You should be very, very glad I can’t jump out of the computer screen and convince you how phenomenal this recipe is, thereby giving you no good reason not to make it. Yes, these are exceptional pancakes (hands down, my favorite pancake recipe), but the best thing about this recipe is that the dry mix makes a lot and takes minutes to throw together. It stores indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer and these healthy pancakes are beyond simple to whip up on a busy morning before school, work…or just because you want pancakes.
I don’t know about you but my mornings are crazy. Crazy, crazy, crazy. Waking kids up, feeding a baby, helping children off to school, making up lunchboxes, on and on. I don’t have time to put together a full homemade pancake breakfast from scratch. But I like knowing my kids are getting a good, healthy breakfast in their tummies before their long day starts.
With this mix, which I’ve been making for what seems like forever, I pour a cup of mix into a bowl, followed by a cup of buttermilk, then an egg. Whisk it together and within five minutes my kids have hot pancakes to eat. And I feel like mother of the year. Which trust me, doesn’t last for long.
The texture of these pancakes is fantastic – I love the chewy oats and whole wheat flour (can we get a big hooray for fiber here??). I hope this mix does as much for you as it does for me and my family. We eat it at least two or three mornings a week and love it every time.
Note (added 3/2011): I’ve updated this recipe several times to reflect that I generally use 100% whole wheat flour (five cups total, instead of using 2 cups of all-purpose flour). I prefer white wheat flour, although red wheat could be used and will lend an even heartier taste to the mix. Also, I made it the other day and before I added the oats to the mix, I threw them in my blender (yep, blender) and pulverized them to a powder. We loved the result! Loved it. Although the texture with the unblended oats is fantastic in it’s own right, blending the oats lends a smooth texture to the mix and finished pancakes. I’ll be doing it that way from now on!
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups rolled (quick) oats
- 3 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
Directions
- Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixer with a paddle (or by hand). If desired, grind the oats in a blender or food processor before adding to the other dry ingredients for a smoother mix. With mixer on slow speed (or gently by hand), drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it stays together, it is just right. If it is still crumbly, add another tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct (I’ve never had to add additional oil). Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.
- To make the pancakes: whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1/2 to 1 cup buttermilk* (depending on how thick you want your batter), and 1 egg. The mixture may seem thin at first but the oats will soak up the milk as it stands while the griddle preheats. Heat a griddle and drop the batter onto it. When the edges look dry and bubbles come to the surface and don’t break, turn the pancake over to finish cooking on the second side. As a sidenote, buttermilk can be frozen indefinitely for future batches of pancakes, so it’s worth keeping it around!
Notes
Many people have commented that they have subbed plain yogurt or a mixture of lemon juice/milk for the buttermilk. Read through the comments to get the specifics - I always keep buttermilk on hand so I haven't made those substitutions myself.
Recipe Source: Adapted from King Arthur Flour The Baker’s Companion
I love the pancakes, however, I made a mistake and added 5 cups of flour, so I had to double everything else. I’ll have enough to give the neighbors for Christmas like someone else suggested it, But—I ran out of baking soda so I used some out of the fridge. Would that cause the batter to be very thin? What can I do to thicken it up? They taste ok , but they are so thin when cooked. Please advise me asap.
Irene – I’m not sure if the baking soda issue would cause them to be overly thin. Another commenter mentioned that she adds 1 1/2 cups mix to 1 cup buttermilk and 1 egg and it provides a thicker consistency. My batter is thin when I first mix it together but after sitting for 5-10 minutes, it thickens up nicely, so you may try letting it sit for a bit.
I hope that helps!
My dad is a total pancake snob! He’s been making them for years, perfecting his recipe, and many family and friends consider his pancakes to be the very best. He is visiting this weekend and I made these pancakes for him. He loved them!!! He was surprised that this hearty pancake could have such a tender texture. He’s planning on adding these to his repertoire. Also, our family is now eating them a couple times a week. So easy and so yummy! Thanks Melanie!
Thanks, Katie – that is high praise since your dad sounds like he knows his pancakes!
What a tasty recipe! We made the mix and put it in jars for neighbor gifts this year. Thanks!!!
Great idea, Samantha! I think I’m going to do the same thing for my neighbors this year.
