Hey guys,
You know I love my pancakes and I'm pretty sure you do as well because they always seem to be a popular recipe post!
Last night I went to bed dreaming of making these pancakes for breakfast. I figured I had to get up a little earlier to make them and take some snaps before heading to the burbs to teach. But to my surprise they were unbelievably quick and easy. And the best part, very, very yummy!
I can't stake ownership of this recipe because pretty much every healthy foodie I follow on instagram has shared some version of these "4 ingredient pancakes" however since I made them with 5 ingredients and added coconut milk they are now joyously joyous!
These pancakes are gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free but not free of deliciousness.
You will love how simple the ingredients are and it will make you feel good knowing that you are putting food in your beautiful body that is absolutely whole, real and nutritious. A few nutritional highlights below (after the recipe):
Breakfast & Brunch
World's Easiest Pancake
Print
Ingredients
- 1-3/4 cup oat flakes* (or oat flour)
- 1 cup coconut milk*
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 banana
- 1/4 cup any small berries* (blueberries, raspberries or blackberries)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
Instructions
- Place oat flakes in a blender or food processor and blend until it forms an almost flour texture. Add coconut milk, vanilla, banana and blend. Then add the blueberries and blend.
- Let the mixture sit for a few minutes while you warm up your pan and melt the coconut oil.
- Place 1/4 cup mixture on pan for each pancake (if you like them small like the size in my photo) and cook until the outside turns golden brown and then flip. Cook for a few more minutes on the other side.
- Serve with a dollop of coconut butter (not to be confused with coconut oil) and some loose berries. Drizzle with unpasteurized honey or real maple syrup.
Notes
Substitutions*
- Coconut milk: Almond, hemp, flax milk or organic kefir would also work well.
- Oat flakes: Quick oats are fine (not instant oatmeal though).
- Berries: You can easily use frozen as well.
NOTE: It is okay if the pancakes are a little soft in the middle. This is because of the banana. You don't need to actually cook them all the way through because they don't have any eggs.
This recipe made enough to feed my sweet man Walker and I with leftovers. You know what I will be eating tomorrow for breakfast?! I will pop those puppies in the toaster and enjoy with another schlop of coco butta and honey -- hurray for healthy yummy food!
Nutritional Highlights of Oats:
- Lowered cholesterol: Oats have a special type of fiber called beta-glucan. Study after study has shown beneficial effects of this fiber on cholesterol levels.
- Balanced blood sugar: This same fiber also has benefits for Type 2 diabetics according to this study.
- Reduction in CVD: A study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that oats reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease because they are a great source of antioxidants called avenanthramides (which help prevent free radicals from damaging LDL cholesterol).
There you have it - the worlds easiest pancakes! Tag my @joyoushealth or use the hashtag #joyoushealth when you post pictures of your delicious food so I can see it too!
Wow these sound delicious! Going to try these out on the weekend. Thanks for the recipe. x
ReplyDo you mean coconut oil for one of these? "Serve with a dollop of coconut butter (not to be confused with coconut butter)"
ReplyHi Caroline, Thanks for catching that! That phrase is supposed to read "serve with a dollop of coconut butter (not to be confused with coconut oil). We'll get that corrected. Kate - Joyous Health Team
Hi Joy! Did you use canned coconut milk or from the carton? Thx.
ReplyHi Joanna, Joy often makes her own coconut milk (you can find the recipe here, but the texture of this coconut milk is more like what you'd find in coconut milk in cartons than what you'd find in canned coconut milk (which would probably be a little too thick for this recipe). Kate - Joyous Health Team
I tried this recipe and the pancakes were delicious! It took several tries not to burn them though, yet make sure their well cooked inside. What's the best way to have perfect, well-cooked inside but not burned pancakes? Also, I was wondering how thick should the pancake mix with the ground oat flour be after the berried have been mixed in? Thanks a bunch :)
Reply*they were
Hi Isra, I've always had good luck with the "wait until the bubbles reach the inside of the pancake" for the first side, and then the "wait until there's a little bit of steam escaping from around the edges" rule for the second side. You'll want the batter to be about the same consistency as cake batter, so that it pours into the pan easily. Kate - Joyous Health Team
I made these and used half oat flour and half millet flour and walnut milk instead of coconut and they turned out great! Thanks for this recipe!
ReplyThese were absolutely yummers! I just processed regular rolled oats (you can do gluten free, of course) and added the rest of the ingredients. They are a bit softer than "regular" pancakes, but in a good way.
ReplyThese look so delicious and I'm looking forward to trying them. I'm just confused by the amout of oats needed. Is it 1/3-3/4 of cup or is it 1 plus 3/4 cup?
ReplyIt is 1 and 3/4 cup. Enjoy!
I just made these and topped them with Oh She Glow's Coconut Whipped Cream- it's a match made in heaven!! http://ohsheglows.com/2012/08/30/coconut-whipped-cream-a-step-by-step-photo-tutorial/
ReplyMy kids and I are big fans of pancakes, so I'm always on the lookout for yummy and healthy versions. These are my new favorite! They were so simple and everyone loved them.
ReplyHi Sarah, Glad they were a hit! Kate - Joyous Health Team
I made these this morning and they were perfect! Easy, healthy, and delicious. I especially liked the consistency and how moist they were. I think next time I will treat them like crepes and make a fruit compote for the middle :) Thanks, Joy!
