No-Dye Green Pancakes
Green Eggs and Ham, I do not like them Sam-I-Am! At our house we don’t really like them either and so we do Green Pancakes and………um……orange oranges? Not exactly sure what our traditional green pancake side is, but we do have the green pancakes down! I am definitely not one to sneak veggies into things so that my kids don’t know, and then think they will somehow magically end up liking veggies one day. But I am a huge proponent of amping up the nutrition in our food by adding fruits and veggies when possible into things we are already eating. Sometimes my kids know and sometimes they don’t, but I always tell them when they ask. And I think at this point they just assume there is a fruit or veggie in everything and they are just ok with it 🙂
But for those of you with incredibly picky eaters who are desperate to get some fruits or veggies into your kids, we will NOT judge you for sneaking them in. So if you are wondering, ‘Will my kids taste the spinach in these pancakes?’ The answer is NO! They really truly taste like regular pancakes. My kids wanted them with syrup, but you can also serve them with yogurt and fruit, a berry sauce, peanut butter and jam……..whatever you like! Be prepared to have your world rocked.
How to Make No-Dye Green Pancakes
In order to make your pancakes green, follow these steps. It is important if you want a pancake without spinach chunks (ewe – chunks is the grossest word) that you blend the following ingredients first by themselves to make a smooth almost milk-like mixture. Then just mix the wet and the dry like usual.
Pour your batter onto a hot, greased griddle or pan and cook until golden on both sides. I was trying to experiment how to get the green not to turn brown, and although I wasn’t completely successful, I think the key is to cook at a lower heat and cook just until done. Give it a whirl and see if you are able to do it!
Ingredients
- 4 cup spinach
- 2 large egg
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, plain
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cup flour, all-purpose
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Blend the first seven ingredients together in a high powered blender until very smooth and frothy.
- In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix dry ingredients with green mixture until combined. Add more milk if the consistency is too thick to pour into a pancake.
- Pour batter in 1/4 cup portions onto a hot greased griddle or pan. Cook until golden on both sides.
- Serve warm with toppings of choice.
Nutrition
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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Yea!!! And I just got a Blendtec so even better 🙂 My kids will never know that the leprechaun is healthy. Normally I just dye the toilet water green because that’s where fake die belongs!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I made these this morning and they were really good. I won’t say that you couldn’t taste the spinach, since hubby and I definitely did, but we still enjoyed them. The kids (3 and 5) also liked them. I loved serving them festive pancakes without having to use dye.
Hi! These look great! I plan on making them tomorrow, but it would help so much to have the batter already made. If I made the batter tonight, would the mix turn brown or icky? Thanks! 🙂
I made mine up the night before with no problems.
I made the batter the night before and they turned out just fine.
Thank you! 🙂
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Is there anything I can substitute for coconut oil?
The batter will stay green. Hope they turn out for you!
You can use any type of oil you want. I just wanted the flavor of the coconut oil in particular.
I ended up doing it this morning and then making them right after. They were wonderful! I will be linking to this post from my blog!
http://www.sprinklesinmylunchbox.wordpress.com
Thanks again! 🙂
I made these for my kids today and told them they were leprechaun pancakes. They loved them! I added 1/2 cup of rolled oats to make them a little thicker. I plan on making a bunch more and freezing them for quick breakfasts. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Very yummy. I don’t have a fancy blender so I blanched the spinach before I stuck it in the blender. It came out super smooth with no chunks.
I have a regular blender, but it still managed to blend the batter smooth (no bits of spinach). Very tasty! Served them as pancakes the first time and then tried them as mini muffins. Baked at 375 for about 12 minutes. Muffins are greener (pancakes browned as they cooked). Will definitely be trying these again!
Great!
What a good idea making them into mini muffins! Thanks for the tip 🙂
Can you please advise you freeze the pancake before or after you bake it?i believe after ..
Thanks
Yes. Freeze them after they are cooked 🙂
i meant burnt cheese cause it oozes out of the brgeur then burned as it leaks on pan (cheese should be on top), sauce is not needed for a brgeur with fresh meat, it alters the taste. Bacon, well yes its meat but shouldn’t put such big pieces as its overly salty, and the dominant flavor in bacon is actually smoke.
What can I substitute for eggs?
What could I substitute for the yogurt?
Just wondering if anybody has tried this recipe with gluten free flour?
I’m not supposed to eat a lot of raw spinach. Would it still be green if I slightly cooked the spinach down?
I would imagine it would because it would probably be more concentrated!
This looks amazing! I’d love to make a vegan version of these – looking for any guest posters? ^.~
what’s a good substitute for honey? i want to make these so that my 10 month old can eat them too. Can i use brown sugar?
Considering there is such a small amount of sweetener, you could easily leave it out. But if you want sweetener, I typically swap honey with agave when I feel the need to swap.
How would I change the recipe to use frozen spinach?
1 pound of fresh spinach will yield 10-12 cups of torn leaves, which will cook down to about 1 cup. One package (10 ounces) of frozen spinach leaves yields about 1-1/2 cups after cooking. This recipe calls for 4 cups of fresh spinach leaves which means you would want to use about 1/4 cup of frozen spinach. You might have to experiment with it since we have never used frozen in this recipe. Good luck!
do you think these will work with vanilla flavored greek yogurt…? it’s all i have right now 🙂
Love this! I put spinach in about everything &
the kids know it. I accidentally made green eggs when trying to blend spinach in better.
I want to try this with a gluten-free or grain- free recipe. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of thi s before! Thanks for sharing!
All three of my girls liked these pancakes. I used regular flour since it was what we had but I am thrilled with the outcome. Thank you!
Very nice recipe, I will try it this weekend, Thank much
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This is the recipe we use each year for St. Patricks day breakfast. Since then this year, I have made multiple more batches for my one year old’s breakfast. She loves them and I am happy that they are healthy.
I have made this recipe more times than I can count and it always turns out perfectly. This quantity is perfect for serving my two young kids on a Saturday and there is enough left over to freeze the rest for an easy breakfast during the week.
These are the best pancakes! Every kid and adult I’ve given them to likes them. I make a triple batch at a time and freeze them for quick breakfast.
So glad to hear this!