Whole Wheat Pancakes

Is there anything better than a giant stack of pancakes fresh off the griddle on a Saturday morning? Add a glass of orange juice, a strong cup of hazelnut coffee, and a healthy amount of maple syrup, and you have the perfect way to start a weekend. Don’t you agree?

This whole wheat pancake recipe creates a light, airy batter that makes those tall and fluffy pancakes that are super tender. The ingredients are simple and the star of the show is yogurt! Adding Greek or regular yogurt to pancake batter helps to thicken it up, but still leaves you with the lightest pancake.

These pancakes are absolutely perfect! They’re thick and fluffy with crispy edges. And the flavor – these pancakes are melt-in-your-mouth delicious!

Ingredients for whole wheat pancakes

This whole wheat pancakes recipe is made with simple, wholesome ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen. Here’s the lineup:

• Flour. I love making pancakes with whole wheat pastry flour because it’s filled with whole grains and keeps them super fluffy. You can also use white whole wheat flour or all purpose flour, if you prefer.
• Baking staples. You’ll need some vanilla extract for flavor, a pinch of salt to pull the flavors together and baking powder and baking soda to help the pancakes rise.
• Cinnamon. For warm, cozy flavor!
• Egg. You’ll need just one egg in this pancake recipe.
• Milk. I like to use unsweetened almond milk, but you can use any milk you’d like.
• Applesauce. This recipe uses 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce for flavor and to give these pancakes plenty of moisture without using oil or butter.
• Yogurt. I recommend using a plain or vanilla whole milk Greek yogurt to add plenty of protein and healthy fats to these pancakes. But any flavor or type of yogurt works fine.
• Optional toppings. The options are endless! Here are some favs: maple syrup, butter, powdered sugar, whipped cream, applesauce, yogurt, peanut butter, fresh fruit, chopped pecans or walnuts.

How to Make Whole Wheat Pancakes

This recipe is simple and can be whipped up in a hurry!

1. Prep your cooking surface. Heat and grease your griddle or a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Whisk dry ingredients. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Stir together wet ingredients. In a large bowl, mix egg, almond milk, applesauce, yogurt and vanilla. Add flour mixture into the wet mixture and mix until blended. Do NOT overmix. Some small lumps are fine.
4. Let batter rest. For best results, rest the pancake batter for 5 to 10 minutes. This will allow the gluten in the flour to relax and the starch grains to swell and will make for the most light and fluffy pancakes.
5. Cook pancakes. Measure out batter using a 1/4 cup measuring cup for each pancake and cook. After about 4 minutes and when bubbles begin to form on the surface and the edges of the pancakes look set, flip and cook the other side until cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes.
6. Serve. Enjoy with toppings of your choice!

Tips For Fluffy Whole Wheat Pancakes

This recipe is simple and straight forward, but I do have a few pancake-making tips to give you the most perfect fluffy whole wheat pancakes.

• Use whole wheat pastry flour. Whole wheat pastry flour is more finely ground than whole wheat flour and has a bit less gluten. It will give you the lightest whole wheat pancakes. If you don’t have whole wheat pastry flour, white whole wheat flour works very well too. Another option is to use a combination of all-purpose and wheat flour.
• Yogurt is key to fluffy pancakes. Both Greek or regular yogurt work to make these healthy pancakes super thick (but still light)!
• Don’t over-mix the batter. You want to gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together until you have a lumpy, just-moist batter. Lumps are good in pancakes, trust me! If you beat the batter until it is perfectly smooth, you’ll have a very dense, flat pancake instead of a light and fluffy one.
• For best results, make sure you use active baking powder. If you’re unsure if your baking powder is still good, you can test it by mixing 1 teaspoon of baking powder with 1/3 cup hot water. If the baking powder is fresh, the mixture should produce lots of bubbles.
• Don’t press down on the pancake with the back of your spatula. This will cause the pancake to flatten and it won’t help them cook any faster.

how To Keep Pancakes Warm

To keep pancakes warm in between batches, preheat your oven to 200 degrees F. Once the pancakes are cooked, transfer them to a large baking sheet and put them in the oven to stay warm.

Storing Leftovers

Store any leftover whole wheat pancakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. I typically store my leftover pancakes in large zip-top baggies.

Freezing Pancakes

These fluffy whole wheat pancakes freeze so well! I often make a huge batch to enjoy through the week. Once the cooked pancakes have cooled to room temperature, transfer them to a large sheet pan to flash-freeze them. When they are frozen, transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag. Simply reheat frozen pancakes in the microwave or toaster and you have a delicious, healthy breakfast ready-to-go super quick!

pancake Variations

Experiment with different yogurt flavors and mix-ins to make this fluffy pancake recipe your own!

• Yogurt. This recipe is great with plain yogurt, but if you really want to kick up the flavor, try different yogurt varieties. We love vanilla, strawberry, and key lime yogurt! Any favorite yogurt works!
• Mix-ins. Feel free to jazz the pancakes up however you like! Throw berries, chocolate chips, sprinkles and/or nuts into the batter!

Pancake Toppings

Another great way to change up your pancakes is with fun and delicious pancake toppings. Find some tasty ideas below!

• Syrups. maple syrup, honey, fruit syrups, chocolate syrup
• Nut butter. peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower butter, Nutella
• Fresh fruit. blueberries, apricots, strawberries, raspberries, apples, peaches, pears, banana slices, pom seeds
• Dried fruit. raisins, cranberries, figs, apricots, goji berries, dates
• Nuts. almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds
• Fun toppings. cream cheese, jelly, whipped cream, yogurt, sprinkles, chocolate chips, shredded coconut

Whole wheat pancakes are a family favorite breakfast! They’re so easy, I make them all of the time. And not only are they super tasty, these pancakes are so easy and healthy too. I highly recommend making a double batch because they disappear so quickly!

More Pancake Recipes You’ll Enjoy

Looking for more pancakes recipes? Give these family favs a try:

• Buttermilk Pancakes
• High Protein Zucchini Pancakes
• Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
• Yogurt Pancakes

If you try these easy whole wheat pancakes, let me know! Leave a comment and if your family loves them as much as mine does, be sure to give it a five star ⭐️ rating! Also, tag @kimscravings on Instagram with a picture of your creation. It’s so fun to see what you’re cooking! Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy delicious recipes straight to your inbox.