These pancakes are apple-solutely kale-ing it! So quick and easy to whip up, flavorful, and containing nutritious fruits and veggies - what more could you want?
I am still making my way through the apples I picked recently, and also had some applesauce to use up, so I decided to combine them with some greens for another fun apple recipe. You don’t really taste the greens and they add a fun color, and pair with the apple for a bright flavor.
It was an experiment that turned out really well, so I am glad I wrote down the recipe as I was making it so that I (and you!) can make these again!
Some notes:
You could use spinach instead of kale, or a mix of the two like I did. When measuring, try to press down to fill the measuring cup and make for an accurate measurement.
The applesauce helps hold the pancakes together and makes these oil-free as well. I used cashew butter, but you could also use almond butter or to make this nut-free, use tahini or sunbutter. I used regular eggs because my recent apartment subletter left some, so I didn’t want them to go to waste, but you could use flax eggs to make these vegan (just note they might be less fluffy).
I did not add any sweetener because I thought it was sweet enough from the apples, but you can add a few tablespoons of maple syrup or honey if you want it sweeter - just quick taste test the batter before adding the baking powder.
Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
makes about 6 pancakes
⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
⅔ cup flour (I used whole wheat, but oat or almond would work for gluten-free)
½ cup milk of choice
½ - ¾ packed cup total of kale and/or spinach (I did half and half)
2 eggs or flax eggs (for 2 flax eggs: mix 2 tbsp ground flax with 5 tbsp water and let sit 5-ish minutes until thickened)
1-2 tsp vanilla
A good shake of cinnamon
Sprinkle of nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cardamom (optional but adds some apple spice flavor)
1 tbsp cashew butter
1 tsp baking powder
1 small apple (with core and stem removed of course)
Optional: maple syrup or honey to taste to add sweetness
Steps:
Add all ingredients except the baking powder and apple to a blender and blend on high until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. If you want to taste test for sweetness, do so now and add a few tbsp of honey/maple syrup to sweeten to your liking.
Lightly oil a pan, and place on the stovetop on low to medium heat.
Blend in the baking powder, then add the apple and blend just until it is chopped into small pieces - you just need to cut it to remove the core, but no need to chop because the blender will do that for you. If you blend too much, then you won’t have apple pieces in the final batter.
Pour or ladle the batter onto the pan and cook for a few minutes until the edges appear cooked and slightly brown, then flip. Repeat until all the batter is used up.
Drizzle with more of your chosen nut/seed butter and enjoy!