Oatmeal Applesauce Pancakes
These Oatmeal Applesauce Pancakes are fluffy, tender, and filling. Unsweetened applesauce keeps the pancakes moist and ground cinnamon adds flavor! Make a big batch this weekend and freeze some for later.
This recipe for Easy Applesauce Oat Pancakes was provided by former contributor Alyssa from Simply Quinoa. The post was originally published April 17, 2013. It has been edited for clarity, to include additional information, and to add new photos.
Oatmeal pancakes made with applesauce are heartier and more filling than traditional flour-based pancakes.
To make the pancakes, rolled oats are blitzed in a blender or food processor to make oat flour. The oat flour is mixed with almond flour to give the pancakes more structure, plus flaxseed meal for fiber.
The batter is lightly sweetened with brown sugar (just 1 tablespoon!), and ground cinnamon works with the applesauce to add so much cozy flavor to the pancakes.
You’d never guess that these pancakes are gluten-free! The texture and flavor are both spot on, and the pancakes freeze like a dream for grab-and-go breakfasts throughout the week.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
✔Flourless & Naturally Gluten-Free – Made with oat flour and almond flour!
✔ Lightly Sweetened – Just a touch of brown sugar + natural sweetness from applesauce.
✔ Freezer-Friendly – Make a double batch for easy weekday breakfasts!
✔ Cozy & Hearty – Perfectly spiced with cinnamon for warm, comforting flavor.
Be sure to make my Cinnamon Applesauce Bread or Apple Cider Muffins next!
Tools Needed
You’ll need a few kitchen tools to prepare this easy pancake recipe. Here’s what I recommend:
- Measuring Cups and Spoons – To measure the ingredients.
- 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 batter.
- Large Electric Skillet – To cook the pancakes.
- Large Spatula – To flip the pancakes when cooking.
Ingredients in This Recipe
You’ll need the following easy-to-find ingredients to make the fluffy pancakes:
- Rolled Oats
- Almond Flour (not almond meal!)
- Flaxseed Meal
- Ground Cinnamon
- Brown Sugar
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Sea Salt
- Unsweetened Applesauce
- Egg Whites
- Milk (any kind)
- Vanilla Extract
- Lemon Juice
For the complete ingredient list and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this post for the FREE printable recipe card.
How to Make Oatmeal Applesauce Pancakes
- Make the oat flour: Add the oats to a blender or food processor. Blend until the oats resemble flour.
- Combine the dry ingredients: To a large mixing bowl, add the oat flour, almond flour, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
- Combine the wet ingredients: In another bowl, whisk together the applesauce, egg whites, milk, vanilla, and lemon juice.
- Prepare the pancake batter: Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix to combine.
- Cook the pancakes: Preheat a skillet or electric griddle and cook the pancakes, flipping at the halfway point.
The above is simply a quick summary of this recipe. Check out the full recipe in the free printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for all the detailed instructions.
Tips for Making This Recipe
- Use 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.
- 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 in the oven. Put the cooked pancakes on a wire rack set over a baking sheet in a 200ºF oven until you’re ready to serve breakfast.
- Don’t mistake the almond flour for almond meal. They’re two different milled almond products, and you want blanched almond flour for this recipe.
- Need help separating the egg whites from the yolk? I have a whole tutorial on separating eggs that you can reference for step-by-step instructions.
Recipe FAQs
Got questions about how to make this recipe? Here are the answers to a few commonly asked questions. Feel free to leave any other questions in the comments on this post and I’ll respond with answers.
Can this recipe be made using just oat flour or just almond flour?
Possibly, but I always make this recipe using a blend of the two. Oat flour keeps the pancakes light and fluffy, while the ½ cup of almond flour adds sturdiness and structure.
Can this recipe be made using a whole egg instead of egg whites?
Yes, I imagine you should be fine to replace the two large egg whites with one large (whole) egg.
Can this recipe be doubled?
Very easily! Just double the ingredients and use a large mixing bowl to prepare the batter.
Recipe Variations
- Replace the ground cinnamon with pumpkin pie spice or gingerbread spice.
- Use pear sauce instead of applesauce.
- Increase the amount of protein in this recipe by adding a scoop of protein powder (I prefer vanilla flavored).
- Add mix-ins like chopped walnuts or pecans, chocolate chips, or shredded coconut.
Storage and Freezing Instructions
Let the pancakes cool before storing in a zip-top bag or airtight container. They’ll last up to 4 days in the fridge and can be reheated in the toaster or microwave.
These applesauce oat pancakes also freeze incredibly well! 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!
If you’ve never frozen pancakes before, check out this tutorial to learn how to freeze and reheat pancakes.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve these pancakes however you like. These are a few of our favorite topping ideas:
- You can’t go wrong with the classic pancake toppings of butter and maple syrup.
- Apple Cider Syrup is perfect for fall-flavored pancakes.
