I love these healthy pumpkin pancakes, made with whole wheat flour and no refined sugar! They use a WHOLE CAN of pumpkin, so it’s a great way to enjoy a healthy vegetable for breakfast, and you don’t have to worry about using the leftover pumpkin puree. Freeze the leftovers to pop in the toaster or microwave on busy mornings!
When was the last time you had vegetables with breakfast? BESIDES hash browns? Can’t remember? Me either. Until these pumpkin pancakes.
One of my favorite things about these pancakes is that they use the WHOLE CAN of pumpkin puree, which means a) you don’t have to scramble to use the leftover puree before it goes bad, and b) you get more nutrients from this super healthy vegetable per serving!
These healthy pumpkin pancakes are also made with whole wheat flour and contain no refined sugar, so you can feel great about eating these every morning in the fall. Which I plan on doing. They’re also great for toddlers and baby led weaning.
How to make pumpkin pancakes
Just mix together the wet ingredients, including pumpkin puree, eggs, milk, yogurt, and butter, with the spices. Then add the whole wheat flour, and cook in a hot buttered skillet!
- Whisk the wet ingredients together. Melted butter, eggs, whole milk, plain yogurt, vanilla extract, maple syrup (or honey), and that whole can of pumpkin.
- Add the spices as well– pumpkin pie spice, kosher salt, and baking powder.
- Mix in the whole wheat flour. Stir it gently until just combined- to get the fluffiest pancakes, you don’t want to overwork it.
- Scoop the batter into a hot buttered skillet. I used a 1/2 cup measuring cup for large pancakes, but you can use 1/4 cup for smaller pancakes.
- Spread the batter out. The batter is thick, so it needs a little bit of coaxing into a pancake shape. You can use an offset spatula, the back of a spoon, or just the back of the measuring cup you’re using to scoot the edges out a bit.
- Flip! Once the edges look cooked, carefully flip the pancake and cook the other side. They will take a little longer to cook than your average pancake, due to all that glorious pumpkin puree.
What to serve on top of pumpkin pancakes
I like to go classic with a pad of butter and maple syrup. If I’m feeling fancy, I’ll add some nuts like pecans, almonds, or walnuts. You can also add fresh fruit, whipped cream, cream cheese, or anything else you like to serve with pancakes!
If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice…
Don’t worry, you can use cinnamon instead. Or, you can make your own pumpkin pie spice out of spices you likely already have in your pantry (bonus: it’s cheaper than buying the pre-mixed stuff!).
You can make these delicious pumpkin spice snickerdoodles out of any extra pumpkin pie spice you have.
How to freeze
There are two ways to freeze these pumpkin pancakes.
- Flash freeze. Lay them out on a baking sheet so they don’t touch and stick the whole thing in the freezer. Leave them for about 30 minutes, or until they are pretty much frozen through. Then transfer them to an airtight bag or container.
- Separate them with parchment paper. Just place a small sheet of parchment in between each pancake, so they don’t freeze in a giant stuck-together clump.
When you’re ready to serve, pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds or even stick them in the toaster for busy mornings!
The best skillet to use
For pancakes, I always recommend a nonstick or a cast iron skillet. I personally prefer a nonstick for these pumpkin pancakes.
Because the batter is a bit dense, they have a tendency to fall apart a bit more. A nonstick skillet just makes the whole process a bit easier (and clean-up is a breeze!).
I have these calphalon nonstick skillets and love them!
Other Pancake Recipes
- Lemon Raspberry Pancakes with Maple Cream Cheese Drizzle
- Honey Cornmeal Pancakes with Blackberry Maple Syrup
- Fluffy Berry Oat Pancakes
- Banana Chia Seed Pancakes
Other Pumpkin Recipes- sweet and savory!
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili
- Chai Spiced Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Fettuccini Alfredo
- Pumpkin Oatmeal
- Pumpkin Oat and Nut Muffins
- Dark Chocolate and Cranberry Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
- Homemade Pumpkin Pudding
Be sure to check out all these other delicious seasonal fall recipes!
Did you make this pumpkin pancake recipe? Please click the stars below to comment and Rate this Recipe
Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter melted, plus more for frying pancakes (or olive oil)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk preferably whole
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt Greek or regular is fine
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 15 oz. canned pumpkin
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice see notes
- 1 .5 cups whole wheat pastry flour or spelt flour
- maple syrup, fresh fruit, pecans, or other fixings for serving (optional)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine butter (2 tablespoons), eggs (2), milk (1 cup), yogurt (1/2 cup), vanilla extract (1 teaspoon), honey (2 tablespoons), baking powder (1 tablespoon), kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon), pumpkin pie spice (1 teaspoon), and canned pumpkin. Mix well using a whisk.
