Healthy Greek yogurt zucchini pancakes so soft, sweet, and fluffy, you’ll want them for breakfast everyday! Top with fresh berries, a drizzle of honey, or good old fashioned maple syrup – no matter how you dress them up, this stack is sure to please any pancake lover 😉
Question for you: Am I the crazy zucchini lady yet? I mean, with the Nutella stuffed chocolate chunk zucchini muffins, the Crispy zucchini sticks, and now zucchini pancakes, I just feel like we’ve been talking zucchini recipes non-stop, but really, I think it’s more in my head than anything else… Summer is all about going bonkers with zucchini, right? Yep. I thought so. Ok. Let the zucchini bombarding resume!
So let’s talk about these pancakes! I actually was surprised at just how much we loved these babies! I mean, zucchini isn’t exactly what I think of when I start dreaming up ideas to stuff inside my pancakes, but we had a few green guys in the fridge that really needed some attention, so I figured what the heck and gave it a whirl. You guys. I am SO happy I did. Not only did we eat the entire batch between the two of us, but in making this recipe, I’m pretty sure I found our new favorite breakfast for this Summer. Talk about a win!
So what did we love about these pancakes SO much? Good question 😉 Well, to start with, they are healthy. I knoooow ———-> BORING. But I really do love a healthy breakfast that tastes just good (this can be hard…), so finding one is just exciting! These pancakes are packed with a heaping cup of zucchini, whole wheat flour, and protein rich Greek yogurt. This means they’re going to taste great AND keep your belly full all morning. And this is coming from a girl who gets the hangries very easily 😉 I promise you won’t catch a case of those after a morning of these!
So know that I’ve bored you with the health and nutrition details – you guys are still here, right (?) – let’s talk flavor and texture! Two very important factors in a pancake recipe. First up is flavor! If you’ve never had a zucchini pancake and/or you’re not a fan of zucchinis, don’t worry! I still think you’ll enjoy this recipe. I am not the biggest zucch fan, but these pancakes are really delicate in flavor and definitely don’t taste like a pile of vegetables 😉 They’re actually quite sweet and mild, making them a great candidate for dressing up with your favorite fruits or toppings. We added raspberries and light drizzle of maple syrup and found that combination to be divine!
The texture is dreamily soft and fluffy and pretty much everything you could possibly want a pancake to be in that department. I think I’ll let the photo below do the rest of that talking on this one – check out that interior! Yum-may!
Another great thing about this recipe is how quickly and easily the pancakes come together – we’re talking minutes of prep, friends! I love that because when I want breakfast, I want it fast, ya know? Also the batter doesn’t need to rest or sit overnight or any of that fuss. Once it’s whipped up, just scoop it into a hot skillet and you’re on your way to pancake-in-your-face-town. Yeeees! Let’s all buy one-way tickets there… like, right now.
These pancakes are best fresh off the skillet, so be sure you and your guests are ready to eat, and more importantly, ready to be wowed by the power of zucchini! I promise these pancakes have major WOW power 😉 xo
Healthy Greek Yogurt Zucchini Pancakes
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour (you may substitute AP flour if desired)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional, but adds a nice pop of flavor)
- 2 large eggs, separated
- 1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey (optional, but if you don't add it sub in an extra tablespoon of brown sugar)
- 1 cup coarsely shredded zucchini
- Butter, for the pan (I typically use 2-3 tablespoons for one batch of pancakes)
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the egg yolks, Greek yogurt, vanilla, brown sugar, and honey.
- Add flour mixture to the wet mixture, and stir just to combined; do not over mix! The batter will be thick, so don't worry if there are a lot of clumps left.
- Add egg whites to a large bowl or the body of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks begin to form.
- With a rubber spatula fold egg whites into flour/yogurt mixture, stirring until fully incorporated. Stir in zucchini, mix until just incorporated. Always be sure to watch your mixing, as over-mixed batter = rubbery, tough results.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Ladle 1/3 cup scoops of the batter into the skillet, only cooking a few at a time so they don't blend together.
- Cook pancakes until the edges begin to brown and the top of the batter bubbles, then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Repeat for all pancake batter.
- Top pancakes with honey, syrup, berries, or anything else your little heart desires! Serve at once.