Hi Mel,
) considering the oats and whole wheat flour in it. Thank you so much for such a delicious and healthy recipe–am never gonna make pancakes any other way!
I have visited your site many times inthe last year or so and LOVE ur recipes–the ones I have tried out have always turned out well and remain a favourite. Just tried these pancakes –they were out of this world!! So delicious that I ate them straight off the pan, without any add- ons! I call them my guilt-free pancakes
P.s: the revamped logo on the site looks great –suits ur personality!
Sigi – thank you! What a nice comment and I’m thrilled you liked these pancakes.
Have the quick oats sitting on my counter…they were only a dollar, waiting patiently for the whole wheat flour to arrive. Oh, and to my shopping list I have added syrup. (Got any low-sugar recipes?)
Jessica – I’m on the search for a great syrup recipe but until then, I stick with the pure maple from Sam’s.
Can you sub in applesauce or something else for the oil? A cup seems like more than I want to commit to the project…and my hind parts.
Hey Dana – I know, the 1 cup of oil seems like a lot, but it makes a ton of pancakes…probably 40-50 pancakes with that 1 cup of oil. So all in all, it isn’t a lot of oil. Having said that, I guess you could try mixing up the dry ingredients without the oil and when you measure out the 1 cup of dry mix, 1 cup of buttermilk and 1 egg, you could try adding 1 tablespoon of oil with 1/4 cup applesauce. You might have to play around with that…but it might work!
I couldn’t wait for the weekend and made these last night for dinner. They were a hit. Ben said “are these from Melanie?”
Apparently, all things good or healthy are now credited to you! 
Mel, I totally LOVE you for these pancakes!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have a VERY picky almost 3 year old!!!! oh my goodness he ate THREE pancakes!!! I wrote it in his journal!!!
Everybody should try these!!
Thank you! Thank you!
Just curious if you or anyone you know have ever tried subbing coconut oil in place of vegetable oil? I read through the comments and didn’t see anyone mention it, but thought I’d ask!
Made these this morning using the powder buttermilk mix instead of the real stuff. Now that I know it freezes well I’ll be more likely to buy some next time I need it for a recipe, but I was wondering if I could add the powdered stuff directly to the dry ingredient mix? Unless the oil would affect it. Anyway, I think I’ll try it next time and see how it turns out. There will be a next time too – my 3-year-old has eaten at least 8 of them for breakfast and snack today. I love that he’s getting so much good stuff in them!
Kim – yes, I’m very confident you can add the powdered buttermilk to the dry mix but you might have to play with amounts. Let me know if you try it!
[...] love using homemade mixes for my family instead of buying boxed mixes. It is so much healthier! Here is a recipe that I have been using for over a year…and my family simply loves it. And I love knowing that [...]
Mel–could I substitute canola oil for the vegetable oil? Also, I, like Katie, the commenter above, love pancakes/waffles with cottage cheese in them!
Kim – yes! I actually always use canola oil instead of vegetable oil and it works great!
[...] & fruit/yogurtPancakes or Waffles (we love this healthy homemade mix right now)Muffins & breakfast smoothiesBiscuits & poached eggsOmelets or eggs and [...]
Made these for dinner tonight and they were amazing! Loved that they were healthy without any added ingrediants (preservitives, dyes). They were moist and delicious and I’m not a pancake lover! So happy to have found this recipe. Family keeper for sure.
Hi,
I just stumbled upon your recipe! Looks yummy. Have you ever added applesauce for the 1 c of oil? Or gone half and half?
Hi Cathy – I’ve never subbed applesauce for the oil, mostly because I like to keep it on my pantry shelf instead of refrigerating and adding the applesauce would probably mean it needs to go in the refrigerator. Because this is a dry mix, I don’t know how the applesauce would incorporate with the dry ingredients – I’m afraid there might be some clumpiness issues. Let me know if you try it, though!
I have made this probably 2-3 times a week since the beginning of the year since I found this recipe. Love, love, love it! We too are a weekday pancake house and no more bisquick for us! I always double the recipe and one tip I have found is that the pancakes are actually much fluffier when I use 2 1/2 cups mix, a few tablespoons shy of 2 cups of buttermilk, and then two eggs. They are so amazing though! I will have to try your syrup recipe to go with them, although my husband and kids won’t use pure maple syrup, so I’m afraid of it all going to waste.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!!
