Here’s a giant stack of the Ultimate Superfood Quinoa Pancakes. With whole wheat, flax, chia and eggs, its just loaded with all the nutrition you could get from a single meal. And delicious too!
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It’s been a hot second since I’ve made pancakes. Okay, I guess I did make those spinach pancakes recently, but the last time before that one was probably months ago.
Why is this a big deal? Coz Pancakes are my favorite brunch food. I won’t say breakfast coz that’s reserved for my beloved oatmeal + protein powder, so brunch it is.
With my pancake phase (potentially) back on, I decided to take complete advantage and try out as many recipes as possible. You never when the cravings come and go.
So when I saw the huge bag of quinoa from Ancient Harvest I had cooked and stashed away in the freezer, inspiration struck. Quinoa Pancakes!
Its not one of those common things to do with quinoa, but why not?
The first word that came to mind when I thought ‘quinoa’ was ‘superfood’. So I decided to make pancakes just packed with superfoods. I know kale is another, but kale in pancakes kinda sounded disgusting.
So I looked up what all are considered superfoods – and mind you that list is long – and came up with this recipe.
Mix Dry 
Mix Wet 
Mix Both 
Whisk White
While all the key ingredients have multiple benefits, here’s the highlights:
- Quinoa: Some fancy nutritional science facts: this is a seed – yes, not a grain – that has all the 9 amino acids your body needs, making it a “complete protein”. Apparently the human body can’t product them all, so there’s that too.
- Chia seeds & Flax seeds: SO SO full of fiber. It does not get better than this. Omega-3 fatty acids too that manage heart diseases. Makes flapjacks stack high fiber too.
- Cinnamon: Anti-inflammatory properties and improves cholesterol too.
- Egg: 9 essential aminos again, and also some unique antioxidants that reduce the risk of eye disorders.
- Almond Milk: Source of Calcium and Vitamin E. Get them healthy bones.
- Blueberries: Rich in antioxidants that help prevent heart and digestive diseases.
- Almonds: More antioxidants, healthy fats, and also controls cholesterol levels.
I think all of that really justifies the title of this recipe.
To hold the quinoa together, I used whole wheat flour. This also keeps these pancakes whole grain.
To make these as Vegan Pancakes, substitute
- Egg with a flax egg: Combine 1 Tbsp of Flaxseed meal with 3 Tbsp water and let it rest for about 15 minutes until it gets a gel-like consistency.
- Egg white with Aquafaba: This is the liquid left from cooking chickpeas, and you can whisk it like egg whites.
To make these gluten-free, replace the whole wheat flour with almond flour. They will have a different consistency though and higher fat content too.
To make these dairy free, well they’re already dairy free 🙂
Now they’re not as light and airy as regular pancakes because of the “grainy” feel of the quinoa, but they still have some rise. And with all these benefits that come with, this is a pretty sweet deal. And made even sweeter by those toppings!
So if you have a bunch of pre-cooked quinoa and like me, looking up “things to make with cooked quinoa”, pancakes are really not a bad option. Especially when they’re healthy and whole wheat pancakes!
Ultimate Superfood Quinoa Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup Quinoa, Cooked, 185g
- ⅓ cup Whole Wheat Flour, 40g
- 1 Tbsp Flaxseed, Ground, 11g
- 1 Tbsp Chia Seeds , 14g
- 2½ tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Cinnamon Powder
- 1 Egg
- ⅔ cup + 3 Tbsp Sparkling Water or Almond Milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Stevia Sweetener, 4 tsp sugar worth (Use your brand's Conversion Chart)
- 1 Egg White
Toppings:
- Blueberries
- Sliced Almonds
- Cinnamon ‘Sugar’: ⅔ tsp Cinnamon + Stevia Sweetener (= 4 tsp Sugar)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine and uniformly mix quinoa, flour, flax, chia, baking powder and cinnamon.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, sparkling water/milk, vanilla and sweetener.
- Add wet ingredients into dry, and stir gently to combine.
- In a small bowl, beat egg whites using an hand mixer until stiff peaks form, about 1-2 minutes.
- Fold egg white into the batter.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium-low and scoop out ¼ cup mixture on it (2-3 pancakes on one skillet at a time).
- Cook for about 2 minutes until bubbles appear all over the pancake, and top is mostly dry.
- Flip carefully and cook other side for another 2 minutes.
- Remove from pan and repeat with remaining batter.
- Keep pancakes warm in a 200°F oven, or warm them in a microwave for serving.
- Top with blueberries and sliced almonds and serve!
Notes
- Ground flaxseed is also called Flaxseed meal.
- To make this Vegan, replace:
- Egg with a flax egg: Combine 1 Tbsp of Flaxseed meal with 3 Tbsp water and let it rest for about 15 minutes until it gets a gel-like consistency.
- Egg white with Aquafaba: This is the liquid left from cooking chickpeas, and you can whisk it like egg whites.
- Make sure the Quinoa is pre-cooked. To cook quinoa:
- Rinse thoroughly in cold water (this is required to avoid any bitter taste).
- Bring ⅔ cup water and quinoa to a boil in saucepan.
- Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until quinoa is fluffy and all the water is absorbed.
- Remove from heat and let it rest for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and transfer to bowl.
- Using sparking water makes the batter lighter and airier, but almond milk works great as well.
- Ancient Harvest Traditional Quinoa
- SweetLeaf Organic Stevia Sweetener Packets
- Servings: 12 4” pancakes | Serving size: 4 pancakes
- Calories: 205kcal
- Fat: 6.9g | Saturated fat: 0.7g
- Carbohydrates: 26.5g | Fiber: 6.8g | Sugar: 0.1g
- Protein: 9.5g
Hey! I'm Haylee
Google Software Engineer
I use my passion for baking (and eating) to create healthy, high-protein, good-for-you and diet-friendly desserts and sweet treats that are actually delicious.
Come join me in Hayl's Kitchen and let's eat high protein, sweet and guilt free!