I remember the first time I tried Okonomiyaki in a Japanese restaurant, I thought it was totally delicious. So of course, I set about making a Healthy Okonomiyaki and it very quickly became a firm family favourite.
I love that it’s so versatile based on the addition of extra ingredients so that each time we eat it, it’s a little different. I often add all of the toppings to the table and my kids create their own adventure. I personally go for the works because I think it’s the best flavour combo!
Take a look at the variations (below the main recipe) for suggestions to alter the recipe to suit your specific dietary requirements including gluten-free, vegetarian and more.
Healthy Okonomiyaki (Savoury Pancake)
Serves: 2
This delicious Healthy Okonomiyaki is a divine, easy to makle savoury pancake that can be easily adapted to suit your tastesand dietary goals.
Ingredients
- 125 ml chicken or vegetable broth - or stock (½ cup)
- 3 free-range or organic egg/s
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 75 g wholemeal spelt flour (⅔ cup)
- ¼ tsp sea salt - or to taste
- ½ small white cabbage - finely shredded (about 2 cups)
- 4 spring onion/s - white part thinly sliced
- 15 ml olive oil - extra virgin (1 tbsp)
Sauce
- 1 tbsp rice malt syrup
- 1 tsp tamari
To serve
- 2 rasher/s bacon - thinly sliced
- 1 sheet/s toasted nori (sushi paper) - shredded
- 4 tbsp pickled ginger - this is my most favourite add on (can sub with kim chi too)
- 4 tbsp whole egg mayonnaise - cashew cream
- ½ bunch/s fresh coriander leaves - torn
Method
- Make the sauce by mixing the rice malt and tamari together.
- If including the bacon, then cook this in a crêpe or small fry-pan until it's crispy and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the broth, eggs and worcestershire.
- Then whisk in the flour and sea salt to form a batter.
- Mix through the cabbage and spring onion which should be coated by the batter. If not, add more cabbage, it shouldn't have to much residual batter in the bowl.
- Add a little olive oil to cover the base of the crêpe or small fry-pan (used to cook the bacon) and heat over a medium heat. Add half the cabbage batter and spread out to form a thick pancake.
- Cook for a few minutes until the edges have browned, flip and cook the other side.
- Repeat with the other half of the batter.
- Serve topped with some, or all of the extras and a drizzle of the sauce.
Variations
Gluten-free
Replace the spelt with a mix of rice and buckwheat flour or your favourite gluten-free blend. Replace the Worcestershire sauce with the tamari.Vegetarian
Obviously leave the bacon out and choose vegetable broth.Onion-free
Replace the Spring onion with half a fennel bulb.Soy-free
Replace the tamari with coconut aminos.Add fermented veggies
If you don't add the ginger, consider adding sauerkraut or kim chi. The pickled flavour I think really lifts this dish.Bigger meal
Stir-fry vegetables (with or without the bacon) and serve on top of the pancake. I often do this to fill up my always hungry boys.I hope you love this simple, yet delicious combination of flavours. Please leave a comment and rate this recipe to help me to reach and support more families to become Well Nourished!
Chelsea says
Sounds delicious. What brand of crepe pan do you use, I notice a lot of them have non stick coating? Any suggestions for good cookware?
Georgia Harding says
Hi Chelsea, I always avoid non-stick cookware and only use Solidteknics cookware. It’s cast iron and their crepe pan is incredible, well seasoned and completely non-stick – one of my most used pans. I got mine here
Kylie says
Wow! I made this because I am having a “contents of the fridge week” and had half a Chinese cabbage in there and came across this recipe in my inbox. It was divine and so easy to make. My husband and 8 year old twin boys couldn’t get enough. We had all the toppings plus some dried bonito flakes. Will be a regular in our house. Thanks for sharing xx
Georgia Harding says
Fabulous Kylie, so glad you love it too. I’ve had to buy two cabbages this week as my kids are having it every other day now. Thanks for rating the recipe too G x
Jess says
Oh my word – YUM. I have actually been craving Okonomiyaki for months and then your recipe popped up in my email! I made it for dinner tonight for my partner and I. I only had the coriander, bacon and mayonnaise to add plus the sauce but it was absolutely delicious and I wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you so much! This will be added to our meal plan on high rotation.
