Silver Dollar Oatmeal Pancakes
Perfectly fluffy, naturally sweet, and so much fun to eat—these little gems will quickly become a favorite in your kitchen!
Ingredients
- ½ cup quick-cooking rolled oats
- 1 ripe banana, mashed
- 4 egg whites*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon maple extract or natural flavor
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- Sliced strawberries other fruit, optional topping
Instructions
- Generously coat a skillet with nonstick oil spray and warm over medium heat.
- Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir until thoroughly mixed.
- Pour small amounts of batter onto the skillet to make silver dollar pancakes, cooking in batches if needed. Use the back of a spoon or spatula to smooth and shape each circle for even cooking.
- Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes on the first side. Mist the top with additional oil spray and carefully flip with a wide spatula.
- Cook the second side for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, until golden brown.
- Transfer to a plate and top with optional berries, a drizzle of maple syrup or vanilla yogurt, if desired.
Notes
Use quick-cooking rolled oats—here's why it matters: This recipe is built specifically for quick-cooking rolled oats (sometimes labeled "quick oats" or "instant rolled oats"). Please don't swap in old-fashioned rolled oats or any kind of steel cut oats—including quick-cooking steel cut oats—or the texture will suffer. Here's the reasoning: Quick-cooking rolled oats are steamed and rolled extra thin, then cut into smaller pieces, so they drink up moisture fast and soften in just a few minutes. That's what lets them melt into a tender, lighter pancake in the short cook time this recipe calls for. Old-fashioned rolled oats are thicker and heartier and need more time and liquid to soften—your pancake will still hold together, but it'll turn out noticeably denser, heavier, and chewier. Steel cut oats are a different animal entirely: they're the whole oat groat simply chopped into dense little pieces, and they require 20 to 30 minutes of simmering to soften. Even the "quick-cooking" steel cut version won't soften in the brief cook time here, so you'll end up with a dense, heavy pancake studded with firm, gritty bits. Bottom line: reach for quick-cooking rolled oats and you'll get that perfect fluffy, tender pancake every time.
BUT if you already bought the wrong oats, here's how to rescue them: If you only have old-fashioned rolled oats, the easiest fix is to give them a head start: stir the oats into your wet ingredients and let the batter sit for 10 to 15 minutes (or even longer) before cooking, so the oats have time to soak up moisture and soften. The batter will thicken as they drink up the liquid, so if it looks too thick to spread on the skillet, just stir in a splash of milk (water, almond milk, or any milk of choice) until it's back to a spreadable consistency. Even better trick: pulse the oats a few times in a blender or food processor first—this breaks them down close to quick-oat size and all but erases the difference. But I realize its a bit of a pain to pulse the oats for this easy recipe!!
Steel cut oats (regular and quick cooking) are the tougher case since they're so dense—a quick soak won't fully do the job—so if that's all you have, give them a whirl in the blender to break them down OR soak them for a longer length of time (at least 30 minutes), and again, add a splash of milk if the batter turns out too thick. It won't be as flawless as using quick-cooking rolled oats, but it'll get you a tasty pancake without an extra trip to the store!
Nutrition Information per serving
Serving Size: 5 pancakesCalories: 320Carbohydrates: 52gProtein: 21gTotal Fat: 3.5g— Unsaturated Fat: 3g— Saturated Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 370mgPotassium: 736mgFiber: 7gTotal Sugar: 15g— Natural Sugar: 15g— Added Sugar: 0g
Nutrition information is calculated using a leading industry software. That being said, brands can vary, and there may be slight fluctuations in the numbers.