Blueberry Quinoa Pancakes

Yep!  I finally figured out a way to use that elusive and taunting  quinoa flour in my pantry…

QUINOA PANCAKES!

Ever since I made chickpea pasta, I’ve been contemplating what quinoa pasta would taste like.  But last night, I was craving pancakes for breakfast.  So I broke out the unopened box that has been sitting there for who knows how many months and gave it a try.  And guess what?  It worked out magnificently!

These pancakes had a great texture from the quinoa flour (it lent it a nice subtle grainy texture).  In addition, quinoa is one of only a few complete proteins out there, so these are quite healthy.  However, don’t go too wild and think about trying to make 100% quinoa pancakes!  Since quinoa is gluten-free, you need some sort of regular flour in order to make these babies rise properly.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Blueberry Quinoa Pancakes

 

Makes 6

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or whole-wheat pastry)

1/2 cup quinoa flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 cup cup evaporated cane juice sugar (or granulated!)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg (or egg substitute)

1 cup Kefir 

1 tablespoon butter or Earth Balance, melted

3/4 cup frozen or fresh blueberries (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and soda) in large bowl. 


2. Add wet ingredients (egg, Kefir or buttermilk, and melted butter).  Whisk together until just mixed.


3. Ladle pancake batter into buttered non-stick pan over medium heat. 


4. Drop in desired amount of blueberries into pancake batter.  You never want to add the fruit to the batter beforehand, or the juices will cause the batter to turn purple! 


5. Flip, cook and be patient!  Don’t pat down the pancake, as this will cause all the air and fluffiness to be lost!  And then you might cry…


6. And remember to heat up the maple syrup in the microwave for 25-30 seconds!  This makes a huge difference and keeps the pancake from becoming stone cold in about two seconds flat. 


7. Serve and devour. 

And there you have it…a new and creative way to make pancakes!  Of course, you could pretty much make these into what you’re craving at the moment.  Another great idea? Mix together the dry ingredients in easy-to-grab Ziploc bags—so this way you make these at any time in only about 5 or 10 minutes max.

Remember, if you don’t have buttermilk or Kefir (probiotic yogurt drink) on hand, an easy substitute is one cup of regular milk with one tablespoon of lemon juice, let sit for a few minutes, and you’re on your way!  If you are vegan, you can do the same method, but with soy milk.  And just substitute the butter with your regular spread.

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

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  Have you ever experimented or substituted different types of flour in recipes?


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  Kitchen Challenge: Take some quinoa in your pantry and grind in your blender.  1 Cup Quinoa flour = ¾ C whole quinoa.  You’ve now got quinoa flour!  Ok…now make these pancakes.  Or make something else, and share with the rest of us!

Comments

[Brandon]

Looks good! I have never made my own quinoa flour before, but I think I am going to give it a try. I always have a big costco size bag of quinoa on hand in my pantry. Thanks for sharing!

Brandon

[Laura]

Thanks for commenting! Be sure to let me know how it works out.

[Caroline]

oooh the picture under step #7 is pretty!

[Monique@She's Going The Distan]

AWESOME!! That sounds good :) I've never baked with quiona flour before

[Laura]

Monique -- They were incredibly light and fluffy, I was really impressed. I'm definitely going to try more recipes with quinoa flour in the future!

Caroline--Thanks buddy!

[sophia]

AWESOME! I've got an old bag of quinoa flour I need to use up pronto. I just haven't really been able to find a recipe that actually tastes good!

[Laura]

Ooh! I'm glad you like it, you could also make these plain--they were equally as good that way! Let me know what you think!

[Faith @ lovelyascharged]

Mmm, this looks fantastic! I actually went to the health food store today with the intention of buying quinoa and go figure, they were out :/

[Laura]

Thanks for stopping by to say hi (and for your sweet comment), I love hearing from new people. Wow! I can't believe they were out of quinoa--fortunately, I've never run into that problem before. Hopefully there isn't a quinoa shortage coming soon! :) Let me know how you like it, if you end up trying it in the future.

xxLaura

[the urban baker]

Love, Love, Love quinoa. I cannot wait to make these. My friend's daughter is insulin resistant and I have been developing recipes for them. I am going to try these with buckwheat flour rather than the white flour...will let you know how it goes. Thanks for sharing!

[Laura]

I love hearing that people want to try out my recipes! That made my day. Buckwheat pancakes are another favorite of mine, definitely let me know how it turns out. Hope they like them!

<3 Laura

[Aimee]

Oh my goodness. I have been cooking with Quinoa for a while now, and never thought to do this with it. I am going to try the flour, and substitute them into cookies too. YAY!!! HEALTHY COOKIES!!!