These lemon pancakes are made with yogurt and white whole wheat flour to increase their nutritional value, and they're so easy and delicious!
Update Notes:This post was originally published in April 2013, but was republished with tips, step by step photos, and a recipe change in August 2020.
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👩🏻🍳 Recipe Back Story
These lemon pancakes are the perfect family pleaser. My kids LOVE pancakes, and so do I! But I find myself only making them for special occasions, since they tend to be overly carb-heavy, and, with the butter and syrup, they have too many empty calories to be worth it from my perspective.
However, when I found this recipe that uses Greek yogurt and white whole wheat flour, I knew I could start making pancakes more often!
We love to have breakfast-for-dinner from time to time, and these lemon pancakes are a perfect option for one of those evenings. You can feel good serving these to your family knowing that they are chock-full of protein and fiber!
They are light and refreshing but also filling, and will satisfy even the hungriest teenage boy! I used vanilla yogurt to emphasize the vanilla flavor, but you can use plain yogurt as well.
🥘 Ingredients Needed
- white whole wheat - all the heartiness of white flour with a more nutritional twist.
- baking powder - for added texture and fluffiness.
- salt - balances out some of the tartness from the lemon and yogurt.
- sugar - sweetens things up!
- Greek yogurt - a great substitute for most of unhealthy oils that usually go into pancakes.
- skim milk - brings the batter together.
- lemon juice - adds a delicious citrusy pop and puts the lemon in lemon pancakes!
- eggs - a classic pancake ingredient.
- canola oil - better than typical vegetable oil as it's lower in saturated fat.
- vanilla extract - for a bit of extra sweetness and flavor.
🔪 Instructions
- Mix together the dry ingredients: the flour, baking powder, salt, and sweetener.
- In a separate bowl combine the liquid ingredients: your yogurt, milk, lemon juice, eggs, canola oil, and vanilla extract.
- Mix the liquid ingredients into the dry ones. It's okay if the result is a little bit lumpy!
- Spray a griddle with cooking spray over medium heat. For each pancake, use a ¼ cup measure and pour batter onto the griddle.
- Cook until the edges look dry and you can see little bubbles on your pancakes. Then flip and cook the other side.
👪 Lemon Pancakes FAQs
These lemon pancakes use Greek yogurt, which gives them a subtle sour taste that combines well with the lemon flavor. I used vanilla Greek yogurt to emphasize the vanilla extract, but you could try other flavors as well. A berry-flavored Greek yogurt (like strawberry or blueberry) would also be great with the lemon flavor!
It partially depends on how cooked you like your pancakes. If you prefer them on the lighter side, pay extra special attention to the edges and as soon as they start to dry, flip the pancake! If you like them more on the cooked side, once they reach this point give them another minute before flipping. Either way, it should only be a couple of minutes per side.
I typically wrap my leftover lemon pancakes in some plastic wrap, but you could also place them in an airtight container. In the fridge, your pancakes will last up to 3 days, and in the freezer they can last up to 3 months. Freezing your pancakes is a great way to make them ahead of time so you can reheat them for an easy dinner sometime down the line!
For smaller batches of pancakes, you can stick them in the microwave for a minute or so or even in the toaster oven to get them hot again. For larger batches, you can bake the pancakes for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. Place them on a tray and cover with foil for best results. You can do this right from frozen, too!
If you love trying different variations of pancakes, check out these Chocolate Cream of Wheat Pancakes for a tasty breakfast! Or check out these Greek yogurt protein pancakes - they're fluffy, delicious, and require only 6 ingredients!
Or for another unique breakfast experience made with yogurt, try this 3 ingredient yogurt cake. It's delicious and tastes great served with fresh fruit!
📖 Variations
- If you're not a fan of white whole wheat flour, this pancake recipe would be just as delicious with classic white flour.
- For something a bit more decadent, top your pancakes with fresh berries, homemade whipped cream, and even some mint leaves.
- If you prefer vegetable oil to canola you can also use that instead! Just be aware that it vegetable oil is higher in saturated fat than canola oil.
- The same is true for classic sugar vs. sweetener. If you would like to minimize the sugar and calories, a good granulated sweetener made for baking would also work!
🍴 Suggested Side Dishes
I often serve these lemon pancakes as a breakfast for dinner, which means I usually need a side dish. Here are some potential ideas!
🥞 Additional Pancake Recipes
If this pancake recipe has inspired you to incorporate more breakfast recipes into your life, here are a few more more pancake ideas for you!
Lemon Pancakes Recipe
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📋 Recipe Card
Lemon Pancakes
Ingredients
- 3 cups white whole wheat flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
- 2 cups milk
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh or from concentrate)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.3 cups white whole wheat flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ cup sugar
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, milk, lemon juice, eggs, canola oil and vanilla extract.1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt, 2 cups milk, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 large eggs, 2 tablespoons canola oil, 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together (result will be slightly lumpy).
- Spray a griddle with cooking spray and heat over medium. Pour a scant ¼ cup of batter for each pancake.
- Cook until edges start to look dry and the pancakes start to bubble. Then flip and cook on the other side.
Notes
- You can substitute all-purpose white flour for the white whole wheat. (Or, for a compromise, use half white and half white whole wheat!)
- If you don't have canola oil, vegetable oil will work just as well.
- Substitute a granulated sweetener made for baking for the sugar, if you prefer.
- Any yogurt will work, I like to use Greek yogurt for the additional protein.
- Wrap leftovers well and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store in the freezer for up to 3 month.
- Reheat leftover pancakes in the microwave or toaster oven at 250 degrees F. In the toaster over, loosely cover with aluminum foil to keep them from drying out.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate. The nutritional values for your final dish may vary based on measuring differences and products used.
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Happy cooking!
Fernando Ibarra says
Your instructions were so clear and easy to follow! Made this and everyone loved them. Thank you so much!
Kristin King says
You are very welcome! My family love these too. Thanks for stopping by to let me know! 🙂