This recipe for healthy pancakes is going to become a family favorite, whether you're on Weight Watchers or not. Each fluffy pancake has just one SmartPoint, and nonfat Greek yogurt helps give them tons of flavor!
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Why you'll love this recipe for healthy pancakes
I love baking Weight Watchers-style recipes with ingredients like eggs, applesauce, and nonfat plain yogurt. They're mostly neutral-tasting ingredients, have a “zero points value” on Weight Watchers, and add moisture and structure.
The Greek-style plain yogurt in these pancakes also gives them some depth of flavor, through a gentle tanginess. The recipe calls for some alternative sugar as a sweetener, and I really like using Monkfruit In The Raw (affiliate link). It adds some real sweetness but without any sort of cooling sensation or other unpleasant aftertaste (both of which I'm super sensitive to).
If you don't want to open a whole jar of applesauce, you can buy those individual shelf-stable containers of smooth applesauce and use one of those each time you make these pancakes. And I promise you that, once you taste them, you'll be making them all the time!
No bananas in these healthy pancakes
I tend to avoid using mashed bananas, unless I'm making something banana-flavored like in our banana pancakes. Bananas have a very obvious, pronounced flavor. Applesauce tends to work the same in most baking applications, but with a more neutral flavor profile.
And I don't care what anyone says, those 2-ingredient flourless pancakes made with banana and eggs? They taste like eggs, but not like you're eating an omelet. They're just all kinds of wrong.
Cooking oil spray creates crispy edges without adding points
Be sure to use a cooking oil spray on the griddle or skillet before you cook the pancakes. It's so light that it doesn't add any points or take away from the health-focus of the pancakes, but the spray is the only way you're going to get those golden brown edges and spots on your pancakes. And the edges are even a bit crunchy.
Tips on making these healthy pancakes
As much as store-bought baking mixes used to mystify me, I do understand their beauty now. That's why I love to provide make-your-own mix recipes like my DIY gluten free pancake mix and my DIY gluten free cupcake mixes.
But pancakes in general are just so easy to make, and they all follow essentially the same method. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, salt and baking powder) and whisk them together. Then add the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Be careful not to mix the ingredients too much if you want fluffier pancakes. But whisking the dry ingredients, adding the wet and mixing are really all it takes. But there are a few tips for cooking pancakes like a pro.
Make sure your healthy pancake batter is the right consistency
You want your batter to be of a thickly pourable consistency. This batter doesn't have any xanthan gum so it doesn't tend to thicken as it sits. Once you reach the proper batter texture, you shouldn't have to mess with it.
But don't be afraid to add a teaspoonful of lukewarm water if the batter seems too thick. If it seems too thin, add another teaspoonful of either the gum-free gluten free flour, or even a teaspoonful of cornstarch.
Use cooking oil spray and a hot skillet—but not too hot.
If your skillet is dry (even if it's nonstick), you won't get those lovely brown edges on your pancakes. If the skillet is way too hot, the outside will cook too quickly and you won't get a fluffy middle.
Healthy pancakes: Ingredients and substitutions
As written, these pancakes are gluten free since they're made with our 3 ingredient flour blend. But you can also make them with whole wheat flour if you're not gluten free, since whole wheat flour absorbs moisture in a similar fashion to gluten free flour, and is lower in gluten than all purpose wheat flour.
I haven't tried this recipe with every substitution, but I've tried some. Here's the benefit of my experience and best-educated guesses:
Healthy dairy free pancakes
I always use unsweetened almond milk in this recipe, and as long as your milk is dairy-free, you're halfway there to dairy-free pancakes. The sticking point is the yogurt.
Much as I did in our Weight Watchers bagels recipe, I was able to substitute SoDelicious brand plain dairy-free yogurt for the 0% plain Greek-style yogurt in this recipe.
It's quite a lot thinner than Greek-style yogurt, but rather than draining it to thicken it, instead, I just mix all of the ingredients as described below, but leave out the milk. I then only add as much as necessary to achieve the proper thickly pourable consistency of the batter.