[...] was a cheap purchase from Costco and very convenient to have on hand. Then one day, I came across this recipe on my favorite food blog, Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. I have made this probably 20 times and we [...]
Irene: I have found that I like the texture of pancakes better if I use 1 1/2 cups mix (or sometimes closer to 2 cups) to one cup buttermilk.
I just found these and have gone through a whole batch of mix. My girls enjoy them. I am not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, but I use the powdered buttermilk that you find in the baking isle and water…that way I never have to have fresh buttermilk on hand. It is great, easy, …and way cheaper. Just figured I would share. Thanks again for the great recipes.
BEST PANCAKE MIX EVER!!! Love love love it! It is a staple in my house now Mel. I took your advice and put the oatmeal through the food processor…delish!
Can I just say BEST PANCAKES EVER! My husband and I loved them. There so flavorful and healthy too. You can’t go wrong with these!
I have a recipe that is similar, and instead of adding the oil during the mixing process you add it when you go to actually make a batch of pancakes. I usually add about a TBL spoon of oil. That way your batch of pancake mix will last longer as well.
Excited to try this out with the oats in it!
Just had these for supper with some scrambled eggs. Yum! Love the flavor of the pancake. I used whole wheat flour like you suggested and I put the oats through the food processor. Really good… will make again for sure!
I have made two whole batches of these in the last month. The pancakes are WONDERFUL – best ever. My family loves them, they are filling and healthy and delicious. There is no going back. I tried regular pancakes after having these and was disgusted! Thanks for such a great recipe.
[...] And these are really delicious pancakes. [...]
We never have buttermilk in the house but often will add a tablespoon of white vinegar to one cup of milk instead. Will this work? Just want to have the chance to make this on the fly and not have to plan ahead for buttermilk or yogurt.
I love the idea of this mix with the whole wheat and oats. My kid would eat pancakes all day long if he could so a healthier version is alright with me.
Rebecca – I’m pretty sure some of the other commenters have indicated they have used a buttermilk substitution and it worked fine. Whenever I’ve used it, the pancake mix turns out a bit on the thin side so if you use the vinegar/milk substitution I’d probably use 1 1/2 cups of the mix for each cup of “buttermilk”. Hope that helps!
Hi. Our family enjoys these pancakes. I have another pancake mix that I have used powdered egg in… have you ever tried this recipe with powdered egg? The only thing that “scares” me is that it would come in contact with the oil and then sit in a can (but I keep it in the fridge so that should be aok.) Let me know what you think. Thanks!
Cindy – I’ve never tried this recipe with powdered eggs. Sorry! I think keeping it in the refrigerator would be important…let me know if you try it!
I made these this morning and the batter was really runny, almost like poring liquid on the griddle. I must have done something wrong, but am positive I followed all the directions. I used regular oats instead of quick oats–that must have been the problem?
Rachell – Did you blend up the oats before using them? If so, it should be a problem whether you used quick oats or regular rolled oats. If you read through the comments, several commenters have mentioned that they wanted the batter a bit thicker and so they use 1 1/2 cups of dry mix for every cup of buttermilk and one egg. I hope that helps a little!
I saw that someone had previously asked about making these into Pumpkin Pancakes – have you tried that yet? Just curious what adjustments may need to be made to the recipe add-ins prior to whipping up a batch to do that – I imagine some spices, but not sure how much pumpkin puree and what to reduce to account for the extra moisture. Any thoughts? We have a pumpkin theme at home for our pre-schooler this week and I’m hoping to add some Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes to the list. BTW, we love these pancakes!
Erik – I’ve made them into pumpkin pancakes once or twice. When I mix up a batch of the dry mix (with the buttermilk and egg) in the morning, I have mixed in 1/2 cup pumpkin puree for every cup of mix. Works great! Glad you love the pancakes and you win major father-of-the-year for carrying on the pumpkin theme to breakfast!
