These homemade einkorn pancakes are the BEST and easiest to make. Pancakes or waffles are my go-to on Saturday mornings. Gone are the days of Bisquick boxes and pre-made mixes. Today, our waffles are made with simple, wholesome ingredients that not only taste great but also nourish the body.
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By making and doubling the recipe for pancakes and waffles on Saturday morning, I’m able to set aside the extra for breakfast later in the week (who doesn’t love a pancake breakfast on Wednesday morning) or use the extra in the kids’ lunchbox (served as actual pancakes with fruit and maple syrup or served as a sandwich with nut butter and jam or cream cheese and sliced berries or bananas). <–Learn more about simplifying the lunchbox and packing.
Most weeks, I turn to my almond-oat pancake recipe. It’s a reader favorite, too. Being a believer in variety, and also the fact that my kids go to a nut-free school and can’t have nut-based pancakes in their lunchbox, I’ve been in need of a new recipe to circulate.
Today’s recipe has quickly become part of my regular rotation on Saturday mornings. This recipe is a keeper for a few reasons…
What You’ll Love About This Einkorn Pancake Recipe
1. It’s made with einkorn flour.
Einkorn is known as the oldest variety of wheat making it an “ancient” grain. The ancient grain is believed to have originated in the Tigris-Euphrates region and is possibly the main grain referenced in the earliest accounts of the Bible. Einkorn is said to be the wheat men were eating in the earliest days before modern day wheat varieties. While modern wheat has undergone hybridization, einkorn still holds true to its original properties. Einkorn is slowly gaining popularity, but is still grown in only a few regions in Europe.
Einkorn is my favorite flour to work with when making traditional, flour-based baked goods. The sweet, ancient grain has a lighter texture and taste than modern day wheat, and contains a more favorable gluten ratio. You can find einkorn at some Whole Foods and health food stores, Earth Fare, Vitacost, and Amazon.
Also, while we’re on this subject, we’re going to talk more about the specifics of einkorn in a future podcast episode with guest Carla from Jovial Foods. It’s so good and will give you a deeper respect, so to speak, for this ancient grain.
2. The leftovers are safe for a nut-free lunchbox.
Whether you go the sandwich route or serve up traditional pancakes, this recipe is perfect for kiddos who attend a nut-free school or can’t have nuts.
3. Einkorn pancakes remind me of the Bisquick version.
Growing up, my dad made Bisquick pancakes, from a box mix, every Saturday morning. This recipe reminds of the pancakes he made. If you go with all-purpose einkorn flour, which is actually easier to digest, the pancakes will feel and taste light and fluffy–more like my favorite pancakes from childhood. If you go with whole wheat einkorn, the pancakes will have more of a rustic taste and feel.
Make-Ahead Storage Tips
When it comes to storing and reheating pancakes, I like to store extra pancakes (once fully cool) in a storage container or bag in the fridge or freezer. For breakfast, pancakes can be reheated in the microwave, oven (350F until warm), or toaster. For a school lunch, serve the pancakes cold. By lunchtime, the pancakes should be at room temperature. If the pancakes are frozen, take them straight from the freezer to the lunchbox–they’ll defrost by lunchtime.
Homemade Einkorn Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk or nut milk of choice (280g)
- 1 TB lemon juice about 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose einkorn flour or whole wheat einkorn flour (220g)*
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 TB baking powder
- 1/4-1/2 tsp salt depending on taste preference
- 2 eggs
- 3 TB unsalted butter melted + extra for greasing the griddle or skillet
- 1 TB pure maple syrup or honey
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Special Equipment:
- small bowl
- large bowl
- griddle or large skillet
Instructions
- Combine the milk and lemon juice in a small bowl. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes. I love adding lemon juice to my pancakes. I find this helps to soften the batter. If you don’t have lemon juice, you can skip this step and still make good pancakes.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the milk to the flour mixture, along with the eggs, melted butter, maple syrup or honey, and vanilla extract. Allow the batter to rest for 5-10 minutes to thicken. Whisk or stir again before use. If you feel the batter is too thick (particularly when using whole wheat einkorn), add more milk until you reach the desired consistency.
- Meanwhile, heat a griddle (or large skillet) over medium heat. <–You may need to lower the heat while cooking the pancakes if your griddle gets too hot and begins to burn the pancakes, cooking them too fast. Use your best judgement with this. This will vary depending on your stove-top and griddle.
- Add extra butter to the griddle to keep the pancake batter from sticking, then ladle the pancake batter in small batches on the griddle (I use a small soup ladle to do this, or a measuring cup). Cook each pancake for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
- Serve warm with with butter and maple syrup (the pancakes aren’t very sweet on their own). Or, serve with fruit, nut butter, or topping of choice. If making the pancakes in advance, allow the pancakes to fully cool before storing in a bag or container in the fridge or freezer. (Read about my favorite storage containers here.)
