Zucchini Walnut Pancakes

These Sweet Zucchini Walnut Pancakes are like a loaf of your favorite zucchini bread that takes the shape of pancakes. Packed with shredded zucchini, olive oil, whole grains, and walnuts, and gently scented with cinnamon and lemon zest, these pancakes have enough fiber, veggies, and healthy fats to qualify as a healthy breakfast option.

These pancakes taste toasty from the white wholemeal flour, delicately tart from the buttermilk, warm and sunny from cinnamon and lemon and with a lot of crunch from the walnuts.

If you’ve ever wanted a legitimate excuse to eat cake for breakfast, look no further!

Zucchini: No need to squash

This recipe calls for about two cups of shredded zucchini. You don’t have to squeeze the moisture out of the zucchini like you do with other recipes. This takes advantage of the high water content of the zucchini. The rest of the liquid ingredients (like buttermilk) are kept to a minimum so that the balance between wet and dry ingredients is not lost.

Don’t over-stir the batter

Over-mixing the batter will make pancakes chewy and dense due to over-development of gluten. While this is less of a problem with whole wheat flour, gentle mixing is still the way to go for the most sublime pancakes.

Use a large rubber spatula to mix the batter until the ingredients are just combined. You don’t want big bags of dry flour, but some small clumps are good, and even highly recommended!

How to cook zucchini walnut pancakes perfectly

For diner-style pancakes with an evenly golden brown bottom, an ungreased pan is the way to go! With a good non-stick pan or griddle, there’s little chance of them sticking and the pancakes will be golden from rim to rim.

Oil or butter in a pan tends to pool under the pancakes and result in a speckled – but delicious! – lead appearance. If you swear by greasing your pan or it’s not reliably non-stick, use oil as it burns less than butter.

If you’re feeding a crowd and want everyone to sit together, simply slide your pancakes onto a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet as soon as they come off the griddle. Keep them warm in an oven preheated to 275°F – it’s warm enough to retain the heat of the pancakes, but not enough to overcook and dry them out.

Delicious pancake variations

Here are other spices, nuts, oils, and flours that I would use and recommend.

• Substitute ground cardamom for the cinnamon for something different.
• Almost any other coarsely chopped nut will work in place of walnuts: almonds, pecans, or hazelnuts.
• Whole wheat white flour is the key to retaining all the goodness of whole grains without the heaviness or bitterness that regular whole wheat sometimes has. But if you can’t find whole white grain, don’t let that stop you from making these pancakes! Just substitute a half and a half mixture of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour (that’s 3/4 cup each in this recipe).
• Instead of olive oil, use a neutral vegetable oil (such as canola or peanut oil) or melted coconut oil.

Save and reheat pancakes

Zucchini Walnut Pancakes will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. In addition, they tend to dry out and are better suited for long-term storage in the freezer.

These pancakes are good candidates for freezing. Stack them in an airtight ziplock container or bag, with a small piece of parchment or wax paper in between to prevent them from sticking together. Freeze them for up to 1 month.

A toaster is great for reheating pancakes. They will be crispy on the outside and warm in the middle. Roast on medium for about 2 minutes. (Toasters and settings vary, so some experimentation may be required to find the perfect configuration for yours.)

Never reheat pancakes in the microwave! They become rubbery and limp.

More winning opportunities at breakfast

• Oatmeal Almond Butter Breakfast Cookies
• Blueberry Maple Breakfast Casserole
• Easy overnight oats
• Carrot Cake Pancakes