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl says
August 5, 2014 at 4:53 pmOmg this is genius!! We have so many zucchinis to use! Pinning!
bakerbynature says
August 5, 2014 at 10:53 pmI knew you’d love these, Liz! xo
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
August 5, 2014 at 6:24 pmI bet the zucchini helps make them extra moist too! love the health facot and I would def throw some choc chips in and be good to go! 😛
Liz @ Floating Kitchen says
August 5, 2014 at 6:45 pmDefinitely can’t get enough zucchini this time of year. Love these pancakes. They look so fluffy and delicious!
marcie says
August 5, 2014 at 7:40 pmThese look so fluffy and amazing! Since they’re healthy I may eat the entire stack!
bakerbynature says
August 5, 2014 at 10:54 pmI know I did 😉 Thank you, Marcie!
How to Philosophize with Cake says
August 5, 2014 at 7:55 pmThose look wonderful! With all the zucchini in my garden, I will have to try these soon. 🙂
Tieghan Gerard says
August 6, 2014 at 3:43 amZucchini in everything right now! 🙂 Pancakes is probably the best though! Loving these!
Monet says
August 6, 2014 at 4:19 amI think I’ve found my new favorite to enjoy zucchini. This looks delicious!
Medeja says
August 6, 2014 at 10:37 amPerfect thing for breakfast.. they look amazing!
willa says
August 6, 2014 at 7:27 pmThese sound amazing! How many calories per pancake ? Protein?
HappyForks.com says
August 7, 2014 at 4:56 pmWilla, according to Recipe Analyzer on our webiste, the whole recipe has 725 kcal and 33 grams of protein. If you want to know how many calories and nutrients have one pancake, you should weigh it and then check it on HappyForks Analyzer for more accurate information.
Beth says
August 1, 2015 at 8:13 pmHow many fat grams and fiber?
Thank you in advance
Beth says
August 1, 2015 at 8:58 pmI used that website and got 177 calories and 5g protein total fat 4 carbs 30 fiber 1g which equals 4 points for weight watchers. You got 725 calories and higher protein
Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking says
August 6, 2014 at 11:51 pmZucchini for breakfast! So smart! They look so moist and fluffy! I want a stack right now!!
Norma | Allspice and Nutmeg says
August 7, 2014 at 12:31 amThese look amazing! Pinned!
Ania says
August 7, 2014 at 7:25 pmGreat recipe, I think is time to start making pancakes for breakfast !!!
Zainab says
August 8, 2014 at 1:58 amOh my!! These look amazing!! Healthy does not equal boring in this case 🙂
Juli says
August 8, 2014 at 4:52 pmJust made these…my 4 kids love em! So do I!
Joanne says
August 9, 2014 at 3:23 pmAs soon as I saw these fluffy insides, I was hooked! For healthy pancakes, these look darn awesome.
Hayley @ The Domestic Rebel says
August 15, 2014 at 12:57 amIs it possible to marry zucchini pancakes? Because I am absolutely ready to say my vows right now. HOLY MOLY.
Joyce laferrera says
August 18, 2014 at 1:58 amI love zucchini so I think that I will love these pancakes.
bakerbynature says
August 18, 2014 at 11:15 amYes! I think so too 🙂
Erica Brooks says
August 19, 2014 at 1:40 amI love Zucchini but I would have never thought of putting them in pancakes. They look delicious! I’ll have to try this.
Julie @ Lovely Little Kitchen says
August 22, 2014 at 2:28 amOh my goodness, these look so good! I just ate dinner and now I want pancakes!
Laura says
August 24, 2014 at 3:31 pmHas anyone tried these with regular, plain yogurt (vs. Greek)? I really want to try these today but don’t have Greek yogurt at home.
bakerbynature says
August 24, 2014 at 3:35 pmHi Laura. I think regular yogurt will work just fine 🙂
Laura says
August 24, 2014 at 6:07 pmThanks for the quick reply! Would you recommend trying to dry out the grated zucchini before adding, or is it ok to just add “as is”?
bakerbynature says
August 25, 2014 at 10:05 pmHi laura. You don’t need to drain the zucchini 🙂 Just grate and toss it in.
