These simple 3-Ingredient Quinoa Pancakes are hearty, delicious, and versatile - but best of all they are absolutely quick to whip up! They make a healthy breakfast for those rushed mornings when you need to get everyone out of the door quickly! (Skip to Recipe.)
I love, love, love this time of year.
There's something magical that happens when that first whiff of fall shows itself in the air. Your senses heighten, the leaves suddenly look clearer, you detect a subtle earthy scent on the wind, and you pull your sweater a teeny bit closer. The change tiptoes stealthily in during the night - one day you're wearing shorts and desperately looking for shade to escape the searing summer heat, and the next morning you wake up thinking, brrrr, maybe I should turn the furnace on. You lament about it to strangers, but inside, you're secretly excited.
At least, I am.
I come alive with those first subtle signs of autumn. They may signal the end of summer and the dying of all things lush and green, but to me, those tiny changes signal a rebirth; a new season, a new beginning, and a whole new range of possibilities. Yes! The year starts now.
It all starts with my birthday near the end of August, exactly four months before Christmas (because of course, a birthday is always fun) and the excitement just keeps on mounting. It's always wrapped up with the start of school; with the intoxicating smell and feel of brand new school supplies, with the fun of shopping for new school clothes, and the excitement of connecting up with friends you haven't seen all summer.
Then the excitement just keeps mounting as we head into the harvest. Growing up on a farm, this was the best time of year. The fields were golden and all hands were needed to help get the crops and the garden in. We don't harvest big crops any more, but the garden is producing a rich bounty that must be picked, stored, or preserved. It is a busy time and a season of abundance.
Once the garden is safely put to bed, the reward for our labours is celebrating the harvest with a Thanksgiving feast. Then we dive into the crazy fun of Halloween. After that, for two wonderful months, the thrill continues with the mounting excitement of the holiday season. This whole favourite time of year ends with the joy of Christmas and happy New Year's festivities. (After that, of course, comes the hibernation spell of our long, cold Canadian winter, but we won't go into that right now.)
That's why I love this season, these four months that start right now.
I love harvesting and I love wearing sweaters.
I love autumn leaves and I love foggy mornings.
I love packing school lunches and I love making heartier fall breakfasts.
These oh-so-easy pancakes are a winner. They're made with only three ingredients - one ingredient, if you don't count water or salt - and you can make the batter up ahead to quickly whip up fresh pancakes all week long. Plus, their main ingredient is that healthy, high protein little quinoa grain. Doesn't that sound like a great back-to-school, too-busy-to-cook kind of a real meal deal?
How do we Make These Easy Quinoa Pancakes?
You just soak a bunch of quinoa in water overnight.
Then you drain it and rinse it.
Add some fresh water and a pinch of salt.
Whiz it in a blender.
And whip up these delicious little pancakes.
All toasty brown and nutty. They're dense and slightly chewy. So satisfying.
Serve 'em with a golden slurp of maple syrup.
Or my favourite way - with a spoonful of rich honey yogurt, fresh fruit, and then the drizzle of maple syrup.
You can even use quinoa pancakes as a base for savoury toppings. Try piling them up with chili, your favourite curry, or a hearty stew for a fantastic dinner.
* * * * *
Kitchen Frau Notes: The absolute beauty of this recipe is that you can keep the batter in the fridge for up to a week. Longer than that and it starts to ferment, but is still edible - more like a sourdough pancake. (For African injera pancakes you actually ferment the grain, teff, in order to make them.) I like to make up a double or triple batch of the batter on the weekend to have ready for the week. The cooked pancakes also reheat well in the microwave for even faster make-ahead breakfasts.
Do not try making these pancakes with cooked quinoa. It won't work. (I tried.)
I did an experiment and a taste test to see what other grains worked if I substituted them for the quinoa:
*Buckwheat and ivory teff worked really well. They also made great little pancakes.
Black rice, brown rice, and millet did NOT work well.
3-Ingredient Quinoa Pancakes
- 1 cup quinoa (or raw buckwheat or ivory teff)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (120ml) water + water for soaking
Put the quinoa into a bowl or jar and cover with water by several inches. Leave it to soak overnight or at least six hours, either in the fridge or at room temperature.
Dump the soaked quinoa into a fine-meshed sieve, drain, and rinse it well under running water. Drain again.
