Butternut Squash Pancakes

I get to go from ‘I LOVE FALL’ straight into ‘I LOVE THE HOLIDAYS’! Everything is just sooo delicious. Then we have January and February. What good are they? They are like Cinderella’s ugly step-sisters of the year. Well, I have decided that this time of year is still made for baking. Who said September through December gets to have all the tasty treats?! Since it is also the (relative) beginning of the new year, we are going delicious with a side of nutritious! You will be amazed by how utterly delightful these Butternut Squash Pancakes are!

Butternut squash – for baking?

Recently in our household we had the fortune of discovering the versatility of baking with butternut squash. Yes, I know that butternut squash has been around, and people cook and eat with it all the time – does the phrase ‘late to the party’ come to mind? BUT it was SQUASH! I didn’t want to try to incorporate something that didn’t even have an appealing name into my baking when I already had delicious things to bake with, like pumpkin! Who thought SQUASH was a good name for a food item anyway?!

Now back to our swimming in squash saga. Ellie LOVED butternut squash seeds but was only ‘meh’ about the rest of the squash because of its texture and her oral aversion (more of her story here). Fun fact for you, did you know that butternut squash do NOT have a ton seeds inside them like pumpkins? So, we went through SO many squash to get her required seeds. If you want to know how to make really delicious and easy squash seeds see this post for basic directions, just scroll down to the ‘Roasted Squash Seeds’ section.

Absolutely – Bake on.

I said I was getting back to my point, right? Oh yeah, so much squash! Squash soufflé, squash bread, squash muffins, squash casserole, and voila -Squash Pancakes! And you know what? Every single squash item was amazing. Who knew?! Oh, other than the millions of other people who had already hopped on the butternut squash bandwagon, but I’m happy to be sitting pretty with them now.

Pancakes all day

These Butternut Squash Pancakes were a request from Rosie who is a pancake fanatic. (Who can blame her?) She LOVES breakfast for dinner – yes, I am raising her right! I thought I would try adding in some moisture and flavor to some pancakes to help use up our puree supply, and it was just such a perfect result from flavor to texture. I ended up making these again the next day and froze them for Rosie to have for breakfast or even as a snack when she wanted. With wheat flour, less sugar, and a VEGETABLE in them, that right there is what we call health food. 

Aroma therapy

Making these butternut squash pancakes will also make your home smell so comforting! I started with puree by roasting a butternut squash. The kitchen then smells of the savory side of fall and the holidays – who says you can’t celebrate those flavors through baking year-round? January and February are getting in on this baking action! (Yes, you can use canned butternut squash puree, or just steamed squash puree, but roasting it adds just that much more flavor!) While the pancakes cook, notes of warmth and sweetness will waft around your kitchen. You may also hear a few choruses of ‘those smell so good, are they done yet?’

Squash Pancake Toppings

We have eaten them plain, spread with butter MMMM, dolloped with warmed homemade applesauce, smeared with almond butter, or the good ol’ standby – drizzled with syrup. It is a win any way you try them. Your family will love the soft texture of the pancake as well as the amazing flavor. The slight sweetness from the brown sugar and roasted squash puree, the nuttiness from the wheat flour, as well as the warmth from the beloved cinnamon all blend beautifully together.

These Butternut Squash Pancakes would be a wonderful breakfast (or dinner!) or snack for your family anytime of the year! Once you have the puree, the pancakes are very easy to mix up and cook. They also freeze really well, if you want to make a batch and have some pancakes to take out as needed to enjoy yourself or to satisfy hungry family members.

Long live the Squash – and whoever named it

Rosie recently was asked at school about holiday dishes she enjoyed, and if squash was one of them. She responded with ‘Squash pancakes are some of my favorites!’ Probably not the expected answer, but I’ll take it! Rosie probably could have done a monologue on all the variety of squash baked goods she has been enjoying the last year – squash was our thing. Even though Ellie isn’t having squash anymore, we are definitely still enjoying it.

So celebrate the weekends of these winter months starting in the morning with a stack of these mouthwatering Butternut Squash Pancakes, your family will love the new tradition!

