Buttermilk pancakes lightened up with strawberries, egg whites, greek yogurt, and whole wheat flour. A guilt free way to start your morning!
Sometimes Sunday morning calls for pancakes. A big heaping plate of steaming hot pancakes drizzled with maple syrup and butter melting over them. Pancakes + Pajamas = Perfect Sunday Morning. Of course, a plate of pancakes also calls for a long afternoon at the gym. Or you know, maybe Monday afternoon. But with these you can have your pancakes and eat them too.
Ok now I’m no nutrition expert, and I’m not going to go tallying up the calories in a plate of these strawberry pancakes, but I can tell you they have to be a little healthier than if you strolled down to your local diner and ordered up a plate of pancakes.
I took the buttermilk pancakes from Cook’s Illustrated as my guide and changed it up a bit. I swapped out a cup of the all purpose flour for a cup of whole wheat flour. I like using half whole wheat flour for bumping up the nutritional value, but all whole wheat flour and I feel you lose some of that “fluffiness” that is key to a great plate of pancakes.
To lighten up the pancakes further, I also swapped out the two whole eggs for four egg whites and 2 teaspoons of corn oil. Just remember, save those egg yolks! You can always save the egg yolks for a rich hollandaise sauce for an eggs benedict for next Sunday.
One last little change, is I used non-fat greek yogurt instead of the full-fat sour cream. I also have a container of greek yogurt in my refrigerator, as it is usually my go-to weekday breakfast. I don’t know about you, but a yogurt container is usually all I have time to grab in the morning. Lucky for me, I still had a container leftover from the week to use for this recipe. The yogurt adds the creaminess and richness, with fewer calories, and the great tanginess. Of course you could still use sour cream, regular yogurt, or maybe splurge on some crème fraiche. If you have a container of that laying around in your fridge, your fridge is definitely fancier than mine.
The last addition of course was adding sliced strawberries. I poured 1/4 cup of batter onto my hot griddle and then carefully placed 3 or 4 sliced strawberries into the batter. I like doing it this way, as opposed to adding them before so I can ensure every pancake gets adequate amount of strawberries. I also like that when I flip them over, the strawberries meet the hot griddle and this lovely little caramelization happens that is just delicious.
So next Sunday morning with your p.j.’s and slippers still on whip up a batch of these whole wheat strawberry pancakes. The gym can wait.
Whole Wheat Strawberry Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1/4 greek yogurt
- 4 egg whites
- 2 teaspoons corn oil
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
- Strawberries sliced, about 6-8
- 1-2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- 1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat to 200 degrees. Spray a wire rack set in a cookie sheet with cooking spray, and place in the oven.
- 2. Whisk flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. In second medium bowl, whisk buttermilk, greek yogurt, egg whites, corn oil, and butter.
- 3. Make a well inside the dry ingredients, and pour the wet ingredients into the center of the well. Gently stir until just combined (batter should remain lumpy, with a few streaks of flour). Do not overmix. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes before cooking.
- 4. Heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Using paper towels, carefully wipe out the oil, leaving a thin film of oil on the bottom and the sides of the pan. Using a 1/4-cup measure, portion batter into pan in 4 places. Place 3 to 4 strawberry slices on each pancake. Cook until edges are set, first side is golden brown, and bubbles on surface are just beginning to break, about 2 to 3 minutes. Using a wide spatula, flip pancakes, and continue to cook until second side is golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Serve pancakes immediately, or transfer to wire rack in preheated oven. Repeat with remaining batter, using remaining oil as necessary.
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