These toasted oat pancakes are everything you love about the brunch staple, just made healthier and more flavorful. They’re made with whole grain oats and are lower in sugar and fat than classic recipes.

3 Key Steps to Making Oat Flour Pancakes

The process of making oat flour pancakes is pretty similar to making regular pancakes, here are some key steps to keep in mind:

Toast your oats! Toasting oats is a simple and easy way to add flavor to these pancakes.
Use buttermilk. If possible, try to use actual buttermilk instead of making a quick homemade buttermilk (1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon vinegar). The flavor is better and the texture is much creamier.
Add flavorings. This is what differentiates boring pancakes from interesting pancakes. What’s the point of making pancakes if they aren’t flavorful? I always add vanilla to my pancake batter, but I also like to add spices. These pancakes feature cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom. If you aren’t sure you like all of those spices, start by just adding cinnamon.

Photo of toasted oats on a baking sheet. — Toast oats.

Photograph of pancake ingredients measured and prepped for cooking. — Process oats into a flour, measure out remaining ingredients.

Photograph of buttermilk and butter in a measuring cup with dry ingredients in a separate bowl for pancakes. — Combine dry ingredients.

Photo of dry ingredients in a bowl and wet ingredients in a bowl prepped for making pancakes. — Combine wet ingredients.

Photo of adding buttermilk mixture to flour mixture to make a pancake batter. — Add wet ingredients to flour mixture.

Photo of pancake batter in a bowl with a whisk. — Whisk just until combined.

Are oat flour pancakes healthy

They are! Replacing some of the all-purpose flour with oat flour adds both whole grains and fiber to these pancakes. Additionally, these oat pancakes are low in sugar and naturally sweetened with maple syrup. And finally, these pancakes are high in protein and low in fat.

How to make vegan oat pancakes

Swap the buttermilk out for vegan buttermilk.

How to make vegan buttermilk:

Combine 2 cups unsweetened almond or soy milk with 2 tablespoons vinegar.
Let the mixture rest for 5–10 minutes until curdled.
Use as directed in the recipe.

Swap the eggs for flax or chia eggs

How to make flax/chia eggs:

Grind 2 tablespoons flax or chia seeds in a spice grinder.
Combine ground flax or chia with 6 tablespoons water and let rest 15 minutes in the refrigerator.
Use as directed in the recipe.

Swap the butter for vegan butter

You can easily use vegan butter or coconut oil in place of butter in these pancakes.

How to make gluten-free oat pancakes

It’s super easy to make these toasted oat pancakes gluten-free! Just swap the all-purpose flour out for 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, such as Bob’s Red Mill.

How to serve these oat pancakes

I love to serve these toasted oat pancakes with fresh fruit, softened butter and a splash of pure maple syrup. But the options are endless! Here are some of my favorite pancake toppings:

Caramelized bananas
Blueberry Maple Syrup
Berry Compote
Fresh berries
Nut butter
Chopped nuts

Serve oat pancakes with:

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Photo of toasted oat pancakes stacked on a plate topped with butter, maple syrup and strawberries

Make sure to tag me @ZESTFULKITCHEN ON INSTAGRAM or comment below if you make these oat pancakes!

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Toasted Oat Pancakes

Author: Lauren
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (16 pancakes) 1x
Category: Breakfast
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

1 cup old-fashioned oats
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom

Instructions

Heat oven to 350ºF.

Arrange oats in a single layer on a sheet pan. Toast oats in oven until fragrant, 6 minutes; transfer to food processor. Turn oven off and close door to keep warm.

Meanwhile, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, butter, maple syrup, and vanilla; set aside.

Process oats until finely ground into a flour; transfer to a bowl. Add all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamom and whisk to combine; make a well in the dry ingredients.

Whisk buttermilk mixture into flour mixture just until combined.

Heat a nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-low heat for 8 minutes. Lightly coat a skillet with butter or oil, then test temperature of pan with a small drop of batter (it should sizzle).

Spoon ¼ cup batter onto skillet and cook until golden brown and bubbles form and burst on top of pancakes, about 2 minutes. Flip pancakes then cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes more.

Transfer pancakes to an oven-proof plate or platter and keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining batter.

Notes

Make these oat pancakes for meal prep: Cook as directed then cool completely on wire racks. Transfer to zipper-lock bags, layering small pieces of wax paper between pancakes, and freeze.

Reheat pancakes: to reheat, simply pop frozen pancakes right into a toaster and toast until heated through and edges start to crisp.