Apple Oatmeal Pancakes & News!!!
Fluffy apple pancakes that you can make in your blender! These healthy apple cinnamon pancakes are gluten free, too (no flour required, just oats!).
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
I have never enjoyed keeping secrets, even the good kind. I just might burst from anticipation so here it goes: I’m making a cookbook! It has been in the works for ages, and by ages I mean years, which is a long time in the blog world.
My cookbook is called Love Real Food, as in Cookie and Kate Love Real Food. It’s a title that makes a statement, one that I hope will appeal to you, my most wonderful readers, and a broader audience that hasn’t yet stumbled on this blog or this way of cooking. It’s a statement that conveys my bursting-at-the-seams enthusiasm for real, wholesome food, the kind that both delights the senses and nourishes the body. I hope you like it!
Love Real Food will be an extension of what you have come to expect on this blog, plus some fun special features. It will include 100 recipes that are all vegetarian, fresh and full of flavor. I’m being very careful to use accessible ingredients and have been testing the recipes over and over again to make sure they’re perfect.
I’ve finalized about a quarter of the recipes so far and I CAN’T WAIT to share them with you all. The blueberry muffins alone! They took me nine tries to get just right but they were worth it. The book won’t be complete without a few favorite recipes from the blog (even those will be reworked and tweaked), but the vast majority will be brand new. My stomach is so full right now, you guys.
I’m busy in the best of ways, stretched to maximum capacity with both the blog and the book. Maintaining my presence here and my recipe quality is very important to me, so I’m just moving a little slower than usual. Please keep visiting and letting me know how the recipes turn out for you and sharing my blog with your friends and family! I can’t tell you how much that means to me.
In all sincerity, this blog would never have turned into a recipe website or now, a cookbook, if it weren’t for your presence and your kind words. I took an awfully long time to gather the courage to write this cookbook proposal (my second proposal, long story). Every time you asked me when I was going to publish a cookbook, you gave me a welcome push in the right direction. Thank you. I can’t wait to show you what I’ve been working on!
The book will be coming to you in spring 2017, which might seem like a long time from now. It’ll be here before we know it! I’ve grown accustomed to doing everything myself on this blog, so learning to lean on others in order to make a book has been an adjustment. Big thank you to my awesome agent, Steve Troha, for believing in me and helping me land a deal with Rodale. Rodale has been promoting healthy lifestyles since 1942 (they’re the publisher behind Yummy Supper, Thug Kitchen and The Year of Cozy), and they seem like the perfect fit.
My editor, Dervla Kelly, has been reading this blog for four years, which is pretty special. I’m really excited to be working with her. We’re going to make sure Love Real Food is beautifully designed and full of big, colorful photographs of the recipes (and of Cookie, of course).
I’m so glad the secret’s out now so I can start sharing the creation of Love Real Food with you. Be sure to follow us on Instagram (I’ll be using #loverealfoodbook) and Snapchat (we’re @cookieandkate) for updates! I’ll be putting out a call for recipe testers, too, if you’d like to get involved!
Oh and these pancakes! I thought we could celebrate with pancakes. They’re light, fluffy and infused with apple flavor times two (applesauce and grated apple). They’re also 100 percent whole grain, gluten free and, I kid you not, you can make them in your blender. Just throw everything but the grated apple in there and you’ll have pancakes in no time flat!
Apple Oatmeal Pancakes
Fluffy apple pancakes that you can make in your blender! These healthy pancakes are gluten free, too (no flour required, just oats!). Recipe yields 6 medium pancakes about 4 inches in diameter.
FAIR WARNING: For reasons that I have not been able to deduce, these pancakes haven’t turned out well for everyone like they did for me (I’ve made them six times and they always turned out well!). Oat flour is always a little finicky but I don’t know why these pancakes have been particularly problematic. These pancakes are the reason why my cookbook’s pancakes aren’t oat flour based.
Ingredients
- 1 cup apple sauce
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats (gluten free if necessary)
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup grated tart apple (1 large honeycrisp apple was more than plenty for me)
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients except for the grated apple in your blender. Blend until the batter is completely smooth (as in, you shouldn’t see any remaining bits of oats or hear oats hitting the blades), pausing to scrape down the sides as necessary. Stir in the grated apple but do NOT blend again.
