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These Sweet Potato Pancakes scream Southern brunch. These pancakes are fluffy, tender, and crunchy. The crunch comes from toasted pecans. The flavors are warm and inviting. These sweet potato pancakes are easy to make gluten-free or vegan. Plus, you can use the dry mix for an easy homemade pancake mix.
If you love pancakes, then I know you'll love these pancake recipes too! Banana Pancakes, Crispy Thin Pancakes, Peach Cobbler Pancakes, Chocolate Pancakes with Cherry Syrup, and Hoecakes.
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Growing up in Louisiana we know a thousand ways to use sweet potatoes. For instance, I have recipes for Fried Sweet Potato Pie, Sweet Potato Waffles, Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls, and Sweet Potato Cheesecake Bars.
After looking at my recipe index I realized I was missing one of the best ways to incorporate leftover sweet potatoes. Pancakes!
I also included a great homemade maple butter pecan syrup. Don't worry if you're not a fan of pecans you can omit them completely or use your favorite nut as a swap.
I'm more of a waffle guy but if you put pancakes in front of me, they'd be gone 5 minutes later.
Now, let's talk about the best recipe for sweet potato pancakes from a Louisiana boy perspective.
Key Ingredients:
If you're going to whip up these fantastic pancakes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a midnight snack you need to have these ingredients on hand.
- Unbleached all-purpose flour - Flour is the foundation for a great pancake. Feel free to use gluten-free flour if you have gluten sensitivity. You can also use oat flour, almond flour or whole wheat flour too. I prefer to use unbleached flour because who wants to eat bleach?
- Baking powder - I like to use a combination of baking powder and baking soda to give these pancakes the ultimate crispy edges that have been a signature of an awesome pancake.
- Cinnamon - Sweet potatoes love cinnamon so make sure to show love.
- Nutmeg - Nutmeg loves cinnamon and sweet potatoes. The combination of warm spices makes this recipe for sweet potato pancakes stand out above the rest.
- Mashed sweet potatoes - If you have some leftover baked sweet potatoes use that, if not I'll tell you the best way to get the most flavor out of your sweet potatoes. Also, you can use canned sweet potatoes if you're in a rush but one medium sweet potato is all you need.
- Dark brown sugar - I love the deep dark molasses flavor from dark brown sugar. You can also use light brown sugar or granulated sugar.
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How To Make Sweet Potato Pancakes
This is the easiest recipe for making sweet potato pancakes from scratch. It’s simple and straight to the point.
In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda.
In a medium bowl mix sweet potato, brown sugar and 4 tablespoons melted butter with a hand mixer on low speed for 1 minute, until smooth. Add eggs one at a time then add the remaining wet ingredients. Add the wet mix and chopped pecans to the dry mix and stir until incorporated. The pancake batter should be thick with a few lumps not smooth. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Turn on the heat to medium in a large non-stick skillet or griddle to 350°F. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and spread evenly over the skillet. Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop pancakes, spreading to make a circle.
Cook 3 pancakes at a time if using a skillet, for 2 minutes on one side and 2 minutes on the other until golden brown. Repeat until you finish cooking pancakes. Keep pancakes warm in a 200°F oven.
It's completely your choice to cook your pancake batter on a griddle or in a cast-iron skillet. Cooking on a griddle will give you the light brown edges you would get at a diner. While the cast iron will give you some incredible crispy edges.
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How To Make An Easy Homemade Pancake Mix?
This homemade pancake mix yields 12-15 pancakes. It's far superior to any box mix you'll ever purchase.
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon baking soda
In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda. Store in an airtight container for 3 months.
Three Ways to Cook Sweet Potatoes:
These are the best ways to cook sweet potatoes. If time permits I'll always pick baked because the sugars caramelize as they bake in the sweet potato.
- Boil sweet potato in a pot of boiling water until a fork can easily pierce potatoes, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and place in cold water to cool to remove the skin. Drain, chop, and mash.