Lavendercat99 says
August 27, 2014 at 8:31 pmHey, I would like to know how many servings/pancakes this recipe makes? I want to make this for my family, and they eat a ton! There’s 9 of us!
bakerbynature says
August 27, 2014 at 8:37 pmHi! I would say the recipe makes about 10 medium-sized pancakes, so you may need to triple it 😉 Enjoy! xo
Lavendercat99 says
August 28, 2014 at 2:23 amOkay great! I’m used to tripling, or even quadrupling recipes, so that will be fine, haha… Thank you!! ^_^
Kim says
September 19, 2014 at 6:29 pmWill it turn out if I don’t beat the egg whites?
bakerbynature says
September 20, 2014 at 12:30 pmHi Kim. The texture may be quite different. The egg whites – when whipped – give them a light, fluffy texture.
Kristina Lautenbacher says
October 3, 2014 at 12:04 pmWould you be able to use nonfat greek yogurt or would that make the taste different?
bakerbynature says
October 3, 2014 at 12:48 pmHi Kristina. It doesn’t change the taste as much as it does the texture. You can definitely try it, the pancakes may just be slightly less moist and fluffy. Good luck 😉
jennifer says
March 21, 2015 at 7:50 pmcan you make these and keep in the fridge or freeze?
Mary says
May 3, 2015 at 2:16 amCan you use coconut or almond flour? Or will it not work?
bakerbynature says
May 3, 2015 at 2:32 amHi Mary. I have never tried using those ingredients so I cannot give honest advice on how the outcome will be. Please let us know if you do try 🙂
Erin says
May 3, 2015 at 7:00 pmcould all honey be used in place of brown sugar?
bakerbynature says
May 3, 2015 at 11:37 pmHi Erin. I don’t recommend it as my results were less than delicious when I tried doing this. Adding more honey will make the pancakes kind of spongy. If you try anything, I would say just leave it out completely. They will be less sweet, but the texture should still be fine.
mandi says
May 10, 2015 at 12:57 amDo you think you could sub the brown sugar tor stevia? Or is there a different substitute for sugar that would work better?
Erin says
May 10, 2015 at 1:07 amAny luck making this with applesauce so it can be egg free?
bakerbynature says
May 12, 2015 at 12:15 pmHi Erin. I’ve honestly never tried, but I do think changing the egg for applesauce may result in a very spongy pancake 🙁 Please let me know if you do experiment and how it goes! xo
Jade says
May 10, 2015 at 3:39 amHas anyone tried these without the sugar or honey?
Jen says
June 23, 2015 at 3:38 pmMade these last night and we all really liked them. I was pleasantly surprised. They tasted very creamy. I was worried at first because the batter is so thick it doesn’t make neat cakes, but once they were flipped over they flattened a bit and were fine. Thanks for the recipe.
Katy says
August 3, 2015 at 3:56 amThese sound amazing to get my picky toddler to get some veggies in her breakfast! Do you think this would taste good with flavored Greek yogurt like blueberry or strawberry? Usually of her pancakes are flavored she will scarf them down!
Ashley jensen says
August 6, 2015 at 4:41 pmMine didn’t come out fluffy and white. More brown and soggy. 🙁
bakerbynature says
August 6, 2015 at 5:37 pmHi Ashley. You may have needed to cook them a little longer? I’ve never experienced these pancakes being soggy, but they are a green/light brown color die to the ingredients.
Amber l says
December 2, 2015 at 3:15 pmWhere does the brown sugar come into when mixng ingredients together???
bakerbynature says
December 2, 2015 at 5:27 pmHi Amber, the sugar is added after the vanilla as indicated in the instructions.
Agnese says
June 30, 2017 at 8:23 amAshley,
Thank you very much for the recipe!!!
This morning I wanted a zucchini pancakes – but pancakes that are fluffy and there really were! I made savoury version of it and served with tomatoes, some greens and greek yogurt.
Just like you I want my breakFAST fast 😀 and of course with some veggies in it and this recipe combines everything. I think this was first time when I made pancakes so quickly! Also these was my fluffiest pancakes I ever made – definitely will try sweet version too when I will have my own zucchini form garden.
I will wait some tasty zucchini recipes form you in the future! Have a inspirational summer in the kitchen and outside of it!
bakerbynature says
June 30, 2017 at 1:45 pmSo happy these were a hit, Agnese! And your savory spin sounds delicious!
ayshah says
August 8, 2017 at 7:11 pmHey, I’m new to your website and didn’t know how to write a separate comment that’s why it is a reply. I was just wondering is there any good substitute for Greek yogurt because I don’t have any. What if I use plain low-fat yogurt or even flavored low-fat yogurt?