If you haven’t tried Sue Gregg’s waffle/pancake recipe, you need to asap! This is an awesome healthy and nutritious recipe that can be nicely catered to meet your needs (if you have allergies that is). We have this any Sunday when we have guests over and it is always a hit! I had another request for the recipe recently, so that is why I decided to post it today. These can be easily frozen (2 weeks max). I have written some alternative variations at the end. This recipe uses the benefits of soaking the grains to receive all the nutrient value, but you can also substitute the grain for flour (1 cup grain =approximately 1 1/2 cups flour). If we are having it on Sunday, I simply soak them on Saturday night, and throw the remaining ingredients together before they arrive. Easy company dinner and oh so much fun. My husband loves this recipe as pancakes on Saturday mornings. We top with peanut butter and maple syrup. They are very flavorful! Enjoy!
Blender Waffles/Pancakes
Amount: 2 (2 1/2-3 waffles) or 4 (4-5 waffles) or 20-24 pancakes
1. Place in blender; blend at highest speed for 3 minutes.
(3/4) 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cups buttermilk or kefir (or non-dairy alternative)
(1) 2 Tbls olive oil
(1/2) 1 tsp vanilla extract
(2/3) 1 1/2 cups brown rice or uncooked rolled oats (or other grain variations, see below) 2/3 cup grain = 1 cup flour or 1 1/2 cups grain =2 cups flour
The batter should always swirl about a vortex in the blender. If it doesn’t, slowly add more liquid until the hole reappears. This is the secret to light and tender waffles. Batter for pancakes may be thicker, but keep batter relatively thin and keep it churning.
2. Cover blender; let stand at room temperature overnight or 12-24 hours.
3. Preheat waffle iron at highest temperature, or griddle on medium high.
4. Just before baking, add and reblend on highest speed for 1 minute:
1 egg, optional additional liquid (if batter needs thinning for vortex or churning)
5. Blend in thoroughly, but briefly (assisted with rubber spatula, if needed):
(1) 2 tsp baking powder
(1/4) 1/2 tsp. baking soda
(1/2) 1 tsp salt, to taste
6. Pour batter onto hot waffle iron, sprayed with olive oil. Bake about 3 1/2 to 4 minutes in waffle iron until crispy.
GRAIN VARIATIONS
brown rice or millet – equal parts of each grain
kamut, spelt, wheat - kamut is a favorite! Combining with kamut and oats is our favorite!
buckwheat – reduce to 1 cup (4 servings). It expands.
barley -hulled, not pearled. Reduce to 1 cup (for 4 servings). It expands
Quinoa - Thoroughly rinse quinoa in strainer the night before 1-2 minutes; let stand in bowl of water overnight; drain and rinse about 1 more minute. This removes bitter flavor. Batter will be very thin. Fill waffle iron almost completely to the edges.
Oats - uncooked rolled oats or oat groats
I use oats in combination with other grains. I use 1/2 cup (in recipe for 4) oats, and 1 cup kamut, or half and half in serving 2.
Other additions - throw in some flax seeds!
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I use this recipe,I double it, every week and our boys love it. I cool left over pancakes on a cooling rack before freezing so they won’t get soggy and stick together. Great for another breakfast or toaster snack!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I was wondering which grain you used when you made them for our family? Pretty tasty!
Carrie, I used my favorite combination, which is the oats and kamut, half and half. Enjoy1
[...] muffin or bread Thursday – Oatmeal, apples, cranberries Friday – French Toast, fruit Saturday – Pancakes, Crepes, Dutch babies Sunday – Smoothie, biscuit, bread or [...]
Quick question…if I were to use oats and kamut – I would use 3/4 cups of each whole – not ground?
Thanks -
Camille
That is correct.
Have you tried making your own buttermilk like here? I may have to get my buttermilk going and then do these on Saturday morning!
I have made the blender pancakes before, but I never let it soak – I’m excited to try this with my kamut!!
Blessings -
Camille
How long will the batter keep in t he fridge? Or will it at all? I soaked in Kefir and the pancakes have a sour taste. Is this normal? I know Kefir is sour, but I was wondering if it is suppose to become more mild after cooking?
