Zucchini Bread Pancakes
Zucchini bread pancakes are a wholesome and delicious way to add more veggies to your day.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, and fresh zucchini bake together with all the flavors of zucchini muffins or a quick bread but in only 10 minutes, meaning you definitely have time for a fluffy batch of fragrant pancakes in the morning.
Made with whole wheat, ground spices, and just a touch of sugar, these zucchini bread pancakes are sure to be an instant favorite in your home.
Carry over the warm spices into your morning beverage with this cozy pumpkin spice latte!
About these zucchini bread pancakes:
Zucchini bread pancakes are a quick and healthy alternative to muffins or sweet breads. This recipe calls for just a touch of sugar, but delivers hearty pancakes with big flavor.
Zucchini is a baking staple for a reason: it adds great texture and moisture to pancakes and adds great veggie nutrition but has a very mild flavor. You’ll often find zucchini baked into breads and cakes, and zucchini is great baked in chocolate muffins or chocolate brownies.
These zucchini pancakes taste like a slice of spiced dessert bread, or like a cinnamon and nutmeg muffin. You can top these with butter and maple syrup, or try a little maple cinnamon butter with toasted walnuts and a breath of powdered sugar on top. If you’re looking for a sweeter pancake, spread a layer of vanilla cream cheese frosting on top.
Zucchini pairs naturally with walnuts, vanilla, cream cheese and goat cheese, maple, and chocolate.
Any combination of those flavors in a pancake is pretty much heaven on earth, so don’t be afraid to play around with your favorite combinations. You won’t be disappointed!
What’s in these pancakes
- Eggs
- Milk
- Sugar
- Butter
- Vanilla extract
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Cinnamon
- Baking soda
- Nutmeg
- Salt
- 1 medium zucchini
How to make zucchini bread pancakes
Preheat griddle over medium heat. Whisk together wet ingredients (eggs, milk, sugar, oil, vanilla).
On top of wet ingredients, add dry ingredients (whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, salt). Gently mix the dry ingredients together right on top of the wet ingredients. This saves you from having to get two bowls dirty…yay!
Stir all ingredients together until just combined and then fold in shredded zucchini – make sure you squeezed the liquid out first!
Drop batter by 1/4 cup portions onto preheated griddle and cook for 5-6 minutes or until pancakes have a cooked/dry appearance around the edges.
Flip and continue to cook for 4-5 minutes or until cooked through. Reduce heat to medium-low if they are cooking too quickly on the outside.
How to make these sweet zucchini pancakes your own
- The recipe calls for 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of all-purpose flour, but you can easily substitute your favorite flours. If you’re looking for a gluten-free option, these pancakes are great with almond or buckwheat flour, or a 1:1 Gluten-Free flour.
- These pancakes can be savory or sweet, depending on how you top them. For a savory option, try goat cheese and maybe a drizzle of honey on top and crisp bacon on the side. Or if you’d like, you could try zucchini fritters. For a sweet topping, vanilla cream cheese frosting works really well. You can add it on top, or make the pancakes smaller and put the frosting between layers of pancakes. If you’re looking for a simple prepared topping, you can’t go wrong with butter and maple syrup.
- Love chocolate? Try adding 1/2 cup chocolate chips to the batter, or sprinkling them on each pancake after pouring batter.
- Like nuts in your zucchini bread? Try adding 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to the batter, or sprinkling them on each pancake after pouring batter.
Make Ahead Ideas
To save yourself a little prep time in the morning you can shred your zucchini the night before and store it in the refrigerator.
You could also mix the dry ingredients the night before and keep them in a covered bowl.
Storage Suggestions
Store leftover pancakes in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheating Tips
To reheat, simply pop them in the toaster on low until heated through. For a softer pancake, reheat for 15-20 seconds in the microwave.
Tip!
This is a thick batter and they take a little longer to cook than thinner pancakes. You also may not see as many bubbles develop on the surface before flipping.
Get the Recipe: Zucchini Bread Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons oil or melted butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini, excess liquid squeezed out (about 1 medium-large zucchini)
Instructions
- Preheat a griddle over medium heat. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, oil, and vanilla.
- On top of wet ingredients, add dry ingredients (whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, salt). Gently mix the dry ingredients together before stirring in to wet ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Fold in shredded zucchini.
- If desired, grease or butter your griddle.
- Drop batter by 1/4 cup portions onto preheated griddle and cook for 5-6 minutes or until pancakes have a cooked/dry appearance around the edges. Flip and continue to cook for 4-5 minutes or until cooked through. Reduce heat to medium-low if they are cooking too quickly on the outside.
Notes
- Makes 13-15 pancakes
- This is a thick batter and they take a little longer to cook than thinner pancakes. You also may not see as many bubbles develop on the surface before flipping.
- This recipe would also work well with all all-purpose flour.
- Love chocolate? Try adding 1/2 cup chocolate chips to the batter, or sprinkling them on each pancake after pouring batter.
- Like nuts in your zucchini bread? Try adding 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to the batter, or sprinkling them on each pancake after pouring batter.