Squash Puree simplified

I’m going to take a minute to address all the bakers who are reading this thinking, “But I want to BAKE not COOK, forget this roasting a squash business!” That was completely me a year ago, however, let me share with you briefly how easy it is to make roasted butternut squash puree.

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray it. Cut off the top and bottom of the squash just enough so it can sit upright on its flat bottom, like a snowman. Cut the squash in half, top to bottom, so you now can scoop out the innards (save the seeds for roasting!).
2. Rub like a tablespoon of olive oil on the flesh (orange) part of the squash. Sprinkle with salt. Place squash cut side down on the sprayed foil and place in the oven. Set a timer for 40 minutes and forget about them.
3. Check for doneness by if you can easily stick a fork into the skin and flesh of the squash. If it is still firm, then check again in 10-minute increments until soft. Take squash out of the oven to cool enough to handle.
4. When the squash is cooled scoop cooked pulp out of the skin into a food processor (I love this one) and process until smooth. Voila – excellent roasted butternut squash puree

More delicious baking with veggies

Phenomenally Moist Carrot Cake

Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake

‘Four Cups of Zucchini’ Bread – Dairy Free

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Butternut Squash Pancakes

Yield: 20 pancakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Your family will love the soft texture of the pancake as well as the amazing flavor. The slight sweetness from the brown sugar and roasted squash puree, the nuttiness from the wheat flour, as well as the warmth from the beloved cinnamon all blend beautifully together.

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Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 Tbs baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup butternut squash puree*
• 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 4 Tbs butter, melted

Instructions

1. In a large bowl whisk together the flours, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together the rest of the ingredients; brown sugar, butternut squash puree, vanilla, eggs, milk, and butter.
3. Add the wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Do not overmix, it is okay if this batter is not perfectly smooth.
4. Let your batter sit for a few minutes while you now heat up your griddle or non-stick skillet to medium heat. Once heated you may use butter or non-stick cooking spray to grease your cooking surface. (These pancakes also cook up just fine on my non-stick griddle without spraying it first, but cooking them in butter is never a bad choice!)
5. Pour a generous 1/4 cup of batter and then spread into a circle, you know, like a pancake! (This is thick batter, so it does require a little smooshing around after plopping it on the griddle or skillet.)
6. Cook a couple minutes or until the edges appear set and the bubbles come up through the middle. Flip the pancakes and cook a couple minutes on the other side until lightly browned.
7. Enjoy pancakes as is, spread with butter or nut butter, topped with warmed applesauce, or the good ol' standby of syrup. You can't go wrong!

Notes

These pancakes freeze really well. Stack pancakes 2-4 tall with a small square of wax paper between the pancakes. Wrap stack in saran wrap and place in a freezer bag. Take out and defrost when ready to eat. Fresh, delicious pancakes at the ready!

*You can use canned butternut squash puree, or just steamed squash puree,
but roasting it adds just that much more flavor. See easy squash roasting directions below.

Squash Puree simplified

1.      Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray it. Cut off the top and bottom of the squash just enough so it can sit upright on its flat bottom, like a snowman. Cut the squash in half, top to bottom, so you now can scoop out the innards (save the seeds for roasting!).

2.      Rub like a tablespoon of olive oil on the flesh (orange) part of the squash. Sprinkle with salt. Place squash cut side down on the sprayed foil and place in the oven. Set a timer for 40 minutes and forget about them.

3.      Check for doneness by if you can easily stick a fork into the skin and flesh of the squash. If it is still firm, then check again in 10-minute increments until soft. Take squash out of the oven to cool enough to handle.

4.      When the squash is cooled scoop cooked pulp out of the skin into a food processor and process until smooth. Voila – excellent roasted butternut squash puree!

I like to even roast two butternut squash at a time (4 halves), and then freeze the puree in freezer bags. Take out your one or two cup bag of frozen roasted butternut squash whenever you are ready to bake something delicious, like these pancakes.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 199Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 450mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 2gSugar: 8gProtein: 5g

This information was obtained using an ingredient calculator to provide an idea of nutritional value. To obtain the most accurate numbers for nutrition information of any recipe, you should figure the nutritional information with the ingredients you used in the recipe. Each individual user is responsible for making sure that any nutritional information used is correct.