It’s no secret by now that I love all things pumpkin, which is why I’ve created so many awesome recipes you can come back to every single year when you get that pumpkin-crazed look in your eyes.
Today I’m here to remind you that these delicious healthy pumpkin pancakes exist and are truly the best pumpkin pancakes you’ll ever eat. They just so happen to be gluten free AND dairy free and are packed with pumpkin flavor. Whoo hoo!
This recipe is based on both my banana oatmeal pancakes and my apple oatmeal pancakes, both recipes are made in the blender and require no flour.
Personally, what I adore about these pumpkin pancakes is how perfectly fluffy they are on the inside, plus they’re just the right amount of thickness and are the ultimate breakfast treat with a drizzle of salted peanut or almond butter + pure maple syrup. Highly recommend!
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Ingredients in pumpkin oatmeal pancakes
These healthy pumpkin pancakes are made with simple ingredients and also happen to be an awesome post-workout breakfast because they’re packed with healthy complex carbs and 12g protein per serving. Hell yes! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Pumpkin puree: be sure to use a pumpkin puree that’s just pumpkin (no added sugars, etc.)
- Eggs: you’ll need 2 eggs in this pancake recipe. I haven’t tested these with flax eggs but let me know if you do.
- Milk: I like to use unsweetened vanilla almond milk but you can use any milk you’d like.
- Vanilla extract: for a little boost of flavor.
- Maple syrup: these pumpkin pancakes are naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup.
- Rolled oats: be sure to use rolled oats (gluten free if desired) to give these the perfect texture. Do not use steel cut oats.
- Baking powder: a bit of baking powder will help these pumpkin pancakes get nice and fluffy.
- Cozy spices: we’re using cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ground ginger and salt. Alternatively you can sub those out and use 1 1/2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.
Healthy pumpkin pancakes in 3 simple steps
- Make the batter. Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until the batter is nice and smooth.
- Cook them up. Add olive oil or coconut oil to a griddle or large nonstick pan and place over medium heat. Add pancake batter 1/3 cup at a time. Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until golden brown and tiny bubbles appear around the edges. Flip and cook for 2 minutes more.
- Top & devour. Serve your pancakes with pecans, butter (or my personal favorite: peanut butter) and a drizzle of pure maple syrup. SO GOOD.
Try making mini pancakes
I love making these pancakes mini for the kiddos! Simply drop just 1-2 tablespoons of batter onto your griddle at a time. You can also try these baby banana pancakes that are smaller and great for toddlers and babies.
How to keep pancakes warm
Feel free to make these healthy pumpkin 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 pumpkin 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 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 pancakes to a plate and microwave for 30-60 seconds or until warm. I do it all the time!
Our favorite pancake tools
- Blender
- Square griddle
- Spatula (use the code ‘ambitious’ for 10% off!)
See all of our kitchen essentials here.
More pumpkin recipes to try
- Baked Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cups
- Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
- Healthy Pumpkin Bread with Maple Glaze
- Nourishing Yellow Chickpea Pumpkin Curry with Coconut Brown Rice
- Best Ever Healthy Pumpkin Pie
Get all of my amazing pumpkin recipes here!
I hope you LOVE these healthy pumpkin pancakes as much as we do! I’d love if you leave a comment below and let me know how you enjoyed them. xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes
Ingredients
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 ½ cups old fashioned rolled oats, gluten free if desired
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Olive oil, for cooking
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend on high until completely smooth, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Lightly coat a griddle with coconut oil, vegan butter or olive oil and place over a medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add about 1/3 cup of the batter to the griddle for each pancake; the batter may be thick so you'll need to use a spoon to spread out the batter a bit. It will get thicker as it sits so be sure to cook these pancakes immediately after blending. Cook for 2-4 minutes until pancakes slightly puff up and you see a few bubbles along the edges.
- Flip cakes and cook until golden brown on underside. If you find that pancakes are browning too quickly, then you need to lower the heat. I normally start on medium heat, then reduce to medium low later so that my pancakes don't burn. If at any point your griddle starts smoking, it means your pan is way too hot. Wipe skillet clean and repeat with more oil and remaining batter. Makes 6 pancakes total. Serves 3, 2 pancakes each.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on October 10th, 2019, and republished on October 16th, 2022.
This is a very easy quick recipe. The first time I made it they were not fluffy a weird texture, but I tried it again made them a second time and only use a half a cup of pumpkin purée and 2 tablespoons of honey with pumpkin pie spice..
They came out delicious
These are perfect! I did half whole milk and half Greek yogurt, added a few tablespoons of flax seed, and a few mini chocolate chips.
If you like pumpkin, these pancakes are delicious. They are better than some other oat pancakes I have tried. The batter is thick, though and I added more almond milk 2x. I didn’t have quite enough pumpkin puree so I added about a 1/3 cup of mashed banana.
