Oatmeal Pancake Mix
This oatmeal pancake mix is amazing! The mix makes a lot, it stores well refrigerated, and the pancakes are beyond simple to whip up on a busy morning.
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, 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.
FAQs for Oatmeal Pancake Mix
Yes, after mixing up the batter in the morning, add a few tablespoons extra oil (waffles usually need a bit more of it) and then go ahead and use it.
Yes regular oats can definitely be used but you’ll either have quite a bit more texture to the pancakes, or you’ll want to grind the oats a bit finer before using.
Oatmeal Pancake Mix
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups (350 g) rolled, quick oats
- 3 cups (426 g) whole wheat flour
- 2 cups (284 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
Instructions
- 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 egg, and 1/2 to 1 cup buttermilk (depending on how thick you want your batter. Here is a guide for making your own buttermilk). 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
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: Adapted from King Arthur Flour The Baker’s Companion
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 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!!
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!
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.
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!
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!
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!
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!
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! 🙂
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!
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.
Hi Mel,
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 ;)) 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!
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.
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.
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!
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!
You’re right, these ARE exceptional! So tasty and healthy:) I’m also a big fan of cottage cheese pancakes and I think I’m going to add some next time around. YUM!!
Thanks, Katie! I’ve never had cottage cheese pancakes but it sounds interesting.
I normally make these using the yogurt/milk combination but since I had buttermilk nearing the expiration date I tried it with the buttermilk. I really like both methods. The buttermilk method gives the familiar pancake flavor we all know and love while the yogurt method tastes just as good but with more of a tang. Both methods result in a light pancake but I think the yogurt method may be slightly lighter.
I store this mix in 2c portions in my freezer and really enjoy the convenience it give me. Any leftover batter I have I prepare into “baby cakes” which are just tiny pancakes of roughly 2T of batter that I freeze for later. Whenever I need to I just pop a couple in the microwave. My toddler loves all the yummy toppings we’ve thought of for these. Other than the usual favorite of PB&J, we’ve also found that these pancakes make a great base for savory snacks like hummus and lightly seasoned avacado.
Amy – thanks for the detailed review (I always appreciate that about your comments!). Great idea to store the precise increments in the freezer and way to think outside the box on savory applications. Glad you like this recipe!
I love these pancakes! Somedays it is the only good thing my kids eat. Don’t judge me:) I love them with Kamut wheat!
Jennifer – no judging here, you know that. 🙂
These are super yummy! I made them using only whole wheat flour and even my super picky husband said they were good and this is a man who actually prefers Wonder bread (blech!) I’ve also served them to company who loved them just as much. When I prepare the batter I use the yogurt/milk combination because I almost never have buttermilk in the house. I wonder… has anyone tried adding cinnamon, pumpkin or applesauce to the mix when preparing the batter???? Being able to use this as a base recipe to turn out several different varieties of pancakes would be the only thing that could make this recipe better.
Melanie, thank you so much for making me look like a kitchen superstar once again!!!! While I’ve always known how to throw a batch of cookies or brownies together, your site has helped me better my cooking skills. Being able to prepare meals my family looks forward to brings me such joy and your site allows me to do that.
Amy M – thanks for adding your two cents on using yogurt and milk vs. buttermilk. I think your idea of adding in flavor combos is brilliant. I’ve actually thought about throwing in some pureed pumpkin but never have. Let me know if you try it!
We made this mix yesterday morning. My daughter, Beverly, loves these pancakes and told me I had to tell you thank you for sharing the recipe. I even let the batter sit and get thick and cooked them in the waffle maker. I served them like an open faced sandwich with a chicken gravy I made from leftovers. You have to get creative when it is early August, hot, humid and your husband only turns the air condition on if his mother-in-law is visiting. :o)
Julie – I’m sorry to laugh at the misery you feel in the heat, but your comment made me laugh! I hope your mother-in-law comes to visit all summer just so you can get the a/c turned on! I’m glad this mix worked out well for you. I love the variation you mentioned…talk about great creativity!
Hey Mel!
