I love pancakes. But I don’t love how they can sometimes leave me feeling like I just ate an entire loaf of bread. Do you ever feel that way? This must be a symptom of getting old(er). But we can fix that.
One grain that doesn’t leave me feeling sluggish is oats! That’s why I’ve based this pancake with oat flour instead of all purpose, because it’s healthier.
For starters, 1/2 cup of oat flour has 80 fewer calories and 20 fewer grams carbohydrates than 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour. They’re also high in iron, magnesium and fiber, and contain the amino acid lysine, which promotes replenishment of body tissues like muscles and nerves – this makes them an excellent food staple for fitness junkies. Oats can also help lower cholesterol levels and help us feel fuller longer. Seriously, super power food in the house.
To make oat flour you simply process oats in a coffee grinder until a fine powder remains. You can also buy it at the grocery store (gluten-free optional) or make a big batch at home and store it in your pantry for quick mornings breakfasts like these pancakes.
These pancakes are so simple to make: Just one bowl and 15 minutes required. You could even make them with other nut butters if you have a peanut allergy.
More importantly they’re fluffy, filled with good-for-you ingredients and pack some serious peanut butter flavor. I topped mine with a little peanut butter sauce (just peanut butter whisked with very hot water) and a little maple syrup. But they’d also be great with sliced bananas, honey or jam (hello PB&J).
These will definitely be my new go-to pancakes since I always have the ingredients on hand and they’re perfect even for busy weekday mornings. So excited to share these lovely cakes with you. Hope you enjoy.
- 1 flax egg (1 Tbsp flaxseed meal + 2 Tbsp water) or chicken egg
- 1 Tbsp Earth Balance, melted (or other non-dairy butter)
- ½ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1 Tbsp agave nectar (or maple syrup/honey for non-vegan)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 Tbsp natural salted peanut butter (crunchy or creamy), plus extra for topping
- pinch salt
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup oat flour
- ¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- Preheat electric griddle to medium heat (or about 350 degrees F), or a large skillet on the stove stop. You want the surface to be hot but not screaming hot – oil shouldn’t smoke when it makes contact with the surface.
- To a large mixing bowl add flaxseed and water and let set for a minute or two. Then add melted Earth Balance, agave nectar, peanut butter, baking soda, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract and whisk to combine. Add almond milk and whisk again until well combined.
- Next add oat and whole wheat pastry flour and stir until just combined. Let batter rest for 5 minutes.
- Lightly grease your griddle and pour scant ¼ cup measurements of the batter onto the griddle. There should be 6 pancakes. Flip when bubbles appear in the middle and the edges turn slightly dry, being careful not to burn.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes more on the other side and then top with Earth Balance or more peanut butter and a light drizzle of maple syrup, or whatever else you please.
- Will reheat well the next day in the microwave.
Kier February 9, 2013 at 7:02 am
I love baking with oat flour and can almost smell these pancakes!
christine February 9, 2013 at 8:06 am
i’ve been making your chocolate chip oatmeal pancakes pretty regularly since you posted that recipe but i might need to switch now because, oh my goodness, these look amazing……!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) February 9, 2013 at 8:21 am
I adore pancakes and hate the loaf of bread feeling as well. These look incredible and are definitely worth a try!
Deana February 9, 2013 at 8:23 am
Thank you for this delicious looking recipe! I especially appreciate the nutritional info since my husband was recently diagnosed diabetic. We’ll try these for breakfast this morning.
Brooke February 9, 2013 at 9:00 am
Thank you for this amazing recipe! I am a vegan and my husband is a “sometimes vegan” lol so lets say its pretty hard to please him but these i think will do the trick! my daughter and I are allergic to peanuts so I will use almond butter and see how it works!
