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Sweet Potato Pancakes

64 Comments

Boost your breakfast nutrition with these Sweet Potato Pancakes! They are delicious, lightly sweetened, and packed with warm spices.

a stack of sweet potato pancakes topped with bananas and whipped cream

Why We Love These Sweet Potato Pancakes:

We’ve been eating sweet potato pancakes for as long as we have been eating sweet potatoes for dinner, and we can’t get enough!  The kids love them, and they even got rave reviews by the pickiest eater in my neighborhood, and that’s saying something! They have a flavor that is reminiscent of pumpkin desserts with the kid-appeal and ease of pancakes.

The best part about sweet potato pancakes is that you can add even more nutrients and fiber to your breakfast by topping it with fresh fruit! We like bananas, berries, plums, or peaches.  With fruit and sweet potatoes, we often don’t even need syrup.  A little bit of creamy yogurt or whipped cream can turn a boring pancake breakfast into one of our favorite desserts!

a stack of sweet potato pancakes with a slice taken out and drizzled with maple syrup

Ingredients for Sweet Potato Pancakes:

  • Sweet Potato– use leftover mashed sweet potatoes, or cook one the night before! If I am short on time I will boil it. The Instant Pot works great too.
  • Milk– I used 2% milk, but dairy free milk works great here too.
  • Cinnamon & Vanilla Extract– adds warm, yummy flavor!
  • Egg– adds structure and lightness to your pancakes.
  • Flour– we used whole wheat flour, but all-purpose will give you a lighter pancake. Or experiment with a combination of the two!
  • Baking Powder– yields a fluffy pancake.
  • Salt– we used kosher salt
ingredients for sweet potato pancakes

How to Make Sweet Potato Pancakes:

  1. Cook sweet potato (this can be done the night before- or use up leftovers!). You will need 1/2 cup mashed.
  2. Blend first five ingredients in a blender, until smooth.
  3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the sweet potato mixture and stir just until combined.
  4. Add more milk if needed for the consistency of pancake batter.
  5. Pour the batter onto a hot griddle greased with nonstick cooking spray. Flip the pancakes when the begin to bubble and are golden brown on both sides.
  6. Serve warm topped with sliced bananas, yogurt, and a drizzle of maple syrup.
process shots for how to make sweet potato pancakes

Tips & Suggestions

How do you bake sweet potatoes?

To bake your sweet potato, wash well and prick with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees for 45-60 or until tender.

How long do cooked sweet potatoes last?

Cooked sweet potatoes will last 3-5 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze them for up to 6 months. Freeze in 1/2 cup portions so you always have some on hand to make these pancakes!

Are sweet potatoes actually healthy?

Sweet potatoes are very healthy! They are a great source of many important nutrients including vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and antioxidants.

Can I freeze leftover pancakes?

These sweet potato pancakes freeze great! I like to put them on a parchment lined baking sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, put the pancakes in a freezer bag or storage container for up to 3 months.

a close-up photo of sweet potato pancakes topped with bananas, whipped cream, cinnamon and chopped nuts

More Pancake Recipes To Try:

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3.8 from 243 votes

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Boost your breakfast nutrition with these Sweet Potato Pancakes! They are delicious, lightly sweetened, and packed with warm spices.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6
Calories: 242kcal

Ingredients

Serve With

  • 2 medium banana
  • 1 cup yogurt, vanilla, low-fat
  • 4 tablespoon maple syrup, pure

Instructions

  • Cook sweet potato (this can be done the night before). You will need 1/2 cup mashed.
  • Blend first five ingredients in a blender, until smooth.
  • Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the sweet potato mixture and stir just until combined.
  • Add more milk if needed for the consistency of pancake batter.
  • Pour the batter onto a hot griddle greased with nonstick cooking spray. Flip the pancakes when the begin to bubble and are golden brown on both sides.
  • Serve warm topped with sliced bananas, yogurt, and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 242kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 317mg | Potassium: 491mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 5515IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 239mg | Iron: 2mg
Keyword : Sweet Potato Pancakes

www.superhealthykids.com

Tell us in the comments, what is your favorite way to eat sweet potatoes?

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.

Learn More about Natalie

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64 Comments

Hi, For the Yam Pancake recipe, is it really a yam you used or a sweet potato? I know that those 2 terms are usually used interchangeably but they are two very different vegetables and I wanted to make sure that I was using the right one.

Hi Zeena, I understand sweet potatoes to be the broad term with yams being a type of sweet potato. So for this recipe I’m referring to yams. Thanks!

I make some similar to these using puree pumpkin! Those look so yummy and perfect…you should see mine, all different shapes and sizes 🙂

My son is allergic to cow’s milk protein and also has a mild allergy to soy. Will rice milk be a good substitute for cow’s milk?