The issue, though, with using dairy-free plain yogurt is that I don't know of any nonfat varieties. That means that the dairy-free version of these pancakes will have more than 1 SmartPoint each. It will still be healthy, just not as Weight Watchers-friendly. If they ever make a nonfat dairy-free plain yogurt, Greek-style or not, I'll be sure to let you know!
Egg free healthy pancakes
Since there are only 2 eggs in this recipe, you should be able to replace them with 2 “chia eggs” (each 1 tablespoon ground chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel). I haven't tried that, so you'll have to experiment.
And if Weight Watchers is important to you, be sure to recalculate the SmartPoints value to ensure that it hasn't changed. Two tablespoons of ground chia seeds shouldn't alter the stats, but you never know.
FAQs
I haven't tried this recipe without applesauce, and it's a great way to add pectin for structure, moisture and a bit of WW-friendly sweetness. But you should be able to replace it with mashed banana by weight if applesauce is a no-go. You don't taste the applesauce, but you will taste the mashed banana.
These pancakes have only 50 calories each, and 3 grams of protein (which means that 12 of those 50 calories are actually protein). They're also free of any added sugar, and only 1 gram of fat—but they're still really satisfying.
If you're not gluten free and don't plan to make any other gluten free recipes, then I wouldn't suggest you should go out of your way to make these healthy pancakes with gluten free flour. Instead, try using 210 grams of whole wheat flour in its place, as it behaves similarly to gluten free flour in baking.
Easy Healthy Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (210 g) gum free gluten free flour blend (140 g superfine white rice flour + 45 g potato starch + 25 g tapioca starch/flour)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 packet granulated alternative white sugar sweetener like Monkfruit in the Raw (optional)
- ½ cup (128 g) nonfat plain Greek-style yogurt at room temperature
- ⅔ cup (163 g) unsweetened smooth applesauce at room temperature
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten
- ⅔ cup (5.33 fluid ounces) unsweetened low-fat or nonfat milk (I like unsweetened almond milk), at room temperature
- Cooking oil spray
Instructions
- In a large bowl, place the flour blend, baking powder, salt and optional granulated sweetener, and whisk to combine.
- Add the yogurt, applesauce, eggs and milk, and mix gently until just combined. Don’t try to smooth out any lumps. The batter should be thickly pourable. Add water by the teaspoonful if your batter seems too thick to pour.
- Heat a griddle to 350°F or a skillet until hot, and coat lightly with cooking oil spray.
- Using a medium-sized ice cream scoop or large spoon, place about 1 1/2 tablespoonsful of batter into portions on the hot surface and spread gently into a round.
- Allow to cook for about 1 minute or until bubbles have broken through the surface and the edges are set about 3/4-inch all around. Flip and continue to cook until set on the underside.
- Remove the pancakes, spray the surface again lightly with cooking oil spray, and repeat with the remaining batter.
- Serve immediately or wrap tightly and store in the refrigerator or freezer. Warm in the microwave or toaster oven before serving leftovers.
Notes
Nutrition
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Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
Sandy says
It looks like your using a Presto griddle, can you please elaborate on that a little ? I’m curious what your experience is.
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Sandy, yes! It is. I really like the size, how it heats evenly and is easy to clean up. Here’s (an affiliate) link, but feel free to shop around!
Maxine says
Love your recipes keep on sending ..have not had a chance to try them yet cause I have been a bit under the weather but I love to bake so i will sure try them..
Maxine –May 7-2018
Carole says
Our favorite pasta is Barilla. Have you tried Promise gf bread sold at Costco ? There are two 14 ounce loaves in a package and at our Costco it is $5.99 that’s four dollars less than the Udi’s they carry and not frustrating to use. We do prefer it toasted.
Carole says
Our favorite gf pasta is Barilla. But wish they had a few more shapes like rigatoni and sea shell.