Quinoa Pancakes
Kick up the protein content in your pancakes by adding precooked quinoa and homemade hemp milk. It’s an excellent way to make sure you and your family can have your fun breakfast and stay full too! Quinoa itself is a complete protein, which means it contains the 9 amino acids that our bodies don’t make on their own, and it is an excellent source of fiber. Hemp seeds add even more protein and healthy fats. Just 3 tablespoons of hemp seeds contains 10 grams of protein, and hemp seeds contain the perfect ratio of omega 3’s to omega 6’s. If you don’t have hemp seeds you can make this with any type of milk.
Cook yourself up a big batch of quinoa, keep it in your fridge for easy lunches with vegetables, and then make yourself some pancakes on the weekend! Win, win, and win.
Makes 4-5 large pancakes, or 10-12 small pancakes (1/4 cup scoops)
Ingredients
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup hemp seeds* (to make hemp milk), see notes
2 tbsp flax seeds* (for flax eggs), see notes
1 1/4 cup water* (to make hemp milk), see notes
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour (all-purpose, whole grain, or gluten free all-purpose)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup coconut sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup quinoa, cooked and cooled
Instructions
Melt the coconut oil on the stove or in the microwave. Add the hemp seeds, flax seeds, water, and vanilla to a high-speed blender such as a Vitamix, and blend into vanilla hemp milk. Next, add the flour, baking powder, coconut sugar, and salt to a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add the melted coconut oil and whisk into crumbs (adding it first helps it fully incorporate, whereas if you added the cold quinoa first the oil will solidify and may not fully incorporate.) Stir in the quinoa. Pour the vanilla hemp milk into the quinoa crumb mixture, and fold to combine. Do not overmix or the pancakes may be dense instead of fluffy.
Cook over medium-low heat in an oiled skillet or griddle until the edges start to set and the top starts to bubble. Flip, and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes.
Notes:
*The hemp seeds are used to make hemp milk and they add more protein and healthy fat to the pancakes, but they are not necessary if you do not have them or prefer to use another type of milk. Simply omit the hemp seeds and water that the recipe calls for, and replace those with 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups of milk.
*I’ve skipped the process of separately making flax eggs by simply adding flax seeds straight into the blender while making the hemp milk. However, if you are not making hemp milk and still wish to use vegan flax eggs, then mix 2 tbsp ground flax seed with 1/4 cup of water to make 2 flax eggs. Or if you prefer to use regular eggs you may use 1 large egg or 2 small eggs.