A stack of classic pancakes makes for a delicious breakfast but doesn’t offer much in the way of nutrition. To give this breakfast a boost, we turned to whole grains and zeroed in on oats for their nutty flavor, hearty texture, and high fiber content. We were able to create a smooth base for our batter using three-quarters oat flour, with ½ cup all-purpose flour providing structure and lift. We stirred whole rolled oats into our batter as well. Pre-soaked until just softened, they gave our pancakes a satisfying, nubby texture. Fresh blueberries, cinnamon, and nutmeg paired nicely with the toasty oats. Lastly, switching from whole milk to low-fat buttermilk kept our pancakes light and fluffy. An electric griddle set at 350 degrees can be used in place of a skillet. We prefer using store-bought oat flour, as it has a very fine grind and creates the most fluffy pancakes, but you can make your own in a pinch: Grind 1½ cups (4½ ounces) old fashioned rolled oats in a food processor to a fine meal, about 2 minutes; note pancakes will be denser if using ground oats. Do not use toasted oat flour, or quick, instant, or thick-cut oats in this recipe. Serve with maple syrup and additional blueberries if desired.
Ingredients
- 2 cups organic low-fat buttermilk, plus extra as needed
- 1 cup (3 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1½ cups (4½ ounces) oat flour
- ½ cup (2½ ounces) all-purpose flour
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 0.12 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 large organic eggs
- 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons expeller-pressed canola oil
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 7½ ounces (1½ cups) blueberries
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet and place in oven. Combine 1 cup buttermilk and oats in bowl and let sit at room temperature until softened, about 15 minutes.
- Whisk oat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg together in large bowl. In separate bowl, whisk remaining 1 cup buttermilk, eggs, 3 tablespoons oil, sugar, and vanilla together until frothy, about 1 minute. Whisk buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until smooth. Using rubber spatula, fold in oat-buttermilk mixture.
- Heat 1 teaspoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering, 3 to 5 minutes. Using paper towels, wipe out oil, leaving thin film in pan. Using ¼-cup measure, portion batter into pan, spreading each into 4-inch round using back of spoon. Sprinkle each pancake with 1 tablespoon blueberries. Cook until edges are set and first side is golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Flip pancakes and cook until second side is golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve or transfer to wire rack in oven. Repeat with remaining batter, whisking additional buttermilk into batter as needed to loosen, and adding remaining oil to pan as necessary.