Yum, just had my first pancakes from the mix this morning. My daughter and I both loved them! Since coconut oil is getting so much press as being so healthy I decided to use that. It was more on the solid side (the way Crisco would be) so it took more blending than liquid veggie oil would but I just kept going with the mixer and it did blend in well. It does smell a bit of coconut but it doesn’t seem to affect the taste. Since some commenters had mentioned them being runny I added the buttermilk (I used the powdered blended with water) slowly and did find that I needed less than a full cup. My daughter ate them plain and I sprinkled pecans on while it was cooking. YUM! My only change for next time I make the mix is I think I’d put just a little less salt. Tomorrow I’m going to try blending in pumpkin! Thanks for this great recipe and to the commenters for the variation suggestions!
Hi i was wondering if when using just reglar flour if you would use 5 cups of regular flour?
Autumn – yes, it is 5 cups of flour total.
THANK YOU for sharing this recipe!! I made the mix on Monday, and we already had it on Monday & Tuesday. I made it exactly as written, and it comes out perfectly for me (not too runny at all). I then shared it on my blog, too.
One thing though- on your printable version, it still says that it makes 4-5 pancakes (which I see you’ve updated in your post to say 6-7).
I can’t wait to try these! They look great! Thanks for sharing!
I just tried them! They are fantastic! I even tried them with canned pumpkin added to them, along with 4 shakes of cinnamon, 2 shakes of nutmeg and 2 pinches of ginger. YUM!
THESE ARE AWESOME! It’s nice to find a recipe that’s both healthy and delicious. So many of the healthier pancake versions I’ve tried up to this point were just yucky. These were so tasty and had great texture, which is one of my biggest complaints with other recipes. I used regular oats (that’s all I had) and put them through the blender. I didn’t have any buttermilk or plain yogurt so used 1 TB of lemon juice and added enough milk to make 1 cup, let it sit for a few minutes and it worked like a charm. I did have to add an extra 1/2 cup of mix otherwise the batter was too runny. Maybe because of the regular oats or because of where I live (near the west coast). I am excited to try these again with real buttermilk and also the yogurt/milk mixture. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Melanie! I’m back because I wanted to say how much I love this recipe! I made a bunch and gave it to my sisters and my mom for Christmas. I really like using Greek yogurt and milk with the mix for some extra protein. Today…we added canned pumpkin and cinnamon and made the batter up in the waffle iron. It was AWESOME. I might have eaten breakfast twice. (I did haha) Take care–Merry Christmas!
This recipe has become a staple in our house. I’ve also passed it along to tons of people! We had a slew of new babies born recently and the pancake mix (packed in old spaghetti sauce or salsa jars with directions taped on the side) with some buttermilk was always a little extra I’d throw in when taking them dinner. Everyone has loved it!
we’ve made these several times now and LOVE them! I like them better than bisquick pancakes… these will be all we make from now on!! Thanks Mel!
So delicious Mel! I can’t believe I haven’t tried this earlier and made the switch from store brand to health-o-rama-most-delicious-pancake brand (aka this recipe). Anywho, I didn’t have buttermilk and wanted pancakes ASAP, so I just used my skim-milk and they turned out wonderful, but I’m waiting for the added buttermilk to knock my socks off. Nom nom nom, soooo good. Thank you!
I’ve been wanting to try this for a while. I whipped them up for “breakfast for dinner” and hit a snag when it came to the buttermilk. I made it with soured nonfat milk. They came out super thin so we rolled them up with applesauce. STILL DELICIOUS!!! And I still have plenty of mix to make them as intended in the near future. Thank you!
Hey Melanie, so if I use 5 cups total of the white whole wheat flour, that should work also?
Thanks!
Lorie – that’s what I do, works great! I’ve made this or 4 times now, we all love it. Just for fun the last time I made it I used 1 cup of spelt flour and that was great too.
Lorie – yes, I usually add all whole wheat flour (so 5 cups total whole wheat). It should work great!
I’m definitely going to try these… would plain Greek yogurt work for the buttermilk substitution?
Katie – I’ve never made that substitution but it should work out ok – I’ve read that you may need to thin out the yogurt a bit in order to get the right consistency. Reading through the comments above may help, too. If I remember right, a couple other commenters mentioned the Greek yogurt substitution.