I have found that you must cook them immediately or else the batter will go bad (gets overly sour). If I have any leftovers, I will bake and stick them in the freezer. Make sure not to soak too long, otherwise the kefir will give it a powerful sour taste. Normally I do about 12 hours and that works great. It has a wonderful sweet taste. It could be that your kefir was cultured too long. That has happened to me before. If the kefir was too strong, the pancake was too sour. Does that make sense?
I am using buckwheat pancake mix by arrowhead. A grinder is now on my wish list!
Should I use 1/2 water and 1/2 kefir when soaking? I used all kefir. And I will use all the batter and freeze. Do I just heat them up the same way you would pre-made store bought frozen waffles. Thanks so much!
I actually use all kefir in my pancakes/waffles for soaking, but you could use half and half if you desire. I normally thaw and reheat in the oven or my toaster oven, but you could also put them in the toaster as the store bought kind.
with the grain to flour ratio is the quinoa cooked when measured?
All the grains would be measured dried and not cooked.
Ahh…I was just getting ready to ask about the pancakes being sour, but I see that I probably soaked too long. I hate to waste this batter, but I don’t think I can stand the sour taste! I may have cultured my kefir too long as well. How long do you recommend for kefir? I’m a newbie at this soaking and culturing stuff, and I need some help, apparently.
Thanks!
I usually allow my kefir to culture for 2 days or so. Sometimes my kefir has gone bad simply because the milk was going bad…and that effected the taste of the pancakes as well. I only soak my pancakes for 12 hours or so. Hope that helps!
Looks “good” and healthy!!
I have been making blender pancakes for some time. They are the best! Especially with some grade B maple syrup. I use a can of organic coconut milk and one cup of grain. Blend at high speed for three minutes. Add two tablespoons of coconut oil, one tablespoon of honey, one half teaspoon of sea salt and one egg. Blend at high speed for one minute. Then add one tablespoon of baking powder and blend in quickly. Now they are ready to put on the griddle. They are simply delicious! I have played around with adding whey to the coconut milk and soaking overnight. It makes a very thick batter so more liquid is needed in the morning. Thanks for your site. I’ve been very encouraged! Carol
That sounds delicious as well! Coconut milk is especially good as a diary free alternative. Thanks for sharing!
Is the coconut milk already an acidic medium or do i need to add lemon juice to it???
thanks, Lindsay! Beautiful family pics on your site!! Congrats on the baby!
I have the same question as Carole re: adding lemon juice. But I think I’ll use the So Delicious coconut milk (it’s intended for drinking, and in the fridge by the soy milk, unlike the canned coconut milk).
For the pancakes, can you use organic whole milk yogurt instead of Kiefer? And how long should I let batter soak. I made them this morning and I didn’t let the batter soak. They didn’t taste very good. Just wondering what I did wrong. Thanks!
I love your website: Do you think you can use Almond or Rice Milk for this recipe in addition to EnerG Egg Replacer powder? Our daughter is allergic to eggs, wheat, soy protein and all dairy products.
Thank you for your faithfulness as an example to others.
Blessings, Sharon
I have used rice or coconut milk in replacement of the dairy in this recipe for dairy free guests at our home. It works very well. Although I am not familiar with EnerG Egg replacer, I have also used a flax seed binder in replacement of the eggs when I was out of eggs. The egg is optional anyway.
Have you ever used chia? Chia seeds can be used to bind, replace gluten/elasticity, replace oil, and replace eggs. Super healthy too! I make a chia slurry and then freeze it into cubes to add to smoothies. I also use the [unfrozen] slurry instead of milk or water for pancakes for added nutrition.
I have heard of Chia seeds and they are on my shopping list next time I order from Mountain Rose Herbs, but I have not tried them as of yet. Thanks for the recommendation!
Of course! It’s nice to be able to give back, as I am constantly learning from you!
Please keep us posted re: what you think of the chia seeds. You may be able to find them in bulk locally (some Whole Foods carries them this way) so you can try it a bit before you commit to a larger purchase. Mike at Gluten-Free Blog explains about making these slurries and using it in his recipes. Good luck!
