Fluffy and light whole wheat blueberry pancakes are a delicious way to start your day. Positively packed with wholesome ingredients like whole wheat flour, Greek yogurt, and juicy blueberries, a stack of these is an excellent motivator for getting up in the morning. ๐
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and a few more success tips.
Pancakes. One of the quintessential breakfast foods, with endless flavors, toppings, and variations like whole wheat oatmeal pancakes, whole wheat banana pancakes, birthday cake pancakes, pumpkin pancakes, strawberry buttermilk pancakes, and my go-to buttermilk pancakes.
It’s so much fun to play around with flavors, and today’s whole wheat blueberry pancakes rank the highest on my list. This recipe has been a favorite ever since I first published it many years ago. I even published the plain whole wheat pancakes, too! They’re fluffy and light, yet filling and chock-full of juicy blueberries. And they just happen to also be packed with wholesome, nourishing ingredients.
One reader, Kristen, commented: “Easily the best pancakes Iโve made or had, hands down. Cannot WAIT to make them again! I used regular yogurt, since thatโs what I had, and they turned out great. โ โ โ โ โ “
Another reader, Niki, commented: “Made these the other night for dinner (who doesnโt love breakfast for dinner?), and they were a hit! I’ve never used yogurt in a pancake recipe before, and I was not disappointed! I also love that the batch was big enough for me to have some leftovers to freeze! โ โ โ โ โ “
You’ll Love These Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes, Too
- Made with healthful whole wheat flour, but still light and fluffy
- Greek yogurt and milk add protein
- No refined sugarโwe’re using maple syrup, yum!
- Quick and easy to make
- Like the plain whole wheat pancakes, but loaded with sweet blueberries (fresh or frozen)
Making the swap from all-purpose flour to whole wheat flour sounds pretty easy, doesn’t it? Just a simple, 1-to-1 replacement. Well, it’s not always that simple. More often than not, your whole wheat baked goods will taste overly heavy, dense, or tough. Not at all the fluffy, rich, soft recipe you were expecting. I wouldn’t use it to make cinnamon rolls, for example.
But in the right recipe with the right supporting ingredients, whole wheat flour can be absolutely delicious. Take my whole wheat pizza dough, for example. It took me 2 weeks of tweaking ingredients to get that perfectly soft and flavorful whole wheat pizza recipe just right. But back to breakfast!
Because whole wheat flour is capable of making pancakes taste like dry hockey pucks, let’s avoid that nonsense by loading the batter with just enough moisture.
Grab These Ingredients:
- Whole Wheat Flour: I usually use King Arthur Baking whole wheat flour, but any brand is fine. You can also use white whole wheat flour.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda: These are what give the pancakes some lift and make them puff up in the pan. Because whole wheat flour tends to weigh things down, we need to add just enough leavener to aerate the cooking batter without leaving any chemical aftertaste.
- Salt + Cinnamon: For flavor.
- Yogurt: I typically use plain Greek yogurt, but you can use any kind: dairy or nondairy; full-fat, low-fat, or nonfat; plain, vanilla, or honey flavored. You could even use sour cream.
- Milk: Again, these pancakes are great with any type of milk, dairy or nondairy.
- Maple Syrup: Not just for topping! We’re sweetening the batter with it. Make sure you use the pure stuff, not the one labeled “pancake syrup.”
- Eggs: To bind the ingredients together (and for extra protein).
- Vanilla Extract: A kiss of vanilla is the perfect flavor enhancer for these pancakes.
- Coconut Oil: The recipe calls for melted coconut oil, but you could substitute vegetable oil or melted butter if you prefer.
- Blueberries: Obviously! Fresh or frozen both taste great in these pancakes.
Whisk together the dry ingredients in 1 bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients in another, then pour wet into dry and whisk together before you gently fold in the blueberries with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Especially if you are using frozen blueberries, you want to use a light hand to incorporate them, because they tend to bleed their juices and, therefore, some color. (But purple pancakes are fun too.)
