A classic pancake recipe with a twist – use it with whole grain, white, or sprouted flour – whatever works for you! Optional overnight soaking step. No sugar, and it comes with a dairy-free option!
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As a rule, I don’t cook much on the weekends. It’s my kinda-time-off – or as close as a parent ever gets to it. However, for the last couple weeks, we made a big deal about family breakfast. Big as in, I take out the nice glasses. We light a candle. We eat together.
But the food doesn’t have to be fancy. We made pancakes and bacon. One week it was French toast. Nothing crazy. Nothing expensive.
It wasn’t the food that made that time special. It was the fact we set it aside. We paused, we stirred some batter together, baked some stuff, set the table together. Then we sat and looked each other in the eye.
Even if money is tight, weekend breakfasts can still be special. All it takes is the willingness to pause.
That being said, how many of us actually have a good pancake recipe that doesn’t come from a box?
These are the kind of pancakes I want for you guys.
Nothing crazy. Nothing expensive. Just good, clean food. Some of you are seasoned real-food chefs who know all about soaking grains, natural sweeteners, and making your own yogurt. You probably have your very own egg-lady who supplies you with eggs from her free-ranging, grass-and-bug-eating chickens.
Some of you are contemplating making these or using good ol’ Bisquick. A lot of us land somewhere in the middle.
So this recipe is for all of us. If you like soaking grains, soak ’em. If you use white flour, use that instead. Each variation yields slightly different results, but the point of this recipe is this: enjoy some pancakes. Look your people in the eye.
You don’t need a mix, you don’t need sugar, and you don’t need any weird expensive ingredients. Although if you want to sprinkle some chia seeds into the batter, go for it. I’ve done it before.
This recipe mostly comes from Nourishing Traditions.
If you like real food and want to learn more about it, this is the textbook (affiliate link) that changed everything for me. I don’t subscribe to everything in this volume, but it’s excellent food for thought.
The Only Pancake Recipe You Need
A classic pancake recipe with a twist – use it with whole grain, white, or sprouted flour – whatever works for you! Optional overnight soaking step. No sugar, and it comes with a dairy-free option!
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour, (whole grain, white, and spelt all work here)
- 2 cups plain yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey (optional)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp melted butter, coconut oil, or other oil
Instructions
Optional Soaking Step (for whole grain flour):
- The night before making pancakes, combine flour and yogurt in a glass bowl. Cover and let it sit overnight on the counter.
The Next Morning:
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together.
- Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Grease the pan if necessary (for example, if you're using anything that isn't nonstick - stainless steel or cast iron) to prevent pancakes from sticking.
- Scoop batter with a 1/4 measuring cup and pour onto the hot griddle. Leave about 1-inch in between each pancake.
- When the top of the pancake is dry and full of holes, flip it over with a spatula. Cook for 3-4 minutes on the other side, until it looks cooked through when you sneak a peek underneath with the spatula.
- Serve hot with butter and maple syrup.
Leftover Hack:
- Freeze leftover pancakes between sheets of parchment paper, foil, or plastic wrap. When ready to reheat, forego the microwave and pop them in the toaster!
Notes
On busy mornings, we skip the pancake part of this and just make Breakfast Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Pour batter into a greased baking dish and bake 20-30 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Serve with butter and maple syrup.
We also like Sheet Pan Pancakes.
Dairy-Free:
Combine dairy-free milk or water with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 10 Serving Size 2 pancakesAmount Per Serving Calories 196Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 46mgSodium 307mgCarbohydrates 27gFiber 1gSugar 7gProtein 6g
More Weekend Breakfast Recipes:
Strawberry Breakfast Cake
This strawberry cake is sweet enough for dessert, but I eat it for breakfast – because with whole grains and honey, it’s like eating oatmeal. Basically.
5-Minute Egg & Cheese Muffins
These muffins are the essence of an easy, homemade, breakfast. Faster than an omelet, but just as cheesy and delicious. Perfect frugal way to feed a crowd some protein.
Simple Baked Oatmeal
For an easy, nutritious, make-ahead breakfast that is allergy-friendly and quick to make, look no more. Gluten-free with egg-free and dairy-free options.
Clean, 4-Ingredient Sausage
Sausage makes everything taste better – and this easy recipe turns inexpensive ground meat into savory sausage with 4 ingredients you probably already have.
Mookies – Muffins, the Easy, Frugal Way
How to Make Muffins the Easy Way = Mookies. Inexpensive, made with whole grains, and NO CLEANING THE MUFFIN TIN. Dairy-free, egg-free, and vegan versions.
I’ve made these a couple times with gluten free flour and it’s worked great (just in case anyone is wondering)! I also had to use flax eggs because my baby can’t eat eggs, again better than any mix!
Oh I’m so glad you tried it with GF Flour and flax eggs! And even happier it worked out. Thanks!
The culture in yogurt or kefir is killed in heat, so save the yogurt and just use enough to acidulate the water to soak the grain. Eat your yogurt with your pancakes 🙂
Its generally 2T yogurt per cup of grain to soak.
Also, I make baked pancakes by putting a 2 c flour-2c water or milk size recipe in a jellyroll pan that Ive made bacon in already and drained. Its pregreased lol and it takes about 15 min at 375. Thinner like a pancake, than a 9×13 pan.
I make muffin squares by putting a 1dozen recipe in a 9×13 pan and baking like a cake. I hate washing muffin tins. Unfortunately this doesnt work with nut flours, I even use mini muffin pans for them! Yeah, 48 holes to wash as I make double batches #yikes
Awesome! Honestly, I cut the yogurt with milk most of the time, but the texture turns out better (in my opinion) with all yogurt. Glad I’m not the only one! Sometimes I wonder.
I tried clicking in the links below for your other breakfasts to try but there was no link. Could you provide those as well?
Thank you
Hi Kerri! The links are working now – let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you!
If I am using white flour for this recipe and don’t have plain yogurt, can I substitute the yogurt for almond milk or water?
I have! Instead of straight almond milk, I would use the Dairy-Free tip in the Recipe Notes so you still have that acid element to the liquid.
I made this with sprouted spelt flour, and with non-dairy recommendation, twice. Once, I made the pancakes with soaking overnight. These turned out the best! The next time, I forgot, so I just made them morning of…spelt can be tricky with hydration, so I had to add a little more flour. Both versions were perfect. I no longer will keep looking for a basic pancake recipe I can eat (modern wheat doesn’t agree with me). Definitely recommend soaking, though!
Yay! I’m so glad you loved this as much as we do, Jeannie!