Georgia Harding says
Hi Jess, meant to be. Thrilled you both loved it! G x
Paul says
Amazing
Georgia Harding says
Thanks for the 5🌟s, glad you enjoyed it
Michele says
Made these for the first time for a friend brunch. Easy to make and our friend’s verdict was that it tasted like the authentic thing! Will definitely become a staple menu option for us and we are already planning some variations.
Georgia Harding says
So glad you all enjoyed it Michele and thanks for 5 🌟s. G x
Ez says
These were amazing! We had our with salmon and are having the leftocers tonight with Asian chicken meatballs. The pickled ginger really takes them to another level. I doubled the batch no problems and made small ones for my 19 month old. Thanks so much!
Georgia Harding says
So glad you all enjoyed it Ez. I agree the ginger is so important. Cheers for the 5 🌟s too G x
Demelza says
My children and I made this for lunch today and it is absolutely DELICIOUS! We all LOVED IT! Thank you for another wonderful recipe, it will be added to our regular go-to meals!
Georgia Harding says
So thrilled you all loved it Demelza. Appreciate your feedback and rating Georgia x
Merrilee says
So DELICIOUS! I used to live in Osaka and loved them. These will be on super high rotation in our household. Quick and easy! Brilliant. Thank you for the recipe Georgia.
Georgia Harding says
Ah thanks Merrilee, you’ve made my day, I really appreciate your feedback G x
Mahite says
My kids loved it!! They keep asking for it! But I have to triple or quadruple the recipe in order to have enough for dinner and the next day lunch (I’m not cooking another meal for their lunches!!). With such a big batch, the cooking part takes a lot of time — which I don’t always have. Would you have idea of how I could cook it all at once? Cooking it all in a large pan? Baking it?
Georgia Harding says
HI Mahite, you could try baking it for sure, kind of like these jumbo baked pancakes https://wellnourished.com.au/healthy-baked-pancakes/ G x
Cat says
Can’t wait to try! Sounds delicious. I have 2 heads of cabbage and this will help use it up and I think the kids will love!
Georgia Harding says
Enjoy Cat, love to hear what you think. It’s the perfect way to enjoy cabbage G x
Lisa Clayton says
Yet another delicious, yet simple recipe. I used buckwheat flour with all the toppings. So good! Adding this to our weekly meal plan xx
Georgia Harding says
So glad you loved them Lisa G x
Claire says
Yum. Just had for dinner with some store dumplings and spring rolls because I wasn’t sure the kids would like them. Next time we’ll just stick to these!
Georgia Harding says
So glad you enjoyed it Claire – this is my sons favourite meal. Cheers for the 5🌟s G x
Sally says
Made these this morning with smoked bacon – Delicious!! I chopped my cabbage in the food processor to save on all the chopping. Cooking in the bacon fat adds to the flavour too. Has become one of my fave breakfasts.
Georgia Harding says
So glad you love it Sally, great idea to chop in the food processor too. Thanks for taking the time to rate the recipe too G x
Arabella Selby says
Hi Georgia, excited to try these! Just wondering if you think subbing the spelt flour with coconut flour would work? Xx
Georgia Harding says
Hi Arabella, sorry coconut flour doesn’t sub directly with any other flour well (it absorbs more than 3 times the moisture). You could try with a third of the amount, though I haven’t tested it myself. G x
Janet Baker says
As soon as I read this recipe I knew I had to try it as it looked and sounded so delicious. We have just had it for lunch and WOW! What a lovely meal, and so easy to prepare. I added some fried shallots to mine too, which was a nice addition.
My husband said it was like dining in a Japanese restaurant at our house today – so thank you, Georgia, for yet another fantastic recipe. I am a HUGE fan of yours.
Georgia Harding says
Fabulous, so glad you love it as much as we do. Cheers for the 5🌟 rating G x
Donna says
Simple and DELICIOUS. I decided to top with sauteed mushrooms, sliced snow peas and Sauerkraut, as well as bacon, mayo and that sauce (next level). Having leftovers for lunch with finely sliced snow peas, capsicum, mayo, Sauerkraut, sauce and tuna in chilli oil. I reckon this is a really versatile dish and I’ll definitely be making it again very soon.
Georgia Harding says
Yes, super versatile for sure. So glad you’ve discovered it and enjoy experimenting Donna, G x
Kirrily says
This was delicious! thank you!
Georgia Harding says
Glad you loved it Kirrily G x