I just mixed up a batch of the mix, and put it in my FoodSaver container in the fridge. SO excited to try the pancakes!! I have a quick question for you, have you ever added nuts to the mix?? I love those “harvest grain n nut” pancakes at IHOP, and a while back I made a recipe that was a copycat for those, and it had ground almonds and walnuts in it. they were SOOO good, and so I was just curious if you had ever added nuts.
thanks for all your great recipes!!
Hey Melanie – I’ve never added nuts to this mix but it sounds like a fantastic idea!
These are so good! We love them, thank you for the recipe.
I add a mashed banana when I am mixing them up, yum!
Cindy – what a great idea to add a banana…love that idea!
We LOVE these too! I always have plain nonfat yogurt in my fridge so I tried 1/2 cup yogurt and 1/2 cup ff milk instead of the buttermilk and they are just as good! I couldn’t even tell a difference. Another wonderful recipe! I tell everyone I know about your awesome recipes!
Katie – great tip for the buttermilk substitution!
ps: and when you add blueberries….OMG knock your socks off GOOD!
if i was a songwriter i would write a song in honor of this pancake mix!!! it is now a constant staple in our fridge and has become out official saturday morning pancake recipe. i cannot get over how much more i prefer these pancakes over your basic pancake…something about the oatmeal! LOVE this mix 🙂
Tobi – your comment made me smile! I’m glad this recipe is worthy of it’s own song. I bet blueberries would be delicious – can’t wait to try that and am wondering why I haven’t yet!
Delicious taste and texture. Made breakfast for dinner while husband was out of town, and my 5 children all gobbled them up! Pleasing them all is difficult to do in one meal! Thanks for the wholesome twist to our standard pancakes!
Thanks, Allyson! We eat breakfast for dinner when Brian is out of town, too!
Okay, I’m now a convert too! I just made the mix and had to sample a batch even though I’m the only one home right now (sounded like a good excuse, just to make sure everyone would like them!). Can I say
Y U M ?????!!!!! They are so tender and love, love, love the texture. I have to make 50 pancakes for school on Friday and I’m thinking the box pancakes are getting crossed off my list. Thank you Erika for telling me about these. Aren’t moms wonderful?
Finleymom – you would be the best school mom if you made 50 pancakes from scratch. So glad you liked these!
I tried this over the weekend and OH BOY are these good! I am mixing up a double batch of the mix next time. I also found that 1 c. of the milk made it too thin even after thickening. I ended up adding an additional 1/2-3/4 c. mix to thicken it up. We loved the texture. My picky 6 year old was hesitant to try them but he did and ended up eating the most!
Marne – thanks for your comment and your variations. I’m glad even your six year old ate them up!
Thank you soooo much for this recipe! We absolutely love it! My son, not even 2 years old yet, can eat at least 5 of these in one sitting… and my husband ate 7 of them this morning and told me never to make them again because he can’t stop eating them! We won’t discuss the quantity I ate!!!!
Hollie – the cook is allowed to keep his/her portions secret, a rule I absolutely love. 🙂 I’m so glad these pancakes were such a hit!
YUM! These are soooo good! I finally whipped up the mix & we had it twice now. The kids & I love it! So easy to make pancakes in the morning now AND they’re healthy! Can’t ask for anything more!
PS – I just used the regular oatmeal I got at Costco & ground it fine in the food processor. This worked well.
Erika – thanks for reviewing this recipe. I’m glad you and your kids love it! (Also thanks for the tip on the oatmeal…)
mia – I’m glad your son loved these so much! I love the hearty texture, too. Thanks for letting me know!
Simply delicious. I absolutely love the texture and the little ‘somethin’ somethin” in every bite! So good! My son LOVED them!! He said he likes them MORE than a regular pancake (says the kid who will eat 22 pancakes in one sitting) so it really is saying a lot that he liked them better!!!
