Sweet Potato Pancakes
Updated Aug 11, 2025
Fluffy sweet potato pancake recipe using leftover mashed sweet potatoes (or freshly baked) with cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg. Ready in under 30!
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Make Pancakes with Sweet Potatoes
Whenever I have leftover sweet potatoes, I almost always turn them into sweet potato pancakes. They’re fluffy, lightly sweet, and a nice change from the usual weekend pancakes. Plus, it’s an easy way to use up boiled sweet potatoes or roasted sweet potatoes, without letting them sit in the fridge until I forget about them.
Sweet potato pancakes only take a few minutes to mix together, and if I’ve got the griddle going, I can have a whole stack ready fast. I’ll make them for brunch, or even just on a slow morning when I want something different.
Sweet Potato Pancake Ingredients
- Mashed sweet potatoes: I created this sweet potato pancake recipe using leftover mashed sweet potatoes, but you can make it with leftover baked whole sweet potatoes, boiled sweet potatoes or roasted sweet potatoes that you mash. If using whole sweet potatoes, you’ll need 1 large or 2 medium sweet potatoes to equal one cup of mashed for the recipe.
- Dry Ingredients: You’ll need baking powder, cinnamon, nut-meg, salt, and all-purpose flour for this recipe! If you’re swapping in gluten-free flour, just be sure it’s a 1:1 baking alternative.
- Eggs: Just 2 standard eggs (flax eggs will work, too).
- Milk: I use whole milk for more protein and richness but you can use any milk you want.
- Melted butter: Just two tablespoons! You can also swap with avocado oil or even applesauce in the same quantities.
- Maple syrup and brown sugar: I love the way both of these sweeteners play off of the natural flavor of sweet potatoes, but feel free to use one or the other rather than both!
- Mix-ins: These are great plain, but if you want to bake in a little texture, try mixing in dried cranberries, chocolate chips, citrus zest, or any chopped nuts you have on hand!
How to Make Sweet Potato Pancakes
Sweet Potato Pancake Recipe
Fluffy sweet potato pancake recipe using leftover mashed sweet potatoes (or freshly baked) with cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg. Ready in under 30!
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup leftover mashed sweet potatoes
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Maple syrup plus more for serving
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Pinch nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons melted butter plus more for cooking
Instructions
- Place mashed sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, brown sugar and maple syrup and whisk until combined.
- Sprinkle flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and nutmeg on top of the sweet potato mixture and stir until smooth. Add melted butter and mix until combined
- Set a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and add a small pat of butter. Once melted, drop ⅓ cup portions of the sweet potato batter onto the preheated skillet. Cook until bubbles form on the top of the pancake, 2 to 4 minutes, then flip and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Repeat process until all of the batter has been used, you should end up with about 8 pancakes.
- Serve warm with maple syrup.
Notes
*Nutrition label uses plain unseasoned mashed sweet potato.
Storage: Let any leftover pancakes cool completely before transferring them to an airtight container or zip-lock bag and storing them in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat, you can microwave them for about 40-60 seconds wrapped in a damp paper towel, or heat them in a skillet on the stove until warmed through.
Freezing: Sweet potato pancakes freeze well. Just let them cool completely before transferring them to a freezer-safe container or bag and stick them in the freezer for up to 3 months. To eat, let them thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat as mentioned above!
Nutrition
Calories: 128kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 56mg, Sodium: 182mg, Potassium: 120mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 2539IU, Vitamin C: 0.4mg, Calcium: 70mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
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Recipe Tips
- Use even more leftover sweet potatoes. Using 1 cup of mashed sweet potatoes results in a fluffy pancake-like texture. However, if you have more than a cup on hand, you can add up to an additional cup to the recipe for a more potato pancake-like texture. This recipe is very forgiving!
- Don’t worry about your mashed sweet potato flavor. This recipe is designed to be used with leftover sweet potatoes that skew sweet in their flavor profile, but if there’s a little herb or black pepper in your recipe, don’t worry. These will still come out perfectly.
- Don’t over-mix. I can’t stress this enough: Over-mixing the batter will result in dense pancakes. Mix until just combined, and then stop mixing.
Serving Ideas
- Add sweet toppings. These are great plain or with a classic drizzle of maple syrup, but my kids and I also enjoy them with applesauce, Greek yogurt and honey, chopped nuts, sliced bananas and apples, or even a drizzle of melted homemade peanut butter or homemade almond butter.
- Add savory toppings. For a more savory dish, I like to top my sweet potato pancakes with scrambled egg, avocado, cream cheese, or even whipped cottage cheese.
Comments
Are the calories for the whole stack??
The nutrition information is for 1 pancake. Each recipe makes 8 pancakes, or 8 servings. Hope that helps!
100% recommend!!! These are absolutely delicious. I used plant based butter and honey and molasses instead of maple syrup and they are amazing! I don’t normally write recipe reviews but I had to for this one 🙂
Aww, I’m so happy you liked them!! Thank you so much!
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