Healthy Fluffy Protein Pancakes

5 from 1 vote

Make the perfect Healthy Fluffy Protein Pancakes that the entire family will love with the added health benefits. They’re quick and easy to make and so fluffy every single time.

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: Breakfast, Brunch

Keyword: banana, breakfast, brunch, dairy-free, easy, fluffy, gluten-free, healthy, nut-free, pancakes, protein, quinoa, vegan

Servings: pancakes

Calories: 363kcal

Author: Shanika

Ingredients

PANCAKES:

1 ripe organic banana, mashed
½ cup cooked quinoa
2 ½ cups organic all-purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Pinch of sea salt
2 large eggs, at room temp.
2 Tbsps organic canola oil (See Notes!)
1 ¾ cups Almond milk (You can use whole milk or your fave plant-based milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tbsps almond butter, softened (See Notes!)
3 Tbsps pure maple syrup
1-2 Tbsps unsalted butter, for cooking

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:

Sliced bananas
Slice almonds, toasted
Fresh berries (You can use strawberries, blackberries, or blueberries)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

TO COOK THE QUINOA:

Begin by adding 2 cups water and ½ teaspoon salt to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until it begins to boil. Add in the ½ cup quinoa, whisking continuously while boiling for 1-2 minutes. Reduce heat to bring to a simmer for 10-15 minutes, whisking every 3-4 minutes until fully cooked through, and water has dried, and the quinoa has thickened. Remove from heat and let it cool.

TO MAKE THE PANCAKES:

In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together and whisk until combined.
Make a small well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add in the milk, eggs, almond butter, maple syrup, vanilla, oil, cooled cooked quinoa, and mashed banana, stirring gently (using a spatula) until just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX! NOTE: If the batter is way too thick and hard to stir, add additional milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until more smooth, yet still thick enough.
Add 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter to a heated skillet over medium-high heat and wait until fully melted. Pour ½ cup of pancake batter unto the surface of the skillet and cook for about 1-2 minutes (until batter begins to bubble) and gently flip pancake to it’s opposite side, cooking another 1-2 minutes. NOTE: Be sure to gently press down on pancake to ensure that center cooks through.
Once cooked and lightly brown on both sides, remove pancake from heat and repeat steps until all batter is used.
To serve, stack pancakes onto one another and top with your favorite topping(s) and lightly drizzle with maple syrup, if desired.
Bon Appetit!

Notes

STORAGE: You can store any leftovers tightly sealed in a ziplock bag and kept in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Re-heat in the oven or microwave when ready to serve.
FREEZE OPTION: If you’d like to make these pancakes ahead of time, you can freeze them for up to six months. Simply cool the pancakes to room temperature, then arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Freeze for an hour, then place in a zip-top bag and keep in the freezer. You’ll have a healthy breakfast to grab anytime.
GLUTEN-FREE VERSION: To make these pancakes GF, I recommend using a GF Flour Blend (Bob’s Red Mills has a great version!). NOTE: If the batter is too ‘thin + runny’, simply add additional GF flour, ¼ cup at a time.
VEGAN OPTION: To make these pancakes vegan, simply omit the eggs and substitute with 2 ‘flax eggs’ (2 Tablespoons flaxseed meal + 4 Tbsps water) and create a dairy-free buttermilk by adding 1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to the milk.
SWEETENER: If you choose to opt out of maple syrup, you can always substitute with Agave, date syrup, coconut sugar, brown sugar, or organic cane sugar.
OIL: Instead of canola oil, you can always use coconut oil or melted vegan butter, if preferred.
NUT BUTTER: If preferred, you can always substitute Almond butter with peanut butter, SunButter (perfect for allergy-free needs!), Tahini (Sesame Seed Butter), Hazelnut Butter, etc.

Nutrition