The best solution when you’re feeling under the weather, going through a tough breakup, or just experiencing a heavy case of anxiety is to dance to a good playlist and make a batch of really delicious fluffy pancakes. Wouldn’t you agree?
Better yet, pancakes are always the answer.
Here’s the truth: I have had anxiety since I can remember and plan to write a blog post about it soon. 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, 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!
Truthfully, I shouldn’t waste my time worrying about the what-ifs and things that are completely out of my control. 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.
Sweet potato pancakes have been calling my name and I just couldn’t resist. I eat a sweet potato nearly everyday and enjoy sprinkling them with cinnamon, peanut butter maple syrup, so I thought would could be better than adding that irresistible flavor it to a stack of pancakes?
In addition, I’m a huge fan of chai-spice and it’s so easy to recreate the spices at home. All you need is a little cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Mmmm hmmm… can you imagine these paired with a chai-spice latte? YUM.
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. Enjoy!
Other healthy pancake recipes you might like:
Whole Wheat Banana Bread Pancakes
Healthy Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Fluffy Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread Pancakes
Chai-Spiced Sweet Potato Pancakes
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)
Instructions
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In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and spices. In a medium bowl, combine almond milk, egg, oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and mashed sweet potato until smooth. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Batter will be thick, however if it is way too thick add in a tablespoon or two of milk.
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Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet or griddle with olive oil and heat over medium. After a minute or two, drop batter by 1/4 cup onto skillet. Cook until bubbles appear on top, about 2 minutes. Flip cakes and cook until golden brown on underside, 2 minutes. Wipe skillet clean and repeat with more oil and remaining batter. You may need to reduce heat to medium low on the pan to prevent burning. I usually do this after my first batch. Makes 8 pancakes, 2 pancakes each.
Nutrition
64 comments
Have you ever been to Nashville? The Pancake Pantry is famous for its sweet potato pancakes and they are soooo good!
Have you ever been to Nashville? The Pancake Pantry is famous for its sweet potato pancakes and they are soooo good!
These look so good! Sweet potatoes, chai!!! and then lots of syrup…I’d be in heaven! And yes, start the days out happy. Start with a mimosa if nothing else 🙂 pinned
These are my go to pancakes! They are so tasty and wholesome too. Love them with some maple syrup and pecans on top! I make them for my littles and I almost weekly as they are really easy for little hands to eat.
I’m so glad! Perfect breakfast 🙂
These look so good! Sweet potatoes, chai!!! and then lots of syrup…I’d be in heaven! And yes, start the days out happy. Start with a mimosa if nothing else 🙂 pinned
Totally loving everything about this gorgeous stack of pancakes!
Totally loving everything about this gorgeous stack of pancakes!
I think having to find an apartment (esp. in a new city) is one of the most stressful situations to be in…glad to hear these pancakes helped alleviate some of the stress (or at least, take the edge off!). They look fantastic, and I *love* sweet potatoes – can’t wait to try them!
Fun! Loving the idea of my favorite veggie turned pancake!
Fun! Loving the idea of my favorite veggie turned pancake!
Made these for brekkie today- WONDERFUL! Thanks Monique for another winner 🙂
I have never had a chai spiced pancake before! Wish I had a stack of these to devour right now, they look seriously amazing!
I have never had a chai spiced pancake before! Wish I had a stack of these to devour right now, they look seriously amazing!
Seriously girl these pancakes look insane!
Seriously girl these pancakes look insane!
Love this recipe! Do you mean actual sweet potatoes, or yams?
Love this recipe! Do you mean actual sweet potatoes, or yams?
Looks delicious Monique! Yet to try them 🙂
Looks delicious Monique! Yet to try them 🙂
I slightly adapted this recipe to work with ingredients I can get in my corner of the world (brown sugar instead of maple syrup, regular milk instead of almond milk, 1/4 cup whole weat and 1 cup plain flour) and they were delicious! They needed to bake a bit longer than it said in the recipe, but that may be due to all my substitutions. Next time, I think I will adjust the spices to 1/2 tsp each of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and vanilla for a more balanced flavour.
Thank you for sharing your recipe!
I slightly adapted this recipe to work with ingredients I can get in my corner of the world (brown sugar instead of maple syrup, regular milk instead of almond milk, 1/4 cup whole weat and 1 cup plain flour) and they were delicious! They needed to bake a bit longer than it said in the recipe, but that may be due to all my substitutions. Next time, I think I will adjust the spices to 1/2 tsp each of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and vanilla for a more balanced flavour.
Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Wow! Love sweet potato pancakes. Bet these one taste really good with all the chai spices. Pinned!
Wow! Love sweet potato pancakes. Bet these one taste really good with all the chai spices. Pinned!
