I don’t really like to play favorites with food, but I’m going to go ahead and say it: homemade pancakes are my favorite breakfast food (shhh… don’t tell the waffles and eggs!). I make them at least every other weekend. And these fluffy berry oat pancakes may have just hit the top of the charts. I dare you to look at this picture and tell me you don’t want to eat these:
Since pancakes are a weekend staple at my house, I (almost) always make sure to make them as healthy as possible, using whole grains and little to no refined sugar (like in my banana chia seed pancakes and my pumpkin pie pancakes).
These fluffy berry oat pancakes are just that- they are made with 100% whole grains (a mixture of whole wheat flour and oats) and only 2 tablespoons of brown sugar (for which honey can be substituted- see recipe below). The flavor is slightly sweet and salty, kind of like a biscuit, balanced out by the natural sugars in the fresh (or frozen) berries that are folded into the batter.
The best thing about them? THE FLUFFY. Made with baking soda AND baking powder, these pancakes poof up (a highly technical culinary term) while cooking to make air pockets and a melt-in-your-mouth pancake.
Let me tell you why I love pancakes so much.
- They taste amazing. Every time. They are hard to mess up.
- They are simple and fast to make.
- Two words: Maple. Syrup. (be sure to use the real stuff!)
- You can freeze the leftovers and pop them in the toaster or microwave for a quick weekday breakfast.
- They are healthy, if you use whole grains and real ingredients!
- They are fun to photograph- it’s so satisfying to stack a bunch of pancakes up, drizzle syrup all over, and shoot awesome photos in the natural morning light (food blogger nerd alert).
- You can use up leftovers in them! Whenever I have something to use up (ripe bananas, leftover canned pumpkin, mashed sweet potatoes, or in this case, a bunch of berries), I throw it into pancake batter so it doesn’t go to waste.
Here’s the most important thing to remember when making whole grain pancakes: do not over mix the batter. When you mix too much, gluten begins to form from the flour, which will make the batter stick together and cause a dense pancake. (Note: this applies when making muffins, bread, or other baked goods with whole wheat flour as well.)
For these pancakes, I made my own “buttermilk” by adding vinegar to whole milk. Have you ever tried this? It works so well! Because when do you EVER have buttermilk just lying around? If you do have buttermilk, you can absolutely use it in this recipe. But milk + vinegar will work just fine.
What’s your favorite pancake recipe? I need some more ideas! :-)
Enjoy!
Fluffy Berry Oat Pancakes (made with 100% whole grains)
Ingredients
- 1 cup buttermilk or 3/4 cup milk + 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup quick oats old fashioned oats can also be used
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup fresh berries any combination of blueberries, sliced strawberries, blackberries, or raspberries, plus more for serving
- 2 tablespoons butter for frying
- maple syrup for serving
Instructions
- If you don't have buttermilk, mix the milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside for 5 minutes.
- Mix the whole wheat flour (1/2 cup), oats (1/2 cup), baking powder (1 teaspoon), baking soda (1/2 teaspoon), kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon), and brown sugar (2 tablespoons) in a medium bowl.
- Mix the buttermilk (or milk and vinegar mixture) with the egg and beat well.
- Add egg mixture to dry ingredients, stirring until just combined (do not overwork the batter!).
- Fold 1 cup of berries into the batter gently.
- Heat a cast iron skillet or other heavy skillet / griddle and cook pancakes in melted butter in 1/3 cup amounts over medium heat. Flip when slightly browned around edges and bubbles form at the top.
- Serve with extra berries and drizzle with maple syrup.
Notes
- If you want to use honey instead of brown sugar, add 2 tablespoons of honey to the milk mixture when you add the egg. Pour into the dry ingredients.
- Want to use frozen berries? They will work fine! Just thaw ahead of time, and know that your pancakes will be purple/blue/red from the juices from the berries :-)
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Bharvi
I have been making these for a couple of years now and they are a crowd favorite! So fluffy and light with a delicious and complex flavor profile.
Love it!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you like them!
Emma Kilpatrick
These would have likely been amazing if they didn’t call for so much salt. We couldn’t stomach how salty they were even when piled with sweet toppings. I should have listened to my inner voice telling me that it was too much salt for a pancake recipe. Will try again with maybe 1/8 tsp to 1/4 tsp.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh no! Sorry you had a frustrating experience. Looking back on this recipe I think you might be right- I’m going to change the instructions to say 1/4 teaspoon, or more according to taste. I have a heavy hand on salt because I loveeeee salty sweet flavor. One other thing- kosher salt is less potent than table salt or sea salt, so make sure you don’t use regular salt in place of kosher salt, unless you use less of it. If you try it again with less let me know how it comes out!