- Heat a heavy cast iron skillet/non-stick pan over medium-low heat, or heat an electric griddle to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly oil the surface of your pan with coconut oil, butter or cooking spray. If you’re using a non-stick electric griddle like mine, you might not need any oil at all.
- Once the surface of the pan is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles on it, pour about ⅓ cup of batter onto the pan. This batter is thick, but your pancakes won’t cook through if they’re thicker than ½-inch, so you might need to help spread the batter out with a spatula. Let the pancake cook for about 3 minutes, until bubbles are popping up and the edges are more matte than shiny. (Be patient, these pancakes need to cook a little lower and slower than most.)
- Once the underside is lightly golden, flip it with a spatula and cook for another 90 seconds or so, until golden brown on both sides. You may need to adjust the heat up or down at this point to avoid burning the outsides before the insides are cooked. Repeat with remaining pancakes.
- Serve the pancakes immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree Fahrenheit oven.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my gluten-free peach pancakes and vegan pancakes, with reference to Kelly’s banana blender pancakes and Deb’s apple pancakes.
Applesauce substitutions: If you can’t find applesauce, use plain yogurt instead (I know this works with regular plain yogurt, but suspect that Greek yogurt will be too thick). For the yogurt version, increase the amount of maple syrup or honey to at least 1 tablespoon. Milk will not work.
Storage suggestions: These will keep well, covered and refrigerated, for several days. I bet they will freeze well, too!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
These turned out amazing for me! Followed the recipe exactly! Used my homemade applesauce(no sugar added). Thank you for sharing :).
That’s wonderful to hear. Thanks, Randi!
Made these when the 6-yr-old asked for pancakes and bacon. Subbed olive oil for coconut oil and vanilla soy yogurt since we were out of applesauce. They turned out very well! Used them to make pancake tacos with bacon inside. The boy are 5!!!
The coconut oil might be part of the reason these haven’t turned out well for all. If everything isn’t room temperature, the oil will seize up.
Thank you!
Thank you, Michelle! I’m glad they worked well for you! Good idea on the coconut oil, too.
I made these and used 1/2cup quick cooking oats and 1/2 cup steel cut quick cooking oats and added 1/2 banana instead of apples and there were delicious!!! Thanks for sharing this recipe! Will defiantly us if often! Thankful for a recipe that uses healthy ingredients!!
Thank you, Kelly! I’m glad they turned out well for you!
I just made and scarfed down 8 mini oatmeal apple pancakes. I always add chopped walnuts or almonds on top of the cakes, then turn pancakes over and it toasts the nuts and makes these even more divine.
Please do not put me on your email list. I cannot handle any more of them and have thousands to delete as it is. I will follow you and use your recipes whenever I’m looking for ideas for what I’d like to eat.
Thanks for all your wonderful recipes.
Gloria, thank you for your note! I’m so glad you enjoyed these pancakes. I’m just responding to say thank you. I would never add your email to my list without your permission! Have a great weekend.
These are amazing! I had trouble with the first couple I made and I realized that the batter is easier to pancake up if you let it sit for about 10 minutes so the oat flour can absorb some of the liquid.
The apple oatmeal pancake recipe is great! I have never eaten such yummy pancakes! The only thing I did differently is at the end – I sauted three sliced apples in the used pan, then added 1/2 cup water to pan, when most of the water evaporated, I poured the apple slices over my pile of pancakes – I just thought, that way, nobody will have to guess what type of pancakes these are!
I have made so many pancakes over the years, not quite completely satisfied until today! Your recipe will now be the only one I use! I think its that oatmeal was used instead of white flour (I never use whole wheat flour – tastes like cardboard!).
Thank you soo much!
The ingredient list doesn’t contain milk, but the picture of the ingredients in the blender shows something white. Is that milk? Thanks for clarifying. Leah
Hi Leah, the recipe is correct as written. That’s just the baking powder and salt, both of which are out of focus so they sort of look like liquid!
My pancakes turned to mush The flavour was amazing though
This recipe was great. I didn’t have apple so i just used extra banana. Tastes just like banana bread!
Still, sounds really good, Mindy!
Absolutely fantastic!!! Thank you.
You’re welcome :)
Hello!
I love your site! I am also a KC native, but have recently moved back to Europe to reconnect with my roots. I am making this for my boyfriend and I tomorrow morning for a nice lazy Sunday breakfast. Can a chia egg be replaced for the egg? Just curious.
