Whole Wheat Zucchini Pancakes

By Maria Lichty

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Zucchini Pancakes-these healthy zucchini pancakes remind me of zucchini bread, but in pancake form. Top with butter and maple syrup for a real breakfast treat! 

stack of zucchini pancakes with butter and maple syrup

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I really hope you aren’t sick of zucchini because I have another zucchini recipe for you today, Zucchini Pancakes! These light and fluffy hot cakes are a family favorite! Our boys request them all of the time, they don’t even care they are made with a green vegetable:)

Don’t be scared, the pancakes taste similar to zucchini bread, which is a very good thing. They are perfectly spiced, slightly sweet, and so good with butter and pure maple syrup.

This is the perfect recipe for using up your summer squash. I guarantee a stack won’t last long!

Pancake Ingredients

  • Flour– I like to use white whole wheat flour for this recipe, but whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour works well too. If you need the pancakes to be gluten-free, you can also use all-purpose gluten-free flour. I like Cup4Cup brand.
  •  Baking powder and baking soda– make sure they are fresh!
  •  Salt– a little for flavor!
  •  Spices– cinnamon and nutmeg to bring out that zucchini bread flavor
  •  Sugar– I use brown sugar and a little granulated sugar.
  •  Buttermilk– at room temperature
  •  Butter– Melt the butter and let it cool to room temperature.
  •  Eggs– You need two large eggs.
  •  Vanilla extract– a splash!
  • Zucchini– Use a box grater to grate the zucchini. I don’t peel the zucchini.
  •  Maple syrup– for serving!
zucchini pancakes with butter and maple syrup on plate with fork

How to Make Zucchini Pancakes

Let’s get this pancake party started!

  • In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugars.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together room temperature buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Pour liquid ingredients over dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Fold in the zucchini.
  • Heat a griddle or pan to medium heat. Spray with cooking spray. Pour about a ⅓ cup of batter onto heated skillet. Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and a few have burst, about 3 minutes.
  • Flip carefully with a spatula, and cook until browned on the underside. Continue making pancakes until the batter is gone.
  • Serve pancakes warm with butter and maple syrup! YUM!

How to Freeze

These pancakes freeze beautifully! I love keeping a stash in the freezer for lazy or busy mornings.

To freeze the zucchini pancakes, place the cooled pancakes on a sheet pan or large plate, making sure they aren’t touching. Put the pancakes in the freezer for 30 minutes, until frozen. Then you can place the pancakes in a freezer bag or container and freeze for up to 2 months.

To reheat the frozen pancakes, place in the microwave and reheat for 20-30 seconds, per pancake.

Looking for more zucchini recipes, we’ve got you covered! Check out our favorite zucchini recipes! You will want to make them all!

More Pancake Recipes

zucchini pancakes stacked and cut with maple syrup
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Zucchini Pancakes

Put your summer zucchini to good use and make a giant stack of whole wheat zucchini pancakes! These pancakes freeze well too!
4.82 from 38 votes

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugars.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Pour liquid ingredients over dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Fold in the zucchini.
  • Heat a griddle or pan to medium heat. Spray with cooking spray. Pour about a ⅓ cup of batter onto heated skillet. Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and a few have burst, about 3 minutes. Flip carefully with a spatula, and cook until browned on the underside.
  • Continue making pancakes until the batter is gone. Serve pancakes with butter and maple syrup, if desired.

Notes

We use white whole wheat flour, but you can use all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, or gluten-free flour. The pancakes can be frozen for up to 2 months. 

Nutrition

Calories: 318kcal, Carbohydrates: 43g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 83mg, Sodium: 395mg, Potassium: 366mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 486IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 199mg, Iron: 1mg

Have you tried this recipe?

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Photos by Molly

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If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating and comment below! You can also share a picture on Instagram! Tag @twopeasandpod and use the hashtag #twopeasandtheirpod.

