Made with Greek yogurt, oats, whole wheat flour, and not much else. Simple, wholesome, and satisfying.
Healthy whole wheat pancakes are difficult to master because pancakes are meant to be light, soft, and fluffy. All things that whole wheat flour isn’t. However, finding the right balance of ingredients to make your pancakes whole-grain AND fluffy isn’t impossible. It just took me a few (um, several) tries.
I’ve never met a pancake that I didn’t like.
Correction. I’ve never met a fluffy buttermilk pancake that I didn’t like. I have, however, met several flimsy-dense-flavorless-whole-wheat pancakes in my life. And they’re quite a disappointment to say the least.
The chocolate chip version of this recipe is our favorite. Though I can never say no to a classic, maple-syrup drenched whole wheat pancake.
Making these pancakes is actually really simple. There’s no crazy ingredients you’ve never heard of. Nothing requiring you to spend $15 on a crazy sugar substitute you can’t pronounce. Just plain everyday ingredients like whole wheat flour, egg, quick oats, milk, and yogurt. The pancake batter is flavored with cinnamon and vanilla extract and is very lightly sweetened with brown sugar. Only 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar for the entire recipe. Not too shabby, right?
Let’s just discuss how thick these guys are. You have the baking powder to thank. Not too much baking powder so that your pancakes taste like chemicals, but just enough to give them a little lift. Ok, a lot of lift. And I’m lovin’ it!
The addition of oats adds fiber to your pancakes, as well as gives them a hearty, satisfying texture. The oats bulk up the batter without adding any unnecessary sugar or fat. You know when you mix oats with water/milk, they bulk right up? The same goes with this pancake batter. I always add a touch of oats to my batters. Oh and don’t worry, these pancakes won’t taste oat-y. If you prefer to skip the oats, try these whole wheat pancakes instead.
Greek yogurt adds a slight protein punch to the batter. It also keeps things on the lower fat side. I love using Greek yogurt in my healthier recipes; it’s like a softness inducing miracle ingredient. Yogurt also brings so much moisture to the resulting pancake.
These whole wheat oatmeal pancakes are:
- Soft
- Thick
- Healthy
- Whole-grain
- Moist
- Really, really good
These whole wheat oatmeal pancakes are not:
- Made with weird ingredients
- Boring
- Flavorless
- Diet-busting
- Dry as cardboard
- Hard as bricks
Just making sure we’re clear here.
More Pancake Recipes:
- Whole Wheat Pancakes & Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes
- Birthday Cake Pancakes
- Greek Yogurt Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes
- Strawberry Buttermilk Pancakes
- Pumpkin Pancakes
- Homemade Crepes
Healthy Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 7-8 pancakes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Made with Greek yogurt, oats, whole wheat flour, and not much else. Simple, wholesome, and satisfying! Recipe may be doubled.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (123g) whole wheat flour or white whole-wheat flourย (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 cupย (43g) old-fashionedย whole rolled oatsย orย quick oatsย (not instant)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg or 2 egg whites
- 1 cup (240ml) milk*
- 2 Tablespoons packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (63g) Greek yogurt*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional: 1/2 cup add-ins like chocolate chips or fruit
Instructions
- In a large bowl, preferably with a pour spout, toss the flour, oats, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon together. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, whisk the egg and milk together. Whisk in the brown sugar and yogurt until no lumps remain. Whisk in the vanilla until combined. 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.ย Gently fold in any mix-ins you prefer.
- 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.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Griddle, Griddle Pan, or Shallow Skillet/Pan
- Milk: Recipe tested with both skim and vanilla almond milks. Soy milk, 1%, 2%, buttermilk, or rice milk are OK.
- Yogurt: Recipe tested with plain 0% Greek yogurt. Regular yogurt, any milk fat and your choice of flavor, is OK.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi thank you for this recipe I canโt wait to try it! So I donโt need to grind the Oates? And you mentioned in tips we can add fruit how much banana can I add? Thank you in advance.
Hi Alma! You add the oats whole. You can add fruits like blueberries or chopped banana (1/2 cup), but adding mashed banana would add to moisture to these pancakes. Enjoy!
Can these be made in a waffle iron as waffles instead?
Definitely!
This is our go-to recipe for pancakes!
Tried this with whole fat plain greek yogurt and creamy style oat milk. Also subbed unrefined coconut sugar for brown (I am diabetic). Perfectly delicious. Will use 0% greek yogurt next time. Thank for posting!
My husband and I love this recipe! I have been incorporating more whole grains into my diet to lower my cholesterol, and these pancakes certainly fit the bill. Not only that, but they are light and fluffy and delicious! Bravo!
Have made these a lot. The only pancake I ever eat. Amazing with blueberries.
Will rolled oats work for this recipe?
Yes, you can use whole rolled oats.
great recipe! i substituted the greek yogurt for some protein powder (four sigmatic – no artificial sweeteners and no gross stevia taste). i also added acv to the milk for a faux buttermilk. they turned out great, with a hearty texture but still beautifully fluffy. these are the best pancakes i’ve had in a while, second only to sourdough discard pancakes!
Can egg white be subbed in this recipe? Should I add more yogurt? Or try with applesauce? Thank you!
Hi Ana, you can use 1 large egg or two egg whites in this recipe. We haven’t tested those substitutes but let us know what you try!