These pancakes were delicious and light. I used whole grain einkorn flour. and followed the recipe as written. My grandchildren loved them as well as the adults at the breakfast table. This recipe is a keeper. I will be making them often. Thank you.
Yay, Kathleen! So glad you enjoyed the pancakes.
Love this recipe. Thank you for sharing. Do you know how long these will keep in the freezer?
Hey Tess, So happy to hear that. About 6 months.
This was my first time cooking with Einkorn flour. This recipe was very good! I used buttermilk because I had it and needed to use it up. I figured soured milk (the lemon addition) was similar. Thank you!
That’s great, Carri! So glad you enjoyed the pancakes.
Hi. I tried this pancake and it is very nice. It is just not fluffy. But i love the taste and it is very soft.
Thank you for this recipe.
So glad you enjoyed the pancakes, Tina. Yes, these pancakes aren’t going to be fluffy buttermilk style pancakes.
Absolutely delicious! I added a sinlge banana just for the fun of it. Thanks for sharing!
Great idea, Sara! So glad you like the pancakes.
Awesome recipe. I had been milling and using soft spring white for pancakes but had been using Einkorn as part of my sandwich bread recipe so decided to look and see if I could just swap the soft white wheat out for Einkorn. So glad I came across your recipe…. so much more flavor than the one I had been using. Will be my new go-to for pancakes.
Yay, Patricia! So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing.
Great alternative to standard buttermilk pancakes. And we do love our pancakes around here. My husband really liked these and thought they were excellent even though he was dubious at first. I pretty much followed the recipe as written. Very happy with the results. I downed the cinnamon by maybe a quarter to a half a teaspoon. The taste of the pancakes was a very nice subtle blend of flavors. I will be making these again!
Yay, Sue! That’s so great to hear. I’m so glad you both loved the pancakes. Thank you for sharing.
Absolutely fabulous pancakes! Will be making again 🙂
Yay, Auroura! So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing.
It was only when I was going to review this recipe that I realised it uses einkorn flour (thanks google!). I still have no idea what emmer or einkorn flour is (my Mum brought emmer flour back as a substitution for wholemeal pastry flour haha) but I just wanted to say the pancakes were awesome with this substitution! Very yummy, would make again with my notes below. Oh and and they work from the freezer too (I stick ’em in the toaster).
As my flour was wholemeal, I upped the milk (too much whoops but it was fixable). I like sweeter pancakes so I upped the sugar. As my regular pancake recipe was fluffier with bicarb of soda and lemon juice (as well as baking powder), I did the same here – 3/8tsp bicarbonate of soda and 1/2tbsp lemon juice for flour stated here. As I say as my batter was a little runny (not extremely), I rested my pancake mix for 30 minutes and hoped for the best. They were thinner but weren’t a runny mess! I could still cook and flip them quickly no problem. I also read it makes lighter and fluffier pancakes, and I know from wholemeal bread that wholemeal flour is thirsty and needs time to absorb the water. Anyway thank you so much 🙂
Hey SNL, Glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for sharing!
I made this morning and followed the recipe exactly except that I used an ethryitol mink fruit sugar instead of maple syrup and ghee instead of unsalted butter. Delicious! I usually use half white and hale either einkorn or spelt. I thought using 100% einkorn or spelt would make them too heavy. It didn’t. They were light and delicious. And, the Einkorn wasn’t all purpose! Great recipe. Oh yes, I used frozen blueberries too.
Yay, Sue. I’m so glad liked them. Frozen blueberries sounds amazing!
I was excited about this recipe, but mine came out with a bitter taste! I rechecked the recipe and I am sure I followed it exactly. Not sure what happened! 😢
Hey Tammy, I’m not sure what happened either. Sorry to hear your pancakes were bitter. If you want sweeter pancakes (and think that’s the issue) you could add more sugar.
I have a sweet tooth and when I was working out sugar amount for my preference, the low sugar pancakes tasted salty to my taste buds (20-25g sugar. 15g =1tbsp for 1 cup/150g flour). 30g/2tbsp was my sweetspot. So I’ve used more here because it’s a larger batch. I hope that helps!
Is it possible that you accidentally used baking soda instead of baking powder? My husband did that once and the pancakes were bitter and grossss! As written with the baking powder these are delicious.
Hey Erin, I don’t believe so. I use baking soda. But you’re welcome to use baking powder instead if they taste better.
Can I use ghee instead of butter for non-dairy compliance?
Hey Mandy, Yes or coconut oil.
I defrosted some frozen wild blueberries to add to the batter. Delicious. I am so glad to have found your blog and your insight into baking with Eikorn!!!
That sounds amazing, Laura!! Great idea.