ReplySadly, I made it with canned coconut milk and had to throw out the whole batch because it was too thick to cook properly. Maybe you could add the word, "fresh", or "refrigerated", to the coconut milk in ingredients. I think others have made my same mistake, after reading the comments. I bought the correct kind of coconut milk, and will try this again soon. I know my mistake was kind of dumb, but I was thinking about the many times Joy mentions how canned coconut milk is healthier than refrigerated, because of the "junk" they tend to add to it.
ReplyHey Natalie! Sorry to hear the pancakes didn't work out and our apologies for the confusion. Wishing you all the best for next time :) Heather- Joyous Health Team
Hi Joy! I am so happy to have found your website. I love pancakes too and this recipe looks yummy. I seem to be having issues with oats lately, even gluten free oats. Any suggestions?
ReplyHey Christa! We're so happy you found Joyous Health too! Welcome :) If you're having trouble with oats (and enjoy them in oatmeal), you might be interested in Chia Pudding or even a Hemp Seed Porridge? Joy doesn't typically bake with oat flour too often so it's not crucial to baking. You can easily sub in brown rice flour, almond flour or coconut flour. Hope that helps! Rachel - Joyous Health Team
Wow! These are awesome! I only had frozen banana so I wasn't sure how they were going to turn out but they were soooo good! I made them bite size and can't stop eating them =)
ReplyHey Bethany! Yay! We're so happy to hear you enjoyed them! Bite-size is best - especially when you manage to have leftovers! Rachel - Joyous Health Team
Do these pancakes these freeze well?
ReplyHey Farzana! There's usually never any leftovers when Joy makes them for her family (haha!) but you could definitely freeze and reheat them :) Rachel - Joyous Health Team
What can be substituted for banan3
ReplyHey Katt, We haven't tried it without banana so we wouldn't be able to guarantee results. However, you might be interested in this Apple Spiced Pancake recipe: https://www.joyoushealth.com/211-recipe-apple-spice-pancakes Rachel - Joyous Health Team
Just wondering what you cook the pancakes on? I used a stainless steel pan and it didn’t work so well. What’s a safe and healthy choice?
ReplyYa stainless steel does suck for pancakes. I have a Green Pan and I have an All-Clad. Both are non-stick but toxin free.
Joy - Thank you so much for these pancakes! I rarely used to make pancakes, but now we have them almost every weekend. They are amazing and very hearty. My kids and I love your recipes and listening to your talks.
ReplyThanks Marian, that makes me so happy!!
Hi! What’s the difference between quick oats and instant? I tried to research but it says they’re the same?
ReplyInstant oats are the ones that come in a single package typically that you add water to and you have porridge in less than a minute. Quick oats take a few more minutes and still look like oats. You can also use rolled oats for these pancakes. Hope that helps!
Could you make this as waffles instead of pancakes?
ReplyI haven't tried that yet, but you can certainly try!
These were a waste of ingredients. I used canned coconut milk ( you can call it plant milk) and the whole batch was ruined even tho I tried to thin it out. I’m an experienced cook and I feel like every recipe I tried from here has been a flop :( I love the ingredients of all the recipes but there are a lot of typos and errors or missing ingredients ( zucchini fritters don’t call for eggs) in them and they never come out great. I’m sorry to leave a negative review, I am hoping the recipes will be checked for mistakes or missing ingredients before they are posted. Other than that, I love everything joyous health stands for, I just wish they were more careful with their output quality.
ReplyHi Oana, it's not very often that I get a comment like this so I am sorry you've had such a negative experience with my recipes. That is very unfortunate and makes me feel terrible. :( That being said, this is a pretty old recipe from 7 years ago, however, lots of people have made them and loved them including my hubby who is obsessed with these. Have you had this issue with more recent recipes - like in the last 3-4 years?
Also, the zucchini fritters, I'm not sure what you're talking about regarding eggs? There are no eggs in this recipe because the cheese binds them but you can't use soft goat cheese, you need to use goat cheddar https://www.joyoushealth.com/25870-blog-zucchini-fritters If you make subs in my recipes I can't guarantee success. Hope you don't give up on my delicious recipes and try some more recent ones: https://www.joyoushealth.com/7-blogcat-recipes
To be honest I feel terrible about leaving that comment. In hindsight I love all the information you and Walker provide and everything your account stands for. I just found recipes I tried that don’t turn out. I think that your probably use very unique ingredients that are not readily available in my market and that’s why they turn out different. Like the fritters, I used goat cheddar every time but I haven’t found any goat cheddars that are soft/wet enough to bind the mixture etc.. maybe it’s just me and the ingredients I use! Like I said, sorry, I feel terrible now :( I do own all your cookbooks and love them, never had an issue with the recipes in there.
ReplyAll good! :) Thanks for writing back. I'm glad you've been enjoying the recipes in my cookbooks! I have an updated zucchini fritter recipe in The Joyous Cookbook you might enjoy more and the Tuna burgers in that book are AMAZING! Hope you have success with those.
These pancakes were super easy, healthy, tasty and made out of ingredients I already had at home. Highly recommend!
ReplyI substituted almond milk for coconut milk and they worked beautifully.
perfecto!
Happy to hear you loved them!