These were really good. I’ve been trying to make pancakes from scratch for 10 years and just gave up because I couldn’t get them right. i gave up on pancakes at home altogether! I thought I’d try these since they were different, whole wheat flour, oatmeal… and they were REALLY GOOD. My boys loved them. Asked for seconds. And, it’s been 2 hours and I haven’t bonked yet. (problem with white flour pancakes) awesome! thank you!
Mel, It’s Pancake Day here in the UK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancake_day and we are making these with some fresh blueberries for dinner. They are so yummy and I feel good knowing my family is getting a little extra whole grain.
Oh, and we’ve made these with buttermilk and with the yogurt substitution but using natural raspberry yogurt and both ways they are scrumptious!
We eat pancakes frequently around here & we’re fans of the basic pancake. I was a little skeptical about changing things up on my crew (thought there might be a revolt), but since YOU used the words “phenomenal” & “exceptional” I had to step out on a limb w/ my peeps. Love. I was pretty sure I would like them, but we ALL LOVED them. We (especially me) ate more pancakes than usual!! We tried an apple-cinnamon syrup (corn syrup & sugar – shame!) that I grabbed at a local dairy farm this week & it was incredible w/ these!! I’ve fixed little containers of the mix to share w/ our parents & siblings – I’m sure it will be a hit so I’ll send them your way for the recipe! Yummy, yummy!!
We enjoy this recipe a lot, I was wondering how you could make it waffles? What alterations would you need to do? I have a homemade waffle recipe but your recipe is healthier and more filling. I think it would involve beating the egg white and adding some oil? My kids love waffles and I have frozen extra ones to have a quick breakfast for another day.Thanks Mel.
Julie – I made this once into waffles and it was a disaster because it stuck like crazy to my waffle iron. Usually waffle batter has more oil/fat than pancakes so my guess is you would want to mix in some extra oil or melted butter to the batter to help with the stickiness. If anyone else has tried it, chime in to let us know!
I’ve used the same exact batter in my waffle iron with no problem–I just use PAM and I haven’t had any issues with sticking. If you did whip a couple egg whites and fold them in, they would definitely be lighter but I don’t know that it’s necessary.
these-are-the-best-pancakes-ever. I have been a terrible pancake-maker for ever as I always make a combo of burt-and-raw and they never look very.. .. good. THESE are different! They look like a magazine picture and the kids devoured them! I also peeled, cored and sliced an apple to make apple ‘rings’, added some apple pie spice to the batter, dipped the apples into the mix and make ‘apple pie pancakes’ with a hidden ring ofwarm apple in each one- kids very thrilled! Love that this recipe makes extra mix to be kept in fridge for so easy pancakes any time- I now have my go-to pancake recipe for life! Love that it also has oats and WW flour! THANKS MEL!!
I have made enough “healthy” pancakes that I was pretty skeptical when mixing these up and cooking them. I was also a little afraid that my new cast iron skillet was too hot and they would be beautiful on the outside and raw on the inside. All my fears were for nothing, husband and I both really liked these and they turned out perfect. I used quick oats and didn’t grind them up. This resulted in more crunchy/chewiness, but we both liked it.
You are very popular at our house this last week or so! Recipe number 3 is another complete success! I made the oatmeal pancake mix last night and whipped up a batch for breakfast this morning. Score! All 3 kids LOVED it and my husband and I again devoured our crockpot oatmeal I cooked Sunday night. Oh, and the hubs also ate a few more mini bran muffins. We are loving those things every single day! Thank you again for wonderful, wholesome recipes I feel good feeding my family!
I finally made these pancakes today. LOVED THEM! My kids liked, them, but noticed they were a little different. I’m hoping they just get used to a new texture. I too feed my kids pancakes 4-5 times a week and I felt a lot better giving them these. Thanks for another fabulous recipe!
I made these and LOVED them! I’m wondering if yours turn out fairly flat or if I’m doing something wrong? Also, do you find that these take longer to cook than store bought pancakes?
Lyndsay – there is a comment thread through the comments on this recipe of several people who also had flat pancakes and so many commenters use 1 cup dry mix to 1/2 cup (or 3/4 cup) buttermilk instead of the full cup. The thicker the batter is the thicker the pancakes will be so you might want to play around with the batter mixture to see how you like it. I’ve never used storebought pancakes or the mixes so I’m not sure about cooking time but these pancakes seem to cook fairly quickly for me (I cook them at about 245 degrees on my flat griddle).
