Spinach pancakes are a healthy, filling, and tasty way to start the day. They're low in fat and sugar, made with oat flour, and packing plenty of green goodness in every bite! This recipe is vegan and made without oil, gluten, nuts, or refined sugar.
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Vegetables for Breakfast
When it comes to pancakes, I like 'em healthy. Because otherwise, they're really more like dessert. And I don't know about you, but I find I don't feel so great the rest of the day if I start off with a big stack of sweet bread.
But these spinach pancakes are a different story! Whole-grain oat flour gives them staying power, and soy milk adds plant protein, which also helps keep us full. And then there's the spinach...
Each serving of spinach pancakes contains approximately ½ cup spinach, 7 grams protein, 5 grams fiber, and 13% of the recommended daily value of iron.
These are a great way to delight your kiddos, too. They'll love the bright green color, and you'll love knowing they started the day with nutritious oats and spinach.
Ingredients
I love recipes that are simple and call for easy-to-find ingredients. If you feel the same way, you'll love these.
- oat flour - I sometimes make my own oat flour by blending rolled oats in the Vitamix, but you can also buy it online and in some stores (look for certified gluten-free oats/oat flour, if needed).
- spinach - I prefer raw baby spinach for this recipe but frozen works in a pinch! Just be sure to thaw it first and squeeze out some of the liquid.
- fine sea salt - just a pinch rounds out the flavor and helps mask any bitterness from the spinach.
- cinnamon - this is optional but does add nice flavor.
- baking powder
- unsweetened soy milk - lite canned coconut milk and oat milk are also great in this batter.
- maple syrup - only 1 Tbsp goes into the batter, but you'll definitely want more for serving.
- vanilla extract
See the recipe card below for amounts and full instructions.
How to Make Spinach Pancakes
- In a blender combine the milk, maple syrup, vinegar, vanilla, and spinach. Blend until the spinach is completely pureed.
- In a mixing bowl whisk together the oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Pour the spinach mixture into the bowl and whisk to combine.
- The batter will look thin but will thicken as it rests. Preheat a non-stick griddle or large pan over medium-low heat.
- Flick water onto the cooking surface to make sure it's fully preheated - the water should sizzle and immediately disappear. Use about ¼ cup batter per pancake. Flip the pancakes when bubbles appear all across the top and the edges look set. The second side will cook more quickly than the first.
Serving Suggestions
These spinach pancakes are unapologetically healthy. You may have noticed there's no butter or additional fat of any kind. And though spinach doesn't have a strong flavor, these don't taste like a typical pancake made with regular flour and sugar.
The reason I'm pointing this out is because I highly recommend serving these with a drizzle of pure maple syrup. It doesn't take much, but it truly is what makes these so delicious and "helps the greens go down."
In addition to maple syrup, serve these pancakes with any other toppings you enjoy, such as:
- non-dairy yogurt - try homemade cashew yogurt, tofu yogurt, or almond milk yogurt!
- vegan butter
- jam, jelly, or fruit compote
- fresh berries or chopped apple, pear, peach, or banana
- seeds, nuts, or coconut
Recipe Yield
This recipe makes about 7 small pancakes, 4-inches in diameter. This is the perfect amount for our 2-person household. You can easily double or triple the recipe if needed.
How to Store
Store spinach pancakes in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze them for later. When I have time I like to make an extra large batch and freeze half for another day.
Pancake Cooking Tips
If you don't make pancakes very often, it can take a couple of tries to really get the hang of it.
There's a bit of an art to getting the heat just right. Plus, as you try different pancake recipes, with different types of flour and fat/sugar content, this can affect how quickly they cook.
For these low-fat spinach pancakes, here's what you're looking for:
- The edges should look set and there should be bubbles across the entire surface of the pancakes before you flip them. This may take a few minutes.
- If the heat is too high, the outside of the pancake will burn before the middle is done. It's important that they cook all the way through.
- Don't be afraid to adjust the heat slightly based on how the first pancake turns out.
MORE PANCAKES! Try these Oat Flour Pancakes, Lemon Blueberry Pancakes, and Vegan Bacon Pancakes.
I hope you enjoy these wholesome spinach pancakes as much as we do. If you try the recipe be sure to leave a comment and rating below to let everyone know!
📖 Recipe
Spinach Pancakes (Vegan, Whole Grain)
Ingredients
- 1 cup fine oat flour - Store-bought or make your own by blending rolled oats until very fine; see Note 1
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt
- ¾ cup unsweetened soy milk - also great with oat or lite coconut milk
- 1 ½ cups fresh baby spinach, tightly packed (about 1 ¼ ounces) - if using frozen spinach, thaw and squeeze out liquid then use ¾ cup
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup, plus more for serving - see Note 2
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar - or 2 tsp lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl whisk together the oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a blender combine the milk, maple syrup, vinegar, vanilla, and spinach. Blend until the spinach is completely pureed and you don't see any green bits. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. The batter will thicken as it sits.
- Preheat a large non-stick skillet or an electric griddle to low to medium-low heat.
- Flick water onto the cooking surface to make sure it's fully preheated - the water should sizzle and immediately disappear. Use about ¼ cup batter per pancake. Flip the pancakes when bubbles appear all across the top and the edges look set. The second side will cook more quickly than the first.
- Serve warm with maple syrup and any other toppings you enjoy, such as non-dairy yogurt, butter, nut butter, jam, fresh berries, and nuts or seeds.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used. We calculate this information using the online calculator cronometer.com.
Cheryl Garcia
I made these! Not too difficult since I had a large amount of fresh spinach....I did add a squeeze of lemon and my sprinkle of cinnamon was big. Yes, they were quite green.
Sima Turpin
I thought your recipe looked delicious but I'm not really into sweet pancakes. I do however like savoury ones! So I used your basic recipe but instead of maple syrup and cinnamon added a little tamari, olive oil, ajwan seeds, garlic powder, chilli powder and pepper.
The results were so delicious.
Thanks for your recipe ☺️