Healthy Oatmeal Pancakes (Easy, Fluffy, Moist}

These Oatmeal Pancakes have been a favorite recipe of mine for way too long! They have the perfect fluffy yet moist and buttery flavor and texture. Serve them for a weekend brunch or breakfast, or reheat them for a weekday morning! They are healthier than regular pancakes, but taste amazing!

The Best Oatmeal Pancakes

This recipe was originally inspired by an oatmeal pancake recipe that was served at Isabelle’s On The Waterfront, a restaurant at which I cooked in my 20s. This is my take on the recipe for home cooks, and was published in my cookbook, Maple: 100 Sweet and Savory Recipes Featuring Pure Maple Syrup. In my book, I called them Perfect Oatmeal Pancakes. And they are just that: perfect!

These pancakes are perfect for many reasons! They have great moisture from the oats but are still light and fluffy! In addition to the oats, they are made with whole-wheat flour for added nutrition, and yet they are still rich and buttery tasting!

Cooking them up is a breeze and I have all the tips and tricks you need to get great results every time!

They are great for a weekend breakfast or brunch and leftovers can be heated for breakfast on the weekdays. Plus they even freeze well! Serve them with maple syrup to complete the best breakfast around!

Ingredients For Whole Grain Oatmeal Pancakes

Old fashioned oats: The base of the dry mix starts out with ground-up old fashioned oats. If you do not have old-fashioned, quick-cooking oats work just as well.

All-purpose flour: For fluffy texture, I use a cup of all-purpose flour.

White whole-wheat flour: I like to use white whole wheat flour because it has a light color and less pronounced wheat flavor. But if you cannot find it, you can use whole wheat flour instead. If you don’t have either, just use all-purpose instead.

Baking powder and baking soda: The leaveners for this batter are a blend of baking soda and baking powder. If you are out of one or the other, you can substitute them according to the instructions here. 

Salt: just a little dab will do ya!

Cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks: most pancakes use liquid fat, but these have cold fat cut into the dry mixture, like a biscuit. This helps these pancakes fluff up even higher!

Buttermilk: I have made this recipe with buttermilk, or today I used water and buttermilk powder (because that’s all I had.) If I had milk, I could have used 1 7/8 cup milk mixed with 2 tablespoons lemon juice or white vinegar. A lot of healthy pancake recipes call for Greek yogurt, but I find that it makes the batter too thick.

Egg: The egg helps it hold together. You can sub in a flax egg if you are out of eggs.

Oil: I use avocado oil for my neutral cooking oil. But if you have another that you prefer, that’s fine. Just look for one with a high smoke point.

Step By Step Directions To Make Buttermilk Oatmeal Pancakes

Step 1. Grind The Oats

In order for these pancakes to have a light and tender texture, I opted for grinding the rolled oats. This is how we did it at Isabel’s and I think it really gives the best texture.

Simply set up the food processor with the steel blade attachment. Add in the rolled oats, and then process them for about 45 seconds.

Step 2: Add in Dry Ingredients

Next you’ll add the rest of the dry ingredients to the food processor. Just add in the two flours, leavener and salt, and then process it all just to mix it together. If you’re using buttermilk powder, add that in this step.

Step 3: Cut in Butter

When the butter is solid (instead of melted) the butter melts as it cooks and lets off a little bit of steam. This causes the pancakes to rise a little bit more. And makes them fluffier!

Next, you’ll need to cut cold butter into small pieces and then pulse it into the dry mix with the blade attachment. You’ll want to make it so the texture is like a coarse meal.

Step 4: Transfer the oatmeal mixture to a bowl

From here, you’ll want to dump the oatmeal mixture into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center.

Step 5: Make the Buttermilk Mixture and Blend Batter

For the wet mix, blend the buttermilk and egg together. If you are using buttermilk powder you’ll just use water and egg. If you are subbing in milk and lemon or vinegar, let that sit together for a minute to sour the milk before adding the egg.

Pour the wet mix into the well in the center of the dry mix and then gently stir to combine them. The batter may be lumpy but that’s okay. No need to overmix the batter.

Step 6: Preheat the Griddle or Skillet! 

You can cook these in a skillet or griddle. I prefer a griddle, because there is more room, and you can cook more at one time. But if you don’t have a griddle, then I recommend a non-stick skillet instead.

Wait! Before you just slap that batter on there, test to make sure the griddle or skillet is hot enough by dropping a tiny bit of water onto the hot surface. If the water, sizzles and evaporates within a second or two, then you know it is ready for your batter.

Step 7: Cook The Pancake Batter

1. If you have a pancake griddle, you will be able to cook all the batter in three batches. (four pancakes per batch.) Depending on the width of the pan, you’ll probably only be able to cook two at a time. (Maybe three if the batter is particularly thick.)
2. To coat the cooking surface evenly with the oil, I dip a silicone pastry brush in a dish of the oil, and then spread it out over the surface.
3. Ladle the batter onto the griddle in 1/3 cup amounts. It may be thick! If so, spread it out with the back of a spoon or ladle if necessary.
4. Brush the oil over the griddle between each batch. By the second or third batch, you’ll want to reduce the heat. If the oil starts smoking, you’ll want to turn the heat down.

Step 8: Flip Pancakes

• Let the pancakes sit there undisturbed until most of the bubbles have popped and the edges are starting to dry out and the bottoms are browned.
• Then quickly but gently flip them over. If yours lands askew, resist the urge to try to reposition it. That probably will make matters worse.
• Let them cook on the second side just until the centers are set. I press down with my fingertips to see if they feel liquidy in the center. The second side is much faster usually.

FAQs and Expert Tips

More Healthy Pancake Recipes To Try

• If you love oatmeal pancakes, then you’ll have to try my protein pancakes. I make both tangerine (or orange) protein pancakes or apple protein pancakes. Both are awesome and actually have no flour in them!
• These Whole-Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes and our Gingerbread Apple Pancakes are lovely for the fall and holiday season.
• In the spring, when rhubarb is in season these Lemon Ricotta Almond Pancakes are so moist and delicious and great with the rhubarb compote on top! Super special!
• These Clean Eating Paleo Pancakes are made without dairy or grains!
• For a change try making crepes instead! This crepe recipe is a great place to start if you have never made them before.

Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!

Happy Cooking! ~Katie

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