Hey, Teele! I think a chia egg would work out fine – or a flax egg. Maybe peruse the comments here to see if anyone else had success with that substitution.
Hubby made them for me as I had a craving for pancakes and we already had every we needed for this recipe. I was a bit skeptical at first as I read it didn’t work so well for some. Thankfully, all went well here in Rochester, NY and this recipe is a keeper! I didn’t put any syrup or butter on top on mine and immensely enjoyed the taste of the pancakes alone.
Thanks.. It is 5 star worthy!
Gina
Glad this one worked out well, Gina! Stay warm out there on the East Coast!
I really wanted to like the blender oats/apple pancakes, as GingerDog and I like what you are trying to do with your website and recipes. But unfortunately the breakfast review I received was “like eating mush”. I followed the recipe exactly except for going a little heavy on the cinnamon, but even after the longest cooking time I could imagine, and thin pancakes, the insides had a weird gloppy uncooked texture. I wonder if part of the problem is that “old fashioned oats” can mean a lot of things….steel cut, slow cook rolled oats, quick cook rolled oats, etc…..I wonder if beating separate egg whites might help, or just chunked apples instead. With good thoughts….
M, I’m sorry these didn’t work out for you. Old-fashioned oats should imply slow-cooked rolled oats (explanation here). Which did you use?
These turned out great! Of course the texture is a tad different than an average pancake, but I thought they were fabulous.
Great! I’m glad the texture didn’t throw you off too much.
I just came across your Apple Oatmeal Pancake recipe today and I’m very anxious to try it. But I’m wondering if it really uses one tablespoon baking powder. That seems like so much!
Hi Gloria, yes, that’s right. Fair warning, though—for reasons that I haven’t been able to figure out, these pancakes turn out perfectly for some people but don’t turn out well for others.
These were sooooooooooo delicious! I can’t wait to make them again. I read the Fair Warning and my thought is maybe they don’t turn out as well unless you have a high powered blender? I have a Vitamix and they turning out wonderfully! Thank you for the recipe :-)
Yes, a good blender helps to make the texture a little smoother. I’m glad you liked it!
How many calories, and fat calories per pancake ? Thanks ?
Hey, Elizabeth! Unfortunately, I don’t have nutritional info available for my recipes just yet. I’m looking for a solution, and will update about it once I find one. Thanks!
I actually just stumbled upon this pancake recipe. I tried it this morning, and they were not only simple to prepare, but absolutely delicious.Fluffy, and very flavorful. The only thing that I did different, was I ground the oats before adding them to the blender. Other than that I followed your recipe.Thanks, I’ve been looking for a healthy recipe for a while.
I’m so glad you found what you were looking for, Joanne! Thanks.
Good morning!I made the apple oatmeal pancakes minus the tart apple and they came out delicious! I even doubled the recipe. My kids and I are both big fans. Thank you!
I’m so glad, Melissa! These are some proven kid-pleasers, so it’s good to hear that your whole family enjoyed them.
I love this recipe! I’ve lots count of how many times I’ve made these. Yesterday I accidentally forgot to add melted butter and it was still great. Sometimes I leave out the shredded apple and it actually is a little easier to work with. Did I mention it makes awesome waffles too? Well, it does.
So glad you like these, Suzanne! The waffles sound amazing, too.
My boyfriend just made these for my 8 month old and I but used maple syrup and flax egg because baby and I are vegan. They are so good! And they melt in your mouth so they are great for baby led weaning! I’ve been wanting pancakes lately but my baby always wants to eat what I eat and I’m not ready to give her anything with flour or white sugar yet, these are perfect!
Thanks, Liz! I’m so glad you all enjoy these so much.
Tried this recipe but didn’t have an apple so I reduced the baking soda and salt. The results were delicious! I love extremely thin, crepe like pancakes. I’ve been looking for recipes using whole grains which use very limited salt or sugar… will try the pumpkin pancakes next. Thanks!!
You’re welcome, Sarah! I think you’d love the pumpkin.
So yummy !! Substituted the egg for coconut almond milk and honestly so delicious! Your website has the best recipes, thank you so much ! ❤️❤️
You’re welcome, Mia! That sounds delicious.
