Easy Healthy Apple & Oat Pancakes {Sugar Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free}
We love these delicious apple & oat pancakes which are really easy to make and healthy too. Because they’re so quick and simple, we whip them up for breakfast a few times a week and the kids love them. Oats release their energy slowly so they’re always good in the mornings - especially with some fresh fruit.
The idea for these apple & oat pancakes originally came from A Pinch of Nom (it’s a great cookbook - I highly recommend) but the recipe sort of evolved into this when I lost the book and made them from memory. The recipe also works well with grated pears, as long as they’re firm and not squishy. I don’t think they need any extra sugar, but you could drizzle some honey over to serve if you like.
A good tip is to blitz up an entire bag of oats in a food processor (in batches, depending on the size of your machine) and put the blitzed oats back in the bag (or another container) so they’re ready to use straight away in the mornings. If you don’t have scales to hand, 40g of blitzed oats is around 1/3 of a cup (40g of rolled oats is around 3/8 of a cup).
Easy Healthy Apple & Oat Pancakes {Sugar Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free}
Serves: 1 adult or 2 kids (easily scaled up)
Hands on time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
1 dessert apple e.g. gala, washed
40g rolled oats, blitzed in a food processor (see notes if you don’t have scales)
1 medium egg, lightly whisked
2-3 tbsp milk (or dairy free equivalent)
Pinch of cinnamon (to taste)
A little oil, cooking spray or butter for frying
Fresh fruit & Greek yoghurt to serve (optional)
METHOD:
Coarsely grate the apple into a large bowl leaving the skin on. Add the oats, egg, 2 tbsp of milk and cinnamon to taste. Mix with a fork until well combined. If the mixture seems a little thick, add another tbsp of milk.
Leave the mixture to stand for 5 minutes to thicken. Mix again and if it seems too thick add a little more milk. It should fall off a spoon without being too runny.
Heat a little oil, cooking spray or butter in a large non-stick frying pan over a low to medium heat. Drop heaped tablespoons of the mixture into the pan and spread them a little to make round pancakes around 10cm in diameter. I usually have two frying pans on the go at the same time to speed things up.
Cook the pancakes on one side until the top of the batter looks ‘set’ or dry before flipping them over and cooking the other side. The pancakes should be a light golden colour and cooked through. You might need to experiment a bit with the heat to get it right, but I usually go low and slow (3 or 4 on my induction hob).
Serve immediately with some fruit and yoghurt if you like, or just on their own. Personally I think they’re sweet enough, but you could drizzle some honey over them.
