Carrot Cake Pancakes (Printable)
Spiced, fluffy pancakes loaded with grated carrots, walnuts, and warm cinnamon-nutmeg flavors. Perfect weekend breakfast with maple syrup.
# What You'll Need:
→ Dry Ingredients
01 - 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2 tablespoons brown sugar
03 - 2 teaspoons baking powder
04 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
05 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
06 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
07 - 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
08 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
→ Wet Ingredients
09 - 1 cup milk
10 - 2 large eggs
11 - 1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
12 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
13 - Zest of 1 orange (optional)
→ Add-Ins
14 - 1 cup finely grated carrots (about 2 medium carrots)
15 - 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
16 - 1/4 cup raisins (optional)
→ For Serving
17 - Maple syrup, to taste
18 - Cream cheese glaze or yogurt (optional)
19 - Extra chopped walnuts
# How to Make It:
01 - In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt until evenly distributed.
02 - In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, oil or melted butter, vanilla extract, and orange zest if using, until smooth and well blended.
03 - Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined. Avoid overmixing to keep the pancakes light and fluffy.
04 - Gently fold in the grated carrots, chopped walnuts or pecans, and raisins if using, distributing them evenly throughout the batter.
05 - Heat a nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat and lightly grease with oil or butter.
06 - Drop 1/4 cup of batter per pancake onto the skillet. Cook until bubbles form on the surface and edges appear set, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook another 1 to 2 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
07 - Continue cooking the remaining batter in batches, re-greasing the skillet as needed between rounds.
08 - Serve warm pancakes with maple syrup, cream cheese glaze or yogurt, and extra chopped nuts as desired.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The batter comes together in under fifteen minutes, which means you can go from sleepy to impressive without much effort.
- They taste like dessert but pass as a perfectly acceptable breakfast, and that is a rare and beautiful thing.
02 -
- If your carrots are grated too coarsely the pancakes will struggle to hold together, so use the fine holes on your grater and really press the carrots against the blade.
- The batter will look thicker than regular pancake batter and that is exactly right, so resist the urge to thin it out with extra milk.
03 -
- Let the batter rest for five minutes before cooking and the pancakes will rise noticeably higher because the flour has time to hydrate fully.
- A small dollop of cream cheese whisked with a splash of maple syrup and a pinch of vanilla makes an easy glaze that ties the whole carrot cake theme together beautifully.