I tried this recipe as I have been on a diet and craving pancakes. These are amazing! Even the kids liked them. I usually add some fruit and to top them I take 1/2 cup of fruit and warm it and smash it up with a tiny bit of stevia (less than a teaspoon), so it’s like a glaze and mix some (about 2 tbsp) of Greek yogurt in and it’s amazing. So far blueberry topping is my favorite.
Hi Sally, can i use regular flour here? thanks!
Yes you can, Emma!
Sally, love this recipe and itโs versatility. Iโve made it with oat flour instead of oats, sprouted grain flour, sour cream, yogurt, buttermilk, whole milk, etc and it always comes out top notch. I want to say thank you because my husband is a diabetic and these are a special treat for him that doesnโt raise his blood sugar.
Hi Diana, We are so glad you and your husband can enjoy these!
Very nice healthy pancakes, turned out better than my normal ones. Slightly different texture but lovely. I didn’t add any sugar just placed some sliced bananas on the top after putting them in the pan. Then turned over and the bananas go sweet and squishy.
Young and old liked these. Will definitely make them again.
Can you sub maple syrup for the brown sugar?
Hi Miriam, that should work just fine here.
I loved these pancakes! They were so easy and turned out very fluffy. Will definitely be making these again ๐
Hiya Lexi, the website isn’t letting me reply to my original comment (sigh). Thank you for the quick reply! I have seen somebody else used 50/50 oat flour and flour on the banana pancakes so while I’m waiting for my banana to ripen, I’ll have a look at both recipes and compare wet to dry ratios. I am a bit of a baking nerd when it comes to looking at whether recipes are good for my goals and what subs you can use lol. Thanks again!
Hiya is there any way to add mashed banana to these pancakes? Replace 60g yoghurt with 100-115g (1 regular) banana? reduce the milk? I was hoping to combine this recipe and your banana pancake for my pancake holy grail. Thank you for any tips ๐
Hi there, we haven’t tried adding bananas to this pancake recipe, but let us know if you try anything!
Hi Sally- Is there a substitute I could use for the yoghurt thatโs less perishable?
This is my go to pancake recipe and Iโm planning to make it for morning #3 on an upcoming camping trip, so my ingredients will need to last until then! I will be bringing a cooler, but Iโm not 100% sure if dairy will survive until day 3.
Iโll be using powered milk, so I wonder if I could just increase the amount to replace the milk and also the yoghurt called for.. my other thought was maybe applesauce. What do you think?
And thank you for this fantastic recipe, by the way!! It is loved dearly by the whole family.
Hi Laura! I fear these may come out a bit chewy with applesauce instead of yogurt, but please let us know if you try it! Milk would make the batter too thin. We’re so glad you love these pancakes.
Thanks Trina! I decided to risk it with the yoghurt (and Ruth was right, it was totally fine in the cooler for three days), but did use powdered milk instead of regular, and they were still excellent! A huge camping hit.
Hi Laura. Hope your camping trip went well. Just wanted to say that we always take dairy on car camping trips. Just leave it at the bottom of the cooler and have plenty of ice (a big block and some cubes to scatter) and open the cooler as seldom as possible. We’ve had milk and yogurt go back in the fridge even after 4 or 5 days camping without any problems.
Hello do u have the serving size and macros???
Hi Selene! We donโt usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
Can I use sour cream instead of greek yogurt??
Definitely!
Hello Sally. Can I use this recipe to make waffles?
Yes, definitely!
So sad…I would rate this 10 STARS!
My hubby of 31 years doesn’t / can’t / won’t cook unless he has to. I LOVE to cook and tell him what I’m making most of the time. Problem for him, he can’t “taste” a recipe in his mind like I do. Sometimes he wrinkles his nose as though I offered him something awful. BUT whole wheat (here in Ireland it’s whole meal) pancakes even sounded like a turn down for me…until I made these!! No variations except I added a teaspoon of nutmeg to the dry ingredients.
I make mine by using two medium skillets. Heat the oil until it sizzles. Pour enough batter in one pan to cover making a larger pancake, then when ready (dry edges and steam is visible) I “flip” it into the waiting equally hot oiled pan to finish and then repeat keeping cooked pancakes warm in the oven. This recipe made three pancakes so we shared one.
Topping was my homemade “bananas foster” made in a warm skillet (small is fine) …1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (dark or light) 3-4 tbsp. pancake maple syrup to taste, heat through until sugar melts, add 3 tbsp. Baileys Irish Cream (optional and the alcohol cooks away) and stir until darkened (cream blends in) turn off the heat then add sliced bananas (I use one per person). You can easily adjust how much sauce you make by cutting down or adding to the ingredients. I make mine to our taste liking. Stir gently to coat the bananas and serve over the pancakes!
10 star recipe for these light, fluffy, flavourful pancakes. You can rate my “foster” recipe.
So delicious, healthy and filling! I added blueberries and drizzled with honey and these are the best pancakes I’ve ever eaten. I don’t use white flour except if baking for the family for holidays. I love the texture of the whole wheat flour and oats. I used whole grain old fashioned oats and ground them a bit.
Just recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes so my entire life changed (eating healthy) I found this recipe and made them, my husband who is not a diabetic said they are the best pancakes he has ever had!! I added cut up fresh strawberries and used : Two Good 2 gram vanilla yogurt. Even if I wasn’t a diabetic I would never eat regular pancakes again…Leah