Overnight Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancakes
These healthy overnight oatmeal cinnamon pancakes make for a quick and fuss-free morning thanks to night-before prep. They are also hearty and delicious!
I bet you didn’t know you’d be getting a world famous recipe by visiting here today.
Yep. It’s true. All because I love you.
Ok, and also because I have a really awesome sister who has perfected this pancake recipe and is famous in all corners of the world (ahem, Wyoming) for it and I’m pretty sure she has people lined up outside her door in the mornings waiting for these hotcakes to flip off the griddle.
So maybe it’s only her three boys, but still. Lines are lines.
Not only that, she actually won a recipe contest for these babies, too! Convinced you need to make them?
Well, if not, let me just further sweeten the deal by telling you that these pancakes have stolen the pancake show in our house over the last few weeks (after I gave my sister a stern lecture about waiting years to share the recipe with me – canyouevenbelieveit!) which is saying a lot since this oatmeal pancake mix and these blender whole wheat pancakes are extreme staples in our breakfast rotation.
The beauty of this recipe – and it’s going to save my bacon on hectic, get-your-cute-little-behind-out-the-door-to-school mornings – is that the batter is mixed up the night before.
It needs the essential overnight rest to thicken up and create the hearty, tender pancakes. But it also makes the next morning absolutely quick and fuss-free.
Preheat your griddle, slap some pancake batter on there (all the while congratulating yourself for even making pancakes in the first place) and cook them up to golden deliciousness.
These pancakes are a game-changer. We can’t get enough!
And as you can see, most normal people pour a touch of syrup on their pancakes and call it good, but when I really want to woo my kids, we go straight for the nutella.
Haven’t you seen the advertisements of the perfectly put together mom slathering her kids’ breakfast toast in nutella for a healthy breakfast regimen? Dude, I’m buying it big time.
Except for the put together part. You don’t want to see me in the early morning hours. Triple threat scary.
However you choose to serve these healthy, tasty pancakes they’ll be wonderful. Promise!
One Year Ago: Homemade Chocolate Syrup for Chocolate Milk
Two Years Ago: Grilled Rosemary Buttermilk Chicken
Three Years Ago: BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches {Slow Cooker}
Overnight Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups (200 g) quick oatmeal
- ¾ cup (107 g) whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup (85 g) honey
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ½ cups buttermilk (see note)
Instructions
- Prepare the batter the night before you want to make these! In a large bowl mix the oatmeal, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the honey, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk and mix until the batter is well-combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or mix it in a container with a lid) and refrigerate overnight.
- The next morning give the batter a good, quick stir to combine. It should be fairly thick.
- Heat an electric griddle or skillet on the stovetop over medium-low to medium heat. These pancakes need to cook for longer than traditional pancakes so you don't want the pan so hot they burn.
- If needed, spray the griddle or skillet with cooking spray. Drop 1/4 cup rounds of batter into the preheated griddle or skillet. Let them cook for 2-3 minutes until the edges are very set and bubbles are popping on the surface (again, make sure your griddle isn't too hot or the bottoms will burn for this length of time). Quickly slide a flat spatula underneath and flip the pancakes making sure they are set before flipping. Cook for another minute or so until they are cooked through. Serve warm with desired pancake toppings (or nutella, in our case)!
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from my awesome sister, Em
I am making these right now for breakfast! They are delicious! I only had old fashioned oats, so I gave them a quick spin in the blender last night. I added more cinnamon and vanilla because we love those favors, but other than that I followed the recipe exactly. They are fluffy and soft and wonderfully delicious. 🙂
I am so making these. You sold me.
I think with any homemade pancakes the consistency can vary each time you make the recipe. I’m always having to adjust with a little more/less milk. Maybe it’s because I measure my flour instead of weighing it?
Anyway, I’m excited to try this recipe. Any breakfast that can be mostly made the night before gets an extra star in my book. Thanks for the post!
Made these and they aren’t your typical pancake. Mine were thick blobs that took a long time to cook, I tried spreading them out with a spoon as they cooked because they were kind of like cookies on the pan. In the end the middle was uncooked. We still ate them and the flavor was great but if we attempt it again I would add the less flour and maybe more milk at the end. Just a heads up.
Like Pamela above, I made the recipe without flour :(. They took forever to cook and pretty much fell apart when I flipped them, but they actually tasted really good (although they looked like scrambled pancakes). I didn’t think I’d make again as it took 45 min to fry these guys and they fell apart, but maybe with flour it’ll go quicker & they’ll stick together.
I’m so sorry, Jolene! Hopefully if you try them again with flour, you’ll enjoy them much more.
i pretty much can’t think of a better topping for these nifty pancakes than nutella. how perfect!
