Healthy Applesauce Oatmeal Pancakes

A lightened up, gluten-free version of perfect griddlecakes, these Oatmeal Pancakes are sweet, flavorful and perfect for a weekend breakfast!

Recipe and accompanying story by Alyssa from Queen of Quinoa, former Good Life Eats contributor. The post has been edited for clarity and to include additional information.

Making these Apple Oatmeal Pancakes

Everyone has a story to tell when it comes to pancakes.

Whether it’s a memory from your childhood, watching your mother flip those fluffy cakes on the griddle every weekend, or sitting at a booth in your favorite neighborhood diner where the coffee flows like water and the pancakes are the size of your plate.

Whatever your pancake story is, I’m sure it’s special.

Because pancakes are just one of those foods. The special kind of food.

A food that instantly brings a smile to your face, and takes you to another world with each bite you take. For me, the art of pancake making came from my Dad.

When I was growing up, we had pancakes everyday Saturday morning, always blueberry and always served with a dollop of butter and drizzled (or sometimes drenched) in pure Vermont maple syrup.

That was our style. Simple and delicious. It was a ritual of sorts.

Creating these Gluten-Free Oatmeal Pancakes

But that changed for me when I went gluten-free a few years ago. Sadly, I can no longer enjoy my Dad’s Saturday morning pancakes.

But I wasn’t going to let that stop me from making them! We now carry the tradition on in our house, we’ve just tweaked the recipes slightly.

Once I mastered the perfect gluten-free pancake, it was time to start experimenting.

That’s one of the wonderful things about pancakes. They’re easy to manipulate and they love getting infused with new flavors.

What Makes these Oatmeal Pancakes Healthy?

With this batch of gluten-free pancakes, I wanted to go the super healthy route.

First, I didn’t want to use any starches (which is a common ingredient in gluten-free baked goods), because they’re essentially devoid of any nutrients.

Instead, my focus was on fiber and protein rich flours, which quickly led me to oats and almond flour, both of which are very nutritious.

I also threw in a scoop of vanilla protein powder to pack these cakes with even more of a nutritional punch.

Second, I wanted to reduce the fat content considerably. Not to say that most pancakes are full of fat, because they’re not, but there are little tricks you can do to make them that much lighter.

I opted for applesauce to replace some of the oil and some of the fat from the eggs and then chose to use just egg whites as my binding agent (I have yet to master the perfect vegan pancake).

As I always do, I used almond milk, which does have some fat, but it’s the healthy kind of fat (just like the flour), and is much lower in calories than it’s dairy alternatives.

Tools Needed to Make Oatmeal Pancakes

You’ll need a few kitchen tools to prepare this applesauce oatmeal pancake recipe. Here’s what I recommend having on hand before getting started:

• Measuring Cups and Spoons – to measure the ingredients in the oatmeal pancake batter.
• Blender or Food Processor – to grind the rolled oats (turning it into oat flour)
• Mixing Bowls – to mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients.
• Wire Whisk – to beat the egg white.
• Wooden Spoon – to stir the gluten-free pancake batter.
• Large Electric Skillet or Hot Griddle – to cook the oatmeal pancakes.
• Pancake Spatula – to flip the pancakes when cooking.

Ingredients in Oatmeal Pancakes

For the Dry Ingredients:

• Rolled Oats
• Almond Flour
• Flaxseed Meal
• Ground Cinnamon
• Coconut Palm Sugar
• Vanilla Protein Powder
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Sea Salt

For the Wet Ingredients:

• Unsweetened Applesauce
• Egg Whites
• Almond Milk
• Vanilla Extract
• Lemon Juice

For the complete ingredient list and detailed instructions to make these hearty oatmeal pancakes, scroll to the bottom of this post for the FREE printable recipe card.

Tips for Making the Best Oatmeal Pancakes

Cook the pancakes on an electric griddle or a large cast iron griddle on your stovetop. You’ll get these fluffy pancakes on the table faster when you are able to cook more at once.

After pouring the pancake batter, wait to flip the pancakes until small bubbles form on the surface of the batter. They’ll be golden brown on the bottom and ready to flip by then.

Keep the cooked pancakes warm on a wire rack on a baking sheet in a warm oven until you’re ready to serve breakfast.

Can I Freeze these Oatmeal Pancakes?

I definitely recommend making a big batch of healthy pancakes and freezing them so you can reheat them later.

If you’ve never frozen pancakes before, check out this quick tutorial to learn how to freeze and reheat pancakes.

We love to make a double batch on Saturday or Sunday mornings so we have extra to stash in the freezer. It makes breakfast super easy the rest of the week when we can reheat our extra pancakes!

Oatmeal Pancake Serving Ideas

You can serve these applesauce pancakes with oatmeal however you like. These are a few of our favorite topping ideas:

• You can’t go wrong with the classic pancake topping – butter and a drizzle of maple syrup. Here’s a quick hack for pouring maple syrup.
• This Apple Cider Syrup elevates a plate of pancakes to the next level. It is perfect if you want a fall flavored pancake.
• Pear Butter is another great topping to use with these oatmeal pancakes, or make the recipe with apples instead of pears for an apple butter topping.
• Spread the pancakes with some almond butter or peanut butter and top with sliced bananas for healthy banana oatmeal pancakes.
• Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, and scrambled eggs all make great side dishes to these tender pancakes.

What I Love About these Healthy Oatmeal Pancakes

Overall, these healthy applesauce gluten-free pancakes were a huge hit.

The texture is not quite as sturdy as your traditional gluten-filled pancake, and you have to be careful when you flip them, but boy where they tasty.

And because they were packed with nutrients and protein, I was left feeling full on just two. A successful Saturday morning breakfast in my book!

5 Star Review for this Recipe!

Amanda says: “Whipped up these pancakes for a healthy Saturday morning breaky and was thoroughly impressed.

Had to substitute whole wheat flour for the almond flour as I didn’t have any on hand and I skipped the protein powder as well for the same reason. I also just used two whole eggs because I couldn’t be bothered to separate the whites.

They turned out great! Fluffy and moist. Topped them with vanilla Greek yogurt and a mix berry compote. Delish!”

Try these Gluten-Free Oatmeal Pancakes!

Next time you’re looking for a healthy pancake recipe, give these Applesauce Oatmeal Pancakes a try!

Did you think these pancakes were the perfect weekend breakfast for the entire family? Leave a comment below and give it a review for others to see what you thought of this great recipe.

On Instagram? Share your photo and tag me with @goodlifeeats and #goodlifeeatsrecipe. I’d love to see your photo of this oatmeal pancake recipe!

More Pancake Recipes to Try

These Carrot Cake Pancakes are easy to prepare and perfect for a Saturday morning or an Easter brunch. This recipe is the perfect way to use up tons of carrots!

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with all things pink by making these fun, colorful Easy Pink Pancakes topped with strawberry jam and fluffy, vanilla whipped cream. They’re all-natural and dye-free!

Gingersnap Pancakes are sweetened using a touch of molasses and brown sugar and flavored with warm spices like cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg for extra flavor.

Don’t see what you’re looking for here? You can always head over to check out the recipe index to look for more recipes.

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What’s your pancake story?