- Instant Pot Apple Butter will amp up the apple flavor of these pancakes even more.
- Spread the pancakes with some almond butter or peanut butter and top with sliced bananas.
Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, and scrambled eggs all make great side dishes to these fluffy pancakes.
Try Making These Pancakes at Home!
Next time you’re looking for a flourless pancake recipe, give this applesauce and oat version a try!
Did you love how hearty and flavorful these were? Leave a comment below and give it a review for others to see what you thought.
On Instagram? Share your photo and tag me with @goodlifeeats and #goodlifeeatsrecipes. I’d love to see a photo of your applesauce and oatmeal pancakes!
More Pancake Recipes:
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!
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.
Try these Orange Ricotta Pancakes the next time you’re stumped on what to make for breakfast! They’re a fun spin on the traditional lemon ricotta pancakes, and each bite is studded with chocolate chips.
Hearty Multigrain Pancakes are light, fluffy, and subtly sweet. They’re made with a blend of five types of grains as well as milled flaxseed for an added dose of fiber.
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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Oatmeal Applesauce Pancakes
These oatmeal applesauce pancakes are fluffy, tender, and filling. Unsweetened applesauce keeps the pancakes moist and ground cinnamon adds flavor! Make a big batch this weekend and freeze some for later.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (or coconut palm sugar)
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 6 tablespoons egg whites (roughly two large egg whites)
- 1 cup milk (any kind)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Oil or Butter, to grease the pan
Instructions
Making the Pancake Batter
- Blend 1 cup of the oats in a food processor or high-speed blender until they resemble a flour. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the rest of the dry ingredients.
- In a separate mixing bowl, beat together the wet ingredients until fully incorporated.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and beat until smooth.
- Let sit for 5 - 10 minutes to let the oats soften a little.
Cooking the Pancakes
- Heat a griddle pan over medium-low and grease with your desired ingredient.
- Ladle the batter on the pan, whatever size you would like.
- Cook until small bubbles start to form about 3 - 5 minutes, or until browned.
- The bottom of the pancakes should be fully cooked and sturdy enough to slide the spatula under them.
- If it's not and the pancake starts to break, continue to cook.
- Flip (carefully!) the pancakes over and cook for another 2 - 3 minutes until brown.
- Serve immediately with your choice of toppings.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 9 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 164Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 289mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 8g
GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.
Noni says
Anyone know if this recipe would work on a waffle iron?
And I didn’t think about until you asked, but YES, I do have a pancake story! When I was a child, my mother would let me make the pancakes, and I would make them all in the shapes of animals, people, or something special for each family member! None were round, that was too boring! 🙂 What fun!
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!
Erika says
Aha I love the idea of a pancake story!! I might have to write out my own someday 🙂 LOVE how thick and hearty these look! Have you heard of Isa Chandra (creator of Post Punk Kitchen)? She has some FANTASTIC vegan pancakes that I adore!!
Alicia says
What can I use as a substitute for the almond flour and almond milk, as I have an almond allergy?
Alaina @ Fabtastic Eats says
I make a batch of pancakes or waffles for my son every week and freeze them to last all week. I try to makes them as healthy as possible and these definitely fit the bill! Can’t wait to try these out wit him! Thank you!
Marlies says
These sound so good! Would they still hold together without the egg white?
Alyssa | Queen of Quinoa says
I think you could try a flax egg if you can’t have eggs, but you’ll need something like an egg to bind them together. Enjoy!!
Megan says
How much almond milk do you use? I noticed you mentioned it in the post but it’s not in the recipe. Thanks!
Alyssa Rimmer says
Sorry abou that! I used 1 cup of almond milk. Thanks for catching that 🙂
Kristi says
Is there a reason you haven’t updated the recipe to reflect this information? It wasn’t until I was trying to figure out why I had created oatmeal bricks that I discovered this comment, and then it was obviously too late. They were still yummy – more like a cookie than a pancake – but it would have been much more helpful to have the correct recipe from the beginning! Tired mommies need things to be written out in black and white at the end of a long day 🙂
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
My dad is the master of pancakes in our house. He makes so many different kinds but my favorite is his apple sauce pancakes. Made from his homemade applesauce and when we still lived in upstate NY he even made his own maple syrup from the trees in our backyard!
Alyssa | Queen of Quinoa says
That sounds amazing!! Thanks for sharing your memories 🙂 Reminds me of being back home in VT!
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
As strange as this sounds, I’m not a huge pancake person but I love the sound of these since I’m a HUGE fan of all things apple 🙂
Alyssa | Queen of Quinoa says
Then I think you might like these little babies 😉
Tieghan says
I love that these have oatmeal (my favorite) and I love that they are healthy! Plus they look delicious!
Alyssa | Queen of Quinoa says
Thanks Tieghan! Let me know if you try them 🙂