Pancakes + Waffles Breakfast

November 26, 2022

Chai-Spiced Sweet Potato Pancakes

Name: Chai-Spiced Sweet Potato Pancakes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 cup white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon cardamom; 1/4 teaspoon ginger; pinch of cloves; 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, plus more if necessary; 1 egg, lightly beaten; 1 tablespoon olive oil (or sub melted butter); 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 3/4 cup mashed, cooked sweet potato (about 2 medium sweet potatoes)

Fluffy chai-spiced sweet potato pancakes filled with delicious roasted sweet potato and wonderful, cozy chai spices. These easy, healthy sweet potato pancakes are the perfect way to use up leftover sweet potato and make the best fall breakfast! Add your favorite toppings and enjoy.

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

20 mins

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Jump to Recipe

We’re throwing it back to an amazing recipe from 4 years ago, plus a little bit of reminiscing. Remember the times when blogs were a form of storytelling? I always love looking back at past blog posts and remembering where I was at that given point in my life. Here’s a little snippet from back in 2018 with messages that I still carry with me! And of course, fluffy sweet potato pancakes that I still make to this day.

“Here’s the truth: I have had anxiety since I can remember. Sometimes it creeps in when I least expect it. Often times it shows up as physical symptoms and my body completely shuts down. I’m still learning to manage it, because quite frankly in some weird way sometimes my anxiety pushes me to be better. It gives me energy, and excitement… yet at times, it’s also chaotic and out of control. The key is finding the balance and feeling more in control. Work in progress!

What I should be focusing on is the little moments, filling my heart with joy and embracing what comes my way. I can only do so much and sometimes I have to realize that what I’m doing is ENOUGH. Sometimes I just have to tell myself that things will be okay. That no matter what happens, I’ll still be here kicking it tomorrow.

Lately, I made a conscious effort to start my days out happy. You know, like starting my days out with a deep breath, a good playlist and a batch of these fluffy sweet potato pancakes with delicious chai spices. I tend to associate pancakes with my Dad and childhood, so cooking up a batch in the morning brings me nothing but good warm fuzzy feelings of nostalgia. For reals. Talk about a mood booster.”

Yes, we’re adding sweet potato to pancakes

I’ve been a sweet potato lover for as long as I can remember. I used to love sprinkling them with cinnamon, peanut butter, and maple syrup, so I thought what could be better than adding that irresistible flavor it to a stack of pancakes? The sweet potato in these pancakes adds:

The perfect texture so that your pancakes are deliciously fluffy
A lovely natural sweetness (they are SWEET potatoes, after all!)
Vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber (to keep you full!) and antioxidants

Ingredients in these sweet potato pancakes

Besides sweet potatoes, of course, these incredible pancakes are filled with cozy chai spices and simple ingredients. Can you imagine these paired with a chai-spice latte? YUM. Here’s what you’ll need to make them:

Flour: we’re using white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour to keep the pancakes light and fluffy.
Egg: you’ll need 1 egg in this recipe to help the pancakes cook properly.
Milk: a little unsweetened almond milk give them the perfect amount of moisture. You can also use melted butter.
Oil: we’re also adding a tiny bit of olive oil or melted butter for extra moisture.
Maple syrup: you’ll add some pure maple syrup into the batter for natural sweetness, and a suggest saving some to top your stack!
Sweet potato: the one and only! You’ll be adding mashed, cooked sweet potato right into the batter.
Spices: I’m a huge fan of chai-spice and it’s so easy to make them at home. All you need is cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.
Baking staples: don’t forget the baking powder (not baking soda), salt, and vanilla extract! Learn how to make your own vanilla extract here.

Can I use a different flour?

I recommend sticking with white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour so that the sweet potato pancakes come out perfectly fluffy, but feel free to use all purpose flour of that’s what you have on hand.

For a gluten free option, I suggest trying a 1:1 all purpose gluten free flour. Please note that I have not tested this swap so I’m not 100% sure how the pancakes will turn out.

Healthy sweet potato pancakes in 3 steps

Mix the dry ingredients. Start by whisking together your flour, baking powder, salt, and all of those spices.
Make the batter. In a separate bowl mix the milk, egg, oil, maple syrup, vanilla & mashed sweet potato until it’s nice and smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix until just combined.
Cook, top & serve. Lightly grease your griddle and place it over medium heat. Drop the batter by 1/4 cup and cook for about 2 minutes until bubbles appear. Flip and cook for 2 minutes more. Stack them up with your favorite pancake toppings and enjoy!

Our favorite pancake toppings & mix-ins

These sweet potato pancakes are the perfect base for delicious toppings and mix-ins! Here’s what I can suggest:

Chocolate: the sweet potato + chocolate combo is sneaky delicious, trust me! Feel free to add 1/3 cup of chocolate chips to the batter.
Nuts: I love to add chopped walnuts or pecans in the batter and/or on top of these pancakes.
Banana: sliced bananas on top would be amazing.
Maple syrup: the one and only! I always top these with some pure maple syrup.
Whipped cream: fresh homemade whipped cream makes these extra special. If you’re not into whipped cream you could even add a dollop of yogurt!

Tips for perfect sweet potato pancakes

Be sure to get all of my tips & tricks for making the best pancakes (plus a video) here! For the basics, remember these:

Remember to measure out 3/4 cup mashed sweet potato, which is about 2 medium sweet potatoes.
Do not overmix your batter! This will result in a gummy pancake texture.
The batter will be thick, but if it’s TOO thick simply add a little more milk.
Cook your pancakes over medium heat so that they cook evenly. If you flip your pancakes and they appear to be cooking too fast, feel free to reduce the temp to medium-low so that they don’t burn.

How to keep pancakes warm

Feel free to make these healthy sweet potato pancakes ahead of time and keep them warm in the oven. Simply place oven at 200 degrees F, then add pancakes to a platter or oven-safe plate and place in the oven until ready to serve.

Freezer-friendly sweet potato pancakes

If you’d like to make your pancakes ahead of time and serve them at a later date, you can place the pancakes on a baking sheet so they aren’t touching and place them in the freezer for 30 minutes, then place them in freezer safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Once ready to reheat, simply add the sweet potato pancakes to a plate and microwave for 30-60 seconds or until warm. I do it all the time!

Start your weekend out with warm fuzzy feel good feelings from these sweet potato pancakes and a little music thanks to this playlist. Best topped with toasted pecans, a little butter (or peanut butter) and a drizzle of real maple syrup.

More pancake recipes you’ll love

Get all of my pancake recipes here, and even more recipes using sweet potato here!

If you make these sweet potato pancakes be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!