The results? Fluff city. (The actual technical term.)
Favorite Toppings for Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes
A drizzle of maple syrup tastes wonderful on these, of course! As does whipped cream and honey butter. You could also try topping them with some melted peanut butter or homemade almond butter, strawberry topping, raspberry sauce, or lemon curd.
If serving these pancakes for a big brunch, they nestle nicely alongside platters of fresh fruit, eggs, bacon or sausage, mini quiche, frittata, breakfast egg muffins, or ham and potato casserole. Enjoy!
Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 pancakes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These are 100% whole wheat pancakes that are positively packed with juicy blueberries, protein-rich Greek yogurt, and whole grain goodness. They’re light and fluffy, taste wonderful with maple syrup and/or other pancake toppings, and best of all, the batter comes together in a snap!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (260g) whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (248g) plain Greek yogurt, at room temperature*
- 1 and 1/4 cups (300ml) milk, at room temperature*
- 1/4 cup (60ml) pure maple syrup, at room temperature*
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons (42g) coconut oil, melted (or vegetable oil, or melted butter)
- 1 and 3/4 cups (245g) frozen or fresh blueberries*
- for cooking: nonstick cooking spray or butter
Instructions
- In a large bowl preferably with a pour spout, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, whisk the yogurt, milk, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla together until combined. Whisk in the oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently whisk to combine. Make sure there are no patches of dry flour at the bottom of the bowl. The batter is thick and a few lumps are fine. Gently fold in the blueberries. If you are using frozen blueberries, you want to use a light hand when folding because they will bleed some juices and, therefore, some color.
- Let the batter sit for 5 minutes as you heat the stove in the next step. This gives the batter a chance to thicken.
- Meanwhile, heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Coat generously with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Once it’s hot, drop/pour a heaping 1/4 cup of batter on the griddle. Cook until the edges look set and you notice holes in the pancake’s surface around the border, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until cooked through, about 1โ2 more minutes. Coat griddle/skillet with butter or nonstick spray again, if needed, for each batch of pancakes.
- Keep pancakes warm in a preheated 200ยฐF (93ยฐC) oven until all pancakes are cooked. Serve pancakes immediately with toppings of choice.
- Cover and store leftover pancakes in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Pancakes freeze well up to 3 months. Reheat frozen pancakes in the microwave. Or you can reheat frozen pancakes in a 350ยฐF (177ยฐC) oven. Place pancakes on a lined baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 6โ8 minutes or until defrosted and warm.
- Can I make the batter the night before? No, I don’t recommend it. Baking powder is activated once wet. You can, however, mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients together and keep them separate and covered in the refrigerator until the morning. (But do not add the melted coconut oil until ready to cook, because that will solidify in the refrigerator.)
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Mixing Bowls (preferably with a pour spout) | Whisk |ย Electric Griddle,ย Griddle Pan, or Shallow Skillet/Pan
- Yogurt: You can use regular or Greek yogurt; plain, vanilla, blueberry, and honey-flavored yogurts work well. Nonfat, low fat, full fatโit’s your choice. I usually use 0% (nonfat) plain Greek yogurt. You could also use sour cream.
- Milk: You can use any type of milk, dairy or nondairy, and any fat percentage.ย
- Sweetener: Honey, coconut sugar, or brown sugar may be substituted for maple syrup in the batter with no other changes.
- Blueberries: If using frozen blueberries, no need to thaw. If you want even more blueberry goodness, increase blueberries up to 2 cups (280g).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 pancakes
- Calories: 266
- Sugar: 11.5 g
- Sodium: 323.3 mg
- Fat: 8.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 40.5 g
- Fiber: 4.8 g
- Protein: 9.4 g
Reader Comments and Reviews
I ran out of buttermilk so I couldnโt make my standard recipe. I knew I could count on Sally to come up with a delicious alternative! Toddler and parent approved. With the syrup already inside the batter, I find they are better with jam than maple syrup as a condiment.
