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Red Beet Pancakes came to me courtesy of my husband.
My better half has discovered a passion for cooking. For me, this newfound culinary obsession of his is both a blessing and a curse. While on one hand it’s a huge relief because I don’t have to cook, it can also be a total pain in my tush (and not just because of the potential mess I likely find afterwards) because while he is completely focused on his latest creation, I am left in charge of two cranky, hungry kids.
It’s hard for me to get upset though. Hubby gets so excited about the whole process and the two hour mental voyages he takes while focussed on a new dish are kinda hilarious to watch. It’s like witnessing a 4 year old trying to finish a 50 piece jigsaw puzzle for the first time. Plus, I love watching how jazzed the kids get seeing Daddy work in what they consider to be Mommy’s turf.
One recent Saturday morning, Daddy decided to make a beet pancake recipe he had seen in Good to the Grain, a fabulously gorgeous book by Kim Boyce. As soon as Kenya heard the words “beet” and “pancakes” he said, “no way, that’s gross”. It didn’t take long for Chloe to jump on the “yucky” bandwagon. It seemed like this experiment was going to leave two out of four of us with empty tummies, but as soon as the kids got into helping Daddy stir, mash and measure, they apparently forgot all about their initial aversion. By the time the beautiful ruby discs finally came off of the griddle and onto everyone’s plates, the kids downed about five a piece.
My favorite part of this story though, came later on when my husband asked Kenya why he was so resistant at first to the beet pancakes. Kenya just looked at him and said, completely matter of fact, “who knew they were going to be that good!”
I’ve simplified Boyce’s recipe here, adding some whole wheat flour, more pureed beets to further brighten the color and some Greek yogurt too, making these red beet pancakes a breakfast that will make everyone’s eyes as big as their stomachs when you set them on the table.
He may make a bit of a mess and take a while finding his way around the kitchen, but I have to say it’s unbelievably charming watching hubby take over what I usually think of as my kitchen….and make it more of ours!
If you make these Red Beet Pancakes I would love to see them! Take a picture, post it on Instagram and tag Weelicious. I can’t wait to see your creation!
Red Beet Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 Cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 Cup whole wheat flour
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 medium beets, roasted and pureed (about 3/4 cup)
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 1/3 Cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Sift the first 5 ingredients into a bowl.
- Place the rest of the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk thoroughly to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until just combined (you don’t want to overstir the batter — some lumps are good).
- Drop about 2 tbsp of the pancake mixture onto a greased griddle or pan over medium heat and cook for 3 minutes on each side.
- Serve with desired accompaniments.
Video
Notes
- To freeze: Place the pancakes in labeled zipper bags and freeze for up to 3 months
Nutrition
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[…] beet pancake recipe from Good to the Grain, in hopes of producing something that looks more like this, which would impress the pants off of most of the six-year-olds I […]
We love pancakes in our house and make many varieties, but this is the first time I’d seen beet pancakes. My son requested breakfast for dinner tonight and we had some CSA beets to use up, so I thought it would be perfect. I even made a double batch and made mini-pancakes with the second half and froze them for his lunches this fall. Thanks for the recipe!
[…] of the cukes were made into dill refrigerator pickles. The beets are going to be made into these pancakes tomorrow morning. Loving the color – hope they taste as delicious as they look! There’s […]
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These are super yummy and oh so pretty! We use almond extract instead of vanilla, and they are the bet tasting pancakes I have ever had!
[…] Red Beet Pancakes recipe courtesy of weelicious.com […]
These are the MOST beautiful pancakes I’ve made in my life! What an awesome recipe. My girls and I thoroughly enjoyed them. 🙂 Also, I topped with a bit of butter and a thin layer of warmed applesauce.
I love this!! I used beets to color some of our Valentine’s Treats too!!!
[…] I already knew I liked to use beet “juice” as a food coloring, but Catherine McCord at Weelicious took it a step further – she pureed the entire beet and added it to recipes. I love this […]
These were fantastic. I substituted agave nectar for the brown sugar. My 3 year old son was still very skeptical, but with a bit of maple syrup on top, all was good. And my 1 year old daughter ate these up as if they were the best thing since sliced bread. Thanks for the idea. I would have never thought of making beet pancakes!
Awesome idea! I think I’ll try this and make them into hearts for Valentine’s day.
love, love, love this recipe! my VERY picky 4 year old helped make them, the whole time stating “i don’t like beets”. then ate 5 pancakes in 10 minutes and asked for beet pancakes for lunch!
Do you think these would stand up in a waffle iron? My 19mos old loves her waffles 🙂
Trader Joe’s sells cooked beets in a pouch. I cut the pancakes into hearts for Valentine’s Day. So fun & delicious!
i made these yesterday for my 15 month old. She ate them even without butter or syrup. My husband also ate them this morning and he is not a beet fan. THANK YOU!!