I know what you’re thinking. I’m becoming a sneaky chef. First, I sneak vegetables into muffins, and now they’re hiding in my pancakes. My intention is not to hide the vegetables from my daughter or my husband. But sometimes, you gotta do whatcha gotta do, know what I mean?
It’s not that Meghan won’t eat vegetables at all. She will. You just have to guess which day and which vegetable she’s going to like on that particular day. While she does eat vegetables in their pure form, she doesn’t always eat enough vegetables for my liking.
So until she does, I guess I have to resign myself to being a little sneaky and putting the vegetables in her favorite foods. There are worse things I could do. And I do tell her we’re having vegetable pancakes. She watches me put them in the batter. She doesn’t care. It’s got the name “pancake”, so in her book, it’s got to be good.
And she’s right. These are good. Don’t confuse them with vegetable cakes. The likes of zucchini cakes or corn cakes they are not. {I know, I know…corn’s not a vegetable!} These stay true to the form of a pancake, with all its doughy goodness. The texture is just a tad different with the addition of shredded vegetables, but the taste is similar to that of a regular pancake.
The best thing about these is that you can eat them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They’ve been in our lunch rotation the last few weeks and we’re loving them. Anytime Meghan joyfully eats a lunch that features vegetables, I’m a happy mama.
Veggie Pancakes
Sneak some veg into their favorite breakfast!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 10 - 12 pancakes
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or use half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 3 beaten eggs
- 3 cups shredded veggies*
Instructions
- Preheat a griddle or pan over medium low heat. In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, add the milk to the beaten eggs. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix. Stir in the shredded vegetables.
- Add about a teaspoon of oil or butter to your pan (unless you’re using non-stick) and allow it to heat up. Using a 1/4 measuring cup, pour the batter into the hot pan. Use the back of the cup to help the batter spread evenly. Cook for 2-4 minutes and then flip and repeat. You’ll know it’s time to flip when bubbles rise to the surface. You may need to lower the heat after the first or second batch. You don’t want to burn the outside before the inside gets to cook. Enjoy!
Notes
*Many different vegetables will work. I mostly use a combination of zucchini and sweet potato. I think carrots would be great, too.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 of 10 pancakes
- Calories: 125
- Sugar: 4.5g
- Sodium: 115.4mg
- Fat: 3.8g
- Carbohydrates: 18.7g
- Protein: 5.8g
Keywords: hidden veggies breakfast
We top our pancakes with butter and pure maple syrup. You could easily take these in a savory direction by topping with salsa and/or sour cream. Maybe even add some spices to the batter. Get creative and have fun eating your veggies in pancake form!
Healthy Living Playbook!
Yum! I bet they would be good dipped in some organic ketchup, too. Maybe with some italian seasoning added to the batter. My kids love anything in pancake form and they love to dip so I’m sure they will love these. Thanks!
You can’t really go wrong with ketchup! 🙂
It’s not sneeky at all, especially because she knows that they are in there! You’re such a good mommy :)….Oooo, the carrots inside and add some cinnamon and then top with syrup or greek yogurt. Oh. my. gosh. These are a great idea!
Awesome! I’m making this soon! I’ve been seeing sweet zucchini pancakes around and I’ve only tried savory ones so I can’t wait to try this. All the other recipes I’ve seen don’t have enough veggies in it to make much of a difference to me, but 3 cups is great. I love how adaptable it is and your suggestion to add spices sounds awesome too. I’m thinking of all the possibilities now 😀 I bet my kids will love them too, they go crazy for pancakes or waffles.
Hehe I try to sneak veggies into my Hubbie’s meals eventhoug he’s good about trying them. A little more can’t hurt!
Look fabulous! Great way to get in an extra serving!
Making this tomorrow for my son yay! Thanks!
You’re welcome! These are so kid-friendly.
Corn’s not a vegetable?
Nope–it’s actually a grain. Common misconception. 🙂
I’ve been dying to have breakfast for dinner but I get a lot of my veggies at dinner and I haven’t been willing to splurge yet. These are perfect…they’re a treat but still pack nutrients.
Those look yummy, my son just asked me last night if I would make pancakes. I will give these a try, thank you. 🙂
How interesting! I never thought of putting veggies in p-cakes before.
Maryea – do you precook any of the veggies? are the sweet potatoes raw when you shred them? I’ve put veggie purees in pancakes but never shredded, great idea!
No I don’t precook the veggies at all. They are raw and unpeeled when I shred them.
Yum ! Those look amazing ! Anything that will help get more veggies into the mouths of my kiddos is a huge blessing in my book. I will be trying these soon ! Thank you !
Looks so yummy and I am grateful that you are honest about the way your toddler eats. It seems so often I read that others kids are eating whatever is placed in front of them. My little guy is very much a day by day veggie eater!
I love zucchini and carrots so I’ll have to try out this recipe! You are SO creative. I will have to try these out on my brothers and sister because they never eat enough veggies.
These are perfect for non-veggie lovers!
mine did not cook all the way through – no matter how long i cooked or how flat i tried to make them. i finally forked out most of the veggies & it still never cooked all the way through in the middle. what did i do wrong?
Were your veggies shredded? How hot was your griddle? If it was too hot, that could cause the outside to cook too fast before the inside has a chance to cook. If it wasn’t hot enough you could also have difficulties getting the inside to cook properly. This does make a thick batter, which can make it tricky to get them to cook evenly. I always make sure I flatten the batter out as much as possible (which you said you did). You also likely need to let them cook longer than a traditional pancake. The only thing I can think to suggest is to add a little more milk to thin the batter if you still can’t get the insides to cook. Sorry!
Is there a wheat-free flour that you’d find acceptable? Right now I have oat flour, almond meal and a bit of quinoa flour. Which would work best for your recipe? –thanks
I can’t say for sure since I haven’t tried to make these wheat-free. I think the oat flour would work, though. You will probably need to use a little less than what the recipe calls for…you’ll just have to play with it a little bit and see what works. Good luck!
Thank you Maryea, my 25-month old toddlers gobbled up three of these for dinner this evening (and even my husband ate one). Who knew, veggies and whole wheat pancakes could be this tasty? Well- you did. Thank you again! Now, if I could just get my kids to eat beans as a source of protein (we’re trying to go meatless at least one day a week to start).
Glad you liked these! Meghan’s always liked beans, thankfully, although now days she’s hit or miss with them. Have you tried roasted chickpeas? Those are always a winner over here.
Why do the vegtables need to be shredded? Can they be pureed instead? My toddler likes to fish out her veggies and Im afraid that she will do this with the shreds. All other “veggie” breads usually ask for shredded veggies and I’m wondering why.
Thanks for the great idea!
I think by pureeing the veggies you will make the mixture too wet, but you could certainly give it a try. These are thicker pancakes to begin with, so maybe some veggie puree will not totally mess up the ratio. Let me know if you try it!
My very picky 3 and 4 year old gobbled these up. I did 1 cup each of zucchini, sweet potato and carrot. They were also the first pancakes I have ever made that weren’t black and burnt. Wonderful recipe.
Glad you and your little ones enjoyed these! 🙂
Has anyone tried making this into waffles? Is it good as-is, or would I need to add a little fat like melted butter or oil?
Thanks.
-Bridget
I would guess that you would need some fat to make these into waffles, but I haven’t tried it. I really want to now though! 🙂
Perfect idea! I never feel that my son gets enough veggies especially at breakfast. Do you think I can make a large batch and freeze for easy morning meals? Thanks!
Yes, definitely!
Made them – decent!!. Would love to see estimated nutritional content breakdown