Becca February 9, 2013 at 9:39 am
Love This. We are off to the farmer’s market this morning, but pancakes are planned for the near future. Thanks so for helping me nourish my boys and my body with your awesome recipes. xxoo
Brianna K. @ Hungry Gator Gal February 9, 2013 at 10:02 am
Thanks for providing a recipe that incorporates two of my favorite foods in the world – peanut butter and oats. I can’t wait to try them with more peanut butter and sliced banana!
Averie @ Averie Cooks February 9, 2013 at 12:31 pm
They look incredible and remind me of a 2009 recipe I have for banana-flax-oat-PB vegan pancakes. My photography wasn’t exactly pretty back then and I should remake those. I love the PB drizzling down the sides of your stack!
Eileen February 9, 2013 at 3:40 pm
These pancakes look so fluffy and amazing! And making freshly ground oat flour in the coffee grinder is genius. :)
Sincerely Jill February 10, 2013 at 8:03 am
I cannot think of anything better than peanut butter and oats. Yum!
Kathryn February 10, 2013 at 11:05 am
These look like pretty much my perfect pancakes.
Zet Magsino February 10, 2013 at 11:09 am
anything with peanut butter is indeed a winner already :) I HAVE to try this sometime…soon.
Michelle @ DailyWaffle February 10, 2013 at 11:34 am
Just waffle-ized these for breakfast. We’re not vegan, so I did use butter in place of the Earth Balance, but kept the flax egg. Delish w/ a few slices of banana and an extra drizzle of maple syrup. Doubled the recipe, so we’ll have extra for tomorrow. Thanks!
Sarah February 10, 2013 at 6:31 pm
Peanut butter pancakes! Yum – these would be HUGE with the kids*
*by kids I mean me. I am my kids.
Morgan February 11, 2013 at 10:00 am
I love everything about this. The styling, the ingredients (oat flour!), and the toppings. Thanks for sharing Dana!
Lisa February 11, 2013 at 11:36 am
I love peanut butter and oats! It doesn’t get much better than this! Trying this tomorrow for Shrove Tuesday. :)
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie February 12, 2013 at 2:06 pm
Peanut butter pancakes for breakfast! Yay!
Mariam February 12, 2013 at 11:37 pm
Yum! Pancakes are the only succuss I’ve had with oat flour! These look delish, im not vegan so i’ll probably just use an egg and milk and butter. By the way can I skip the pb, shock horror I know but I prefer my pancakes plain
Melissa February 17, 2013 at 8:02 pm
This recipe is a God send. I had been worried all day about what I was going to make for breakfast tomorrow, and as I got onto Pinterest, I found this pin at the top of my feed. I had everything in my pantry for this and went to work. (I work at 5 am so I always make my breakfast the night before). These are delicious. Thank you.
Dana February 17, 2013 at 10:07 pm
Yay! So glad you liked them :D
Melissa February 18, 2013 at 8:27 am
Just made these this morning. YUM! Thanks for the great recipe:)
Heatoftroy February 19, 2013 at 9:51 pm
Just found this recipe on Pinterest and am excited to try it out. However I have a question……would gluten free flour work in place of using whole wheat pastry flour? You mention using gluten free oats but then saw the whole wheat flour and that through me. Any helpful tips would be greatly appreciated!
Clara Winger February 23, 2013 at 1:36 pm
I love peanut butter and I love pancakes so this recipe is a win for me. I do have one question about making oat flour. Does it the type of oats use matter? Would quick oats work?
Ali March 11, 2013 at 9:14 am
I’ve been wanting to do homemade pancakes forever! These were perfect for my snow day, a nice switch from my usual stovetop oatmeal. Proud to say I finished both servings by myself! However I did thin out the batter a bit with some water, because I usually can’t finish pancakes that are too heavy, and lessened the honey as I can’t eat super sweet stuff in the morning. Still turned out great! Great way to get lots of healthy calories in the morning. Thanks so much!
Adriana May 12, 2013 at 6:57 am
The pancakes were amazing! Hot from the pan and soaked in maple syrup…irresistible! Thank you so much for the 5 star recipe.