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Maria

I'm Maria and my husband is Josh. We share a love of cooking, baking, and entertaining. We enjoy creating recipes that are simple, fresh, and family friendly. We love sitting around the table with good food, good conversation, and good friends and family! Our kitchen is always open!
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Vegetarian Summer Kid Friendly Maria's Favorites Breakfast/Brunch

4.82 from 38 votes (17 ratings without comment)

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  1. I could NEVER get sick of zucchini..OR pancakes! So how perfect are these? And the fact that they are whole wheat means I love them even more! Pinned!

  2. Pancakes are one of my favorite breakfast foods! If I had more freezer space I would make a big batch and freeze them for later (if they made it that far!)

  3. DD can’t quite ask for pancakes yet, but her carb-loving self would love these! And mom loves that they’re whole wheat with a veggie snuck in 🙂 Time to try!

  4. These sound great! My little Ethan loves pancakes and zucchini (as do I), so I’m sure they’d be a hit.

  5. I always have a stash of pancakes or waffles in the freezer. They totally save the day when a quick breakfast (or dinner!) is needed! These zucchini pancakes look fantastic!

  6. I’m glad to see this recipe as I made zucchini pancakes once and they didn’t turn out. Don’t know if I used too much zucchini or it needed to be squeezed out because of the moisture. They didn’t cook right. Do you need to take out some of the liquid first? Thanks.

  7. Happy kids = happy mom…true story!!! I’m all about doing the easy simple things that make my kids happy too!!! Love these fun pancakes…especially that they taste like zucchini bread!

  8. Love all the zucchini recipes! I have made sweet and savory dishes so far but not zucchini pancakes…yet! Looks delicious!

  9. Yum, Maria! They’d make me happy too. Love these. I don’t ever tire of zucchini recipes- keep ’em coming!!

  10. Not tired of the zucchini recipes at all! We’ve been looking for the perfect whole wheat pancake recipe and these look so tender and fluffy. Lovin’ the addition of zucchini:)

  11. I’ve never tried to freeze pancakes. Do you have to put waxed paper between each one so they don’t stick together? How do you heat them up? Wouldn’t want to serve them on your eyelet looking plate, though. Pretty as they are, my husband’s use of syrup would surely overflow that cut out design!!

    1. Let the pancakes cool completely on a wire cooling rack. Place in a freezer bag or freezer container. You can individually wrap them with plastic wrap or place wax paper in between.

  12. I can never get enough zucchini in the summer! I still need to make zucchini pancakes, these look awesome Maria!

  13. Wow, these look amazing! I don’t particularly care for zucchini raw or sauteed, but love it when it is in stuff. This is a great way to sneak it in!

  14. Made these Sunday morning, and they were fabulous! My toddler gobbled them up. And I had leftover ones from the freezer today at work. This recipe has been added to our rotation! Thank you for sharing!

  15. Loved these for a great way to use up some surplus of zucchini this time of year. I made them dairy free by using almond milk + lemon juice in place of buttermilk as well as Earth’s Balance butter and coconut oil in place of the butter. They turned out great and now I have a freezer full of extras.

  16. 5 stars
    5 stars! These were delicious. I couldn’t stop eating them. They needed no butter or sweetener! After I committed to making these I realized I didn’t have all the ingredients! Substituted 2 cups buttermilk with 1cup yogurt plus 1 cup chocolate hazelnut milk. For 2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, used half sorghum flour.

  17. 5 stars
    Why don’t these pancakes have 5 stars??? In my book they totally are. So delicious! Good way to use up the zucchini too.

  18. 5 stars
    I used almond milk and swerve sweetener and they still turned out great! Thank you for my new favorite recipe.

  19. 5 stars
    These we’re fantastic! Even my kiddos that turn up their noses at the mention of zucchini loved them. This will definitely be added to our favorite list.

  20. 5 stars
    These we’re fantastic! Even my kiddos that turn up their noses at the mention of zucchini loved them. This will definitely be added to our favorite list. My only substitute was I used all purpose flour instead of whole wheat because I didn’t have any on hand.

