An easy from-scratch recipe for the Fluffiest Whole Wheat Pancakes you’ve ever had. These healthy make-ahead pancakes are made with 100% whole wheat flour and buttermilk.
Pancakes are an almost weekly staple in my house, especially for the kiddos. I prefer to meal prep them and make a double or triple batch at once, and then freeze them. Thirty seconds in the microwave, and boom, hot breakfast in the same amount of time it takes you to pour a bowl of cereal.
Top your pancakes with homemade peach syrup, strawberry syrup, blackberry syrup, or sugared strawberries for a fun and fruity twist.
Can You Use Whole Wheat Flour For Pancakes?
Yes! These pancakes use 100% whole wheat flour, so they’re more filling than their “Bisquick” style cousin. With a few tips, tricks, and one very special ingredient, whole wheat baked goods can be just as fluffy as conventional products.
For full disclosure, I do have a grain mill that I use to make fresh whole wheat flour, but whole wheat pastry flour from a grocery store works great as well.
Are Whole Wheat Pancakes Healthier?
You betcha! The whole grains fill you up compared with white flour, and your body processes them more slowly so you stay fuller longer. For example, I can easily pack away three to four “normal” pancakes, but max out at two whole wheat pancakes. And I stay full until lunch.
I love to top mine with maple syrup, Strawberry Syrup, Strawberry Puree or Blackberry Syrup.
For the milk, I love using buttermilk because it gives the pancakes great tangy taste. Save any extra buttermilk for future batches. Learn more about it in this post on freezing buttermilk. You can also try our Oat Milk Pancakes which are delicious and dairy-free.
Here’s How You Make Healthy Whole Wheat Pancakes
*You’ll find a printable and detailed recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Combine your dry ingredients in one bowl. Combine your wet ingredients in a large measuring cup.
Make a well in the dry ingredients, and add the wet ingredients, and stir just a few times. There may still be some lumps. That’s ok.
Left: just mixed. Right: after 10 minutes. See all those air bubbles? Magic!
Let the batter sit for 10 minutes while you heat your pan or griddle. You need to let the batter sit so all the ingredients can do their thing and get nice and bouncy.
Pour your preferred amount of batter on the hot griddle, and flip when the edges look dry, and you are seeing bubbles on top. Remove when the bottom is a golden brown.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes:
- No whole wheat flour? Feel free to use all-purpose and leave out the vital wheat gluten as well.
- No buttermilk? No problem! Add 2 tsp of white vinegar to regular milk, stir, and let sit for 10 minutes. Boom! Buttermilk.
- Want to add in blueberries? Toss 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries (related: how to freeze blueberries) with 1 tbsp of flour and then add to the batter during step 3 in the recipe card.
- To freeze: take a baking sheet and cover it with parchment and place the pancakes on there as they finish up on the griddle. Freeze for a few hours, and then remove individual pancakes and transfer to freezer-proof storage (we love these silicone freezer bags).
- I set my electric griddle to 375 degrees to heat up for 10 minutes, and then drop it down to 350 degrees for the actual cooking.
- Sneak in a few cubes of frozen pumpkin to up the nutrition factor.
More Awesome Healthy Breakfasts
- Sour Cream Pancakes
- Easy Instant Pot Yogurt
- Whole Wheat Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins
- Fluffy Whole Wheat Waffles
- Easy Make-Ahead Scrambled Eggs
- Homemade Honey Wheat Bread
- Healthy Apple Pie Pancakes
- Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
- How to Bake Bacon
The Fluffiest Whole Wheat Pancakes WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS
One serving of The Fluffiest Whole Wheat Pancakes has 4 WW Freestyle SmartPoints.
The Fluffiest Whole Wheat Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp vital wheat gluten
- 2 eggs room temp, beaten
- 1 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp butter melted, and slightly cooled
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients.2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp kosher salt, 3 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp vital wheat gluten
- In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients.2 eggs, 1 3/4 cup buttermilk, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, 4 tbsp butter
- Make a well in the dry ingredients, and add the wet ingredients, and stir just a few times. There may be some lumps. That's ok.
