Other Than a Bowl of Oats: Apple-Cinnamon Oat Pancakes

Melty butter on a golden pancake.

A while ago I tried out a recipe for low-calorie, low-carb pancakes but they used cottage cheese and my friend Renae was interested in making them since they're gluten-free, but she doesn't eat dairy products, so I came up with this apple-cinnamon pancake recipe as an alternative for her. 

Inspiration

The Oatmeal Artist Banana Chocolate Chip Oat Pancakes for One

I skipped the banana that was in my inspiration recipe since they're starchy and more calories than I want. Sometimes you just want to chow down a plate (or two, or three!) of pancakes. 

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup oats
• 6 ounces liquid (I used almond milk)
• 4 oz unsweetened applesauce (I keep the single-serve containers of these on hand for low-calorie baking, you use it to replace oil)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt (2 dashes of the shaker)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Blurry first pancake

Directions

Put all ingredients in blender or immersion blender cup.  Blend until it's as smooth as it can be.  The mixture should be pretty thick, like regular pancake batter.  Let sit for 5 minutes to hydrate the oats.

They form bubbles like regular pancakes. 
I think that's a monkey face there on the bottom!

Spray a non-stick skillet and put it on medium heat.  The pancake batter will thicken upon standing, so if it looks too thick, you can add a teaspoon or two of water or other liquid to thin it out.  Let the skillet warm up a bit and pour in your pancakes.  I recommend going with a smaller pancake (3") to ensure they cook all the way through.

Since there's no oil in the recipe, I suggest spraying before each batch goes into the pan since they could easily stick.

Golden brown.

Flip when they form bubbles on the edges that don't fill back in with batter.  When the second side is done, put it on your plate, add a buttery topping and some syrup.   

Verdict

Surprising -- you can make pancakes from oats.

These were filling and quite tasty.  I felt like it could use even more cinnamon, it didn't seem like this was enough.  And the apple flavor was muted too, but I wouldn't expect much apple flavor from applesauce.  I might try a version using an unpeeled apple slices whizzed up in the immersion blender to see how that works out.
I was impressed that they acted like regular pancakes, with the bubbles on the edges and everything.  And they browned nicely too, maybe from the natural sugars in the applesauce and almond milk?

You could probably make other flavor variations, but I haven't tried out anything else to know what would work.  I know blueberry pancakes are popular. 

This wasn't so amazing that you should ditch your regular pancakes, but if you want a gluten-free and dairy-free (vegan, even!) option or you're watching calories, this is a pretty good substitute. 

Tasty with syrup!