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If you’re looking for cute Valentine’s Day ideas that involve food, try making my Pink Pancakes! I mean, does it even get any cuter than that? Whether you’ve got a significant other, little kiddos or you want something different to celebrate Galentine’s Day, this recipe will impress everyone. The best part is that it’s a simple pancake recipe made in a blender with the help of one beet for natural coloring!
These beet pancakes are a great Valentine’s Day recipe that you can prepare the night before in a blender. Keep it in the blender covered in the fridge and then just fry them the pancakes the next morning when you’re ready. I love how the color comes out pink without using any artificial coloring!
How to make pink pancakes
Start by boiling or roasting a beet. Both methods work fine and it just depends on your preference. There’s no actual taste difference between each method. If you’re in a time crunch, you can actually just peel the beet and puree it raw. But I recommend cooking it and peeling after it’s cooked. To get that pink color, blend the cooked beet with milk.
Right away, you’ll see that you’re in [pink] business! Add on the other wet ingredients and blend again until it’s smooth and looks like a smoothie. Next add the dry ingredients. This time, pulse until you don’t see any flour streaks but the mixture is still lumpy.
And that’s basically the batter for these pink pancakes. Now you can store it in the fridge until you’re ready to make the pancakes or heat a pan/griddle and get cooking right away.
I usually prefer buttering my pan or spraying it with coconut oil. But in the case of these beet pancakes and my attempt at preserving their color, I would recommend not even greasing the pan. My husband, who is the official household pancake preparer, usually votes against ever using any oil or butter on the pan.
You’ll notice the color of the beet pancakes will become a light brown on the outside. This is perfectly normal after cooking
But when you slice open into the pancake stack, they will be bright, pink and absolutely beautiful! In my book, this is the best way to say I love you on Valentine’s Day. How fun is it to wake up to a stack of these pink pancakes, or as my son called them “pinkcakes!” 🙂
And you’re probably wondering, what do they taste like? For me they really taste like normal pancakes. There is a very small hint of beet flavor but it’s very subtle. After all, there is only one cooked beet for 6 servings, and it’s mixed with the delicious pancake batter.
Tips for making pink pancakes
- Make sure the batter is lumpy. It’s tempting to make the batter perfectly smooth since we’re using a blender. But make sure to only pulse after you add the dry ingredients to keep it lumpy. If you overmix the batter, the pancake will turn out more dense and less fluffy.
- Use a cookie scoop or measuring cup. This helps to to make even uniform pancakes, but it also helps give the pancakes their perfectly round shape.
- Use medium heat for cooking. We want to slowly cook the pink pancakes without burning them. So this is the right temperature from beginning to end for this pancake recipe and any other pancake recipe actually.
- Flip when the bubbles form. Don’t check on the bottom for doneness. Look at the top for bubbles. This is the best signal that the pancakes are golden on the bottom and ready for flipping.
More Valentine’s Day recipes:
- Healthy Valentine’s Day Brownies
- Homemade Pop Tarts
- Greek Yogurt Cheesecake
- Olive Oil Cake with Mixed Berries
More pancake recipes:
- Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes
- Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
- Flourless Strawberry Pancakes
- Banana Pancake Dippers
- Sweet Potato Pancakes
- Oat Flour Pancakes
- Blueberry Pancakes
If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Pink Pancakes recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
Pink Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 beet boiled/peeled
- 1 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a blender, puree beet with milk until smooth with no lumps. Add egg, butter, vanilla extract and maple syrup, and blend to combine.
- Add flour, baking powder and salt to the mixture. Pulse a few times to combine, being careful not to over blend.
- Heat a nonstick griddle over medium-low heat. You can melt butter on the surface or spray with cooking oil spray or leave it dry.
- Pour ⅓ cup of the batter into the hot griddle. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until small bubbles start to form on the top and the edges firm up. Flip the pancake and cook for another 1-2 minutes until the pancake is cooked through. Repeat for the remaining batter.
- Serve immediately with mixed berries and maple syrup, if desired.
Video
Notes
- To make it gluten-free, you can use gluten-free flour mixes labeled All Purpose. However substituting only almond flour, rice flour or coconut flour 1:1 will not work and may need some experimentation.
- To make it vegan, you can leave out the egg completely, and substitute the butter for coconut oil.
- For a dairy-free option, you can use plant-based milk.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Could this recipe work to make mini muffins? Maybe if I add a bit of baking soda?
I have yet to try that! Let me know if you give that a go and how it works out.