I loved this recipe so much! I made it with leftover pumpkin porridge that I had sitting in the fridge, and it worked out great. For a stronger color, I added a little powdered curcuma, which also makes it anti inflammatory and antioxidant. Overall, this is such a lovely, cosy, nourishing autumn breakfast!
I have recently been diagnosed with wheat allergies! Now at 70 years old, I have a new challenge of eating! Your pancake recipe is incredibly delicious, and healthy for my new lifestyle! I added grated apple to my batter..yum!! Thank you for sharing
Oh no! Well, I’m so glad you found a great wheat-free breakfast here!
Thank you for this recipe. I have made it many times and have enjoyed it very much!
Question: Have you ever substituted gluten-free flour for the rolled oats? If so, how did it turn out?
So happy to hear that! I’ve only tested this with oats, so I’m not sure how a flour version would turn out.
These are absolutely DELICIOUS I make them at least once a week, batter is on the wetter side so you have to be mindful of that when cooking but they always turn out perfect. I’ve been doubling the recipe for meal prep because they stay so well in the fridge/freezer. Perfect for fall, or any time honestly!!!
So happy to hear that! I love these all year round, too 🙂
Would it be a bad idea to prep these the night before? Blend and stick in the fridge till morning?
I’m afraid the batter will get too thick!
Made these to treat Mom for Valentine’s Day – they were delicious! I followed the recipe exactly using whole milk and the taste was exceptional. No tweaks needed.
Thank you for the recipe.
Love that! Perfect v-day breakfast 🙂
Really great recipe. If your diet will allow, I recommend some finely chopped nuts added to the batter. The pancakes would be great with banana, or any fruit lightly scattered on top. This is a keeper.
Thank you for the love on these, Shirley!
I’m obsessed with these right now when it’s -36 windchill in Michigan! I substituted two chia eggs and made them into waffles, easier to freeze. Might add a bit more oat flour next time. The spices are perfect and so warming. Basically my healthy dessert now!
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!
I love Ambitious Kitchen recipes and have made many with great success. These pancakes were a fail. They need so much more liquid than the recipe calls for. I added another 1/3 cup of milk and they were still thick – pancakes weee doughy and went in the trash. I hate wasting good ingredients – and we were all so hungry. So if you’re going to make these, add as much milk as you need to make sure your batter has the right consistency.
Sorry you had trouble! The reason that your pancakes turned out doughy is because you added too much milk and since there was too much liquid it prevented the pancakes from fully cooking. These are supposed to have a thicker batter 🙂 if anything an additional tablespoon or two of milk would be fine but 1/3 cup is way too much!
Healthy yummy pancakes
Tasted good but I couldn’t get the pancakes to come out of the pan whole. They kept falling apart and becoming mush in the pan 🙁
So strange! Were they nice and golden brown on the bottom? And did you use butter or olive oil to grease your pan?
I can’t think of a time that I’ve left a review on a recipe but here I am. I’m a huge fan of trying new recipes and have a pumpkin pancake recipe but thought I’d try this one in attempt to be a bit healthier.
There were so many things wrong with the recipe that I don’t know where to start. First being laziness, blender pancakes is such a bad idea, if it’s to get the oats to a consistency that works then just say that, I did on my second attempt and then mixed with a hand mixer and the consistency was so much better. The first attempt overheating my ninja blender because the consistency was closer to wall spackle than what a pancake should be. I probably doubled the amount of almond milk from what the recipe called for. Reading some of the comments is funny when someone pointing out that tweaking a recipe doesn’t exactly make it yours, based on the quality of the recipe I’d be surprised if the person that posted this has ever made these. And then attacking the person pointing this out in the comments is kind of funny too. I’ll unsubscribe from your email list now though.
Hi! Sorry to hear that you didn’t like this recipe. I have many blender pancake recipes on my site because I find them even easier to blend and pour (maybe it’s “lazy,” but as a mom of almost 4 kiddos I like to save time where I can). A lot of readers feel the same! You can absolutely use a hand mixer if that’s your preference. How did the texture and flavor come out when you mixed by hand? Did you mix in the whole oats or use oat flour?
This is the ONLY healthy pumpkin pancake recipe that works perfectly every time. Today I replaced 1 tablespoon of milk with olive oil and made mini waffles!! So fun and yum!
Love that idea!! Glad this is a favorite!
A quick and tasty autumn breakfast. Subbed the pumpkin pie spice but kept 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Definitely wait at least 5 min for the baking powder to “activate” and create fluffier pancakes (or use less milk). Very good!
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
These are outstanding! My family devoured them, and my 3-year-old ate them for breakfast and then dinner. Super hearty and easy. Can’t wait to make again.
Amazing! Glad they were a hit!