  21. These pancakes were a bit, i love them. I just wonder if the batter can be frozen instead of making the rest of the batter.

    1. Glad you liked the pancakes! I’ve never put the batter in the freezer, I always freeze the pancakes.

  22. 5 stars
    I’ve made this recipe as is and my family loves them! Usually make them in batch and freeze for breakfast meal prep.

    Does this batter save well in the fridge? Looking to make the batter ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until ready to cook the next day and have them fresh for breakfast!

    Thanks!

  23. 5 stars
    We loved these. Next time I’d like to try them with peanut butter syrup. My dear friend introduced me to peanut butter on zucchini bread so why not peanut butter syrup on zucchini pancakes?

  24. 4 stars
    I would make this again. These are a healthy pancake option. They are not super fluffy. Great with chocolate chips or with raspberries. Could have more cinnamon if you’re looking for more flavor.

  25. 5 stars
    My family really enjoyed these. I subbed dairy free buttermilk (coconut milk with 2 TSPN ACV), Einkorn flour (half all purpose/half whole wheat), and added a 1/4 of flaxmeal. Mine were not as fluffy as those pictured but likely related to changes I made. They were delicious. Thanks for the great recipe. I’ll make them again.

  26. 5 stars
    So delicious! Love that I’m feeding my kids vegetable and they LOVE it! Perfect with a glass of cold milk!

  27. 5 stars
    Really like these pancakes. Made with all purpose flour. Will try white whole wheat next time. Hoping they freeze well for my elderly mom to heat and eat later.

  28. 5 stars
    These are delicious and my kids loved them! I used coconut oil instead of butter and added 1/3 cup chocolate chips for my kids. I would probably use a whole teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 tsp nutmeg to add more flavor. They came out fluffy just like the pictures and will definitely be making them again.

  29. 5 stars
    These are SOOOOO good! I make zucchini “pancakes” that are more keto -shredded zucchini, 6 eggs, maybe 1/4 cup flour, and 2 t baking powder- that are more like little pancake “souffles.” This time, was feeling like something different. I make “banana bread” pancakes all the time, so “zucchini bread” pancakes made total sense!!

    I doubled the batter, which meant I had a lot left over so, for grins, I addressed 2 things other commenters asked. 1. They don’t make good waffles – they make TERRIFIC waffles!!! lol 2. I know they make terrific waffles because I refrigerated the batter overnight to make waffles the next day, for brunch. After sitting, the batter “deflated” quite a bit because the baking powder/soda had lost their oomph. It was also a little more liquid, as the zucchini had released some additional water. I stirred in about another 1/4 cup of flour, another couple of teaspoons of baking powder (I didn’t add soda, but you could’ve done either…), and it was absolutely fine in my Belgian waffle iron. I froze the extra waffles and a quick toast in the toaster took them from freezer to breakfast perfectly!! Thank you so much for sharing!!! You never disappoint!

  30. 5 stars
    So good! I’ve made them several times and we love them! Adapts easily to a 1:1 gluten free flour. And I add more zucchini just because we have so much!

  31. Wonder zucchini pancakes. I did add a little more zucchini cause I like it. Also use coconut sugar which I would of used date sugar instead if I had it.
    Didn’t use both sugars together only because I use maple syrup on them and coconut butter yummy
    Oh I made my own butter milk. Reg whole milk and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. One tablespoon of apples cider vinegar to one cup and let sit for a bit. Enjoy

  32. looks like a good recipe, but I can’t find the ingredients quantity.
    can u please redo your recipe, thank u

  33. 5 stars
    These pancakes are so delicious! They’re a great way to use up our ample supply of zucchini. We tripled the recipe for our family of 10 and had plenty. We also put blueberries in some pancakes and chocolate chips in others. We also made icing to put on top. Thanks for a great recipe!