Forget about waiting until dessert time! Enjoy eating a healthier version of carrot cake for breakfast with these whole wheat carrot cake pancakes, which happen to be dairy-free!
As my husband stuck a ginormous bag of leftover carrots in our car, I had no idea how in the world I was going to use up all of those carrots before they all perished!
I knew I needed to make good use of them…and pronto!
As I was already currently delving into different pancake creations, it hit me! Carrot cake pancakes! Take a delicious dessert and serve it in pancake form! And that was it! These whole wheat carrot cake pancakes were born!
100% Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Pancakes Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
Whole wheat flour: See note on “baking” with whole wheat below.
Baking powder: Aim to keep aluminum free baking powder on hand. Be sure to carefully check the ingredients in this when purchasing it.
Baking soda: Pure baking soda that hasn’t been produced with the use of chemicals would be ideal! Baking soda tends to get clumpy. You can put it in your hand first and use the fingers from your other hand to push it down and break up the little clumps before adding it into your recipe.
Salt: Sea salt or pink Himalayan salt (I use pink Himalayan salt) would be the healthiest options, as well as go well with this recipe. If you use regular table salt, you may have to use less salt in this recipe.
Ground cinnamon
Ground ginger
Walnuts, pecans, or nuts of choice
Wet Ingredients
Coconut oil: Extra virgin would be a great choice.
Honey: Be sure to grab this from a reputable source, as adulteration can happen!
Apple cider vinegar: Make sure you get raw, unpasteurized ACV with “the mother.”
Egg
Vanilla Extract: Did you know this is extremely easy to make at home? All you need to do is soak some vanilla beans in 80 proof vodka for a few weeks. It’s that simple!
Shredded Carrots: Make sure these are finely grated.
Water See note on “baking” with whole wheat and how you might need a different amount of water for your recipe.
A Note on “Baking” with Whole Wheat
All-purpose flour is the baker’s best friend. Beautiful, tasty baked goods whipped up in a snap.
Though this man-made flour is all the rage, it’s not by any means filled with much nutrition.
A whole wheat berry is made up of three parts: the bran, germ, and endosperm. Although all three parts have some type of nutrition, most of the berry’s nutrition is found in the smaller parts of the berry–the bran and germ. When both all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour are made, manufacturers strip the flour of its bran and germ. All-purpose flour is then never reunited with these nutrient dense parts of the wheat berry, while the bran and germ (many times a portion of the original amount) are added back into whole wheat flour.
Without the bran and germ, all-purpose flour now becomes a long-term, shelf-stable food that is fairly predictable in its baking performance. On the other hand, the bran and germ in whole wheat flour change the whole scheme of things, now impacting the amount of liquid that is absorbed while preparing baked goods, or quasi-baked goods like pancakes.
The bran and germ tend to soak up more liquid and do so much more slowly than the endosperm. This is what makes things so tricky! To make matters more complicated, no two wheat flours are the same. First of all, there are different varieties of wheat (such as hard, red wheat; soft, white wheat, einkorn, emmer, etc.), and they all like to do their own thing.
Second, even the same wheat grain variety can be affected by varying environments. If your flour has been stored in a humid environment, the flour may be a bit moist, depending on how it’s been stored. On the other hand, a dry environment would result in a drier flour. But again, it all depends on how it’s been stored.
Third, take the milling process into consideration. There are many different types of mills, wheat is ground at different settings, and different amounts of bran and germ may be added back into these flours.
I’m sure there are more factors to consider, but these three are enough to help us understand that it is almost impossible to make a “recipe” that yields the same result in every kitchen. This is why I encourage you to be an observer in your own kitchen, adding the amount of liquid that works well with the whole wheat you have purchased and stored in your home environment.
Kitchen Supplies You May Need
- bowls
- skillet or griddle
- turner/flipping spatula
- scraping spatula
- measuring cups and spoons
- pot holder or towel
- grater (if grating carrots)
- cutting boards and knife (if chopping nuts)
- fork or whisk
Let’s Make It
If you’re not purchasing your finely shredded carrots, now would be a good time to grate them with a grater or food processor.
First, combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, except your nuts of choice. That would be your whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, and ginger. You could use a whisk for this or simply your hand. Move your hand in a circular motion, pressing the ingredients in between your thumb and your other four fingers.
Second, whisk together all of the wet ingredients, except for the carrots and water, in a small bowl. That would be the coconut oil, honey, apple cider vinegar, egg, and vanilla extract.
Third, add your shredded carrots and water (the recommended amount you’ll start with) to your wet ingredients.
Next, heat a skillet or griddle over low heat.
While the skillet is heating up, add the wet ingredients and your nuts to your dry ingredient bowl. As you are gently stirring these together, take note of the thickness of the pancake batter that is coming together. Slowly add more water until you have the consistency you want. Do not overmix. I recommend keeping the batter on the thicker side. Using a scraping spatula would be ideal. You need at least enough water to absorb all of the flour, as well as make the batter “pourable.” A thicker batter will result in thicker, fluffier pancakes. A thinner batter will result in thinner, less fluffy pancakes. See note on whole wheat if you are wondering why there is not a set measurement for water. I use anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 cup for my wheat.
Once your skillet or griddle is warmed up, add a small amount of coconut oil. Make sure it’s not too hot. If your oil is steaming, your skillet is most likely too hot.
Then, take a 1/2 cup measuring cup and scoop out 1/2 cup of pancake batter, and pour it onto the hot skillet. If your batter is on the super thick side, you can use the measuring cup to make a circular motion on the batter to spread the pancake out.