- Let the batter sit for 10 minutes while you heat your pan or griddle.
- Pour your preferred amount of batter on the hot griddle, and flip when the edges look dry, and you are seeing bubbles on top.
- Remove when the bottom is golden brown.
Notes
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I’m having gallbladder issues and am trying to incorporate more fiber and protein in my diet in a semi-plant based way; mostly the fiber. I’ve looked at “healthy” pancake mixes and things like Kodiak brand. Holy cow! The price tags are ridiculous and the results aren’t impressive. I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. These pancakes look so much better and have a way better price point. I may add flax seed meal in place of the eggs. We shall see.
I find the Kodiak cakes are not my favorite. I just don’t love the taste. I think adding flax seed meal would be great. You may also want to try chia seeds, but I assume you’d want to grind them (?) for gallbladder issues?
I’m in Australia and we generally serve pancakes with maple syrup and ice cream. I read your earlier post about Bennett getting his own breakfast and was wondering ow your boys eat theirs? Thanks!
Most of the time it’s just maple syrup or plain with a little butter!
Ice cream, huh? We’re doing it wrong!
Thanks for your response. I can wait to give them a try, I just bought a mill, haven’t even got it out of the box yet!
It’s so fun to grind your own wheat! Feel free to email me if you have any questions about it.
Being a person who’s never been a fan of pancakes, I gave these a try in hopes of feeding the rest of my family a heartier pancake. Because I am also not a fan of cooking more than one meal at a time, I gave these a try as well. I’m not kidding when I say these are in regular rotation of breakfast for dinner at our house, AND my teenage son requests them for breakfast! I actually prefer them with “fake buttermilk” (milk+vinegar) rather than actual buttermilk. That’s a great thing considering I very rarely have buttermilk on hand. I love making these pancakes “extra” by adding blueberries (frozen ones work great if you don’t have fresh!). These are definitely a fave at our house!
Nikki, I’m so glad these pancakes have converted you over to the fluffy side!! I agree with you – blueberries are the best in these pancakes.
I’ve never really done a taste test on fake buttermilk vs. real buttermilk, but now I’m intrigued.
Hi, Thank you for the post and the recipe. I love that you included the photo from the old post. Can’t wait to give these a try, really enjoyed your whole wheat waffles.
Thanks Jane!
Google has informed people that deleting all photos from old posts is bad, so I keep at least one old one in there to help people potentially recognize the post. They are pretty cringe-worthy most of the time though.
Love that you use a fish spatula! My daughter makes pancakes 3-4x a week and to make it easier for her we looked everywhere for a large, flat spatula. When I couldn’t find anything appropriate I ended up buying the fish spatula on Amazon and it is perfect. She only knows it as “her” spatula. Just wait until your boys can do this part on their own.
It’s the best isn’t it?! I love it!
Hahaha, I love that you included the photo from the old post. Can’t wait to give these a try, really enjoyed your whole wheat waffles.
So a few weeks ago I read an article saying google doesn’t want you to delete all images because some of them are linked through google images. So I have been keeping one per old post. It’s horrifying though because they’re so cringe-worthy!
But it’s also so cool to see how your photography skills have improved!
Awww shucks. Thanks friend.
Looks awesome!
I had a bunch of friends coming over for our regular craft day and I was so busy that I went out and bought some lovely pastries to serve up to them. On the morning however I felt a bit guilty and decided to make something…. pancakes!!! I made a double batch and served them up with strawberry jam, rhubarb jam, and thick dolloping cream. I was so surprised to see the pancakes disappear before anyone made a move on the pastries – just goes to show that childhood favourites stay favourites for life!
Thank you for the post and the recipe. Kindness ad respect in all things silly and serious?.
My family had pancakes and bacon for dinner last night. Comfort food at its best. I’ll have to check out the vital wheat gluten tip!