Apple Oatmeal Pancakes

These Apple Oatmeal Pancakes are such a delicious treat. They are fluffy, sweet, filled with fresh apples, and beautiful seasonal flavors. Also, they are wholesome, made with simple ingredients, without refined sugar. Perfect tasty, healthy, and filling breakfast you need in the morning.

Jump to:

• Why should you try them?
• Ingredients used
• How to make Apple Oatmeal Pancakes
• Tips for serving
• Tips for storing
• Substitutions
• Recipe tips
• Recipe
• More recipes to try

It's apple season and my fridge is, naturally, full of apples. Every day I'm finding new ways to include them in my meals. Warm Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal is one of my favorite breakfast options. But these Apple Oatmeal Pancakes quickly became my newest obsession.

They are sweet, thick and fluffy, and beautifully flavored, loaded with chunks of fresh apples. So tasty. Served with a cup of Matcha Latte in the morning, they make a perfect start of the day.

Why should you try them?

• These apple pancakes are dense but fluffy, beautifuly flavored. SO delicious!
• They are packed with hearty OATS and fibers, good for digestion and immunity, and proteins.
• They are quite filling and nutritious. Perfect quick and healthy breakfast, brunch, kids school snack or afternoon dessert.
• They are made with a just a few simple ingredients, without refined sugar. Tasty and satisfying, 100% guilt-free! 
• They are filled with diced fresh apple and seasonal spices.
• These homemade oatmeal pancakes are easy to make in just 15 minutes!

Ingredients used

This apple oatmeal pancake recipe is very simple. You will need only a few simple pantry ingredients:

• Oats. Hearty, healthy, and filling, oats are stapled food in my pantry. I love using them as a substitute for regular flour. They are an excellent source of fiber, especially beta-glucan, a type of soluble fiber that keeps our hearts healthy. They also support healthy digestion and strong immunity. I used rolled oats here, but you can use quick oats if you like.
• Milk. I used oat milk, but you can use whatever milk you prefer or have. Note that coconut milk won't work well here.
• Ceylon cinnamon. Also known as “true” cinnamon. Cinnamon is packed with powerful antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory properties. (5, 6) Cinnamon gave these apple pancakes a truly wonderful flavor. 
• Sweet apple. Apple is the real star in these pancakes. Fresh, sweet, and loaded with nutrients, apples are now in season and just beautiful. I used crunchy and super sweet Fuji apple.
• Sweetener. I used pure maple syrup, but you can easily use honey here if you like. Sirup gave subtle sweetness yet didn't overload the pancakes with many sugary calories. Date syrup or molasses are a great option too.
• Hemp seeds. They are an excellent source of healthy Omega-3s, but also a great source of proteins. Great addition to pancakes.

Other pantry ingredients you’ll need:

• Egg - I used free-range, pasture-raised.
• Ground nutmeg.  
• Baking powder.
• Pinch of salt.
• Extra virgin coconut oil/coconut oil cooking spray - for greasing the pancake pan.
• For topping: dried cranberries and chopped walnuts. 

How to make Apple Oatmeal Pancakes

Apple Oatmeal Pancakes are truly easy to make. It will take you about 15 minutes - from start to finish and you need only basic equipment.

Equipment used

• Measuring cups.
• High speed blender. 
• Pancake pan - or any pan with non-stick surface.
• Flexible silicone spatula - for flipping the pancakes. 

Step by step instructions

• Start with preparing and measuring all the ingredients. I like to use measuring cups.
• Wash and dice the apple. You don't need to peel it.
• Take the blender and add all ingredients except diced apple and hemp seeds. Note: add wet ingredients first for easier blending.
• Mix everything at high speed until you get a smooth texture.
• This is a good time to taste the pancake batter and add additional sweetener if you think the mixture is not sweet enough.
• Mix in hemp seeds using the spatula or spoon.
• Let the batter rest for few minutes. Oats will soak some of the moisture, and pancake batter will thicken.
• In the meantime, heat the pancake pan over medium heat and coat with coconut oil cooking spray or coconut oil using the brush. 
• For each pancake, drop ¼ cup of batter into the pan.
• Top the pancake with diced apple. Push the apple chunks into the batter.
• Cook for 1-2 minutes until pancake is lightly browned. 
• Flip the pancake carefully with a flexible silicone spatula and cook for another minute. Transfer to a plate. 
• Make sure to coat the pan before every pancake or batch of pancakes to prevent sticking.
• Repeat the process with the remaining pancake batter.
• Add toppings and serve.

Tips for serving

• Top apple oatmeal pancakes with fresh fruits: banana slices, diced apples, diced pears, or any stone fruit.
• Drizzle them with maple syrup or honey.
• Sprinkle them with chopped nuts: walnuts, pecans, peanuts, and dried fruits: cranberries, raising, sultanas, goj berries, apricots, chopped dates.
• You can be creative and choose any other toppings you like.

Tips for storing

• Keep oatmeal pancakes in a air-tight food container refrigerated. They will last up to 4 days.
• To freeze pancakes: Take the pancakes and place each pancake individually in wax paper bag or stack between wax paper. Store wrapped pancakes in a large freezer zip-lock bag. Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw on room temperature.
• Pancakes can be warmed in the microwave. Don't overheat them.

Substitutions

• You can use roled oats or quick oats here.
• You can swap oat milk for almond milk, ceshew milk or organic soy milk. Cow’s milk works fine here too. Coconut milk won’t work well here. 
• You can substitute maple syrup and use honey. Date syrup or molasses are a great option too. Note that using date syrup or molasses will turn pancakes dark in color. 
• You can substitute coconut oil with avocado oil.
• You can substitute hemp seeds with ground flax seeds or chia seeds.
• Omit nutmeg if you find it to aromatic.
• Instead of cinnamon and nutmeg, you can use a pumpkin pie spice mix.
• Make it vegan: Swap egg with flax or chia egg. Use non-dairy milk.
• Make it gluten-free: Use certified gluten-free oats.

Recipe tips

• When adding ingredients to a blender, always add the liquids first. Doing this will help your blender run easily and this will prevent making lumps.
• Use a high-power blender to ensure everything blends well and batter is smooth. 
• Make sure you let the batter rest for few minutes. Oats will soak some of the moisture, and pancake batter will thicken. This is very important because you don't want runny pancake batter.
• If you let the batter sit overnight, it will become super dense so you may need to add a bit more liquid.
• Always taste the butter. If you feel that pancakes are not sweet enough for your taste, add more sweetener.
• Additional sweetener recommendation:
  • I recommend using honey or maple syrup. Make sure you use honey in runny form, not raw.
  • Date syrup or molasses are great options too. Note, they might change pancake color to more dark.
  • Stevia, or any low-carb sweetener.
  • Adding sweetener is totally based on your preference.
• Make sure to use organic virgin coconut oil rather than refined versions.

• What kind of apples are the best? I like to use sweet apples, like Gala or Fuji but you can use sour apples too, like Granny Smith. In that case you may need to add more sweetener. 
• If you like more freshness inside pancakes then use crunchy apples. They will cook slower and remain firm while cooking. Soft apples will cook faster and become mushy inside the pancakes. 
• You can use chopped apples or grated apples, depending on preferences. Chopped apples will give lovely freshness inside the pancakes, while grated will provide more moisture and you may need to cook pancakes longer.  

These apple pancakes are the perfect Fall treat. Plus, they are so incredibly healthy, altho they look pretty indulging. Do yourself a favor and make these pancakes RIGHT NOW. Enjoy!

Recipe

This post is originally published in October 2020. It's updated with more details and information and republished in September 2021. The recipe stayed the same.

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