Pumpkin Pancakes
These healthy pumpkin pancakes are so fluffy, you won't believe they're 100% whole grain. This pumpkin pancake recipe is sure to become your favorite.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
Happy Sunday! I’m sharing these fluffy whole wheat pumpkin pancakes too late for breakfast this morning, but the recipe has actually been available here since 2010. It’s actually one of my oldest recipes, and one of my favorites for fall.
These pumpkin pancakes taught me that whole grain pancakes can be every bit as tasty and fluffy as pancakes made with regular flour. Bonus? These babies don’t send my blood sugar spiraling out of control like the regular kind.
This recipe taught me a lot about making pancakes from scratch. It inspired my fluffy vegan pancakes, gingerbread pancakes, and the pancake recipes in my cookbook. I’ve made these pancakes for my family on Thanksgiving morning and they were a big hit.
I never felt like the old photos did these pancakes justice, so I’m sharing the recipe again today. I updated the recipe notes and added nutrition information while I was at it. Pumpkin pancakes for dinner, anyone?
Watch How to Make Pumpkin Pancakes
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes
These healthy pumpkin pancakes are so fluffy, you won’t believe they’re 100% whole grain. This pumpkin pancake recipe is sure to become your favorite. It’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup, too! Recipe yields 6 to 8 medium pancakes, enough to serve two to three people. Double the recipe for a larger crowd, or if you would like leftovers.
Ingredients
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon (for stronger pumpkin “spice” flavor, use 1 teaspoon or substitute 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice blend)
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk of choice
- ⅓ cup pumpkin purée
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil
Instructions
- If you’ll be using an electric skillet, preheat it to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir until blended.
- In a separate bowl, combine the milk, pumpkin purée, egg, maple syrup, vanilla extract and melted butter. Whisk until thoroughly blended. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir until no big lumps remain. (If your butter or oil solidifies on contact with cold ingredients, just warm the mixture in the microwave for 15 to 30 seconds until it melts again, or let the mixture rest for a few minutes in a warm place).
- If you’re not using an electric griddle, heat a heavy cast iron skillet or nonstick griddle over medium-low heat. You’re ready to start cooking your pancakes once the surface of the pan is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles on contact.
- If necessary, lightly oil the cooking surface with additional oil or cooking spray (I don’t oil the surface of my non-stick griddle and my pancakes turned out great).
- Using a ⅓-cup measure, scoop the batter onto the warm skillet. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until small bubbles form on the surface of the pancakes. It’s ready to flip when about ½-inch of the perimeter is matte instead of glossy. Flip each pancake and cook on the opposite sides for 1 to 2 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
- Repeat the process with the remaining batter, greasing the skillet as needed. If necessary, dial the heat down to prevent burning the pancakes. Serve the pancakes immediately, or stack them and cover the plate with a tea towel to keep them warm.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Big Girls, Small Kitchen.
Leftover pancakes? Pancakes make great leftovers! Store them in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze them for months. To warm, wrap a short stack of pancakes loosely in a paper towel and gently reheat in the microwave until warmed through, flipping and re-wrapping the stack halfway through.
Make it vegan: Use non-dairy milk (like almond milk), omit the egg and replace the butter with coconut oil.
Make it dairy free: Use non-dairy milk and replace the butter with coconut oil.
Make it egg free: Just omit the egg (really).
Flour options: All-purpose flour should also work fine here.
Make it gluten-free: Bob’s Red Mill’s gluten-free all-purpose flour will work well here. Or, check out my pumpkin oat pancakes!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Here’s the original photo for these pumpkin pancakes.
Can I use this recipe in waffle maker ?
I would recommend my Whole Grain Pumpkin Spice Waffles.
Excellent recipe! I will definitely make this again. I used whole wheat flour as my store was out of white whole wheat, and I used olive oil. I also added a couple dark chocolate chips on top. 10/10
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Kristy!
I made these pancakes for my husband and my mom for ‘breakfast for dinner’ last night. They were delicious and a huge hit! Thank you for this terrific recipe.
You’re welcome, Betsy!
Hello
Im excited to try this recipe today! Do you think the butter/coconut oil could be substituted for equal part olive oil?
I can’t say for sure without trying it, sorry! Let me know if you try it.
I just made these with regular whole wheat flour as that’s all I have. I doubled the recipe and used coconut sugar. These are maybe the fluffiest pancakes I’ve ever made! Amazing!
Great to hear, Sabrina!
This pancakes are absolutely the best!
Great to hear, Annie!
I didnt see the nutrition info. do you have that for us?
Hi Cindy, the nutritional information is below the notes section of the recipe.
My family loves this recipe. We pretty much make it every weekend. I like to use a flax egg. Sometimes I even leave out the sugar and the oil and it still turns out great! Thank you!
I am finding this batter to be more dense and thicker than the gingerbead pancakes on this website. They dont cook as well in the middle. I used whole wheat flour. Next time I will try White WW.
These were easy to make and super delicious and fluffy.
Great to hear, Laura!
I made these this morning and they are the best pancakes I have ever made! That was my husband’s exact comment, and I agree with him. I added a 1/4 teaspoon of ginger and some chopped pecans. Delicious!
These were excellent. I did not have whole wheat flour so used white and added just a touch more. The batter was not thick, but the pancakes were definitely fluffy.
This recipe was delicious and I’ll be making it again.
I substituted 1 tablespoon of yogurt for one of the tablespoons of butter. Worked out well!
These are best pumpkin pancakes! Been making them for years!
We eat these almost every day and we make a triple batch every week and they are so good
Sounds delicious, Can I use buttermilk?
I didn’t make it but based on the ingredients I gave it a 5 star rating as a must try!
Loved them