Thank you Mel. I’ll give that a try!
[...] the good stuff (you know, without the bad stuff) where I live. If you can’t, I’ve made this recipe several times before and we LOVE them too and it uses oil instead of shortening. I think it works [...]
If I want to do with for a waffle recipe do i use the same ingredients?
Emily – you’ll have to experiment and try it out for a waffle iron. I’ve done it once or twice and it’s worked out ok but I had to add a bit more oil to the batter otherwise it will stick to your waffle iron (waffle recipes usually use more oil/fat than pancake recipes). Read through the comments on this recipe if you have time because if I remember correctly, someone else commented they had tried it.
Can I still comment on these in 2012? I’ve made them for months now and love them! I usually add some fine milled flax seed and some protein powder as well. I think it may make the dry mix clump up a little more, but they cook up fine. Then I LOVE using the yogurt combination! What a great idea. With all the protein in Greek yogurt plus what I add in, I feel good that it’s even a breakfast with some protein! Um, and then I add chocolate chips.
But hey, I figure a few of those is probably better than loaded with syrup. And the kids can grab a cold leftover during the day for a good snack that they think is a treat because of the chocolate chips! Thanks so much!
Doesn’t grinding the oats make the “1 cup” amount different when mixing the pancakes? I use my hand grinder aka coffer grinder—it has never once seen a coffee bean, but is used to grind fresh cinnamon from sticks etc. . . Thanks for sharing.
Amy – I measure the 3 1/2 cups oats before grinding and have never measured them after grinding. So yes, the measurement may be different after grinding but if you start with 3 1/2 cups oats, it should work out just fine. I have made this recipe dozens and dozens of times grinding the oats after measuring and it works out perfectly. Hope that helps!
[...] and was on a route to raise my little ones on the same thing. That was until I came across this Oatmeal Pancake Mix recipe that my sister sent my way. My pancake experience will never be the [...]
So I found your blog a couple days ago and have been lurking here in the evenings, pouring over your recipes. They all look delicious, but this was the first one I tried. We all LOVED them at our house! I love your take on trying to be healthy in your cooking- it’s so nice finding blogs like yours where its not just good-tasting food, but good for you as well. Thanks for all the time and energy you spend on this endeavor, and congratulations on your new baby:) Hope all is well!
[...] time. (Are you proud mom?:) My mom always made homemade syrup when I was a kid. I want to try Oatmeal Pancakes in the blender next. (Thanks again [...]
so excited to try this recipe! do you think i could add in a dried egg product to the mix instead of at the final step? anything to save more time! (and use up my can of dried eggs
)
i’m going to try this with coconut milk tomorrow since my son has a dairy allergy. can’t wait!
Angie – did it work out when you tried it? Yes, I definitely think you could use dried egg powder – just look on your can to find the appropriate equivalents. I actually have a #10 can of egg powder in my storage room that I think I’ll use next time in this. Then when I run out of eggs we can still enjoy these in the mornings!
Oh my goodness! These are my go to pancakes now. I’m a terrible pancake snob and finding a recipe to trump the previous “overnight oatmeal pancakes” I have used for the past 3 years seemed very unlikely to ever happen, but I gave these a try because I loved the idea of having a bag of convenience in the fridge just waiting for some buttermilk and an egg
I am TOTALLY sold on these! One thing that we thought added even more flavor to them was soaking the dry mix with the buttermilk in my mixer bowl the night before and then adding the eggs in the morning and whirring it good with the mixer to incorporate the eggs well. This gave them a greater “tang”. Thanks for yet another FABULOUS recipe!
I forgot to ask you…have you ever used butter instead of oil?
Bridgett – no, I’ve never used butter. I always use canola oil.
These are SO delicious! I have been making them for a while now and always love them. I make them with regular rolled oats and they have the most delicious chewy texture. This morning my husband came in asking where I keep the recipe, since he wanted to make them for our family for breakfast. I got it out for him and told him I was out of oil but remembered that in many baked goods you can substitute applesauce for the oil, so we tried subbing applesauce for all the oil. After today, I won’t go back to the oil – these were moist and amazing and I was so pleased and glad we tried it! Not to mention the decrease in calories (and for me, weight watchers points!) with the substitution.