My favorite pancake recipe yet, and I’ve been trying a lot of them!
Awesome! Thank you, Laura!
I made these pancakes just this morning. I was looking for a recipe for pancakes with applesauce and lo and behold here was yours! Although I did not have an apple or vanilla extract (could have sworn I did)so I used Anise, it was either that or cinnamon. They turned out wonderful believe it or not. The last one I added chopped walnuts to, delicious! I will make them the correct way next time. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
You’re welcome, Tammy! Your version sounds delicious.
Hi Kate, I was super excited to try this recipe and was very particular about following the steps and remaining patient (low and slow), as you strongly recommended. But I had no luck! The entire batch was a flop. Three minutes definitely wasn’t enough for the first side, and even cooking low and very slow, they ultimately never cooked all the way through and were inedible. Please help! What’s the secret? I want to try these so badly! Thanks :)
Hello Kate. Tried your oatmeal and apple pancakes today. Outstanding! I was surprised to hear that my wife liked them as well. I have been on a journey for several years to be vegetarian. Since I do the lions share of cooking I our house, if I continue to make great dishes like this, I won’t be a “flexitarian” anymore! And maybe I can get my girls convinced too!
That’s great! Thanks for sharing, John. Good luck on your vegetarian journey! There are a lot of great resources out there. Of course my blog and cookbook are two of them. :)
My boys loved it! The flavor and consistency is great. I think I like it better than regular pancakes. Thanks so much for sharing a wonderful healthy recipe.
Hooray!! I’m happy to hear it was a hit. Thank you, Trese.
I made these twice – once successfully using regular oatmeal, and once very unsuccessfully when I tried using gluten free oats. The gluten free oats simply would not cook.
That is interesting. The gluten free oats should just be certified no gluten contamination, but the oats should still be the same. What brand did you use and type?
I am going away soon and wanted to use up the applesauce I had in the fridge; I also had no milk so these were perfect! They were flavourful and had just the right amount of natural sweetness.
I blended the oats a bit on their own first before adding the rest of the ingredients to the blender. I also didn’t add grated apples to the end since I didn’t have any on hand.
Thanks for sharing, Ash! I appreciate the review.
Made these for Easter Bunch. Very nice. Was at the beginning a bit skeptical if the husband will like them but they got his approval by “very nice pancakes”. So will definitely make them again.
That’s great, Esi! Thank you for your star review.
Kate – I made these for breakfast today and they were delish! The whole family loved them. I doubled the recipe for 5 of us and it was just right. I also ran out of eggs so I made it with “flax eggs” and it was a successful substitution. Thanks for the work you do… we appreciate you!
Wonderful! And, thank you Heather for your kind words. I appreciate it.
Hi Kate, i would like to try this recipe.
Do you think flax meal would work here in place of egg?
Thank you as always for all your healthy and delicious recipes!
I haven’t tried without an egg. You could try a flax egg. Let me know how it goes!
I have been experimenting with the recipe. I replace 1/4 cup of oat flour with a GF blend. Also I squeeze the shreaded apple with paper towels to reduce the liquid in the recipe. If your apple is drier than usual skip this step. Good luck!
Thanks for sharing, Kathy!
I have a bag of oat flour—how much of that should I use? Thanks!
These were lovely. Fluffy and filling. All my boys liked them. I added an extra egg – mine looked small – and used unsweetened, homemade apple sauce. Otherwise made them as described and they worked well.
Thanks for your review, Heidi!
Interesting! Made exactly as directed without grated apple. Had to add 4 ice cubes to the blender to make enough moisture to blend completely. That worked beautifully! The only issue I had was trying to get the batter out from around the blades. Pluses 1. Neat, clean, efficient and fairly fast. 2. HEALTHY. 3. Delicious!
Thanks for sharing, Pam!
Seriously, the best pancakes I’ve ever made. They came out perfectly. I did two eggs instead of one since my eggs were really small. I topped it with even more sliced apples and it was just heavenly.
Thank you!
Seriously, the best pancakes I’ve ever made. They came out perfectly. I used Autumn Glory apples, they have a very sweet caramel taste so the pancakes taste like apple pie! I did two eggs instead of one since my eggs were really small. I topped it with even more sliced apples and sprinkled cinnamon, it was just heavenly. I was dancing in my chair. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!