If I already have a chai spice blend, how much of it should I use for these pancakes?
Maybe a teaspoon or two! Depends how chai intense you want them!
WOW I have to try them 🤤🤤🤤
Absolutely! 🙂
Is that a cup of flour?
I was thinking the same thing. I am thinking it is.
Hi Monique! Today i made for breakfast these pancakes, loved the taste but it was so hard to flip and the pancake inside is not all the way cooked. Is it supposed to be like that?
Yep! Updated 🙂
Same here with starting my day off right! Positive affirmations, music, a walk in nature, an awesome workout, a healthy breakfast, and some micro-social time are my favorite ways to perk up my morning! These sweet potato pancakes DEFINITELY belong in the equation to a happy day…unless you want these for dinner, which by all means, go for it, haha! I love the addition of chai spice to add an extra kick to the stack. The drizzle of maple syrup on top of the pancakes just gives the BEST comforting aesthetic!
The best way to start the day! Love that. These for dinner = genius 😉
I’m having problems trying to pin these pancakes. The message is that your page doesn’t allow items to be pinned.
Hi Rina – we’re working on a fix for our Pinterest buttons. Stay tuned and thanks for your patience!
I’m having problems trying to pin these pancakes. The message is that your page doesn’t allow items to be pinned.
Hi Rina – we’re working on a fix for our Pinterest buttons. Stay tuned and thanks for your patience!
Made these gluten free and they turned out great!! Used 2/3 all purpose gluten free flour mix and 1/3 teff flour for a nutty flavor. Delish! Hit with everyone at my table!! Also great reheated in the toaster for a weekday breakfast. Win!!
Glad those swaps worked out! And reheating in the toaster is the best way to do it 🙂
The taste is great but are they supposed to be soft and gooey in the middle ?
They shouldn’t be gooey in the middle – I would be sure to cook them on a medium-low heat so that they cook evenly throughout!
Totally worth my extra effort of buying whole wheat pastry flour online! Kids and I even loved them plain with no syrup! (ALTHOUGH, I DID SNEAK A FEW BITES WITH SYRUP, SOOO GOOD!)
So happy to hear that, Mary!
Love, Love, LOVE these pancakes!!!! My new favorite!
I’m so glad!!
Hi Monique, could you tell me what “makes 8 pancakes, 2 pancakes each” means? Doest that mean I get a total of 8 or 16 pancakes? Thanks!
Hi Monique, could you tell me what “makes 8 pancakes, 2 pancakes each” means? Doest that mean I get a total of 8 or 16 pancakes? Thanks!
Hi Laura! Each serving is 2 pancakes (for one person), and the recipe makes a total of 8 pancakes.
These were yummy! The sweet potato flavor wasn’t super strong but we loved the chai spice 🙂
Made these as is and they were great!
I’m so used to making pancakes with oat flour or soaked buckwheat or other healthy substitutes to flour. I hadn’t made a flour pancake for so long i had forgotten how good they can be! A weekend treat I will repeat for sure.
Aren’t they delicious? The perfect weekend brunch!
These are seriously the best pancakes ever! I’ve made them twice now, once with spelt flour and once with whole wheat and they were perfect both times. With a little dollop of coconut cream on top it’s like having pie for breakfast!
Amazing! I’m so glad you loved them (and coconut cream on top sounds delicious!)
Made these for my husband’s birthday because he loves sweet potato. I subbed out the almond milk for flax milk and they came out delicious. I think these might be our go to pancakes now, we always keep mashed sweet potato in the fridge, because they were soft, fluffy, and the chai flavor was a great addition.
These were the perfect fall pancake recipe! So simple and quick to make. Thank you for always having the best recipes!
Absolutely! So glad you loved these 🙂
YUM. These were so good, had them with some greek yogurt and berries on top. Next time I might add some chopped pecan into the batter.
Delicious! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
These pancakes are so light, fluffy, and delicious! I halved the recipe for a single serving. I also used oat milk instead of almond milk (what I had on hand). My pancakes weren’t fully chai-spiced, as I did not have any cloves or cardamom, but delicious nonetheless! I am excited to try this recipe again when I have all of the ingredients! This was a perfect hearty but healthy meal full of fiber and essential vitamins. This recipe will definitely join my regulars. Thanks!
Perfect! So glad you loved them!!
These look wonderful! I will definitely try them. Could you tell me the best way to cook sweet potatoes? Thinking baking might preserve more of the nutrients, but also takes more time. Thanks for all your great recipes!
Hi, Deena! I definitely recommend roasting them whole for the best texture and concentrated sweet potato flavor. Just poke holes into the potato with a fork and bake on a foil-lined sheet at 400ºF for 1 hour or until fork-tender 🙂