"Veggie-fy" your morning pancakes with these light and fluffy whole wheat zucchini pancakes. They're a snap to make!
The words "zucchini pancakes" always summon images of crispy pan-fried patties similar to traditional Hanukkah potato latkes, or our favorite Leftover Mashed Potato Patties. As much as I love the idea of crispy zucchini, whether in the form of patties or baked zucchini fries, these pancakes are actually a variation of our usual Sunday morning fare, subbing grated zucchini for berries.
If your family claims to be "allergic" to zucchini, don't be deterred. Like many baked goods that star summer's favorite squash, these pancakes don't have a strong zucchini taste. Unless your family spots the green flecks, they'll likely have no clue that the pancakes are veggie-filled.
That is, until you do the obnoxious "Woohoo! You ate zucchini and loved it!" happy dance. Then the jig is up.
As with all of my pancake recipes, I used whole wheat pastry flour, both for the extra fiber and the texture. It's not nearly as dense as most regular whole wheat flours, so produces a lighter product. If you can't find whole wheat pastry flour, you could substitute a half-and-half mixture of regular whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour (nutritional information would be altered slightly if you do so).
Drizzle on the maple syrup and chopped nuts, and you're ready to go for an easy, healthy breakfast or dinner.
Other healthy zucchini recipes:
Baked Zucchini Fries with Pesto Yogurt Dipping Sauce
Sautéed Zucchini, Corn & Blistered Tomatoes
Printable Recipe
Whole Wheat Zucchini Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ cups nonfat milk or 2%
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ¾ cup grated zucchini
- and for serving
For Serving:
- pure maple syrup
- chopped nuts
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and maple syrup.
- Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir to combine.
- Stir in the grated zucchini.
- Heat a nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat, or heat a griddle to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat the skillet with cooking spray.
- Using a ¼-cup measuring cup, scoop the batter into the skillet, a few pancakes at a time. When the pancakes start to bubble on top, flip them over and cook until the pancakes are cooked through all the way.
- Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve the pancakes with maple syrup and fresh fruit, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post contains links to my Amazon affiliate page. Any revenue made from sales through these links helps to support this blog. Thank you!
Mom of 5
My family and I say "Thank you!" I made these last night and my kids loved them. They had no idea there was zucchini inside until I told them after dinner.
Darby
The ingredients and the instructions don't match. It says to add apples, nuts and ginger but I don't see that in the ingredient list or how much
Dara
Oh, good grief! I'm so sorry about that, Darby! The recipe directions have been corrected now. Thank you for your patience.
Colleen (Souffle Bombay)
Ok...I still have nightmares from my childhood involving me and a plate of potato pancakes. I sat and sat at the dinner table long after everyone left....finally I put syrup on them to try and get them down and THAT was a mistake. lol! Then years later I hear of zucchini bread and was horrified at the thought...flashing back to those pancakes. When my husband finally convinced me to try zucchini bread I was amazed! Ot was delicious...I have a feeling I would also love your pancakes. The ingredients make sense to me. And I'll bet that my zucchini-bread-loving-man would gobble them up!
Samantha Voor
Thanks so much for the feature as another great Zucchini Recipe! Love your page 🙂
Paula-bell'alimento
I think we're going to add this to our summer brinner rotation!
Angie
I love this! Maybe I can get my husband to enjoy a pancake breakfast with these beauties. Neither one of us like how unhealthy traditional pancakes are, so we rarely eat them.
Jessica | Nourished by Nutrition
These look lovely! I am always adding zucchini into my oatmeal but next time I make pancakes I'll have to give these a try. I love your wholesome recipe!
Martha @ A Family Feast
These pancakes look so fluffy - and another great idea for using up our garden zucchini!
Sarah Walker Caron (Sarah's Cucina Bella)
I love that these are a healthy alternative to the usual pancakes. Adding zucchini is such a great idea!
Ginny McMeans
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am absolutely working zucchini into my next batch of pancakes. You recipe sounds wonderful and I think whole wheat flour is a great idea!
heather | girlichef
Oh, what a fantastic idea! We love zucchini bread, so I'm guessing the family would love to wake up to these.
Lana | Never Enough Thyme
What a great idea! Reminds me of a zucchini bread that I make but in pancake form instead. Fabulous!
Amanda @ The Kitcheneer
I am adoring these pancakes! I have zucchini growing out in the yard right now begging to be a part of this pancake action!
The Food Hunter
Sneaking in veggies is a great idea and I love using whole wheat flour too
Stephanie
We love pancakes, and I love sneaking veggies into everything 🙂 These really look fantastic!
Tasha @thatssoyummy
I love this healthy version of pancakes. I could eat a giant stack of these!
Annalise @ Completely Delicious
These sound incredible, Dara! I definitely could use a healthier pancake recipe in my weekend rotation. 🙂
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
The pancakes look and sound amazing! I'd like to make some of them up and then freeze them in meal portions. These are just the thing to improve my dull breakfast. Thank you for sharing!