Healthy Baked Pancakes

My family loves pancakes – lets face it, the batter is easy to whip-up. But it’s a real pain to stand over the stove flipping pancakes so that they are cooked just right, especially when you are making them for a big group. Because I love a shortcut, I’ve been working on a batter that bakes well and these Healthy Baked Pancakes are what I’ve come up with! Just in time for Mother’s Day these simple pancakes are full of nutrition.

Why are they healthy?

I’ve chosen to make the main batter gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free (see ‘variations’ below for alternatives to suit your specific dietary requirements). So the almond meal and buckwheat flour base combined with the eggs, means they are a high protein pancake with a nice dose of essential fats from the almonds. The cinnamon helps to stabilise your blood sugars and more fibre and goodness from the apple.

Ingredients

You’ll need Granny Smith apples, eggs, coconut milk, coconut sugar, vanilla extract, almond meal, and buckwheat flour. The apples create a sweet, spiced base with a hint of cinnamon, while the pancake batter is light and fluffy with a touch of vanilla and apple cider vinegar for a nice lift.

How to make healthy baked pancakes

Start by melting butter or coconut oil in a cast-iron pan, then layer thinly sliced apples on the bottom and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Blend the pancake batter in a food processor or blender or whisk in a large mixing bowl, pour it over the apples, and bake until set and golden brown. Once done, turn it out onto a plate, slice, and enjoy!

If you own a Thermomix, we’ve also included Thermomix instructions for this recipe.

Serving suggestions and how to store

Serve this baked pancake recipe with a dollop of yogurt or crème fraîche and drizzle with maple syrup for extra sweetness. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a quick, delicious breakfast the next day.

Vary these healthy baked pancakes to suit

To make this dish dairy-free, use coconut oil and coconut milk. For a nut-free option, substitute the almond meal with spelt or whole wheat flour. You can also swap the apples for other fruits like pears, strawberries, raspberries or bananas, depending on your preference.

For more pancake recipe inspiration, browse our recipes HERE.

Healthy Baked Pancakes

Prep 10 minutes minutes

Cook 20 minutes minutes

Total 30 minutes minutes

Serves: 4

I love pancakes but I don't like standing over a stove and flipping them. So for the lazy cooks amongst us, this Healthy Baked Pancakes not only tastes amazing, but it is much quicker and easier to make.

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Ingredients

• 2 Granny Smith apple/s -peeled, cored and sliced very thinly
• 4 tbsp butter, ghee or coconut oil -depending upon the size of your pan, you need a good covering of fat.
• 3 egg/s
• 270 ml canned coconut milk (you could also use full-fat milk)
• 3 tbsp coconut sugar or rapadura
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
• 1 tsp vanilla -powder, extract or essence
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (plus extra over the apple base)
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 120 g almond meal (1 cup)
• 60 g buckwheat flour (½ cup)

* you can just use straight almond meal but I prefer mixed with buckwheat

Serve

• 250 g natural, Greek or coconut yoghurt (1 cup approx.)
• maple syrup (to serve)

Method

• Preheat your oven to 180℃/350℉ (fan-forced).
• In an oven-proof pan (I used cast iron approx. 30cm) or non-stick baking dish, melt the butter, ghee or coconut oil so that it coats the base of the pan or dish well.
• Arrange the apples to cover the base of the pan in a single layer. Sprinkle a little cinnamon over the apples and 1 tablespoon of the coconut sugar.
• In a blender or food processor, combine the eggs, milk, remaining sugar, vinegar, vanilla, cinnamon, sea salt, bicarbonate of soda and mix until well combined. 
• Add the flour and mix until well combined and all of the flour is incorporated. 
• Pour over the apple and bake in your preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the pancake is set in the middle.
• Turn out onto a plate, slice into pieces and enjoy with your favourite topping.

Thermomix Method

• Start by grinding your almonds/buckwheat if you need to. I ground in total 60g of buckwheat and 120g of almond meal for 12 seconds, speed 8. Set aside.
• In an oven-proof pan or non-stick (I used cast iron) baking dish, melt the butter so that it coats the base of the pan or dish well.
• Arrange the apples to cover the base of the pan in a single layer. Sprinkle a little cinnamon over the apples and 1 tablespoon of the coconut sugar.
• In your TMX bowl, combine the eggs, milk, remaining sugar, vinegar, vanilla, cinnamon, sea salt, bicarbonate of soda and mix 30 seconds, speed 4.
• Add the flour and mix 10 seconds, speed 4.
• Pour over the apple and bake in your preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the pancake is set in the middle.
• Turn out onto a plate, slice into pieces and enjoy with your favourite topping.

Serve

• With full-fat natural or coconut yoghurt, cream or sour cream and your favourite syrup.

Store

• Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Variations

Fructose-friendly

Replace the coconut sugar or rapadura with rice malt syrup and chose a low-fructose fruit (like blueberries).

Dairy-free

Choose either ghee or coconut-oil to coat your pan and coconut milk for the batter.

Nut-free (spelt flour version)

You can directly replace the grain-free flour for spelt flour or whole-wheat flour if you'd prefer.

Coconut-free

Replace the coconut sugar with rapadura and the coconut milk with the milk of your choice.

Another fruit?

Entirely possible - replace the apple with sliced Beurre Bosc Pears and add a sprinkle of ginger powder over the fruit. Berries, banana, rhubarb, stone fruit or even pineapple is delicious.

Boost the protein

Add in 2 scoops of whey or collagen protein powder into the batter. I love using this collagen protein - it’s flavourless, so it works beautifully across all kinds of recipes without altering the taste.

 

 

I love the simplicity of baking one big pancake, how about you? Share your comments below or rate this recipe.

Course: Breakfast Dessert

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