These sweet potato pancakes are lightly sweetened with maple syrup, and are so fluffy! Spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, these are a delicious and healthy breakfast enjoyed by kids and adults.
From classic fluffy blueberry pancakes, to bacon pancakes, and these sweet potato pancakes - we like to get creative with our pancake flavors around here!
These sweet potato pancakes are made with simple ingredients and sweetened without refined sugar. Enjoy topped with fresh berries and a drizzle of maple syrup!
Not only do these pancakes taste amazing, but they also can be made ahead and stored away for easy meal prep breakfasts throughout the week. Keep them in the fridge or freezer and pop them into the toaster for crispy, delicious pancakes in minutes - your kids will love this yummy breakfast!
Reasons You'll Love This Recipe
- that sweet potato flavour...slightly sweet and cinnamon-y and just plain delicious!
- made in one bowl, they are easy to prep and store in the fridge or freezer
- they are packed with wholesome, nutritious ingredients and the whole family will enjoy!
Recipe Video
Watch the video below to see how to make sweet potato pancakes! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel.
Ingredient Notes
- Sweet potato purée - we recommend cooking your sweet potatoes in an Instant Pot. If you don't own one, here's a tutorial on how to bake sweet potatoes, or how to cook sweet potatoes in a slow cooker. Cook, cool slightly and mash into a puree. Make sure your puree is cool when you make the pancakes.
- Coconut oil - we recommend using refined coconut oil for a neutral flavor. You can also swap the coconut oil for an equal amount of butter or neutral oil (avocado oil or vegetable oil) if you prefer.
- Maple syrup - adds subtle sweetness without any refined sugar. Make sure you have some extra for topping your pancakes with as well!
- Egg - helps to bind everything together - we have not tested this recipe with flax eggs, however it may work out. Please let us know in the comments if you try it!
- Milk - this recipe uses 2% dairy milk, but feel free to swap for a dairy-free alternative such as coconut milk or almond milk
- Flour - we used all-purpose flour, but you could swap for white whole wheat flour if you prefer (we use them interchangeably). You could do a mixture of half all purpose, half whole wheat. Gluten-free and other alternative flours have not been tested.
Step by step directions
Combine Wet Ingredients
Melt coconut oil in a large microwave-safe bowl. Stir in the sweet potato puree, egg, maple syrup, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
Add dry ingredients
Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix in until just combined (don't over-mix).
Cook
Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Spray with oil. Using a ¼ cup measuring cup, spoon the batter into the pan.
Cook for roughly 2 minutes, or until you see bubbles in the middle of the pancakes and the edges are dry enough to get a spatula under the pancake.
Flip and cook for another 1 minute on the other side, or until cooked through.
Serve
Serve these sweet potato pancakes with berries, yogurt, and maple syrup!
Tips for Flipping Pancakes
- use a non-stick pan (and don’t over-crowd it with too many pancakes! Three ¼ cup pancakes in a 12-inch pan is my limit)
- make small pancakes- I stick to ¼ cup, as even ⅓ cup become too wide and challenging for me to flip
- wait until you see bubbles in the middle of the pancake and the edges start to dry out a bit
- test by slipping your spatula under the side of the pancake. If it sticks to the batter, the pancakes need longer
- the first pancake is a tester- don’t stress if it gets ruined. Your temperature may need to be adjusted, your pancake batter may need to sit a few minutes to thicken, etc.
- get the timing down- once the temperature of the pan is stabilized, set a timer so you know roughly how long the next few batches of pancakes will take.
fAQ
You can cook your sweet potatoes in an Instant Pot, or make baked sweet potatoes. Cook, cool slightly, then mash into a purée. Make sure your purée is cool when you make the pancakes!
YES! We love making a double batch and storing the leftovers in the fridge. When we want to re-heat, we just pop them in the toaster! You can also make them ahead and freeze for up to 3 months. Make sure you wrap them in a layer of cling wrap and place in a storage container to avoid freezer burn.
We have only tested this recipe with all-purpose (good), whole wheat (no go), and white whole wheat (good) so we can't say for sure without further testing. That being said, 1:1 gluten-free flour blends are usually a good bet.
We haven't tested, but we do have a tried and true sweet potato waffles recipe for you to use!
Serve them with
These sweet potato pancakes could be topped with either sweet or savory toppings:
- berries
- maple syrup
- yogurt
- powdered sugar
- chopped bacon
- scrambled or poached eggs
Storage + Meal Prep
- Fridge - Sweet potato pancakes can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer- wrap in cling wrap or parchment paper and place in a storage container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely, then reheat in the toaster.
- Reheat - Reheat sweet potato pancakes in the toaster! Be sure to serve with syrup, yogurt, or something to help restore moisture to the pancakes, as they do dry out slightly after storage.
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Sweet Potato Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil 26 g; see note 1
- ½ cup sweet potato puree 130 g; * see note 2
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup 39 g; see note 3
- 1 cup milk dairy or non-dairy; 245 g; see note 4
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour 125 g; see note 5
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Combine wet ingredients - Melt coconut oil in a large microwave-safe bowl. Stir in the sweet potato puree, egg, maple syrup, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
- Add dry ingredients - Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix in until just combined (don't over-mix).