If you use a whole wheat sourdough starter to make pancakes, do you still need to add kefir or a souring agent to still get optimal nutrition?
I am not too familiar with using sourdough starters, but I do understand that the natural fermenting process as you allow it to sit out after you combine the sourdough with the flour will accomplish the same effect of breaking down the phytates. So no, you should not have to add an acid medium in addition to the sourdough.
[...] These are called “Blender batter pancakes”, and they couldn’t be easier to make (if you have whole grains on hand). I like to mix oats and SWEET brown rice for mine. I make a double batch because we love these! Here is a post that has the recipe in it: http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2007/12/tuesday-recipes-wafflespancakes.html [...]
I tried this recipe tonight for my family and they loved it! Thanks so much for a healthy alternative to storebought frozen waffles.
I tried this recently with juice kefir since I was out of milk kefir and buttermilk and they were excellent. That’s another dairy free alternative!
I made both waffles and pancakes and they turned out really light and yummy. The soaking must make them lighter because I have always used WW flour and never have had them turn out this fluffy! Although, it could have been the vortex which I have never heard before. Thanks!
For the grain variations on the blender pancake/waffle recipe, are you referring to grains like 1 C rice cooked or 1 C rice flour? Thanks!
All the grains referred to are raw quantities. So you would use 1 cup raw rice.
I did something wrong the first time but was determined to make the waffles. I am eating one now and Yummy! Thanks so much Lindsay. Your website is really helpful.
Hi! I love your blog, so thank you for sharing both recipies and ather things. About the pancakes..I don´t have a blender. Can I use a Kitchenaid mixer?
You would have to use ground flour in replacement of the whole grain in order to combine in your kitchenaid mixer. The blender is for use with the whole grains as it will grind them up while mixing. Does that make sense? A Kitchenaid does not have a blade to grind the wheat.
okey, thanks . I´ll try that.:)
I made them this morning; well last night
and they turned out very flat but had good flavor. I used rolled oats for the grain and soaked them for 12 hours (with buttermilk)like you said. It did the “vortex” mixing…what did I do wrong? Help!!!
Ok, I made my buttermilk (as a by product of homemade butter) and I just realized that the whipping cream I used was not cultured. Could that be the problem?
Sometimes I also use uncultured buttermilk and add a little bit of acid medium as well (such as kefir,whey or lemon juice) as that is important to break down the phytates, but they still turn out light and fluffy. Most likely your problem is related to your leavening ingredients. Make sure you only mix it for a few seconds after adding the baking powder or they will turn out flat because the leavenings are killed when you over mix. If that doesn’t work you may want to check the quality and freshness of your powder. Hope that helps!
Also, keep in mind that if you used a gluten-free grain (oats are usually contaminated with wheat but are technically gluten-free themselves), it is necessary to use baking powder that is 6 months old or fresher. Anything older will not work. In this case, since there is an acidic medium (lemon juice), I would just use all baking soda and skip the powder if it’s older than the 6 months.
For the sake of clarification, some gluten-free folks, like myself, cannot even eat certified gluten-free oats so if you’re cooking for someone gluten-free, don’t assume that oats are ok.
I’ve been making these as waffles for a couple of months and trying a new grain combo each time. This time I have hot on our all time favorite. It was light and fluffy and sooo yummy. I made it as pancakes this time and used 1c kamut and 1/2 c quinoa. WOW! it was great and a great way to squeeze in a variety of grains.
Kendra
[...] I’ve found my favorite pancake recipe is from a Sue Gregg cookbook. You can find it at Passionate Homemaking. I double the recipe for my family and use oats for the grain. They are light and fluffy. We [...]
From a family of five, only one little picky eater will not eat the pancakes! The rest of us love and appreciate the healthy recipe.
I’m so excited about this method of soaking whole grain because I don’t have a grain mill yet but these came out perfectly. I don’t even have a good blender, so I made the smaller batch in my Magic Bullet personal blender and it was fine (I was worried about the whole vortex thing). These were very smooth and eggy kind of like a cream puff. I was low on oats so I used half oats and half whole wheat flour, soaked in buttermilk, and made mini Belgian waffles. Can’t wait to try it with brown rice too.
Can you use steel cut oats?
