Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

Pumpkin pancakes are the perfect start to a fall day or any day, a delicious treat for Sunday brunch or a truly satisfying weekday lunch.

And to tell you the truth, I've been known to indulge in these delicious pancakes for dinner too.

Today I thought I would veer a little away from my usual offerings of traditional Irish recipes to concentrate on a true American favorite. However, I did promise Irish American fusion food, and these pancakes definitely fall within that category.

Pumpkin Pancake Table of Contents

American Pancake Recipe

You'll find plenty of Irish pancake recipes on my blog. We've cooked traditional Irish lemon and sugar pancakes for Shrove Tuesday, Irish buttermilk pancakes, and drop scones.

But today, let's get back to some Irish American pumpkin pancakes.

I make whole wheat pumpkin pancakes with added flax meal and wheat germ, creating a distinctive nutty flavor reminiscent of Irish brown bread. There is no shortage of fiber in these pumpkin pancakes.

Ingredients for Wholewheat Pumpkin Pancakes

Here you’ll find a quick list of what you’ll need for this recipe. Check out the printable recipe at the bottom of this post for US and Metric equivalent versions of the recipe. There you can choose the measurement system that works best for you.

• whole wheat pastry flour (all-purpose flour can also be used)
• whole wheat flour
• flax meal
• wheat germ
• sugar
• baking powder
• baking soda
• ground cinnamon
• ground allspice
• ground nutmeg
• ground ginger
• salt
• buttermilk
• pumpkin purée (use canned or try my homemade pumpkin purée)
• eggs
• melted butter
• butter or oil (to cook)

Directions for Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

Here you’ll find step-by-step photographic instructions to help you recreate this recipe successfully. There are plenty of tips included along the way.

Add the flours, wheat germ and flax meal to a large mixing or batter bowl, and blend together using a whisk.

Toss in the spices and mix together with the flours.

Then add the baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Now it's time to add a little sugar.

I use up to a ¼ cup to suit my kid's palates, but a tablespoon or two is just fine if you prefer your pancakes a little less sweet. Brown sugar works great too.

Set the dry ingredients aside, to prepare the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.

First add the buttermilk, then two eggs. Most American pancake recipes call for only one egg, but I can't resist throwing another one in. Since my little ones love these pancakes I like to sneak in a little extra protein.

If you don't have any buttermilk on hand, just use whole milk and add a tablespoon of vinegar.

Now toss in the pumpkin puree.

Melt the butter for 20 seconds in a microwave safe bowl or pitcher, then add to the wet ingredients.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry.

Stir everything together. This mixture is thicker than most pancake batters.

Melt some butter or heat some vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat.

Pan temperature is key to successful pumpkin pancakes. If cooked over a high heat the outside burns before the inside cooks. Cutting into a lovely crispy pancake to release a gooey mess is always a big disappointment.

If the pan is too cold, you don’t get nice crispy pancakes on the outside. A good medium heat works best, but remember every pan and stove top is different, so your first pancake may be an experiment.

Use a ¼ cup measuring spoon to scoop up some batter and pour it into the center of the hot pan. Since the batter is pretty thick it helps to take the back of a spoon to spread the batter out into a nice circular shape about 5 to 6 inches in diameter.

Cook the pancake over medium heat for about 3 minutes per side.

When larger bubbles start forming in the center of the cooking pancake, it's ready for flipping. Brown the pancake on both sides.

I love cooking pancakes in my cast iron skillet, but my kitchen reality means every pan I own and every burner on my stove top is called into action, to meet my kiddos' urgent pleas for pancakes NOW.

Every one of my pans and burners requires a different pancake cooking time.

Have fun stacking your pancakes as they cook. This recipe yields around twelve.

Serve hot with melting butter and maple syrup. If you can, use real maple syrup. It's a little taste of America I adore, and perfectly compliments the nutty flavor of these wholewheat pumpkin pancakes.

Wishing you all happy pancake flipping this fall.

Pumpkin Pancake Recipe Card and Video

Here's a video outlining the steps to making these delicious pancakes.

Here is my printable recipe card for your kitchen files.

Thanks for following my recipes and ramblings.

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