Carrot Cake Pancakes are an easy way to turn one of your favorite desserts into a yummy breakfast treat. These pancakes are decadent, fluffy, and incredible easy to make. Bonus points for including a veggie!
Why I Made This Recipe
One of my kids’ self-appointed jobs at the farmers’ market every week is selecting our carrots. Prior to living in California I had only known one color of carrot… orange. But after I moved here and started buying my food at farmers’ markets I was introduced to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables beyond my wildest imagination, among them yellow and red carrots — who knew? They’re incredibly sweet and vibrant, and my family loves them.
Most of the time we make recipes like Roast Carrot Coins, Carrot Apple Coconut Muffins but on this particular day, we wanted to make something different with our favorite farmers market carrots. So we grated a few and added them to pancake batter, and let me tell you, they were absolutely delicious.
I love this recipe too because anytime I can get an extra veggie into my kids diet, I’m obviously 100% game. This recipe has a whole cup of carrots and it’s oh so yummy. I loved the idea of serving these orange-ish pancakes for Easter and topping them as we did with honey cream cheese instead of maple syrup. It turns this dish into a breakfast version of carrot cake that will make all your bunnies feel like hoppin’!
Carrot Cake Pancake Ingredients
For the Pancakes:
- white whole wheat flour
- baking powder
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- kosher salt
- brown sugar
- finely grated carrots
- egg
- milk
- oil
For the Topping:
- whipped cream cheese or regular cream cheese, softened
- honey
How to Make Carrot Cake Pancakes
- Combine the dry ingredients: In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and sugar. Add the grated carrots to the flour mixture and toss to coat.
- Combine the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and oil.
- Make the batter: Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Prepare the griddle (or pan): Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat and lightly coat with butter or oil.
- Make the pancakes: Pour about 2 tablespoons of the pancake mixture onto the griddle, making as many pancakes as will fit and cook for 2 minutes, or until you see bubbles. Flip the pancakes and cook for one minute longer.
- Make the topping and serve: In a small bowl, stir together the cream cheese and honey until thoroughly combined and serve on top of the pancakes.
Expert Tips for the Best Carrot Cake Panckes
- Use freshly grated carrots: Using fresh, grated carrots will ensure that your pancakes are packed with flavor and have the right texture. Carrots that are already shredded usually have anti-caking agents to prevent them from sticking together and also usually aren’t shredded finely enough for this recipe.
- Don’t overmix the batter: Overmixing the batter can make the pancakes tough and dense. To avoid this, mix the batter until the ingredients are just combined. It’s okay if there are a few lumps left in the batter, as they will disappear as the pancakes cook.
- Pre-heat your griddle: A hot griddle (or pan) helps to create a crispy exterior on the pancakes while still keeping the interior fluffy and tender. If the griddle is not hot enough, the pancakes may turn out undercooked, pale, and soft, which is the worst!
More Fun and Easy Pancake Recipes
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments or tag me on social media if you make them!
Images by Ivan Solis
Carrot Cake Pancakes for Easter Brunch
Ingredients
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 cup peeled and finely grated carrots (about 2 large carrots)
- 1 large egg, whisked
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 tablespoons whipped cream cheese or regular cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and sugar. Add the grated carrots to the flour mixture and toss to coat.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and oil.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat and lightly coat with butter or oil.
- Pour about 1 tablespoon of the pancake mixture onto the griddle, making as many pancakes as will fit and cook for 2 minutes.
- Flip the pancakes and cook for one minute longer.
- In a small bowl, stir together the cream cheese and honey until thoroughly combined and serve on top of the pancakes.
Hi Catherine, how much is the white whole wheat flour?
Thanks.
Hi! So sorry about that – I must have accidentally deleted it. It’s 1 cup 🙂
My batter came out quite runny and I was concerned, but we just cooked hem at a little higher heat to keep them from spreading too much & they turned out fantastic! Thanks for the simple recipe!
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Lovely pictures!I have not done a post where I lnkied to you. Sorry that I forgott but the “excitment” about the horse race made me forgett so thanks for reminding me.Kram Anette 🙂
Yes you can! The texture and flavor will be a bit different, but that will still work!
If I don’t have white whole wheat flour, can I use half all-purpose and half whole wheat and combine together?
Pancakes
Carrot pancakes
Do you the nutritional values?
I would work sorta like the Pumpkin Pancakes. if your carrot puree comes out to the consistency of pumpkin puree then you should follow the ratios in the pumpkin pancake recipe! 🙂 http://b12.ba4.myftpupload.com/2011/10/19/pumpkin-pancakes-sandwiches-with-chocolate-filling/
my son is very fussy if he sees bits or “healthy” evidence! would this work if i cooked and mashed the carrots first?
Just wondering about the consistency of the batter…I made these a few days ago, and the batter was very watery, resulting in very thin (though delicious!) pancakes. Did I do something wrong, or is that they way they are supposed to be?