I’m Kayla’s older sister, Hanna, and while Kayla’s life necessitates a minimalist pantry, mine requires recipes where prep time, cook time, and – let’s face it – brain power, are at a minimum. I have two young kids with picky palates and impatient and sometimes sensitive tummies, so meals around here need to be quick, healthy and delicious. I find that if we all start the day with a good dose of protein and avoid a traditionally carb-y breakfast, moods are better, tantrums are thankfully rarer, and we all have a nicer morning. These pancakes fit the bill for all of the above, which is why I’m so excited to share them.
We have these “protein-cakes” at least twice a week. The recipe below is our basic go-to, but it holds up pretty well to tweaking based on what is in your pantry and fridge, so I’ll include some variations. One of the best parts of these pancakes is that they are made entirely in your blender, so there is minimal cleanup required. Plus there are a few breaks built in to the process to help you maximize efficiency in getting your morning going. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Ingredients (serves 2-3 people and is easily doubled):
1 cup buttermilk*
1/2 cup old fashioned oats (if your oats are gluten-free, so too is the recipe!)
1 egg
1/4 cup almond flour, packed (or almond meal)
1 tbsp coconut flour, packed**
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
butter or coconut oil for greasing the pan
*When we don’t have buttermilk in the house I usually do a mixture of half almond milk and half plain yogurt. Just as tangy and delicious. For the dairy-averse, you can use almond milk or coconut milk – just add a tsp or so of lemon juice to your milk and let it sit for 10 minutes before using to get the buttermilk effect.
**You can sub 1 tbsp of chia seeds for the coconut flour, as these will act similarly as a thickener for the batter.
Directions:
Pour your buttermilk directly into blender. (My blender carafe has cup marks so I don’t bother measuring it out first – just pour to the 1 cup mark.) Add oats to the blender and pulse the buttermilk-oats mixture a few times until well-blended. Then, let it sit for 5-10 minutes (up to 1 hour) while you make your coffee/wash face/change the baby’s diaper to the tune of Let It Go belted by your three-year-old.
Now add your egg (crack it directly into blender) and give the mixture a few more pulses. Then add your almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend the mixture for a minute or two, until thoroughly combined, with the oats broken down into small, meal-like pieces.
Let the batter sit (in your blender) while you preheat your pan and gulp down some coffee. This allows the coconut flour to thicken the mixture nicely. When your pan is nearly hot, give the batter a few pulses to make sure everything is still equally distributed. Pour the batter into the pan directly from your blender, making whatever pancake size suits your needs.
These will flip well as a regular size pancake, which I don’t often find with gluten-free recipes, but you could also make silver dollars.
The pancakes will fluff up while cooking but are more like a mix between pancake and crepe when plated.
They are tender and delicious, perfect with a drizzle of maple syrup or a swipe of jam. Enjoy!