- Add flour (1.5 cups) and stir until just combined (do not overwork, or pancakes will be dense).
- Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot. Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter in it, and spoon 1/4 cup of batter (or 1/2 cup for larger pancakes) into skillet for each pancake. Because the batter is a bit more dense than traditional pancakes, I recommend using a wooden spoon, the back of the measuring cup, or spatula to smooth out the top to create a thinner pancake. This will ensure that it cooks the whole way through without burning the outside.
- When edges begin to look cooked, use a large spatula to flip the pancake quickly.
- Remove cooked pancakes to a plate and continue cooking in batches until the batter is gone, using 1/2 tablespoon more of butter to fry each batch.
- Top with maple syrup and fixings, and enjoy!
Notes
- Freezer directions: You can freeze extra pancakes separated with a small piece of parchment paper for up to 6 months in an airtight container or bag. When you want to eat one, just pop in the toaster or microwave for about a minute!
- If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, you can use a combination of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and/or ground ginger. Or just cinnamon is fine too :-)
- 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:
This post originally appeared on Bowl of Delicious in October 2014 as “Pumpkin Pie Pancakes.” It’s been updated with new photos, a simplified recipe, and more relevant text.
Kamal
Excellent pancakes and very easy to make. All hail the mighty pumpkin and her delicious pumpkin spices!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Seriously – pumpkin is so amazing!!
Shameer Mulji
This recipe mentions that it makes 6 servings. How many pancakes per serving if using the recommended quarter cup per pancake?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Probably around 4 pancakes, maybe a little under (this recipe makes about 6 cups of batter). Hope that helps!
Jaclyn R Bloomquist
I made these for breakfast this morning. They did take quite a bit of time to cook, but they were delicious! Best pumpkin pancakes I have ever made. The tasted like pumpkin pie. Decadent, but healthy. The smaller pancakes cooked much better (and faster) than the good ones. Thank you
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked them! It’s a wet batter and they do take a little while to cook. Hopefully it was worth the wait :-)
Megan
I realized I’ve made these probably 10+ times and never rated–thank you for this recipe! They were a hit with adults but as an added bonus my 2 year old looooves them and I keep a constant stash in our freezer. Thanks!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Aw yay! So glad you like them- I love keeping a stash in my freezer too.
Ann
My inner sweet tooth was very happy when saw the word “useful” near the pancake recipe! The recipe also contains pumpkin and I really like it, I love pumpkin in any form – both in baking and in hearty recipes, as a side dish or stew. It’s great that you can add any topping, nuts, chocolate chips and make these pancakes even tastier. It looks very appetizing, I want to taste this dish as soon as possible! I like your blog, thank you for the ideas!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Aw, thanks so much!! <3
Nell Rescan
Can these pancakes be made into waffles?
Elizabeth Lindemann
That’s a great question! I admit: I’m not much of a waffle expert. I don’t even have one waffle recipe on the blog! BUT, I did a little bit of research, and I think you may be able to. According to Alton Brown, waffle batter has more fat and sugar than pancake batter. So if you try it, you may want to add a couple more tablespoons of butter and maple syrup (or even add oil and regular sugar). This pancake batter IS a bit more dense and takes a while to cook, so be prepared for the same with the waffles. If all else fails, here’s a really promising recipe for whole grain pumpkin spice waffles from Cookie and Kate! Hope that helps :-) If you do try to make this into waffles, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Katie
If you make these while we are visiting, you will be my favorite sister in law EVER :) They look incredible!
Elizabeth
Oh don’t you worry. We are on the same page :-)
Suzanne @ Flour Arrangements
Wow, these sound delicious and perfect for fall!
Elizabeth
Thanks, Suzanne!
Jeannine
Can’t wait to try them. Just so happens I bought a can of organic pumpkin and wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it. Now I know!
Elizabeth
Hope you like them, Jeannine! I actually bought two cans of pumpkin (because, why not) and am on the hunt for something to do with the second, as well! :-)
Harold Lindemann
These look amazingly good!! And congrats on #100 !!!!!!!!!!!!
Elizabeth
Thanks!! :-)