Yes, you can use practically any assortment of whole grains in this recipe. I have tried many varieties and every one has turned out fabulously!
Can you use melted butter in place of the olive oil?
Sure thing! I also use coconut oil most of the time at our home.
Can I soak my pancake batter overnight in a stainless steel bowl?
Stainless steel is not recommended as I recall. I would use recommend a glass or plastic bowl.
On the Kamut, do you just put the grains in there whole or do you have to grind it first? I can’t imagine a blender really grinding the whole grain.
Yes, this is using the whole grains. My blenders have been able to do it just fine. You can adapt it to using flour as described at the end of the post. I have found that using the whole form makes a lighter texture to the pancakes though. The flour version just tends to be far more heavy.
Made these last night! So good! Thanks!
Hi Lindsay,
I’m currently soaking my mixture for tomorrow’s breakfast! Looking forward to it!
When you serve the waffles to your guests on Sundays, what kind of toppings do you use?
I make a berry fruit sauce, whipping cream, maple syrup, and butter. Pretty simple but delicious!
I have made these two times now and both times they tasted like baking powder. I’m not sure what I did wrong because I made them again the second time making sure to have all the measurements right. They did turn out looking amazing, but tasting bad. Can I reduce the amounts of leaveners?
I would probably change baking powders then…making your powder is rancid. I have made this recipe numerous times and never had that issue. I am sure you can adjust the quantities as well.
Thanks for responding. I made them thismorning and they were wonderful! I wonder if it was rancid baking powder…? The other thing I did was reduce the salt to 1/4 tsp. Maybe the 1 tsp. is too much for my taste. Anyway, my whole family loved eating yummy waffles as opposed to the brick like waffles I usually make.
I bought a pancake whole grain mix that already has baking soda and baking powder and sea salt in it. Can the pancake mix still be soaked with these ingredients in them? All I read is that you should add these ingredients after the flour has been soaked so I just want to be sure.
Unfortunately, no. The leavening’s cannot be combined for the soaking process to be effective.
Could Whole milk yogurt be used in the place of buttermilk or kefir?
Yes!
Lindsay, thank you so much for all you do on your site. I have learned a lot. I have been making the soaked waffles and pancakes for several months now, using mostly wheat berries and oat groats or millet and cultured buttermilk. The past two times I have made them (not changing anything), after about 16 hours of soaking, there is a blackish film on top. I figured it was nothing and blended it back in, but when I cooked the pancakes, they all had a blackish color to the edges. It freaked me out a bit. They tasted fine to me, but I did not give them to my children. Do you have any idea what I am doing wrong?
That has happened to me once or twice as well. I never worried about it and mixed it in. Sorry I don’t understand why it can happen either.
Hey, recipe looks great! I was wondering if I could replace the buttermilk/ kefir with greek yogurt?
Thanks,
Justine
Did anyone have any problems with the batter not cooking in a Belgian waffle maker? I did not soak – they were a super easy dinner. I used all rolled oats for the grain and also threw a couple of handfuls of blueberries in to the blender for a quick spin. I had to let the waffles get really really brown in the iron for the insides to cook. Still very good, but a bit browner than I like. My 3 year old loved them once I convinced him that waffles did not have to come from the store!
Soaking makes a huge difference on this recipe. I would highly recommend you try it. They always cook beautifully in my belgian waffle maker after soaking.
I tried this recipe (used 1/2 oats & 1/2 brown rice), & soaked them overnight in kefir, but our pancakes were flat & tasted bitter. What do you think I did wrong?
It was probably your kefir. If your kefir is too sour then it will affect the pancakes. You will know by the smell. This has happened to me a few times and it was always the kefir – I let that culture too long resulting in an extremely sour kefir.
I had been making these soaking the whole grain all night instead of the whole grain ground up in the blender. Is that ok or should I really be blending it first before I soak it…?
That’s okay but will not be as effective. The texture will be superior if you blend/grind prior to soaking.
Finally just tried these!! So Yummy and filling. Do you find store bought Kefir to be thicker than your homemade batches?
No, store bought kefir is pretty runny. My homemade kefir is always relatively thick. It gets thicker the longer it sits.