For the longest time, I've been using Krusteaz Honey Wheat Pancake Mix because I thought it was healthier... But I recently checked the ingredients and whole wheat flour is the second ingredient after enriched bleached flour! Plus it contains high fructose corn syrup, which isn't too good for your body. The thing is, I'm not the hugest fan of waking up early before school to make from-scratch pancakes (is anyone?), and I loved how easy it was to make variations since all you had to do was add water. I literally had a routine down to seven minutes from start to finish!
So I decided to make my own healthy pancake mix so I could control what exactly the ingredients are. It's completely whole grain (and you can mix it up with different flours), it's good for you (no more feeling guilty about eating pancakes for breakfast!), it's pretty simple (one-bowl recipe), and it's tremendously versatile -- you can easily make substitutions and add things like blueberries or lemon zest and ricotta! Oh, and did I mention this mix can be used for waffles too? Seriously, you have to try it!!
To make the mix, you start with six cups of any whole grain flour (I used three cups white whole wheat flour and three cups oat flour). Tip: To make oat flour, just grind up quick/old fashioned oats in a blender. Make sure you measure after blending. Oat flour has no gluten in it, so you have to make sure you use regular flour with gluten when baking anything with oat flour.
Next, you add in five tablespoons of sugar. I did a mixture of brown sugar and white sugar, but any granulated sugar mixture should work. Now add in two tablespoons baking powder, one tablespoon baking soda, and two teaspoons salt.
That's it! Just mix it all together, and you have your pancake mix!
Now to make the actual pancakes. To one cup of mix, add one cup of either buttermilk, sour milk, liquid whey, a mixture of yogurt and milk, or any type of milk (see I told you it's versatile), plus one tablespoon applesauce or oil, and one egg. Simple as that!
It's a cinch to make variations on this recipe. Here are a few of my favorites:
So I decided to make my own healthy pancake mix so I could control what exactly the ingredients are. It's completely whole grain (and you can mix it up with different flours), it's good for you (no more feeling guilty about eating pancakes for breakfast!), it's pretty simple (one-bowl recipe), and it's tremendously versatile -- you can easily make substitutions and add things like blueberries or lemon zest and ricotta! Oh, and did I mention this mix can be used for waffles too? Seriously, you have to try it!!
To make the mix, you start with six cups of any whole grain flour (I used three cups white whole wheat flour and three cups oat flour). Tip: To make oat flour, just grind up quick/old fashioned oats in a blender. Make sure you measure after blending. Oat flour has no gluten in it, so you have to make sure you use regular flour with gluten when baking anything with oat flour.
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| The two types of flours - oat flour is on top. |
Next, you add in five tablespoons of sugar. I did a mixture of brown sugar and white sugar, but any granulated sugar mixture should work. Now add in two tablespoons baking powder, one tablespoon baking soda, and two teaspoons salt.
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| I added the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. |
That's it! Just mix it all together, and you have your pancake mix!
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| I wrote the recipe on the back of the paper so anyone can make it! |
Now to make the actual pancakes. To one cup of mix, add one cup of either buttermilk, sour milk, liquid whey, a mixture of yogurt and milk, or any type of milk (see I told you it's versatile), plus one tablespoon applesauce or oil, and one egg. Simple as that!
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| Everything you need to make the best pancakes in the world! |
It's a cinch to make variations on this recipe. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Banana-nut pancakes: Add in one mashed banana and half a cup of chopped nuts.
- Lemon-ricotta pancakes: Add one tablespoon lemon zest, and substitute a quarter cup of ricotta and three quarters cup of buttermilk for the buttermilk mixture. (You don't have to use buttermilk; you can use any of the ingredients listed above.)
- Blueberry cinnamon pancakes: Add in half a cup of blueberries and one teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
- Carrot cake pancakes: Add in one cup grated carrots, three tablespoons chopped walnuts, one teaspoon ground cinnamon, a quarter teaspoon of ground cloves, and a quarter teaspoon of ground nutmeg.
- Flax-nut pancakes: Add in a quarter cup of ground flaxseeds and a quarter cup of chopped nuts.
Whole Grain Pancake Mix
Adapted from Weelicious
For the mix:
6 cups whole grain flour
5 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
Combine all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.
Note: Refrigerate if using oat flour, as it tends to go rancid quickly.
Note: Refrigerate if using oat flour, as it tends to go rancid quickly.
For the pancakes:
1 cup pancake mix
1 cup buttermilk*
1 egg, whisked
1 tablespoon applesauce or oil
Fold all ingredients together until just combined. Heat a large pan or griddle over medium heat and grease with either butter or oil. Pour in a quarter cup of the batter and cook until the sides start to brown and bubbles form on the surface. Flip, and cook for another two minutes or until cooked through. Repeat until all the batter is over.
*Can substitute sour milk, liquid whey, a mixture of yogurt and milk, or any type of milk.
*Can substitute sour milk, liquid whey, a mixture of yogurt and milk, or any type of milk.
Makes six batches of pancakes - each batch serves 4.
