Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Pancakes - fluffy, tasty pancakes loaded with freshly grated carrots and carrot cake spice. These pancakes come out so good every time, you would never suspect these are 100% whole wheat pancakes!
I'm such a huge fan of making different kinds of pancakes instead of sticking to the same recipe every time, and these carrot cake pancakes are some of our favorite!
I love that this healthy pancake recipe is made with 100% whole wheat flour and with freshly grated carrot, so this pancake recipe is definitely healthier than the average pancake!
On top of that, these pancakes taste amazing thanks to the delicious batter and carrot cake spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger. They come out soft and fluffy every time.
Topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt (plain or vanilla), this is a truly is a healthy carrot cake pancake recipe!
More hidden vegetable pancake recipes: Zucchini Pancakes
Ready to make carrot cake pancakes?? Here's what you need:
Ingredients:
Carrots, spices, and flavor:
- 1 cup grated carrots (about 2 medium carrots)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 pinch ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry ingredients:
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour (or white whole wheat flour - more on this later!)
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar (light or dark, or turbinado)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients:
- 1.5 cups milk (any kind)
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted, or coconut oil
- 1 egg
Related recipe: Cinnamon Churro Pancakes
You'll also need:
- Coconut oil or vegetable oil for cooking
Optional ingredients:
- Chopped walnuts
- Raisins
- Maple syrup and/or Greek yogurt for serving (plain or vanilla) for serving
More cake-like pancake recipes: Red Velvet Pancakes
Related recipe: Eggnog Pancakes
Ingredient notes and tips
→ Type of flour: The recipe you see here is made with whole wheat flour made from red wheat. It is darker and a little "heavier" that all-purpose flour. You can also use white whole wheat flour, which is 100% whole wheat flour ground from white wheat berries. Or you can choose to use all-purpose flour or 1:1 all-purpose:whole wheat flour (¾ cups each)
→ Spices: Feel free to use only cinnamon, or use 1.5 teaspoons pumpkin spice instead of the spice mixture.
→ Carrots: If you don't mind more carrots, this pancake recipe can handle about 1.5 cups of grated carrots, for a little more nutrition. 🙂
Related recipe: Zucchini Cookies
How to make carrot cake pancakes
Step 1: Start by microwaving the grated carrots in a microwave-safe bowl for 2-3 minutes, or until the carrot softens, reduces in volume, and is half-cooked. This step is important because you don't want raw carrot bits in your carrot cake pancakes! You want to add softened partially cooked carrots to the pancake batter so they cook down even more as the pancakes cook.
Then simply prepare these pancakes like you would any other pancakes:
Step 2: Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl: mix together the flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, and salt. Combine the wet ingredients in a bowl (milk, eggs, melted butter) and whisk well.
Step 3: Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until half combined. Now add the half-cooked carrots (and chopped walnuts or raisins, if using), and whisk until just combined.
Step 4: Cook the pancakes just like you would regular pancakes. Add a little bit of oil to a preheated skillet, and scoop out a scant ¼ cup of pancake batter into the skillet. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the bottom is golden brown and the top starts to bubble slightly. Flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
Serve warm, with maple syrup, or try the toasted walnut syrup:
Make toasted walnut maple syrup: Prepare a small bowl with about ¼ - ½ cup maple syrup (however much maple syrup you need for your pancakes). Toast chopped walnuts in a dry skillet for 3-5 minutes over medium heat, until the walnuts turn slightly golden brown and turn fragrant. Then immediately add the toasted walnuts to the maple syrup, so they release their nutty aroma into the syrup.
The walnuts will be extra crunchy and fragrant and this syrup gives pancakes a lovely crunch!
Or top your carrot cake pancakes with a dollop of vanilla Greek yogurt, or plain yogurt and a drizzle of honey. However you choose to serve these, I hope you love these pancakes as much as we do!
If you end up making these carrot cake pancakes, please take a picture and tag @babaganoshblog on Facebook or Instagram! I LOVE seeing your creations!
Other pancake recipes you will love:
- Pumpkin protein pancakes
- Chocolate protein pancakes
- Syrniki (Russian cheese pancakes)
- Greek yogurt oat blueberry pancakes with blueberry pancake sauce
Other breakfast recipes to try:
Enjoy any of these breakfast recipes with my pumpkin spice whipped coffee or mocha dalgona coffee!
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar - (light or dark, or turbinado)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon - (or use 1.5 teaspoons pumpkin spice in place of all the spices)
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 pinch ground allspice
- 1.5 cups milk - (any kind)
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons butter - , melted or coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup grated carrots - (about 2 medium carrots)
- Optional: 1/2 cup raisins or crushed walnuts/pecans - (or a combination of these)
- Coconut oil or vegetable oil for cooking
- ¼ cup chopped or crushed walnuts
- ½ cup maple syrup
Instructions
- Peel and grate the carrots. If you end up having more than 1 cup of grated carrots from the carrots, that's OK, this recipe can easily handle up to 1.5 cups of grated carrots.Microwave the grated carrots for 3 minutes on medium, or until the carrots are soft and partially cooked.
- Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl - flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices. Whisk together the wet ingredients in another bowl until well combined - milk, egg, melted butter or coconut oil, and vanilla extract.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk together until almost combined.Add the grated carrots and raisins/walnuts, if using. Stir until everything is just combined, but do not overmix!
- Add a bit of oil to a preheated skillet. Add about ¼ cup of the pancake batter to the pan. Cook about 2-3 minutes on medium/low heat, or until little bubbles start forming at the surface and the bottom is golden brown. Flip each pancake, and cook about 2-3 minutes on the other side, or until the inside is fully cooked. Serve with walnut syrup.
- Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet for 3-5 minutes, or until fragrant and golden brown. Add the toasted walnuts to a small bowl containing the maple syrup, and mix. Pour over pancakes to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.
Mary
Thursday 9th of March 2023
Added about 1/3 cup of unsweetened coconut to the batter. These turned out so well! They warmed up nicely in the toaster a couple days later too.
Kate
Thursday 9th of March 2023
Awesome!!
Marina
Monday 16th of January 2023
The pancakes were raw inside and cooked on the outside, no matter the heat of the pan
Kate
Tuesday 17th of January 2023
That's odd, did you pre-cook the carrots a little like the recipe says? I make these pancakes all the time and never have that problem. It doesn't seem possible that they're raw inside—just basic baking science says cooking batter over heat will eventually fully cook it inside, just the time needed will depend on the liquid amount and the heat of the pan.
Rosemary
Wednesday 8th of September 2021
These were absolutely amazing!!! What a great recipe. Thanks!
Kate
Wednesday 8th of September 2021
I'm so happy to hear you liked these pancakes!! They are a favorite for my family!
CakeSpy
Thursday 20th of November 2014
I love everything about this post!!! I love whole wheat flour in pancakes, too. <3
Kate
Wednesday 26th of November 2014
Thanks! And I loved eating everything in this post :)
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef
Tuesday 18th of November 2014
Is there anything better than cake for breakfast? I think not!
Kate
Wednesday 26th of November 2014
Agreed!