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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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Here you go! https://scope-terrace.live/2008/07/07/roasted-beet-squares/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
How do you roast the beets? Baking dish? Baking sheet with foil? Do you cut, slice or leave whole? What temp? How long? I tried to click the link but it didn’t work. Also any healthy alternatives to syrup?
Great tip!
Oh and I forgot to mention that I steamed the beets instead and then puréed them. It was easier, faster, and doesn’t require extra oil.
Yay! Glad they were a hit!
I made these with gluten free flour, almond milk, and just a teaspoon of agave nectar, and then topped with puréed strawberries, and they were seriously the best pancakes I’ve ever had. My 15 month old loved them!
This should work great in the waffle iron!
Has anyone tried to make these as waffles?? I’d love to try it, but wondering if the recipe would be the same?
Update: I forgot to mention that I made them with regular vanilla yogurt, so they did have more sugar than the recipe. I also used canned beets and only whole wheat flour. Still wonderful!
The best! My 8 and 5 year olds even ate them without syrup. Thank you so much!
I peel fresh beets with a potato peeler, cut up and microwave in a steamer and puree them in my Blendtech blender twister jar and voila, pureed beets for the recipe. No need to do a day ahead.
First: This is my families absolute favorite pancake recipe. When I ask my kids what kind of pancakes they want, they invariably ask for beet pancakes (and my kids are normal kids not health food nuts some people get blessed with).
Second: The first step of the recipe is terrible. Neither brown sugar nor whole wheat are sift-able ingredients. I banged my head against the wall several times before giving up on that step. I don’t sift anything and I whisk the brown sugar in with the wet ingredients.
Third: After some tries I modified this recipe to be used with beet juice powder. I did this not to improve the recipe but to make it easier. You have to roast and puree the beets the night before. If I haven’t done that, I got a jar of organic beet juice powder from Amazon to substitute (look for the stuff made in USA). I remove the beet puree from the recipe, increase Greek yogurt to 1 cup, and add 3 scoop beet juice powder. I use the little scoop that came with the powder. They say it is equal to 10 grams (and the juice of one beet… so 3 scoops = 3 beets). It looks like about a 1/2 tablespoon to me. The result is pretty darn good if not quite as good as with the puree.
Kid approved!!!
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