These 2-ingredient Sweet Potato Pancakes are flourless (Paleo friendly if that’s your thing), dairy-free, gluten-free, and always a hit! Save This Recipe! Enter your email and I'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you'll get new recipes from me every week! By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Happy Healthy Mama.
I’m kind of in love with this recipe. As a mom, you really can’t get any better than 2 ingredients. From a health standpoint, 2 ingredients means this is clean eating at its best. Pancakes with no processed flour that my kids love? YES.
From a convenience standpoint, well, 2-ingredient recipes are a dream. 2-ingredient recipes that the kids like? Yes, I’m in love.
So these are like pancakes. But they’re not pancakes. While they look like little pancakes and feel like them, too, the texture and taste is not exactly that of a pancake. Probably because there’s no flour in these cute little guys.
That didn’t stop Luke from eating almost the entire batch the first time I fed these to him. While he isn’t picky in the least (yet), Luke definitely shows preference to certain foods. These are one of the foods he’s really loved. The bread-y texture make them very toddler-friendly. (Aaak! He’s officially a toddler now?!)
Without the optional seasonings, these are very bland. The sweet potato takes to being seasoned very well, though, and there’s so many directions you could take these. Add some curry and salt and pepper for a more savory version.
Sweeten them up to almost dessert status with a little sucanat or coconut sugar and vanilla extract. We love to add cinnamon and/or pumpkin pie spices. So good!
They are fabulous dipped in maple syrup or spread with nut butter. If you want a full (low carb) meal serve them with these Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Asparagus!
Whichever direction to take them, these little cakes are sure to be a hit with the whole family. Feel free to double or triple the recipe as needed. As written, it will serve 1-2.
I typically make these as small, mini pancakes because it’s much easier to flip them that way. I have made them successfully as bigger pancakes, though, you just have to be careful when flipping.
Over the years, I’ve gotten a lot of comments on these 2-ingredient Sweet Potato Pancakes. Here are a few tips for making these work well. Remember, they are flourless pancakes, so they are a little more finicky than regular pancakes. But they have been a family favorite for years now, so I know this recipe is solid if you follow these tips!
How to Make the BEST 2-Ingredient Sweet Potato Pancakes–Recipe Tips
- Measure the sweet potato! This is crucial. You need 1/2 cup cooked sweet potato flesh and 2 eggs. You can double or triple the recipe, just keep the ratios the same.
- Do not flip until they are fully cooked on one side. One commenter said she’s timed it and she has found they need exactly 3 minutes per side. If you try to flip them too early, they will likely fall apart.
- Don’t try to cook these on too high of heat. If you do, they will likely burn on the outside before the inside is cooked.
- Smaller pancakes flip easiest. I use a tablespoon. Larger pancakes work, you just have to be patient and let them slowly cook, at a lower heat, a bit longer.
- You can mix the batter by hand, or use a blender. I do it both ways. Using my Vitamix makes a super smooth batter.
- For better flavor, add your favorite seasonings! I love adding cinnamon and ginger or my homemade pumpkin pie spice mix!
- These are fabulous dipped in maple syrup or top them with peanut butter or almond butter. So delicious!
Check out the video to see how to make the 2-ingredient Sweet Potato Pancakes!
Note: After a reader commented that she did this, I started to mix the sweet potato flesh and egg in my Vitamix Blender. It makes a smooth batter and the whole process even easier. Genius!
If you love healthy pancakes, you’ll also love these Banana Pancakes. Give them a try! If you try these 2-ingredient Sweet Potato Pancakes, or any of my healthy recipes, please remember to leave a star rating below. It’s so helpful for readers to see which recipes are tried and true! Share your creations on Instagram, tag me, and I’ll feature you!
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2-ingredient sweet potato cakes {gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free}
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 12 small pancakes 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These 2-ingredient sweet potato cakes are an amazing low-carb, grain-free pancake alternative! They are also perfect for little hands.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mashed sweet potato (the flesh from 1 medium-small cooked sweet potato)
- 2 eggs
- oil or butter for cooking
- Optional Seasonings
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of ground ginger
- pinch of allspice
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Whisk together the sweet potato and eggs until well-combined. Add seasonings, if desired, and stir. Heat oil or butter over medium-low heat (I prefer coconut oil).