Add the drained quinoa to the canister of a blender, along with the salt and the ½ cup of water. Blend until smooth.
Add a small amount of butter or oil to a non-stick skillet or spray it with cooking oil spray and heat it over medium heat. Pour small amounts of batter into the skillet (2 tablespoons for each pancake) to make pancakes that are about 2½ inches in diameter. Cook until light brown underneath, then flip and cook the other side.
If you make larger amounts of this recipe, the batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week.
Makes about 15 small pancakes.
Guten Appetit!
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June
We really enjoyed these little pancakes Margaret 😊
Margaret
Thanks so much, June. It was wonderful to have a catch-up visit and share a few stories and laughs!
Shawn
Does the quinoa have to be soaked or can I grind dry quinoa into a flour?
Margaret
The benefit of soaking the quinoa grains is that it activates phytase, an enzyme which breaks down phytic acid and releases the minerals in the grain, making the quinoa more nutritious and easily digestible. Soaking also makes the grains a little more 'sticky'. You can just use quinoa flour, but you'll have a different texture and your pancakes will be a little bit heavier.
Lori
Hi Margaret,
Do you know where to buy Teff flour? I have been looking but have not found any.
I have been using buckwheat, but find it always seems uncooked in the middle. Any suggestions how to stop that. I can not do rice, almond, quinoa, or any other grain. I am pretty limited to tapioca and buckwheat and teff and any others you know of that I don't. I saw cricket flour and thought that might be worth a try, but haven't found it yet either.
Have a great long weekend.
Warmly,
Lori
Margaret
Hi Lori,
I've bought teff flour at Planet Organic in Edmonton before, but they may not always carry it. I believe it was Bob's Red Mill brand. If you have a high speed blender or a coffee grinder, you could grind small batches of teff seeds yourself to make small amounts of flour.
I find you have to use a fair bit of tapioca along with the buckwheat flour to keep it from going gummy in some recipes, but others seem to be okay. I have bought sweet potato flour at Bulk Barn in Spruce Grove, Alberta (not sure where you're located). I liked the sweet potato flour but never used it just on its own. I also just bought green banana flour (Let's Do...Organic brand) - found it at winners but I think I've also seen it at Bulk Barn. I haven't played with it yet, though the instructions on the back say you can substitute 1 cup of regular flour in recipes with 3/4 cup of green banana flour without altering the eggs or liquids in the recipe, so maybe that would work for you.
Good luck - it's not easy making such a restricted selection work, but maybe one of these flours will work for you. Have a great long weekend, too!
Happy Cooking.
Elsa
Looks like a great recipe Nickie and I will have to try soon.
Love your pictures and your writing, you do make every season special.
Thanks for sharing!
Margaret
I hope you like these simple little pancakes - they really are quite delicious and make a satisfying breakfast that keeps me feeling full for a long time. Thanks for sharing each season with me!
Sina
Dear Margaret,
I absolutely agree with your love for fall! And once more I adore your wonderful garden, the pictures make me want to come over and pull some of those pea vines 😉 For me this work of fall is as wonderful as sowing peas in spring, what do you think? Ach, I need to get to my parent's garden an help them harvest and make some canned fruit or something!
Also, these quinoa-pancakes sound like I should make them for my gluten-free friend! I'll report back if I try the recipe.
Happy fall to you! Sina
Margaret
Hello Sina! Well come on over! I'd LOVE some help getting my garden out! I'll leave some pea vines for you! It's been a scramble today since we are having our first frost tonight so we quickly covered all the tomatoes and cucumbers, hoping they will still keep growing a bit.
Yes, I agree with you about the fall work being just as wonderful as the spring - there's something so rich and satisfying about the harvest, a feeling of fullness and reward. It makes me feel more alive, and doing some canning and preserving always makes me feel fulfilled and satisfied.
I think we are kindred garden spirits. Hope you have a wonderful fall season, too!
Remiez
These pancakes are so very easy to make and healthy. Thanks!
Margaret
I appreciate that comment; thank you. In our rushed mornings, easy and healthy are a top priority, and the fact that they taste good, too, is a bonus. Hope you enjoy them! Happy Cooking.
Lynn
Could you add a little baking powder so they would be fluffy?
Margaret
Yes, you could definitely try that. In baking you add about 1 teaspoon baking powder per cup of flour, so you could use that as a reference point. Happy pancake making.