Now look for bubbles on top of your pancake and dry edges around your pancake. Sometimes this may not be as obvious, depending on the thickness of your batter, and you can test for flipping capability instead. Simply take a flipping spatula and gently slide it under a side of the pancake and peak to see if it looks brown. If it’s brown, you can flip it over. If it’s not done, your pancake may bunch up a bit and leave a bit of wet batter on your spatula. After you do one or two pancakes, you’ll get the feel for how long you need to leave your pancake cooking (all depending on the thickness of your batter, the type of skillet you’re using, and the type of stove you’re cooking on).
If your pancake is really dark or black when you flip it over, that means your skillet is most likely too hot and you need to turn the heat down. (Or it means you let the pancake cook for too long.) If you are having trouble flipping the pancake over, use could try to use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to make smaller baby pancakes.
Once you have flipped over your pancake, wait a minute or two for the other side to cook. Just like before, you can carefully put the spatula under the pancake and lift it a bit to see if it is nicely browned. If the bottom is golden brown (and the inside of the pancake is cooked through), you can remove your pancake from the skillet and place it on a plate.
Allow the pancake to cool down for a couple of minutes to develop better flavor.
And that’s it! Top this with maple syrup, cream cheese, nuts, and/or whatever makes you giddy inside!
How to Wash Less Dishes with This Recipe
Tired of washing so many dishes? Me, too! With a little extra mind power and math, you can use less dishes! Use the same following dishes, over and over again, in a strategic manner.
Dirty Up These 8 Dishes
- a skillet
- a small bowl
- a medium bowl
- a flipping spatula
- a scraping spatula
- a 1/2 cup measuring cup
- a tablespoon
- a 1/4 teaspoon
How to Use These 8 Dishes
In medium bowl:
- Two 1/2 cups for flour
- Three 1/2 teaspoons for baking powder
- One 1/2 teaspoon for baking soda
- Half of 1/4 teaspoon for salt
- Five 1/4 teaspoons for ground cinnamon
- Fingers for pinch of ground ginger
- (Two tablespoons of nuts set aside on counter)
In small bowl:
- Three tablespoons melted coconut oil (can use same small bowl to warm up if needed)
- Four tablespoons honey
- One tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Two 1/4 teaspoons for vanilla extract
- Beat egg in with 1/4 teaspoon
- One 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- For water, start with a little over half of 1/2 cup measuring cup
Use scraping spatula to mix the dry and wet ingredients together and to help you get the last bit of batter out of the bowl at the end.
Use 1/2 cup measuring cup to put batter in skillet.
Use flipping spatula to flip and remove the pancake.
100% Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Pancakes (Dairy-Free)
Forget about waiting until dessert time! Enjoy eating a healthier version of carrot cake for breakfast with these whole wheat carrot cake pancakes, which happen to be dairy-free!
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- small pinch of ground ginger
- 1/8 cup walnuts, pecans, or nuts of choice
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil (melted and slightly cooled)
- 4 tablespoons (or 1/4 cup) honey
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup finely shredded carrots
- 1/3 cup water plus more
Instructions
- See note in the post above on how to wash less dishes with this recipe! 🙂
- Make sure you have finely shredded carrots on hand. If not, now's the time to grate them!
- First, combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, except your nuts of choice. That would be your whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, and ginger. You could use a whisk for this or simply your hand. Move your hand in a circular motion, pressing the ingredients in between your thumb and your other four fingers.
- Second, whisk together all of the wet ingredients, except for the carrots and water, in a small bowl. That would be the coconut oil, honey, apple cider vinegar, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Third, add your shredded carrots and 1/3 cup water to your wet ingredients.
- Next, heat a skillet or griddle over low heat.
- While the skillet is heating up, add the wet ingredients and your nuts to your dry ingredient bowl. As you are gently stirring these together, take note of the thickness of the pancake batter that is coming together. Slowly add more water until you have the consistency you want. Do not overmix. I recommend keeping the batter on the thicker side. Using a scraping spatula would be ideal. You need at least enough water to absorb all of the flour, as well as make the batter “pourable.” A thicker batter will result in thicker, fluffier pancakes. A thinner batter will result in thinner, less fluffy pancakes. I use anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 cup for my wheat.
- Once your skillet or griddle is warmed up, add a small amount of coconut oil. Make sure it’s not too hot. If your oil is steaming, your skillet is most likely too hot.
- Then, take a 1/2 cup measuring cup and scoop out 1/2 cup of pancake batter, and pour it onto the hot skillet. If your batter is on the super thick side, you can use the measuring cup to make a circular motion on the batter to spread the pancake out.
- Now look for bubbles on top of your pancakes and slightly dry edges around your pancake. Sometimes this may not be as obvious, depending on the thickness of your batter, and you can test for flipping capability instead. Simply take a flipping spatula and gently slide it under a side of the pancake and peak to see if it looks brown. If it's brown, you can flip it over. If it's not done, your pancake may bunch up a bit and leave a bit of wet batter on your spatula. After you do one or two pancakes, you'll get the feel for how long you need to leave your pancake cooking (all depending on the thickness of your batter, the type of skillet you're using, and the type of stove you're cooking on). If your pancake is really dark or black when you flip it over, that means your skillet is most likely too hot and you need to turn the heat down. (Or it means you let the pancake cook for too long.) If you are having trouble flipping the pancake over, use could try to use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to make smaller baby pancakes.
- Once you have flipped over your pancake, wait a minute or two for the other side to cook. Just like before, you can carefully put the spatula under the pancake and lift it a bit to see if it is nicely browned. If the bottom is golden brown (and the inside of the pancake is cooked through), you can remove your pancake from the skillet and place it on a plate.
- Allow the pancake to cool down for a couple of minutes to develop better flavor.
- And that's it! Top this with maple syrup, cream cheese, nuts, and/or whatever makes you giddy inside!
Notes
See post above for more details on "baking" with wheat. It will explain why the amount of water is not fixed for this recipe.