- Cook - Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Spray with oil. Using a ¼ cup measuring cup, spoon the batter into the pan.Cook for roughly 2 minutes, or until you see bubbles in the middle of the pancakes and the edges are dry enough to get a spatula under the pancake.Flip and cook for another 1 minute on the other side, or until cooked through.
- Serve - Serve with berries, yogurt, and maple syrup!
Tips:
- refined coconut oil ensures your pancakes won't have a prominent coconut flavor; swap for melted butter or a neutral oil
- We highly recommend cooking your sweet potatoes in an Instant Pot. Cook, cool slightly and mash into a puree. Make sure your puree is cool when you make the pancakes.
- maple syrup may be swapped for your favorite liquid sweetener
- almond milk and other non-dairy milks work well in this recipe
- white whole wheat flour or a mixture of half whole wheat, half all purpose flour can be used; gluten-free and other alternative flours have not been tested.
- Fridge - These pancakes can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer- wrap in cling wrap or parchment and place in a storage container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely, then reheat in the toaster.
- Reheat - Reheat in the toaster. Be sure to serve with syrup, yogurt, or something to help restore moisture to the pancakes, as they do dry out slightly after storage.
Video
Nutrition Information
© Sweet Peas & Saffron - Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Sally says
Delicious! Tastes like a holiday cookie with all the spices. I followed others adding 1/4 t of salt and 1/4t of all spice.
I had almond flour, used 1/2 c and 1/2c of white flour. I used oil blend, instead of coconut oil ( allergy to it).
Sarah G says
Very good recipe. Came out beautifully and full of flavor all my themselves. Added salt like others. Just used standard store ingredients: white flour, veg oil, and added 1/4 tsp allspice with the others.
Ben | Sweet Peas & Saffron says
I'm so glad you enjoyed them, Sarah! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts🙂
K Colibri says
This recipe is pretty decent but it’s lacking one crucial ingredient: salt. If you make this recipe be sure to add at least 1/4 tsp of salt - it makes a world of difference.
Cassandra Velez says
I absolutely love this recipe! I've adapted it to be vegan by replacing the milk with almond milk and using egg replacer.
It has become a favorite for our family! Also, today I even put it in a donut pan and it made delicious baked donuts!
Thank you for sharing these recipes!
Denise Bustard says
Hi Cassandra! I'm so happy to hear you've enjoyed the pancakes! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a review, that's so helpful to hear it work with an egg replacerr and in a donut pan 🙂
Stephanie says
Wow...totally impressed. After reading others suggestions I added 1/4 top salt and went 1/2 c of milk and 1/2 c of plain yogurt. Cooked it at 325 in my electric frying pan. So pleased...gonna be a regular in our home. Thanks so much.
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Stephanie, isn't this pancake recipe delicious?! We're so glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to come back to leave a rating and review!
Lisa says
I made these today with the addition of 1 very ripe banana. All other ingredients as recipe is written. They were great! Definitely a smooshie texture (I'm sure partially due to the banana) which I enjoyed. Delicious flavor. Next time I may add more cinnamon.
Denise Bustard says
Hi Lisa! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for sharing your modification, that's so helpful to others!
Cindy c says
I used oat milk and half oat flour half gluten free all purpose. Turned out great and they’re gluten free!!
Denise says
Hi Cindy! Thank you so much for sharing your modifications with us, that's so helpful! Glad you enjoyed them 🙂
ok says
Very yummy, and super fluffy. I didn't have any milk, so I used 3% plain yogurt instead,, and used maple flavour instead of vanilla. Will make again!
Laura says
The flavor of these was delicious but they were a bit to “smooshie” for my taste. I just added more flour until I got the consistency I wanted. Otherwise, these were great!
Denise says
Hi Laura, thank you so much for your feedback!
Jen says
I had one half cup of leftover cooked sweet potato, so I decided to make these today and they were great! I used whole wheat pastry flour and reduced the maple syrup to 1 tablespoon and the nutmeg to 1/4 for the kids (it's a strong flavor, I feel). I think they could benefit from 1/4 tsp salt, but that's just me. Thanks for a great recipe!
Denise Bustard says
Hi Jen! Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review! I am glad to hear you enjoyed, and thanks for the note about the salt!
Holly says
These were perfection. Thank you so much for sharing!
Denise says
Yay, I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed them, Hollie! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review 🙂
Brian Grossman says
Good Morning,
I hope you had a wonderful July 4th!
How do I make sweet potato puree? I could not find it on your pancake page. I made Cottage cheese pancakes, DELICIOUS!
Thank you
Denise says
Hi Brian, apologies for my late reply (holidays!). I either steam my sweet potatoes or cook them in the instant pot. here's a post on how to cook sweet potatoes: https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/how-to-cook-sweet-potatoes/ After steaming, I mash the inside of the potatoes (no skin), until smooth. Hope this helps!
Claire says
Trying this one soon!