Carly
These tasted fine but they weren’t fluffy at all. The batter was really runny and they came out quite flat.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh no! So sorry this happened to you, I’m sure it was frustrating to go through the work of cooking these and not have them come out how you expected them to. Hm, I wonder what happened! I have a few thoughts as to what may have caused this. First, if the berries you used were particularly juicy, they may have caused the batter to be thinner. Using a low fat or skim milk may also have contributed. Or maybe it was just a coincidence with measuring amounts of ingredients- some measuring cups and spoons are larger than others, etc. I think in the future, if you decide to try this recipe again or for any other readers having issues with runny batter, I recommend adding a little bit more whole wheat flour or oats (try just a tablespoon or two at first to see if the consistency seems better). Also, make sure to not overmix the batter, as overmixing will release more starches from the flour and oats and cause the pancakes to be more dense, rather than fluffy. Hope that helps troubleshoot the issue a little bit, and better luck next time!
Christian
Looking to confirm… Do you use oats whole or grind then before mixing with the flour and other ingredients?
Elizabeth Lindemann
You can use the oats whole! Quick cooking oats will result in a fluffier, more delicate texture, whereas whole rolled oats will be a bit more dense and chewy. If you don’t have quick cooking oats but want that lighter texture, you CAN grind up old fashioned oats a bit which will make a DIY version of quick oats (they won’t be exactly the same- not as uniform in size as store bought). Hope that helps!
Ben
Really wonderful.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked them!
Katie Cabe
These are SO GOOD. I don’t usually care much for pancakes, but the oats and whole wheat in this recipe add a really lovely and complex flavor. My husband makes these with our 4 year old just about every weekend, and we top with yogurt, honey, fresh fruit, and butter. They also make amazing waffles!
Elizabeth Lindemann
OH wow- I never thought of using the batter for waffles!! That’s genius! Thanks so much for the tip and I’m so glad you and your family like them!
Julia Stearns @ Healthirony
I made these fluffy berry oat pancakes for the super bowl party and it was a crowd favorite. Thanks, Elizabeth, in advance and also for sharing ;)
Elizabeth
Thanks! So glad you liked them!!
Renae
The yummiest pancake I have eaten. Don’t feel as bad eating it either. Thanks for the recepie. Yummy!!!
Elizabeth
Thanks! So happy you liked it!
Neelie
We love this recipe! I’ve tried a few blueberry pancake recipes out there, and this is by far, the yummiest. Toddler approved. Thanks!
Elizabeth
So glad you liked it! For some reason I haven’t made this for my toddler- adding the ingredients to the grocery list now :-)
Jen
Tried these today with regular oats.
Delicious! Will definitely go on my regular breakfast list.
Elizabeth
Glad you liked them!
Jenna
I can’t stop making this recipe! Every weekend now we enjoy your pancakes. They are so fluffy and delicious :)
Elizabeth
Thanks Jenna! So glad you like the recipe! :-)
Mary
These are amazing and so fluffy! I can’t wait to make them again. I used 1% milk and half agave/half maple syrup. I recommend to anyone looking for a good pancake recipe. Thank you.
Elizabeth
So glad you liked them, Mary!
Caroline Kaufman Nutrition (@sweetfoodie)
Holy COW these look outstanding. Your photography is beyond. I want to take a fork to my screen! Can’t wait to make these :)
Elizabeth
Thank you so much Caroline!! I can’t tell you how many times I wish I could just eat right off my computer screen, too :-) Hope you like them!
Erin@WellPlated
Pancakes = weekend in my book. I love making them healthier too, so this oat version would be a hit on a lazy Saturday around here!
Thalia @ butter and brioche
Craving a stack of pancakes right now.. these oat pancakes look so delicious and definitely fluffy.
charlotte
A great tip for fluffy whole grain pancakes is to separate the egg, whip the white, then fold it in at the end.
Elizabeth
Thanks, Charlotte! Will have to try that next time! :-)
Kim @ Mom, Can I Have That?
Those look to be about the most perfect pancakes! I love oats. We love pancakes at our house, too. I promise not to tell on you to the waffles and the eggs! -Kim