Does it have to be whole wheat flour or can I use the all-purpose flour? We rarely have whole wheat, and sometimes make food for someone with celiac.
Stacie – I’ve only ever used whole wheat flour but I’m sure you could sub in all-purpose (although I’m pretty sure people with Celiac’s can’t have all-purpose flour, either).
Made these this morning and they were great. I did notice there was no oil in the recipe so getting them off the grill was a bit tricky…and I have a relatively new grill so don’t want to spray Pam or the like on it quite yet. Have you tried adding oil??
Hi Jodi – kind of like the salt, I think adding a bit of oil may be helpful if your griddle is a bit “sticky” – don’t blame you for not wanting to spray it with cooking spray. I have use an electric skillet that I swear, nothing sticks too, so I haven’t had to add oil but 1-2 tablespoons of oil in the batch should do the trick.
Aha! I used the milk with vinegar in it since I didn’t have any buttermilk on hand, prob better with just normal buttermilk… Thanks again for all your great recipes! we actually just had your ground beef (turkey) stroganoff for lunch and it was a definite hit !! (:
Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes!!! I’m wondering how long the batter lasts in the fridge? If we didn’t eat them all in one morning could I save them for the next couple…I also live in Minnesota and am so excited for the state fair!! Are you going? I’m sure you’d make wonderful adaptations of the amazing food there:)
Hi Jane – I’ve only ever used the batter the next morning so you’ll have to experiment a bit but I’m sure it would be fine (with some good stirring and maybe thinning a bit with some extra milk) for 1-2 extra days.
P.S. – Jane – I don’t think we’ll make it to the State fair this year (we are remodeling and moving!) but I hope to get there next year! I have a soft spot in my heart for fair food (long story I’ll have to share sometime). 🙂
We are definitely going to have to try these. You have already made me a rock-star Mom in the kitchen with your Oatmeal Pancake mix that my whole family LOVES!!! So if you say these are even better….well, I believe you!!!! Thanks!
I’m a sucker for any pancake with buttermilk in it! Excited to try these!
I usually love your recipes, but this one was a flop for us. When I stirred the batter in the morning, it wasn’t just thick it was pretty much solid. I followed the recipe exactly, and they just didn’t turn out well. They were a weird texture and even on medium low they took so long to cook that they burned. They are much to fussy for a pancake. Yes you mix the up overnight but I cooked for 45 minutes this morning and just gave up. One child ate them but the others opted for regular oatmeal. I’m thinking I should have tossed the whole thing in a pan and baked it. I think it wold have made good baked oatmeal.
Is there no salt in the recipe? I just made them and they taste quite bland, which I know is unusual for any recipe on your blog … Because your stuff is always awesome !! And you have mace our dinner table a much haopier place (;
Maybe I just missed something … Not sure
Hi Krissy – there’s no salt called for in the recipe (the buttermilk has a salty taste and there’s a lot of it) but you could definitely add a pinch or so if the pancakes taste bland to you.
Kim – sorry you didn’t love these. Thanks to all the oats, the texture is a bit different than a traditional all-flour pancake. Also, my sister only adds 1/2 cup flour but I find that makes the batter a bit too runny for us so I upped it to 3/4 cup. If your batter is overly thick, you could thin it a bit with some additional milk.
Ah, no worries! Once they cooled down, they really weren’t so bad. My kids ate them all, so I imagine the REAL version will be delicious 🙂 Everything else I’ve made from your site has been a winner (the lime coconut chicken w/coconut rice = one of our favorite dinners ever!), so I know these will be, too!
“Ack” is right – I had the page open and didn’t refresh it before making the pancakes, so I made the recipe as it WAS written – WITHOUT the flour. So, breakfast today are burnt-on-the-outside, mushy-oatmeal-inside pancakes. Not good. I have hope that the ones with flour are good though, so I will try the recipe again … some day …
Pamela – I am so sorry! That is so frustrating and is completely my fault for leaving out the flour amount. I hope you are willing to give these another try…again, so sorry!
So I’m Melanie and I have a sister named Em (Emily), and am having my 5th baby this week (hopefully! Due Sat). We even kinda look alike, you and me. I think we’re kindred spirits 🙂 Can’t wait to give these a whirl!
Just made these up to be ready in the morning…can’t wait and i had exactly 3/4 c. of WW (from soft white) flour left. Perfect! This will be the second recipe from you this week..the other was the Asain shrimp noodle dish. That too was a hit. Thanks for all you do…it makes a difference!
Someone else already asked this, but if you don’t use all the batter at once, do you think the unused portion would be alright to refrigerate for another day? Thanks! We love cinnamon,a nod we LOVE pancakes! 🙂
Tracey (and others) – yes, I think you could refrigerate another night. You might need to add a bit of milk/buttermilk if it’s overly thick that second morning – even though I haven’t tried it, I can’t see why it wouldn’t be just as good the 2nd morning if you adjust the consistency.
