Golden Sweet Zucchini Pancakes
These sweet zucchini pancakes are packed with the goodness of zucchini. Just like eating a warm slice of zucchini bread with spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.
In the fall we love to make pumpkin pancakes. They are sweet, hearty and are a deliciously filling breakfast. But for some reason they just don’t seem right to make in the summer. Isn’t it funny that we kind of create our own food laws even though there really is no one enforcing them? I guess another food law is that if you grow a garden, from the months of July – September you must only make food if it has zucchini in it. Otherwise you will have zucchini literally taking over your life, right? Well these zucchini pancakes are the summer version of a pumpkin pancake. They are sweet and hearty and delicious.
How to Make Sweet Zucchini Pancakes
Making these pancakes is easy! It’s just like making regular pancakes, except for the zucchini. First, shred your zucchini. You can do it with a box grater by hand, or use your food processor.
Better than shredding it yourself is having your kids help shred it. It is so great having your children be helpful in the kitchen – and it really helps them learn about and love food. My food processor is so safe and easy to use that it is a great kitchen task for kids to do. Plus when it comes to shredding the billions of zucchini you harvest from your garden, a food processor is a must!
Once you get your batter mixed up, drop by large spoonfuls onto a greased hot griddle or pan. Let them cook on one side until the bubbles have popped, and the flip on the other side and cook until golden brown.
What to Serve with Zucchini Pancakes
We love to serve ours with plain Greek yogurt , maple syrup and fresh berries. A little bit of summer heaven right there. The cinnamon and nutmeg give these pancakes a spicy sweet flavor and the zucchini and whole wheat flour make these pancakes a hearty staple. I froze the pancakes that we didn’t eat and they reheat beautifully. Perfect for those mornings when you don’t have a lot of time – pop one in the toaster and you have breakfast to go!
More of our Favorite Zucchini Recipes
- Baked Zucchini Casserole
- Healthy Zucchini Oat Muffins
- Zucchini Lasagna
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Protein Bars
Golden Sweet Zucchini Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 large egg
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoon milk
- 2 tablespoons yogurt, plain
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 cup zucchini (or one med-large zucchini)
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- In a large bowl, combine eggs, oil, sugar, milk, yogurt and vanilla until smooth. Shred zucchini and stir in zucchini shreds. Stir dry ingredients into zucchini batter, mixing until just combined.
- Heat a large skillet or griddle to medium heat. Spray with cooking spray or coat with a little oil.
- Scoop 1/4-cup dollops of batter onto your skillet or griddle. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook another minute or two, until golden underneath.
- Serve with yogurt and berries or you favorite pancake toppings.
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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These sound delicious! How much brown sugar is in the recipe? Thanks!
THOSE LOOK SO GOOD!!! Making some when I get up tomorrow morning!
My research skills brought me here. I was so frustrated and stressed already. I can’t get my one year old to eat well especially healthy foods. When I saw your recipes, I know you saved me. 🙂
Even though I don’t have a food processor, I still want to try this recipe out. It’s pretty delicious and healthy too.
Before I even got a chance to read, I was in love. Zuccini is the best and I can’t get enough. Thanks for posting!
Curious on how I could make these dairy free for my little one who is lactose intolerant? I can swap out the milk easily but what can I use as a yogurt substitute?
Thanks!!
Kefir is considered to be lactose free. There is a vanilla flavored kefir. Then add in some chia seeds to thicken it up a bit or maybe a little more flour if needed, but I don’t think 2 tbsp would make a big difference
Try goat milk yogurt instead or sheep instead of cow. I also need to figure out how to make gluten free. Do you think I could use buckwheat instead of whole wheat and then just use a gf all purpose.
You could also try just adding in a little applesauce. The yogurt is mostly for the liquid. Give it a try!
Just curious if these could be made gluten free using almond or coconut flour? I’m not very good at making the recipe, but can definitely follow one. Any suggestions on the ratio I could use?
You can use a coconut based yoghurt. They are dairy free.
Yes, I think you can substitute flours – the texture will be a bit different, but they should turn out fine.
To be honest, I have not used those flours and so I’m quite sure how you would convert.
Made this good looking bf and it’s fantastic!!!
Thanks for sharing
Hello Natalie,
Now that autumn is well and truly on its way I would like to make these pancakes with pumpkin. Do I just shred it and replace the zucchini or is there anything else I need to change? Thank you so much.
Veronika
Julie – We just created this guide which may be helpful to you: https://www.superhealthykids.com/blog-posts/the-essential-food-allergy-substitution-guide.php
Pumpkin has a different water content that zucchini. I’m not sure if you can just substitute a 1:1 ratio, but if you shred your pumpkin that would probably work the best. If you try it, let us know how it turns out!
Delicious recipe! I do have a hard time with getting pancakes with any veggies in them to cook all the way through (this actually goes for muffins and cookies too). I tried doing the griddle at 375 degrees and flipped when the bubbles popped, but then it seemed to take many more minutes on the other side until they looked done and when I ate them I even thought they did not seem cooked through. Any advice?
Thank you, came out delicious. I used regular flour , regular non stick frying pan. I also used sour cream instead of yougurt. Nearly 2 min each side , perfectly fried pancakes that kids really loved without any toping!
has anyone tried this with an egg substitute like flax eggs who can share some tips?
Can you substitute w/yellow squash?
Hi Carol, yes! That substitution should work.
ITS REALLY LOOKING DELICIOUS
THANKS FOR SHARING THIS
LOVE FROM GIFTCAKECARD
These were absolutely delicious! They are quite thick so I cooked them a lot longer than recommended. Once they were golden brown I flipped them. The kids also loved them! Will be adding this to my regular rotation
Turned out GREAT! As an alternative, I used organic coconut sugar. Great results.
So glad you loved them!
These are the BEST pancakes ever! I rarely make a recipe teice and these I’ve made at least five times. The fresh zucchini tastes so good. I use 2 cups. And the yogurt and cinnamon and nutmeg…Yum!! We substitute gluten free flour because of allergies. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thanks for an awesome recipe.
My family loves this recipe! I always make a double batch and freeze some for a quick snack for my toddler. I substituted the sugar for an overripe banana last time and I even impressed a picky eater we had over for a play date. Thanks for the recipe!
I’ve been making this recipe for years now and our family of 7 loves it (especially with a few dark chocolate chips)! I figured it was finally time to say thank you!
We’re so happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing!