Get more veggies and whole grains into your family’s diet with these dairy-free, 100% whole wheat pumpkin pancakes!
The fall is finally starting to feel real as the cooler weather is trickling in. Thanksgiving is just around the bend. Families are starting to make holiday plans with a renewed excitement. And, well, what better way to join in the holiday hullabaloo than to serve up some pumpkin pancakes for breakfast!
The thing I love most about these pancakes is that they don’t have to be just a “fall thing,” especially if you omit the holiday spices. You can serve these to your family year-round and walk away so satisfied that you snuck another veggie into their diets–probably even a veggie that they don’t get very often!
Here where I live, pumpkins are not a holiday thing; you can get pumpkins practically year-round. We don’t have cans of pumpkin puree, though, so I put in a little extra time to crank out some of my own homemade pumpkin puree. I’m always looking for ways to trick my husband (the pumpkin hater in the family) into eating more pumpkin! Haha.
100% Whole Wheat Pumpkin 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.
Baking soda: This 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.
Cinnamon powder: Use this to achieve a pumpkin spice flavor.
Pumpkin spice mix: Use this to achieve a pumpkin spice flavor (Hello, captain obvious). This one is a great recipe if you can’t find this at your store.
Wet Ingredients
Pumpkin puree: Make sure not to use pumpkin pie filling. Just get 100% pumpkin puree. Or check out this EASY recipe and make it yourself!
Egg
Coconut oil: You could also use ghee or butter if you’re not on a dairy-free diet.
Honey: Though I haven’t tried it with this recipe, maple syrup can almost always be substituted for honey.
Vanilla extract: Did you know that if you bake often, you could probably save yourself a lot of money and EASILY make it yourself? All you need is vodka or bourbon, vanilla beans, and a little time!
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
There’s something you should know–baking with whole wheat is a bit tricky. Not all whole wheat flours are created equal. Anytime you buy a bag of whole wheat flour from the store, that bag tells a different story.
First of all, there are many different types of wheat. You could be getting hard red wheat or soft white wheat or something else entirely. Secondly, even the same kind of wheat may come from different origins. Wheat grown in one state (or even town) may have completely different growing conditions than the same variety of wheat grown in another state.
And what about when the wheat is milled? What was the environment in which it was milled? Dry? Humid? Where were the bags of wheat stored? How long were they stored there? And what about the environment in your own house where you are storing your wheat? Is it properly stored?
I hope you know where I’m going with this.
When you use whole wheat flour, you are opening up a world of imagination when it comes to how much liquid will be absorbed. This is why my recipe doesn’t really give an exact measurement of water. It has a starting place, but you have to decide where it will end. You have to watch and see what your flour is doing! See the recipe below to see what I mean!
Kitchen Supplies You May Need
- bowls
- skillet or griddle
- turner/flipping spatula
- scraping spatula
- measuring cups and spoons
- pot holder or towel
Let’s Make It
First, combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. That would be your whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice. 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, combine all of the wet ingredients in a small bowl. That would be the pumpkin puree, egg, coconut oil, honey, vanilla extract, and water.
Next, heat a skillet or griddle over low to medium-low heat.
While the skillet is heating up, add the wet ingredients to your dry ingredient bowl. As you are gently stirring the two 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. 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.
Once your skillet or griddle is hot, add 2 or 3 teaspoons of coconut oil. Make sure it’s not too hot. If your oil is steaming, your skillet is most likely too hot.
Then, take your 1/2 cup measuring cup, scoop out 1/2 cup of pancake batter, and pour it onto the hot skillet. If your batter is on the thicker side, use the measuring cup to make a circular motion on the batter to spread the pancake out.
When you see lots of bubbles and the pancake looks “dry” on top, take a flipping spatula and flip the pancake over. If you don’t wait till it is a little dry on top, you may break the pancake when attempting to flip it over. 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.
Wait a minute or two for the other side to cook. 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 ensure better flavor! Top with honey or maple syrup, cream or coconut cream, and/or your favorite fruit. Enjoy!
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 1/2 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 1/2 teaspoon for salt
- Three 1/2 teaspoons for cinnamon powder
- One 1/2 teaspoon for pumpkin spice
In small bowl:
- One half cup of pumpkin puree
- Three tablespoons for coconut oil
- Two tablespoons for honey
- One egg beaten inside of 1/2 cup with bottom of tablespoon
- One 1/2 teaspoon for vanilla extract
- One and a half of 1/2 cup for water
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 Pumpkin Pancakes (Dairy-Free)
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour *
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice (optional)
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (purchase in a can or make it yourself)
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil (plus more for skillet)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup water plus more*
Instructions
- See note in the post above on how to wash less dishes with this recipe! 🙂
- In a medium bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice. 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.
- In a small bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients: pumpkin puree, egg, coconut oil, honey, vanilla extract, and water.
- Heat a skillet or griddle over low to medium-low heat.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir them together. As you are gently stirring, 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. Using a 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.
- Once your skillet or griddle is hot, add 2 or 3 teaspoons of coconut oil. Make sure it's not too hot. If your oil is steaming, your skillet is most likely too hot.
- Take your 1/2 cup measuring cup, scoop out 1/2 cup of pancake batter, and pour it onto the hot skillet. If your batter is on the thicker side, use the measuring cup to make a circular motion on the batter to spread the pancake out,
- When you see lots of bubbles and the pancake looks "dry" on top (see picture in post above if unsure), take a flipping spatula and flip the pancake over. If you don't wait until it looks dry on top, you may the break the pancake when attempting to flip it over. 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.
- Wait a minute or two for the other side to cook. 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 these pancakes to cool down for a couple of minutes to ensure better flavor!
- Top your pancakes with honey or maple syrup, cream or coconut cream, and/or your favorite fruit! Enjoy!
Notes
*A Note on "Baking" with Whole Wheat
Because no two bags of whole wheat are the same, the amount of water the flour will absorb will vary. This is due to the different varieties of wheat used, the environment in which the crops were grown, the environment in which the flour is stored, how the grains were milled, etc. See note above in post for more information.
Check out more fall recipes
Apple Pie Freezer Fudge (Dairy-Free)
Pumpkin Cashew Freezer Fudge (Dairy-Free)