Oh, now these I need! They look so light and fluffy – What a great recipe.
Can the unused batter be refrigerated again, and used the next morning?
These look amazing, Mel! We had the best oatmeal pancakes while on vacation at the fishing lodge in Montana. I’m hoping the chef will share them with me, but in the meantime I can’t wait to try this recipe. I love that you have to make them the night before! I am all about making recipes ahead whenever possible. Thank your sister for Em for sharing her famous recipe!
Is 6 hours enough time? I want to make these for dinner tonight!
Hey Cathy – I don’t think 6 hours is enough time, unfortunately – the oats really need probably 10-12 hours to really soak up the liquid.
Ok I feel dumb asking… but do you actually make oatmeal then? And put it in there? Not just use quick oats… otherwise it would say quick oats?
It means quick oats. Sorry for the confusion.
Yum…love the idea of oatmeal but I’m not a Nutella fan (I know…something must be wrong with me huh?).
I am however a huge Biscoff fan…I can absolutely see these topped with some of my favorite spread. An OMG moment for sure!
Hey Mel, these look awesome! I’m kinda thinking they’d be tasty with raisins… What do you think would happen if I added them to the batter the night before? Would they ruin the consistency of the batter?
Vicky – if you add raisins, I’d just toss them in the morning of when you give it a quick stir.
Mel…these look wonderful! Can’t wait to try them! Thanks to you and Sista Em!
Boy, Girl and Baby are coming home this weekend…time for a new breakfast treat!
My husband teaches early morning seminary in our basement, and always makes breakfast for the kids on Fridays. Seminary just started this week, so I am checking out good (and fast) breakfast options for him. This will be perfect! I am sure the seminary kids(and my own 4 kiddos) will love them this Friday! Thanks Mel!
Mel! I can’t tell you how excited I am about these! I have 4 month old twins, (aka sleep deprived mama) and school just started. I need a quick, healthy breakfast for the school kids…and one that I don’t have to get up early to make! We are having these tomorrow! Oh, and this post made me laugh. You are hilarious! Thanks for so many wonderful recipes!
I love anything you can prepare in advance, these sound great, will definitely try them, have pinned!
Interesting, no flour? I’ll surely have to give these a try! Thanks!
I have a recipe that is similar and every single time I eat these its like I’m eating a warm oatmeal cookie right out of the oven. I can’t wait to try your world famous recipe though. Love you and Love your site!!!
Well, I’m very sad to say my waffle iron died just recently, and already we’re not too jazzed about the frozen kind I’ve been buying… But I can’t wait to give these a try. They COULD be a new Saturday morning staple!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Sign me up! There is always a canister of Saco dry buttermilk powder in my fridge. It’s so handy–can’t live without it. You just add it when the rest of the dry ingredients are called for and then add the water required to reconstitute it when the liquid buttermilk is called for. Easy peasy.
There are not enough words in the dictionary to explain how much I love this!
Mel I buy a buttermilk powder at a local bulk food store. If you mix it with a bit of warm water first it dissolves better then top it up with cool. It keeps forever and is always available in the cupboard.
I love your site and we have made many, many recipes from it. Thankyou
You had me at World Famous (and Nutella).
These sound scrumptious! Will make tonight for tomorrow’s breakfast.
Michelle – aack! YES! There is flour and I left it out of the recipe (so glad you left your comment so I realized my error)! There is 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour. I fixed the recipe!
This recipe is almost the same as one given to me by a good friend. It makes mornings much easier and they are delicious.
These look awesome! Going to whip up a batch tonight for the morning! Thanks for sharing!
Have you tried this with regular rolled oats? We don’t usually buy the quick oats.
These look fantastic! Could I substitute old fashioned oats for the quick oatmeal? Thank you.
Jocelyn and tk – rolled or old-fashioned oats won’t absorb as much liquid leaving the batter much runnier (the pancakes won’t cook up well) so if you only have old-fashioned oats, I’d grind them a bit in a blender or food processor. Not much! Just enough to give texture like quick oats. You’ll have to experiment a bit as I always use quick oats in this recipe.
I’m kind of loving these over night pancake and waffles recipes. It just makes life so much easier in the morning.
Just in time for back-to-school rush-rush mornings! Love the overnight factor. Thanks!!!
Be still my heart! Pancakes with Nutella. Nutella and I are getting a little too friendly lately. I don’t need anything new to put Nutella on but they sure look good. 🙂
YUMMY! Oh, and it’s the 3 year anniversary of your pulled pork recipe :)! Celebrate!
The word overnight when talking about breakfast starches is almost magical…
Can I grind up the quick oats?
^That looks wonderful, thanks for sharing!
These look delicious.