Naturally Green Pancakes for Happy, Healthy Little Leprechauns

I enjoy making fun recipes like Groundhog Cookies and April Fool’s Day Pranks to celebrate minor holidays with my children. Recently I saw a recipe for St. Patrick’s Day Green Pancakes in AllRecipes magazine. Katherine and I decided to make a dairy-free version of the green pancakes for a fun St. Patrick’s Day breakfast.

Naturally Green Pancakes for Happy, Healthy Little Leprechauns

The pancakes get their color from spinach (shh!) and their sweetness and flavor from banana. If you think you’ll need a little more sweetness to sell these shamrock-colored pancakes in your home, I recommend adding some dairy-free whipped cream “clouds” and rainbow sprinkle “rainbows” as toppings.

We used Reddi-wip Non-Dairy Almond Milk whipped cream and CakeMate Sprinkles. You can use sprinkles with natural coloring if you’d prefer. These green pancakes taste good with maple syrup, too!

Kids Can Cook These Dairy-Free Green Pancakes

Teens and older children can make the entire recipe themselves. Younger children can measure ingredients, run the blender, pour the batter, and cook the pancakes with assistance. Sometimes helping to cook something makes children more likely to try eating it.

Special Diet Notes: Naturally Green Pancakes

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, optionally egg-free, optionally nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, optionally vegan, and vegetarian.

We haven’t tried these pancakes gluten-free, but I imagine they will work just fine substituting your favorite gluten-free flour blend for the all purpose flour in the recipe. Let us know if you make them gluten free!

Naturally Green Pancakes for Happy, Healthy Little Leprechauns

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

This recipe makes about a dozen small pancakes. You might want to double the recipe if you're feeding a crowd, or people with hearty appetites.

Author: Katherine and Sarah Hatfield

Recipe type: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Serves: 12 (3-inch) pancakes

Ingredients

• 2 cups lightly-packed baby spinach
• 1 cup plain dairy-free milk (we used almond milk)
• ⅔ cup mashed banana (about 2 small bananas)
• 2 large eggs (see the Egg-Free Option below)
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (see Note above for gluten-free)
• Optional Toppings: dairy-free whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles, or maple syrup

Instructions

1. Place the spinach, milk, banana, eggs, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt in a blender, and blend until very smooth. (I used the Smoothie setting on our Instant Pot Ace Blender, which really obliterates the spinach pieces!)
2. Add the flour and briefly blend until the flour is completely mixed in.
3. Heat a greased frying pan or griddle over medium heat.
4. Pour the batter by the scant ¼-cup full onto your prepare griddle to create 3-inch pancakes. Cook until the pancake is bubbling on the top and the edges are dry, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the pancake and cook until cooked through, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter.
5. Serve the green pancakes with any of the optional toppings, if desired.
6. Egg-Free Pancake Directions
7. If you are making the pancakes egg free, turn the heat down to just below medium heat and cook for 3-4 minutes on the first side.
8. After testing the first pancake, add more dairy-free milk if needed to reach the desired consistency.
9. Be careful flipping the egg-free pancakes as they are fragile. Their texture is more delicate. They are more like banana fritters in consistency.

Notes

Egg-Free & Vegan Option: Omit the eggs and increase the banana to ¾ cup (2½ to 3 small bananas). Preheat the griddle to just below medium heat and cook a test pancake for 3 to 4 minutes on the first side, and then 1 to 2 minutes on the second side, until cooked. If the batter is too thick, or the pancakes are too tall, add a little more dairy-free milk beverage to the batter. Be careful flipping the egg-free green pancakes as they are fragile. Their texture is more delicate, and they are more like banana fritters in consistency.

3.5.3229

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