Savory Sweet Potato Pancakes
These savory sweet potato pancakes work for breakfast, dinner, and anytime in between! They have a hint of sweetness from the sweet potato, but spices, cheddar cheese, and green onions add plenty of savory flavor.
Savory sweet potato pancakes is a little bit like jumbo shrimp, right? Are they sweet or are they savory? Well, the answer is: a little of both.
If you’re looking for sweet sweet potato pancakes (imagine sweet potato pie flavors), we’ve got you covered there too. But this recipe for savory sweet potato pancakes balances out the natural sweetness of the potatoes with lots of cheddar cheese, scallions, and a perfectly spiced batter.
Cook them on the griddle until they’re golden brown and toasty, then serve them as a savory breakfast—or as a lunch or dinner. (Did we mention that they’re versatile? Because they are definitely that!) We highly recommend pairing these pancakes with bacon or even better, candied bacon. Or how about bacon jam?? Basically any bacon that you can get your hands on. And how about topping them with a runny sunny-side up egg? We love savory pancakes with eggs.
About this savory sweet potato pancake recipe
Between all the cheese and the sweet potatoes, these pancakes are absolutely delicious. Think of them as a little bit like a savory cornmeal pancake, but made with sweet potatoes instead.
And just like cornmeal pancakes, there’s a hint of sweetness there, but it’s really all about those savory flavors. While you can play around with different seasonings and cheeses, we like these savory sweet potato pancakes just the way they are!
What you need
- Wet ingredients: Cooked sweet potatoes, milk, eggs, olive oil
- Dry ingredients: All-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, paprika
- Add-ins: Shredded cheddar cheese, green onions
How to cook the sweet potatoes
You can microwave the sweet potatoes if you’re in a time-crunch, but to bring out all of their wonderful flavor, we recommend baking them. Scrub and pierce them with a fork, then place them on a foil-lined sheet pan in a 400ºF oven. You can also cook sweet potatoes in your instant pot.
The amount of time needed for cooking depends on the shape of the potato—long and thin will need less time than short and stocky—but it should take around an hour. Let it cool, then peel it before using it in the recipe.
How to make them
Mix the wet ingredients. Use a fork to mash the sweet potatoes in large bowl. Whisk in the milk, eggs, and olive oil.
Finish the batter. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika to the bowl. Stir lightly to combine the dry ingredients while they sit on top of the wet ingredients, then stir everything together.
Tip: You can substitute up to ½ cup cornmeal for ½ cup of the flour for a heartier pancake with a subtle cornmeal flavor.
Fold in the cheese and green onions.
Prepare. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes and preheat a griddle or large skillet over medium-low heat. Grease the griddle if it’s not nonstick.
Cook the pancakes. Drop 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on the first side, flip, and cook 2 to 3 minutes more or until both sides are golden brown.
Tip: The cooking time can vary, so rather than keeping an eye on the clock, keep an eye on the pancakes and look for visual cues—batter that’s starting to set, bubbles that pop and leave tiny holes, edges that are dry, and bottoms that are nicely browned.
FAQs
Yams are a starchy tropical tuber with rough brown skin, white flesh, and a dry, starchy texture. In contrast, sweet potatoes have thin, smoother skin, and they’re moist and sweet when cooked. They’re a root vegetable and while there are some white sweet potatoes (and purple too!), they’re most commonly orange.
You can eat sweet potato skin, but it should be removed for this recipe. While it’s not bad on a baked sweet potato or sweet potato fries, it would be rather unpleasant in sweet potato pancakes!
Nope! You don’t need to refrigerate sweet potatoes—in fact, they’ll decline in quality if you store them in the fridge. Instead, put them in a cool, dry place.
How to make these savory sweet potato pancakes your own
Let’s talk toppings! What’s the perfect finishing touch for savory sweet potato pancakes? Here are some ideas.
- Dress them up like a baked potato. Sour cream, crumbled bacon, some extra cheese, a scattering of scallions—yum! Try our chive butter too. All of these toppings are also fantastic on corn fritters or zucchini pancakes.
- Make them Tex-Mex style. Guacamole or salsa are delicious with these pancakes. Or try some roasted Hatch chiles or pickled jalapeños! You also can never go wrong with pickled red onions.
- Play up their sweetness. Hot honey, maple butter, or honey butter are a delicious complement to these sweet potato pancakes.
Make Ahead Ideas
Savory sweet potato pancakes can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Storage Suggestions
You can freeze your savory sweet potato pancakes in an airtight storage container or a freezer bag with parchment paper between the layers to keep the pancakes from sticking to each other.
Reheating Tips
Microwave these savory sweet potato pancakes until they’re warmed through, or place them on a sheet pan, cover them with foil, and heat in a 350ºF oven for about 10 minutes. If you’re reheating the pancakes from frozen, simply add a few more minutes to the cooking time.
More savory pancake recipes
Get the Recipe: Savory Sweet Potato Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked sweet potatoes (1–2 medium sized sweet potatoes)
- 1 ¾ cup milk
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup chopped green onions (scallions)
Instructions
- Mash sweet potatoes in large bowl with fork until quite smooth. Add milk, eggs, and olive oil; whisk until blended.
- Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika to the bowl. Stir lightly to combine, then stir dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
- Fold in cheese and green onions.
- Let batter rest 5 minutes while griddle preheats over medium low heat. Grease griddle if you’re not using a nonstick griddle.
- Drop batter by ¼ cupfuls onto hot griddle. Cook 3-4 minutes on first side, flip, and cook 2-3 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cook time varies depending on how hot your griddle is and how large you make the pancakes.
Notes
- Serve with hot honey, if desired.
- Substitute up to ½ cup cornmeal for ½ cup of the flour, if you like.
- Savory sweet potato pancakes can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To reheat, microwave leftovers until they’re warmed through, or place them on a sheet pan, cover them with foil, and heat in a 350ºF oven for about 10 minutes. If you’re reheating the pancakes from frozen, simply add a few more minutes to the cooking time.
What an awful recipe! The “pancakes” at whatever temperature or size I tried, were floppy, gooey and more like warm pudding with a brown outer skin.
Hmm, did you use the correct amount of flour? You can see from the photos that they definitely have a pancake texture and not a pudding texture.
Definitely looking forward to trying these! As a type 1 diabetic it is nice to find non sugar loaded alternatives for typically sweet foods.
I hope you love these!