Made this & LOVED it. I’m always trying to make ‘very fluffy ‘pancakes. Do you think separating the eggs & beating the whites might work? Love your site & all your great recipes. Thanks so much, Nancy
Hi Nancy, we haven’t tried it with this recipe, but yes, that should definitely help give you fluffier pancakes! If you try it, let us know how they turn out. ๐
Iโm wondering if you can halve this recipe?
Hi Barb, absolutely.
All the ingridients fit well together, however the pancakes weren’t tasty enough for my liking.
This recipe is absolutely delicious! The pancakes are soft and fluffy and honestly don’t taste like you’re eating whole wheat. The blueberries are the perfect addition. I made these pancakes for Mother’s Day and my mom LOVED them! I’m definitely keeping this recipe to make again. Thank you, Sally!!
I really love this recipe! Made it with mostly spelt flour and a little whole wheat flour and no berries. So fluffy! Appreciate that you always provide weights.
These are wonderful, light and fluffy. The only change I made was using a mixture of berries – blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries only because I thawed out the wrong bag of frozen berries. The recipe turned out great. Thanks for sharing and we will be making these again soon! Yummy!
I made this today. Itโs so good! So fluffy. You wouldnโt even notice that itโs whole wheat. Amazing!!
Fantastic- so light and fluffy. Was skeptical that using all whole wheat flour would give such a great texture. Definitely a keeper. Because I had a little bit of lo-fat cottage cheese to use up, added
that in place of equal amount of milk. Yum!
hello sally! i am making my way through your repertoire of whole wheat pancakes, and i have a couple of technical questions with this one: 1) do the ingredients *have* to be at room temperature? i am wary of overdoing the microwave with the milk/yogurt/syrup, and it would take up to an hour for ingredients to come to room temperature on the counter. if it is a necessary step, 2) do you think i’d be able to mix them all together the night before, and then just pull the bowl out to come to room temperature the next morning? thanks for your guidance (and the yummy recipes)!
Hi Jen! Here’s more on the importance of using room temperature ingredients in recipes. See recipe Notes: Can I make batter the night before? No, I donโt recommend it. Baking powder is activated once wet. You can, however, mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients together and keep them separate and covered in the refrigerator until the morning. (But do not add the melted coconut oil until ready to cook, because that will solidify in the refrigerator.)
thanks for the link, trina! that does make sense. i think i’ll make these “breakfast for dinner” pancakes so that i can get things ready in the afternoon instead of fending off hungry kids first thing in the morning while waiting for the ingredients to get to room temperature.
Could I use buttermilk instead of regular milk?
Hi Aiysha, these pancakes are great with any type of milk.
These are seriously the best pancakes! I make them with TJ’s wild blueberries and they are outstanding. Delicious plain as well!
Sally, any thoughts about swapping the yogurt for blended cottage cheese?
Hi Ana, you can use blended cottage cheese here. In fact, I tried it a few months ago and the results were excellent. Same amount.
This recipe made the best pancakes Iโve ever made !
So glad you enjoyed these, Kim!
My go to pancake recipe now! Really great, not at all dry. Feels like a healthier choice for my family with whole wheat and Greek yogurt.
I couldnโt believe how light and delicious these pancakes were. Thank you!
Substituted olive oil for the coconut oil and honey for the maple syrup. Followed recipe exactly.
Great recipe will definitely make again
Great recipe. Substituted coconut oil for olive oil.
My husband, my 7 month old, and I all loved this recipe and have made it several times this blueberry season. We love it for many reasons, including the awesome flavor and the way it fills us up for nearly the whole morning!
I made this the first time several months ago as the full recipe. Way too much for two. Cut in half each additional time and it is perfect. The whole wheat and the maple syrup make for a great combination. Terrific recipe.
Absolutely the best blueberry pancakes! My 4 year grandson can’t get enough of these when he spends the night (and neither can we).