Start the day with cozy spiced pumpkin PCOS pancakes made from whole food ingredients in under 20 minutes, including meal prep and freezing tips to save time!
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my pumpkin baked oatmeal bars, too!
Jump to:
❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Quick and Easy - Not only are the ingredients simple, you don't need any fancy tools for this recipe.
PCOS Friendly Ingredients - Homemade pumpkin flavored pancakes are the perfect fall breakfast balanced with good-for-you ingredients, cozy flavor, and a boost of protein and fiber to support healthy hormone balance.
Meal Prep Magic - These pumpkin pancakes are great for making ahead and freezer friendly, too. Check out my blueberry sheet pancakes, breakfast taco egg bites, and baked breakfast hash recipes for my make ahead hits!
What You'll Need for this Recipe
It's completely possible and actually quite simple to make high protein pancakes with no banana. Here's what to add to your grocery list.
Rolled Oats serve as the flour base here. Be sure to use rolled oats or old fashioned oats and not quick oats.
Flax Meal aka ground flax seeds add fiber to the mix and the taste is undetectable so don't skip it. If you don't have flax meal on hand, try milled chia seeds instead!
Protein Powder adds a protein boost. Feel free to use the protein or collagen peptide powder of your choice. I recommend either unflavored or vanilla.
Pumpkin Puree for the pumpkin flavor and color that makes these pancakes perfect for fall. Canned puree is just fine but don't use pumpkin pie filling as it has extra ingredients we don't need here.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Milk - I use plant-based milk in this recipe, usually almond, but you can use whatever kind of milk you like, with the exception of buttermilk.
Toppings - I love serving my pancakes with pepitas (aka pumpkin seeds), maple syrup, and butter. Another favorite is fresh blueberries and raspberries, which are awesome for managing blood sugar and can be made into a compote with a little drizzle of maple syrup or honey before warming. You can also try nut butter, nuts, or sunflower seeds.
How to Make Hormone Healthy Pancakes
Step One: Add oats to a blender or food processor and pulse until ground into oat flour.
Step Two: Mix the oat flour with other dry pancake ingredients.
Pro Tip #1: Healthy oat flour pancakes start with rolled oats. Grab either a blender or a food processor--or even a coffee grinder--for this part. To make oat flour for pancakes, just add the oats to your appliance of choice and pulse until they are ground into a fine, flour-like texture. This is all there is to making oat flour quickly!
Step Three: Mix together dry ingredients with pumpkin puree and other pancake ingredients.
Step Four: Scoop about ⅓ cup batter into a greased pan to cook.
Pro Tip #2: You can mix the batter by hand in a large mixing bowl or take a shortcut making pumpkin protein pancakes in a blender. FYI, the batter will be thick!
Pro Tip #3: Use butter or coconut oil to get pumpkin pancakes with crispy edges.
Pro Tip #4: Gently tilt the pan from side to side to spread the batter out evenly until the pancake is about ⅓ inch thick.
Step Five: Flip the pancake to cook the other side--look at those crispy edges!
Frequently Asked Questions
Ensure your skillet is evenly preheated before adding the pancake batter. Grease the skillet with butter, ghee or coconut oil. And don't flip the pancake until it easily releases from the pan.
Yes. Cool the pancakes to room temperature. Place a layer of wax or parchment paper between each pancake to keep them from sticking together. I recommend double bagging the pancakes in freezer bags to keep moisture from escaping. Pancakes will keep for up to two months this way.
Making Pancakes that are Better for PCOS
Meal prepping easy breakfast for the week became slightly more of a challenge after my PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) diagnosis because starting the day with enough protein is highly recommended and carb-heavy breakfast items like pancakes and oatmeal might seem like a no-go. But these superfood pancakes for PCOS symptoms are a great PCOS nourishing breakfast recipe!
Cinnamon is a hormone healthy food known to support blood sugar regulation and reduce insulin resistance so I add it to all kinds of foods for flavor and health benefits.
Eggs are a good source of folate, omega-3 fatty acids, and other nutrients (Healthline) that support lowered androgens, which are particularly pesky with my PCOS. And of course, eggs add protein!
Flax Meal lends fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and phytoestrogens to support nutrient absorption, good digestion, and healthy elimination (Mayo Clinic). It's great even if you aren't managing hormonal imbalance.
Oats are whole foods and complex carbs that provide a more balanced source of fuel compared to store-bought refined flour (Oat Pantry). You can also try almond flour or chickpea flour in this recipe.
Protein from milk, eggs, high-quality protein powder, and whatever toppings you might add partners with fiber to help to balance the blood sugar spike that pancakes typically cause (Everyday Health).
Pumpkin is full of fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins and minerals (WebMD) that make it fabulous to include in any PCOS fall breakfast recipe.
For more hormone loving breakfast recipes, check out my Greek yogurt parfaits, scrambled egg bites, and banana nut oatmeal cups!
More Favorite PCOS Breakfast Recipes
I hope this recipe brightens and simplifies your mornings. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this pumpkin protein pancake recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin PCOS Pancakes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 2 ½ cup milk
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup flax meal
- 4 servings vanilla protein powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Make oat flour: add rolled oats to blender or food processor and pulse until ground into a fine flour-like texture (about one minute). Remove oat flour from blender.
- Add milk, pumpkin puree, eggs, butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract to blender and pulse until smooth and uniform. (Alternatively, add ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir to combine by hand.)
- Add oat flour, flax meal, protein powder, cinnamon, baking powder, and sea salt to liquid mixture and pulse or mix until combined and no dry pockets remain. Batter will be very thick.
- Melt oil or butter in a large skillet or griddle over medium high heat.
- Scoop about ⅓ cup of batter into pan to form each pancake. Gently tilt the pan from side to side to spread the batter out evenly until the pancake is about ⅓ inch thick. Cook until bubbles form and pop on surface of batter and skillet side of pancake is an orange golden brown color (about 3 minutes) then flip and repeat on the other side.
- Repeat until all batter is used. Enjoy warm.
Notes
- Cool the pancakes to room temperature before freezing.
- Place a layer of wax or parchment paper between each pancake to keep them from sticking together.
- I recommend double bagging them in freezer bags to prevent moisture from escaping.
- Mark the date on the bag and they should keep for up to two months.
Marta says
I don't have PCOS, but have a few loved ones that battle it. I made these pumpkin protein pancakes for a dear friend who was having a rough go with her PCOS and we both enjoyed the ease and flavor of them so much. The great thing about this recipe is that they freeze so well, so she has more to eat during the week.
Marcus Avery Christon says
My best friend and I loved these pancakes! I enjoy the extra protein kick and she appreciates the fact they help manage her PCOS. These pancakes are an all-around winner!
Krysten says
I'm absolutely thrilled with these spiced pumpkin pancakes! They're not only delicious but also a breeze to make, and the fact that they are so quick and easy makes them a perfect breakfast option. I'm already planning to make another batch and freeze them for those busy mornings. Thank you for bringing awareness to PCOS and diets!