Thanks

You could definitely make the batter ahead of time, and then store it in the fridge. Give it a good mixing before you make the pancakes.

Hi Amy,

how dod you cook your yam?

Alos, you said: you used leftover yam from dinner (you can leave these in the flesh, and put them in the fridge. – but when you said you leave the yam in the flesh, what do you mean?

Thanks

Joy

Hi Joy- I mean the skin! I didn’t word that properly at all. I leave the potato in the skin, and scoop the flesh out the next day!

So how did you cook it? Did you boil it in the skin or did you roast it? i am about to make this recipe with some boiled leftover yam. not sure if this is right thing I am doing. thanks

Joy- I cooked it in the oven, like a baked potato. But you can really cook it any way you want. You just need that soft flesh to make the pancakes.

Okay, thanks. We used some cooked yams that were previously boiled. maybe I will try them roasted next time. maybe the variety of yam we used was not very special, but I added some fresh hot pepper, thyme and rosemary to try to spice things up a bit. perhaps we just have a taste for spicier foods, as most Caribbean people do.

And mine didn’t look like yours either!!! I noticed the last one to be done rose a bit better than the very first two.

Tried to make this morning and my batter was more like dough? Added more and more milk and nothing…. What did I do wrong?

I sure did! I added additional milk in increments to try and get a liquid consistency but ended up with fluff. Blended all ingredients and added to the dry. The only thing I can think of was I used coconut flour instead of whole wheat. Can’t imagine that would make a difference. I was totally bummed since I saved some sweet potato from my sweet potato tots to try this recipe for my little one. 🙁 oh well, thanks for the recipes!

Natasha, coconut flour could definitely be the difference. You cannot use whole wheat flour and coconut flour interchangeably. You would have to use much less coconut flour and possibly change up the other ingredients to get the right consistency! Maybe almond flour would work better? 🙂

Just made this for my LO as a BLW dinner, I made it with sweet potatoes (cooked, next time I will bake so the vitamins won’t escape with the water) and this is just soooo delicious! At first I was skeptical if it will be sweet enough, but we didn’t even need any powdered sugar when they were done! With bananas and lemon curd for us adults these pancakes were heaven! Thanks for the recipe 🙂

We’ve made these twice now, with special-edition pumpin spice almond milk and a flax egg. I, too, like the batter runny so added lots of additional unsweeted almond milk at the end. Each time, no matter how thin we made them, the inside was rather doughy. We found that letting them cool, than popping them back on the griddle for a few minutes, helped to make them more like regular pancakes. Mmmm – for someone new to vegan/oil-free eating, this was a keeper, with tweaks.

Made these last night and they are delicious!! I love that there is no added sugar. I know somebody who makes west potato pancakes (diferente recipe) and freezes left overs after the first day, and then throws them in the toaster for the rest of the week. I’ll be trying that because I made a double batch!
Great recipe over all!

Hi Hamidah,
Considering the baby is under 12 months, you may want to check with your pediatrician. If there is an egg allergy in your family, it may be of concern. We do not have an egg allergy, but I still opted to omit eggs from my kids diet until after the age of one. If indeed you choose this option, you may use an egg substitute. Mix 1 tablespoon of flax meal with 3 tablespoons of water and allow to sit for 5 minutes. This will work for 1 whole egg replacement.

4 stars
Super yummy but a bit thick. Also sweet potato quantity needs to be in grams as the sizes vary hugely!

3 stars
Granted, I made these with my go-to gf flour pancake mix, but they were overly moist and gummy. Flavor was ok.

5 stars
Thank you so much for this recipe!! My 11-month old loves them. Quick & easy to whip up, and it’ll be nice to have them on-hand for busy mornings.

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4 stars
I loved the idea of these but, they cooked very mushy for me. I tried one, adjusted and they still did. Not sure what I could do differently. More flour?

1 star
This pancakes just never cook inside! They take forever and still they come out gooey in the inside. Waste of time!

Mine were gooey on the inside, I ended up sitting them on the pan for a very long time on a low heat, it took forever.

5 stars
Great way to use up leftover sweet potato mash. I halve the recipe and add in a dash of maple syrup. It turns out great every time! My toddler will eat 2 straight away and I put a couple in the fridge for the next day and a few more in the freezer for later in the week.

I have tried this recipe! It’s really delicious and yummy. I love pancakes to have for morning breakfast on every weekend.

However, I use Sweet Potato Pancake Mix sometimes to save time.

I loved the idea of these but, they cooked very mushy for me. I tried one, adjusted and they still did. Not sure what I could do differently. More flour?

We’re sorry to hear that! I would start by adding 2 tablespoons of flour, then add more if necessary until you get a good consistency. You can also cooking them on medium-low heat to ensure they cook through before getting too brown.