- Drop the sweet potato mixture by the tablespoon and cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Flip each cake and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, until lightly golden brown on the outside and cooked through. Note: I make very small cakes, using only a tablespoon of batter. They will need to cook longer if you make bigger pancakes. Lower heat works better, and don’t try to flip them before totally cooked on one side.
- Optional topping ideas: butter, nut butter, sunflower seed butter, or maple syrup. They are also good plain! Enjoy
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: breakfast recipe
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2
- Calories: 161
- Sodium: 273
- Fat: 12
- Carbohydrates: 23
- Protein: 7.5
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I am a bit confused…underneath the recipe description it says dairy-free but this recipe calls for eggs? ?.
Eggs are not considered dairy. Dairy is cow’s milk or anything made from cow’s milk, such as butter, cream, yogurt, etc.
I just made these coming back from Crossfit this morning and they are on point! I still have my protein (from the eggs) and my carbs, and I added some fat (almond butter) on top. I put all the ingredients in my VitaMix and managed to get 4 little pancakes (all for myself) out of it. They taste like autumn! The allspice and ginger bring back that pumpkin flavour and they are perfect! Thanks for sharing these! Could I link to them on my blog with trackbacks? Thanks!
Hi Val, you are welcome to link to my recipe. I love these with almond butter on top, also!
I am trying these this weekend! Thank you for the recipe!
Maria
http://www.musicteachingandparenting.com
You’re welcome! This is a favorite over here. 🙂
this sounds good. Something new to try as well. thanks for sharing this recipe.
Simon
You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy these!
Hi there,
I just tried this and failed epically in getting them to stick together and flipping them. Now I have read through the comments and I admit it I did not measure the sweet potato. So according to a conversion page one Cup SP equals 328g. Half of it 164g. Is the correct amount?
Mans thanks
I hate to admit this, but I’m not very familiar with grams. I’d just google it to get the answer…so your answer is probably correct. 😉 Whatever is equal is 1/2 cup is correct.
I love yams! These are being added immediately.
Great! We love these so much!
I made these this morning, sort of. I was looking for a low carb (high protein) breakfast option and thought this was a good starting point. I used 1/2c Pumpkin Puree & 2 Eggs. Then I added a bunch of other stuff, but kept them gluten free. They were more for me, and well I just need more “something”. So. I’m not much of a cook, but I was surprised I managed to make pancakes out of the mess I concocted. I was aiming for a pumpkin pie sort of thing that I could eat with out syrup. I added 1t pumpkin pie spice, 1T coconut sugar, 1 T white sugar, 1t Baking powder, 2T unsweetened coconut flakes, 2T GF Oats and 1T Chia. I put all the dry things into my baby bullet with the mill blade and made a “flour” and mixed that with the wet. Dropped them by 1/8c scoops into a hot coconut oiled pan. Cooked them on med-low (I forget how long). They were kinda eggy, but certainly pancakes. I topped them with whipped cream and ate the whole batch for about 500 cals. 17g of Protein. You probably could leave the sugar out (or add a banana instead) but I like sweet things for breakfast. They weren’t real sweet. Anyhow. So it worked and they’re still gluten free and healthy.
Thanks for sharing how you adapted this! I didn’t have luck with pumpkin at all, but didn’t add anything else. I suspect a little more is needed to hold them together with the pumpkin.
This recipe is enough for my one year old, but don’t plan to share! She loved these. We subbed 2 flax eggs for the real eggs, added 1/2 cup sorghum flour and 1 1/2 t baking powder trying to get a lighter pancake. They were pretty thin, but cooked to a nice crisp on the edges. In our dairy, gluten, egg free household, these worked and were a hit!
Thanks for letting me know they worked with flax eggs!
hello thanks for the recipe i looks so good… i have a question can i put banana instead of egss??
I have not tried this without eggs, so I’m not sure if a banana substitute would work. Please let me know if you give it a try!
Hmmm. Not sure why these didn’t work for me at all. They were super difficult to flip and just fell apart. Maybe it was because I didn’t measure my sweet potato? I used a small leftover baked one and just added the whole thing so maybe it was more than a half cup? I’ll have to try again another time…
Yes, you have to measure the sweet potato. Getting the ratio right is important. Too much sweet potato and not enough egg and it wouldn’t hold together well. The only time I have difficulty flipping is when I don’t let it cook enough and try to flip it when it’s still raw. I hope you give these another try because they really are great!
i made these tonight and they look nothing like your photo. The taste was fine but how can I get them to look more like pancakes. Would blending them work better. Is the mix supposed to be a batter. Mine was more choppy. By the way I cooked the sweet potato in my crock pot on high for 4 hours and the skin just peeled right off. Very easy. Thanks.
