottage cheese pancakes, coconut flour pancakes, and sheet pan pancakes just to name a few.

In this post, we are sharing our secret healthy pancakes base recipe + 6 different flavor variations for you to make them your own. Here are the flavors we’re featuring:

1. Peanut Butter Pancakes
2. Scallan Potato Pancakes
3. Apple Cinnamon Pancakes
4. Pumpkin Pancakes
5. Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
6. Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Healthy Pancakes Base Ingredients

When testing new healthy pancake recipes, we always come back to the same few ingredients because we’ve used them time and time again.

Before sharing the 6 flavors, we thought we’d go over what they all have in common.

• White Whole Wheat Flour: we love how fluffy white whole wheat flour gets and that it’s a whole grain.
• Baking Powder: baking powder is the leavening agent we use in all pancakes.
• Salt: salt brings out any flavors you plan to use.
• Eggs: eggs help bind the pancake batter and make them fluffy.
• Unsweetened Almond Milk: while you can use any kind of milk, we prefer unsweetened almond milk.
• Coconut Oil: coconut oil will help your batter stay nice and moist.

Ingredient Substitutions

We get a lot of questions about substitutions for our healthy pancake recipes. This pancake base recipe is tried and true. We’ve tested mix-ins, toppings, flours, and everything in between.

Below are some of the main ingredients in this recipe and potential substitutions you can make!

White whole wheat flour: While whole wheat flour definitely works the best time and time again, but if you’re hoping to swap for a different flour, we suggest the following (and only the following) at a 1:1 ratio:

• all-purpose flour
• whole wheat flour
• all-purpose gluten-free flour blend
• Unfortunately, we do not recommend substituting 1:1 for coconut flour and/or almond flour.

If you are looking for an almond flour or coconut flour pancake recipe, try our coconut flour paleo coconut flour pancakes or our 3 ingredient almond flour pancakes.

Coconut sugar: The only sugar we would recommend swapping for coconut sugar 1:1 is a light brown sugar.

Coconut oil: Feel free to sub melted butter 1:1.

Eggs: We have not tested these recipes without eggs. If you do try these recipes with a flax egg, please let us know how it goes!

Maple syrup: Honey would be a fantastic 1:1 swap for maple syrup, and potentially agave nectar.

Almond milk: Good news — any kind of milk will work with a 1:1 swap. Try soy milk, cow milk, oat milk, or coconut milk.

How to Cook Pancakes

Making the perfect pancake is all about the heat of the pan and being patient!

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spray the pan with coconut oil cooking spray or add coconut oil to the pan.
2. Next, using a 1/3 cup scoop, scoop batter into the pan. If the pancake doesn’t thin out into a circle, use the scoop to help make it a circle.
3. Wait until the pancake bubbles on the top and then flip the pancake with a spatula. Cook the pancake for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Pancake Topping Ideas

Another way to change up your healthy pancakes is with the perfect pancake toppings! Below is a list of our favorite toppings!

• Syrups- maple syrup, honey, agave syrup.
• Nut Butter- peanut butter, cashew butter, almond butter, sunflower butter, Nutella
• Dried + Fresh Fruit- raisins, cranberries, blueberries, apricots, strawberries, raspberries, apples, peaches, pears, figs
• Nuts- almonds, cashews, peanuts, sunflower seeds, pecans, walnuts
• Fun Toppings- cream cheese, coconut whip, whipped cream, chocolate chips

Q&A

6 Healthy Pancake Flavors

Here’s the deal, all you have to do is mix up the base batter recipe and then add in the additional ingredients for whatever fun and healthy pancake recipe you choose!

The complete list of additional ingredients for each recipe is at the bottom of this post. First things, first. Here are the amazing pancake recipes that we are super excited about!

Peanut Butter Pancakes

You can’t beat healthy peanut butter pancakes! They are packed with protein and perfect for a meal prep breakfast throughout the week! Check out our full Peanut Butter Pancakes post!

Wet Ingredients

• 1 large banana, mashed (1/2 cup puree)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup all-natural peanut butter

Dry Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

Scallion Potato Pancakes

These scallion potato pancakes are the potato pancakes of your dreams. All you have to do is shred potatoes, add some delicious savory spices, and fold it all into pancake batter!

Below are the dry and wet ingredients that you must add to the basic pancake mixture! It is as simple as 1-2-3.

Dry Ingredients

• 1.5 cups grated potato (not squeezed)
• 1/2 cup minced green onion
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• salt, to taste

Wet Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

These apple cinnamon pancakes are perfect for apple season! Shred the apples and add them to your favorite pancake batter. They are perfectly moist and delicious! Check out our full Apple Cinnamon Pancakes post.

Add the ingredients below to the basic pancake batter recipe and start flipping!

Dry Ingredients

• 1.5 cups grated apple (not squeezed)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoon coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

Wet Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil

Pumpkin Pancakes

Pumpkin pancakes are the best! Mix pureed pumpkin into pancake batter and top your pancakes with a little maple an pecan. They are a great fall meal prep breakfast! Check out our full Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes post.

Mix the ingredients below into the basic pancake batter! If the batter seems a bit thick, add a teaspoon of almond milk to the batter at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.

Wet Ingredients

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Fancy up your pancakes and make these lemon ricotta pancakes. They are the perfect mixture of sweet and savory! Check out our full Lemon Ricotta Pancakes post.

Add the wet ingredients below to the basic pancake batter! Make sure the honey is completely combined and mixed in. Honey clumps are the worst!

Wet Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons honey

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Who doesn’t love chocolate chocolate chip pancakes? A little chocolate chip in each bite makes the perfect sweet breakfast treat. Check out our full Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pancakes post.

Add the ingredients below to the basic pancake batter! Sometimes cocoa powder can really thicken things up, so if the batter is too thick, add a teaspoon of almond milk at a time to the batter until it reaches the desired consistency.

Dry Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips

Wet Ingredients

• 1 large banana, mashed (1/2 cup puree)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

PS: learn how to freeze and thaw these pancakes for later in this Make-Ahead Breakfast Recipes Freezer Meal Prep post!