- Wash and pierce the sweet potato with a fork all over. Place in the microwave for 8 minutes, flip over and cook another 8 minutes.
- Wash and pierce the sweet potato with a fork all over. Bake in a 425°F oven on the grates for 1 hour, until soft. Place a baking sheet lined with foil on the rack below.
My preference is option 3 if I have the time. I usually do this the day before making these pancakes. However, if I’m in a rush, I use option 2. Both methods help bring out the sweetness of the sweet potato but option 3 is the best.
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Pro Recipe Tips & Tricks
Keep these tips in mind while you're whipping these incredible pancakes.
- Your skillet will get hotter as you cook more batches, so be sure to reduce your heat to keep your pancakes from burning.
- Feel free to use a griddle instead of a skillet.c
- Cast iron skillets are the best for crispy pancakes.
- Do NOT skip the step of letting the batter rest. This allows the flour to absorb the liquids creating a lighter pancake.
- Use gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour.
- Almond milk or whole milk will work. You can use any milk you have at home instead of buttermilk.
- I don't recommend a buttermilk substitute using lemon juice.
- Use an oil with a high smoke point like canola oil, vegetable, grapeseed, or avocado.
- You can use canned sweet potatoes for a quick fix but know you'll be substituting some flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some questions I normally get about making sweet potato pancakes.
Yes. To freeze sweet potato pancakes let cool to room temperature then place in a plastic freezer bag and seal tightly. Freeze for 3 months. When you’re ready to eat thaw in the microwave or in the refrigerator.
Yes, sweet potatoes can easily be substituted for mashed sweet potatoes or sweet potato puree. If you do not wish to use mashed sweet potatoes, baked sweet potatoes will work as well. Just make sure to bake sweet potatoes at 400°F, on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil for one hour or until sweet potatoes are tender.
These sweet potato pancakes go great with butter and maple syrup, cream cheese spread, Greek yogurt, strawberries, blueberries or ice cream. You can even serve sweet potato pancakes with fried egg, bacon, sausage, or if you're feeling fancy you can make some candied bacon. These sweet potato pancakes can be served as a main dish, sweet treat or sweet breakfast.
To make sweet potato pancakes vegan you will need to use a flax egg or chia seed egg replacement. To replace one egg mix 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds with 3 tablespoons water and let it sit for 5 minutes until thick.
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I hope you take some time to try these Southern Sweet Potato Pancakes by now. If not, go make them! These sweet potato pancakes scream Southern brunch; they are fluffy, tender, and crunchy with the perfect amount of sweetness. The best part? They’re easy enough for an everyday breakfast or weekend treat that will impress your crowd. And don't forget to leave me a 5-star review!
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Recipe:
📖 Recipe
Sweet Potato Pancakes
Ingredients
Pancake Dry Mix:
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup chopped pecans toasted
Wet Mix:
- 8 oz. cooked hot mashed sweet potato
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into tablespoons
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Maple Butter Pecan Syrup:
- ½ cup grade A maple syrup
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 stick melted unsalted butter
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda.
- In a medium bowl mix sweet potato, brown sugar, and 4 tablespoons butter with a hand mixer on low speed for 1 minute, until smooth. Add eggs one at a time then add the remaining wet ingredients. Add the wet mix and pecans to the dry mix and stir until incorporated. The batter should be thick with a few lumps not smooth. Set aside for 10 minutes.
- Turn on the heat to medium in a large non-stick skillet or griddle to 350°F. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and spread evenly over skillet. Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop pancakes, spreading to make a circle. Cook 3 pancakes at a time if using a skillet, for 2 minutes on one side and 2 minutes on the other. Repeat until you finish cooking pancakes. Keep pancakes warm in a 200°F oven.
- To make maple butter pecan syrup combine maple syrup, pecans, cinnamon, and melted butter in a bowl.
- Serve 3 pancakes with some maple butter pecan syrup.
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