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Try Carrot Cake Pancakes!
Carrot cake pancakes are light and fluffy and bring the taste of carrot cake to your breakfast or brunch – that’s welcome anytime in my book! These pancakes are made with staple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry, plus shredded carrots, coconut, and walnuts. It’s pretty much like having carrot cake for breakfast!
This carrot cake pancake recipe is moist and soft, just like cake, but made with no butter and no refined sugar. I use plant-based milk, maple syrup, and oil to make the batter and they just take an extra 5 minutes extra (to prep the carrots and walnuts) compared to making regular pancakes.
These pancakes are SO delicious! I will definitely be making them again!! – Wendy Michael
Carrot Cake Pancakes Ingredients
- Flour: I use all-purpose flour, but you can also use a mixture of whole wheat and all-purpose flour.
- Baking Powder, cinnamon and salt: For flavor and to make the pancakes fluffy.
- Milk: I use almond milk to keep the recipe plant-based but any milk will work.
- Maple Syrup: For sweetness without any refined sugar, but you can also use honey or agave syrup.
- Oil: I use avocado oil to keep the carrot cake pancakes vegan, but you can use melted butter or any neutral oil.
- Vanilla: For a sweeter flavor, but it can be left out.
- Carrots: Use fresh carrots for the best taste. Since baby carrots and pre-cut carrots are treated with chlorine to preserve them, the taste is not as prominent when shredded as compared to whole carrots. I also found that the pre-shredded store-bought carrots are too long and thick to work well in this batter but you can chop them and use if needed.
- Walnuts: Make sure to chop them finely so they mix well with the pancake batter
Optional Mix-Ins
- Shredded coconut: Add ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut to get the full carrot cake effect.
- Chocolate chips: Try adding your favorite berries or chocolate chips to your pancakes for a fun addition the kids will love.
- Raisins: Add 2-3 tablespoons of raisins to add some sweetness.
- Orange zest: Zest one orange into the batter to brighten it up.
- Make a whipped cream cheese topping. Not for mixing, but for topping, try this simple cream cheese “frosting” made with cream cheese!
How to Make Carrot Cake Pancakes
YUM! Love these! I made a lot of mods to make them even healthier, though. I used oat flour, skipped the oil completely, added 1 TB chia seeds + 1 TB ground flax, and approx 1 TB of fresh ginger. DELISH!!! – Caroline G
My Best Carrot Cake Pancakes Tips
- Don’t overmix your batter. Just like any other pancake batter, this one should be mixed until everything is just combined. Overmixing creates extra gluten, which results in dense, chewy pancakes.
- Let your batter rest. This ties closely in with avoiding overmixing. Letting your batter rest for a 2-5 minutes allows any gluten that has formed during the mixing process to relax, helping keep your pancakes light and fluffy.
- Flip once and only once. Flip your pancakes when the edges firm up, and that’s it. Let them cook through from the other side and serve. This way they stay fluffy.
Recipe Help & FAQs
For maximum freshness, transfer your pancakes to an air-tight container and refrigerate them as soon as they’ve cooled for up to 1 week week. To reheat, spray them with a bit of water and cook them for a minute or two per side in a covered pan over medium heat. This heats them through without drying them out.
Yes! You can also freeze them for up to 2 months. Place the pancakes in single layers separated by wax paper in an air-tight, freezer-safe container, seal, and freeze. Defrost the pancakes in the refrigerator overnight before reheating them.
Use the largest holes to shred your carrots. This creates the perfect shreds for your pancakes. The smaller holes are for grating and will result in a watery sort of carrot mush not suitable for cakes, muffins, bread, or pancakes like these.
Absolutely! Pancake batter is great for advanced prepping because the longer it sits, the more the gluten in the batter can relax. Make this batter a day ahead of time, then bring it to room temperature in the morning and make your delicious pancakes.
Pancakes should be firm around the edges with bubbles on top before they’re flipped. After flipping, cooking them until they reach a golden color is generally all you need to do to ensure they’re cooked. However, to be totally sure, just use a toothpick. If you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean, the pancakes are done.
More Pancake Recipes:
- High Protein Pancakes
- Sweet Potato Pancakes
- Oat Flour Pancakes
- Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes
- Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
- Flourless Strawberry Pancakes
- Banana Pancake Dippers
- Cottage Cheese Pancakes
- Easy Greek Yogurt Pancakes
If you try this Carrot Cake Pancakes recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
Carrot Cake Pancakes
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup almond milk
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup carrots shredded and lightly packed
- 2 tablespoons walnuts finely chopped
- Cooking spray
- For topping: Cream cheese whipped with honey
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; set aside
- In a large bowl, combine the milk, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Stir in the shredded carrots and walnuts. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined, being careful not to over mix; a few lumps are okay. Allow the mixture to rest for 2 minutes.
- Heat a nonstick griddle over medium-low heat. Spray with cooking spray or leave the pan dry.
- Pour ⅓ cup of the batter into the hot griddle. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the edges firm up and you can slide spatula under the pancake. Flip the pancake and cook for another 1-2 minutes until the pancake is cooked through. Repeat for the remaining batter. Recipe yields about 8 pancakes.
- Serve immediately with maple syrup or whipped cream cheese if desired, if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Do I have to use almond milk and avocado oil? I would rather use vitamin D milk and canola oil
You can use any milk and oil you’d like! Those options sound great.
I added some allspice and cloves and cut out the coconut (I’m allergic) and it came out amazing! It tastes just like carrot cake with no added sugar!
Yum, sounds so good! Happy you enjoyed them. Thanks, Grace!!
I did grate the carrots. I will try it again with the shredder instead.
I hope the texture turns out better next time!
Hi Erica! I retested this recipe but my batter wasn’t watery and the pancakes came out fluffy. I made sure to let the batter rest for 2 minutes before cooking to help it thicken slightly, perhaps that will make a difference the next time you make these pancakes? Let me know if you try the recipe out again!
Pancakes came out watery and flat like a crepe. Taste was good though.
Hi Erica, did you happen to grate the carrots with a microplane? Grating them into small pieces can add extra moisture, I prefer shredding them finely. Letting the batter rest before cooking can also help with the consistency. So happy you enjoyed the flavor despite the texture issue!
Good afternoon! I am planning on making these but I noticed in your article, the amount of shredded carrots is indicated as 1 cup but in the article it mentions 1/2 cup. What is the amount of shredded amount of carrots to use? Thankyou
Thanks so much for calling this out, I just updated the recipe. It should be 1/2 cup.
These pancakes are SO delicious! I will definitely be making them again!!
Thank you so much, Wendy!!