Yes, you can blend them to make the batter super smooth. I have done that at times, but don’t do it every time. Yes, the mixture should look like a batter. If your doesn’t, you may not have mashed your sweet potato enough. Try the blender–sounds like the super smooth result is what you’re looking for!
Have you tried them as waffles or substituting pumpkin? Also can they be frozen ?
I have tried substituting pumpkin, but didn’t have the best luck. They didn’t hold together well. I haven’t tried these as waffles though!
Oh, and YES, they can be frozen! Forgot to answer that question. 🙂
I just made these tonight and my 21 month old son gobbled them up while saying “MMMmmm” the whole time! 🙂 Thank you! (I found you on Pinterest) …oh I used all the seasonings you suggested! Yummy! Especially topped with pure maple syrup!
I have two questions before I make these. Could you use egg beaters and/or whites? You stated that they look like pancakes, but don’t taste exactly like them. Does this mean they have that overly spongy egg taste and consistency? This happens quite often when I am baking GF muffins/baked goods.
I do think egg beaters or egg whites would work; just use the equivalent amount. The texture is a bit egg-y. Since there’s no flour, you don’t get that fluffy, crumb texture. But when I make these I just call them pancakes and don’t differentiate between when I make regular pancakes, and my kids love them both. They don’t ever ask “what’s weird about the pancakes?” or anything like that. 🙂 If you are looking for something that is exactly like a pancake, this isn’t it. But if you are looking for a fun and healthy alternative to pancakes, you got it right here! I hope you enjoy these if you decide to try them.
Thanks for the recipe but can we replace eggs with something else
I’m sorry but I haven’t tried this without the eggs! My inclination is to say no it won’t work because the eggs not only hold it together but give it the texture, without it I’m afraid it would be very different. Normally I replace eggs with a “flax egg” (1 Tbs flaxseed meal+3 Tbs water= 1 egg), but I don’t know that it would work here. Please let me know if you try it though!
I just made these and they turned out…well…not looking like pancakes or cakes at all. Did you use flour?
No, no flour at all! I make these all the time, and mine look like little pancakes. Once you eat them, the texture isn’t the same as pancakes, but they definitely have the appearance of pancakes. How big did you make yours? The recipe says to use a tablespoon size amount of batter. If you make them too big, you could have a problem. What did yours look like? If you don’t cook them long enough they will also look different because they tend to fall apart when they are bigger. I’d love to help you troubleshoot because this is one of our favorite recipes. Maybe if you can give me a little more info I can try to figure out what went wrong! Sorry they didn’t turn out as you’d hoped.
Hi, do these come out like soggy? I’ve made many already and they’re like, wet. They don’t seem to dry up. They look like pancakes, but very wet from the inside. When you say the texture is different when you eat them, is that what you mean? Is this how they are and I just have to get used to that?
No, they should not be soggy at all. You may need to turn down the heat so that they cook all the way through. The texture is different from a pancake, but not soggy.
What a great idea! Can’t wait to try it.
We are always rushing in the morning, Can I prepare them ahead of time and just cook them in the morning?
Yes, I have done that!
These look so good! And I just happen to have a sweet potato sitting on my kitchen counter. Going to make these for my daughter and myself tomorrow! 🙂 I have a similar recipe that I use for her banana pancakes that includes a banana + egg + a bit of flour (we like to add cinnamon & nutmeg too!)…The banana cakes need the flour, even though it is less than a spoonful because they don’t cook properly. I’ve made them with all sorts of fruit purees but we keep on coming back to banana. Don’t know why I never thought to use a sweet potato! Thanks for this recipe! Have a great day. 🙂
You’re welcome! I’ve done it with bananas, as well, but found it to be very finicky. I guess I needed to add a bit of flour like you do! Combining sweet potato + banana works well, too. We love our flourless pancakes. 🙂
What about adding some coconut flour?
Give it a try! 🙂
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