I found them a bit thin but I will just add a bit more mix next time. (my little man helped me make them so i also may not have had very accurate measurements when it came to ‘mix to milk’ ratio anyway) 🙂
yes, that would be the best i’m sure……i was just thinking that it would be one less thing to keep in the fridge, but no biggie ~ i’ll just feel compelled to make them more often, that’s all! *wink*
oh and i will keep commenting as i keep trying new recipes!!! (um, like everyday….haha!! that reminds me, tried another one today, off to comment!!!)
mia – I’m loving all your comments lately. Thanks! As for the pancakes, I suppose you could do it that way, but why wouldn’t you want to just add the oil and store it that way? It stores just fine in the fridge and makes one less step when you make it. However, if you really don’t want to, it would probably work fine to add the oil with the milk and eggs.
these sound wonderful…after getting up extra early this morning to make a pancake breakfast…i decided it was time to see what mel had to say about pancakes…..hahah!!! anyway, i am a slacker *read lazy bugger* so i mix up my dry ingredients for pancakes and keep it in a container in the cupboard as you would the bought stuff…(that is me ‘faking’ homemade) Anyway, i’m loving this recipe but am wondering if there is anyway to make it work like this….like, could i mix the dry ingr and just add a touch of oil when i go to use it to get the right consistency then add my milk and egg……?? hmm, what do you think mel?
Emily Marie – I love breakfast for dinner and these make an appearance at my house for both. I’m thrilled your 2-year old loves them. That is worth it in and of itself!
This mix is AWESOME!! Thank you! My notoriously picky 2 year old loves these, which makes them even better. And I love that they are packed with fiber and good for you. We made them for a quick dinner last night, and then again this morning! These will definitely replace the box mix we (seldom) use, and be much more enjoyed, also!
love, Love, LOVE this recipe! Made it last night for dinner and we all loved them, my 18 month old did as well! Never again will I use the store bought white mix. I cannot believe how much it makes and I love that I can keep it in the fridge for such a quick meal, breakfast or dinner!
The Three Amigos – I am so happy these were such a hit. I make them at least three times a week and would be lost without the recipe! Thanks for letting me know.
Hi Melanie,
I have some leftover batter (which I’m sure never happens to you with a big family!), but would it be OK to keep it in the fridge overnight for tomorrow?
Thanks!
Lorie
Lorie – this would probably be fine in the fridge for a day (it might turn a darker color of brown), just be sure to stir it together well. I probably wouldn’t keep it longer than a day. Hope that helps!
Liz – I have no doubt you are the total opposite of a slacker mom but I’m glad these pancakes helped reinforce that. And don’t worry, we eat waffles and pancakes for dinner quite often, too. I think that sounds like an awesome idea to give it out as neighbor gifts. I might have to steal that idea. 🙂
I don’t think I have told you how much we love these pancakes. I felt like such a slacker mom because I never made pancakes on school mornings. Now that I have this recipe, things have changed. As I was cooking up a batch of these for dinner (it’s been one of those days) I thought of a great idea. I think I am going to mix up a ton of this and give it out as neighbor gifts. I will get some cute Christmas bags and attach a card with the directions. Since my life in the past couple of weeks got a heck of a lot busier I need an easy idea that I can take to lots of people. So, once again you saved the day. Thanks! -Liz K.
Mel – good to know!
I made the mix the first time using 1 cup of milk and that was way too much, but I made them again today using less milk and they turned out much better! Thanks!
-Mel
Anonymous – it probably depends on how I measure the flour and oats but I usually get at least 8-9 cups. I don’t pack my cups when measuring but I do scoop the flour and oats into the measuring cup and then level off. Have you made the dry mix into pancakes? Did they taste ok and was the texture fine? If so, then you are probably ok, even if you are only getting 7 cups of dry mix. Good luck!
I must be seriously challenged in the kitchen. Do you always get 10 cups of dry mix out of this recipe? I made them the other day and only got 7 cups. Do you pack your cups when measuring? Thanks!
-Mel
Anonymous – yes, you can still use old-fashioned oats, but the texture of the pancakes would be best if you ground them up a bit in a blender or food processor to make them a bit finer (like the texture of quick oats). Good luck!
alexandra – I would probably stay away from the instant oatmeal packages because a) they are usually loaded with extra sugar (unless you can find “plain” and b) they are more expensive than buying regular quick oats. However, if that is all you have on hand, I’m sure it would work. The instant oatmeal packages has oatmeal that is blended finer than regular rolled oats so they are similar to the quick oats called for in this recipe. Good luck!
Can you use instant oatmeal packages? Is that a “quick” oat?