I’m happy to hear you loved them, Alisa! Thanks for your review and comment.
The flavor was good, but the texture was to mushy and I didn’t know what I did wrong:( they took so long to cook and they still didn’t cook through. I followed all of the steps. was it the oats? The oil? Hahaha I really want to know what it was that didn’t work out for me
could these be made vegan? could I substitute the egg for flax?
Hey Deb, good question. These pancakes are already a little finicky and egg provides their structure, so I’m afraid you would not have good results with flax eggs or the like. You might enjoy my vegan pancakes or banana pancakes.
Hi Kate,
I made these this morning and they were yummy, but very difficult to flip and cook in the pan, I think because my blender didn’t grind the oats all the way. Next time I will try getting the oats to a flour texture first, then adding other ingredients. Take care!
Hi Joy! I’m sorry these weren’t perfect for you. That could be an issue, for sure. Thanks for the feedback!
I doubled recipe, added a bit of splenda along with the honey…also added sugar free chocolate chips and chai spice. Real tasty batter. I thought it was thick enough as I let it set a bit after blending to obsorb liquid. Think next time I’ll either add more oats or some flax or less apple. Just would not flip due to way to much moisture. So I took remaining batter and made amazing muffins. Baked about 25 minutes at 350. I usually make these with banana puree and get more perfect results, but was wanting something different.
I’ll make again…and if it doesn’t work, I’ll have a great healthy muffin!
Hi, I think I know why people have issues with these turning out right. In your Pinterest post you have 1 egg listed, but it is missing in the article recipe!
That could be it? Going to try this!
Cheers
Made the banana version of these for my 10 mo old using her iron-fortified oat cereal since she likes to feed herself now, and she LOVES them. Can’t wait to try the apple version.
A few thoughts re: consistency to make them a little less “gooey” (though these will always be moister than a wheat flour based pancake), from having made these a few times:
– use coconut oil vs. butter
– use honey vs. maple syrup (but for littles, obvi use maple syrup)
– keep a little grit to the oat flour (I add whole oats to the oat cereal when I use that, since it’s so fine already, but we like texture)
– add the fruit last, and incrementally, to monitor batter consistency, adjusting amount as needed
– follow the directions about spreading the batter out. These usually turn out much thinner for us than regular pancakes, but that actually works well for babies who can’t handle very cake-y things yet :)
Thank you for sharing what you did, Alicia!
Delicious! Quick and easy to make. My 2 year old loves them. Flavorful, light an fluffy. I can’t say enough good things. I will for sure be saving this recipe.
Used homemade applesauce and apples from our tree. Blended for a while, then a little longer just to be sure.
Inedible. No matter how long I cooked them on the stove top or in the oven the consistency never stopped being mushy. I might suggest that people consider using much less apple, maybe that would help.
I’m sorry to hear that, Stephanie! Did you apple seem extra juicy? Might help to ring out some of the extra liquid before mixing.
I made this recipe and my whole family absolutely loved the pancakes! This recipe is going to be a family favorite. Thank you so much!
That’s great, Martha!
My first attempt and they are GONE! Yum. Has anyone tried these with less baking powder? I’ve never put more than 1 TEAspoon of baking powder in anything I’ve cooked in 40 years. I thought it might be a misprint but in the Q&A the recipe seemed double-checked. I felt like I could taste the baking powder in every bite. I wouldn’t mind less puffiness…..
Hi Cindy! The baking powder helps get these fully, especially with the weight of the other ingredients. Are you using aluminum free?
I made these tonight & they were delicious! The middles are slightly doughy but the texture of the grated apple offsets that. And the flavor is amazing! I substituted almond extract for 1/4 of the vanilla (just because I am in love w/the flavor of almond extract!)
I also slathered the pancakes w/maple syrup (I opted for honey instead of syrup when making the batter)& butter. Decadent!
I’m happy you enjoyed them! You may just need to leave them a little longer next time. I appreciate your review, Amy.
My husband was recently diagnosed with high bp. Off the charts high. He does not eat any fruits or veggies other than potato and corn. I made him this pancake recipe and he ate them without syrup and I even cut out a teaspoon of the butter. My son also doesn’t eat much fruit and he doesn’t eat apples and he mentioned he would eat them when I make them. Thank you so so so so much for creating real food recipes. I am so glad I can add this to our breakfast rotation.