Thank you for yet another delicious staple recipe in my kitchen.
Mel,
We tried these and loved them. Question though: Has anyone ever tried these using only baking soda and not baking powder (like maybe just 2 tablespoons baking soda for the entire mix and no baking powder). It seems like it would work because the buttermilk really activates that soda. Any comments?
[...] These pancakes. They are amazing. I’ve made them several times in the last 2 months. I got the recipe from my sister in law and WOW, they really deliver. (And they make quite a bit, so you can store the mix in your fridge and feed your own brood an extra time or two while you’re at it) [...]
I just made these this morning. Wow! So light and fluffy, so soft and yummy, so easy, and so healthy!! Where have these pancakes been all my life! Thanks for the great recipe! It will be made multiple times a week from now on
I eat theses with fiber and protein mixed in…every day of my life! Thanks!
This recipe is so forgiving. I asked earlier about if you can just use baking soda and no powder. You can! Also I ran out of oats as I was making this, so I subbed in bran flakes. No problem! Thanks. My family gobbles this up. With yogurt and fruit on top it’s healthy and delicious.
You.are.a.genius. Please tell me you have more recipes like this?(the freezer-type) I love how I can just dig a cup out of the freezer on crazy-morning days. Ok, that’s pretty much every morning:) Thanks also for the tip that buttermilk can be frozen indefinitely! I love those kinda tips!!
I’m sure I’m not the first to say…This recipe is a lifesaver! I have been making it regularly for about the past year and a half for my three hungry boys (four including my husband!) I love that it is healthy, versatile and that I can always have it on hand. Even when I realize we are out of the mix, it doesn’t take long to whip up a batch. I grind the oats, and use all white whole wheat flour. We eat it two or three times a week, and it just never gets old. Been meaning to experiment with the suggested variations (throwing in banana, pumpkin, etc), but haven’t gotten around to it yet. Soon! Thanks again, Mel.
[...] I got a recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe and I halved it. But I still ended up with enough pancake mix for the entire Duggar clan. So [...]
I’ve been looking for a quick *healthy* homemade pancake recipe! I’ve been doing the wheat blender pancakes, but it’s not as quick (or quiet) as I’d like in the mornings. I should’ve known to come here!
You always come through!! Thanks for a great recipe! We had pancakes and waffles with it this morning. They were delicious!
So I just added another cup of mix and we were good. Just thought I’d mention that so you can maybe clarify for people… I’m thinking they did what I did. Anyhoo, thanks for all you do, you’re awesome and good luck with the move, new babe, and all you do!! 
I do have a question about the recipe. I saw a few comments about it being too runny. ( I only read a couple… way too many on this post to read through… but that tells me it’s a good recipe with sooo many comments!! ) I too had the same problem, only because I read the recipe: “To make the pancakes: whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup buttermilk (a combination of half plain yogurt and half milk will also work), and 1 egg. The mixture may seem thin at first but the oats will soak up the milk as it stands while the griddle preheats.” I read this to mean 1 cup milk AND 1 cup buttermilk; not OR buttermilk. I wondered how in the world 2 cups of milk would work with 1 cup dry mix… well obviously it doesn’t.
Hey Mel,
This recipe is amazing! I couldn’t find the following question in your comments section.
Is there any harm in using the ol’ white vinegar + milk substitute (1 Tbl. vinegar + 1 c. milk) for 1 c. buttermilk? Have you ever tried this substitute with the wonderful bran muffins you make as well?
Thanks!!
Haley, I always have buttermilk on hand so I haven’t tried that substituition but I know many have in both recipes with good results.
Mel, So we have a funny story about this mix. Yesterday, Jono got up with the kids and decided to make pancakes. I told them there was a mix in the fridge, this mix. He asked what he needed to add and I said 1 c. of buttermilk. I came downstairs and realized I had forgotten to tell him just 1 c. of mix. He was trying to blend the ENTIRE mix with 1 c. of buttermilk. He said that he thought it looked a little dry. So we have pancakes coming out our ears right now. Thank goodness they are SO yummy! I hope things are going well with your move.