Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

These cozy-spiced apple cinnamon pancakes are a healthy way to start the day! They’re deliciously wholesome, made with oats and maple syrup.

Here’s a recipe for cozy mornings that’s got a secret…it’s a healthy breakfast idea, too. Meet these Apple Cinnamon Pancakes! They’re fluffy, cinnamon-spiced, and guess what? They’re made of 100% oats, no flour! Using oats lends a warm, homey flavor and makes them more filling and nutrient-dense than the traditional pancake.This type of oatmeal pancake is our favorite…so we were thrilled to see this recipe in our friend Erin’s new cookbook, The Well Plated Cookbook! From the first bite, you’ll be sold. (We were!) Keep reading for the preview recipe and more about this beautiful cookbook.

Ingredients in these apple cinnamon pancakes

Yes, you heard right. There’s no flour in these apple pancakes: just wholesome, hearty rolled oats. How is this possible? Whiz the batter in a blender: it breaks down the oats into a flour-like texture. You’ll be amazed at how fluffy these come out with no flour. You get all the nutrients of eating a bowl of oatmeal, not a stack of flapjacks! Here are some notes on the main ingredients in Erin’s apple cinnamon pancakes:

Old-fashioned oats: Look for rolled oats or old-fashioned oats. Do not substitute steel cut! Steel cut oats have a hard texture like rice and do not work here.
Greek yogurt: Brings a rich and moist texture to these pancakes.
Apple: You can use any variety, but Erin recommends crisp-tart like Honeycrisp or Fuji.
Maple syrup: Make sure it is pure maple syrup!
Butter, milk, and eggs
Cinnamon
Vanilla, baking powder, and salt

Blend ’em right up!

These apple cinnamon pancakes use rolled oats only, so the trick is: the blender! We have a few blender muffins and blender pancakes recipes that we can’t get enough of. So we were thrilled to see Erin use this technique in her recipe. Here are a few notes on blending the batter:

A high quality or high speed blender makes quick work. We have a high speed blender, and these took just a few second to blend into a smooth batter.
Other blenders can take a few minutes. If you’ve got a less powerful blender, it may take a few minutes of stopping and scraping down the bowl with a spatula. Just keep blending until a smooth batter forms!

Trick to cooking apple cinnamon pancakes: low and slow

Pancakes might sound like something you can do in your sleep. But we actually get a lot of questions about cooking them! The biggest mistake people make: cooking them on too high heat. They’ll turn out dark on the outside and uncooked on the inside. Here’s how to cook these apple cinnamon pancakes to perfection:

Low and slow is the key! Use medium low heat so the pancake cooks through evenly. We cannot say this enough!
Adjust the heat while cooking. It’s easy to get a perfect first batch of apple pancakes, then burn the second batch because the skillet is already blazing hot. Stay vigilant! We always turn down the heat after the first batch to make sure the next batch doesn’t burn.

Pancake topping ideas

Once you’ve got a towering stack of apple cinnamon pancakes, it’s all about the toppings! Here are a few notes about what Erin suggests and what we personally enjoy:

Peanut butter or almond butter: Adding plant-based protein helps to make them even more filling! Our biggest pet peeve about standard pancakes is that they leave us hungry hours later. Combining oatmeal pancakes with nut butter makes a seriously filling breakfast.
Fresh apples or sauteed apples: We used fresh apples to top and loved the crisp pop of flavor and texture. In Erin’s cookbook, she also has a great recipe for sauteed apples to use as a topping.
Chopped pecans or walnuts: Chopped nuts add even more plant-based protein and a nice crunch.
Greek yogurt: Swirl Greek yogurt with a little maple syrup as healthy topping, or use it plain. Another idea is the Greek yogurt “cream cheese” topping from our Carrot Cake Pancakes.

About the book: The Well Plated Cookbook

This apple cinnamon pancakes recipe is from our friend Erin Clarke’s book, The Well Plated Cookbook. WOW, is this book a stunner. We could not recommend it more: not just because we are lucky enough to know Erin personally. This book is everything we love about her food: fresh, healthy recipes that taste incredible and are full of wholesome ingredients. Every page you turn to, you’ll immediately want to make the recipe.

Of special note: the recipes are very easy to follow so that they come out perfectly every time. Alex and I are obsessed with well-tested and well-written recipes, and we think Erin’s are top notch. You’ll feel comfortable cooking with the book because there’s no guesswork! It’s got recipes for eaters of all kinds (meat and seafood), but as mostly vegetarians we found there were plenty of options. Her cookbook is one of our favorites this year. Congratulations, Erin on a fabulous book!

This apple cinnamon pancakes recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten-free.