If I close my eyes and envision my perfect morning, this is what it would look like:

Wake up around 9am (which is late for me!), pour myself a big glass of lemon water, take Trevi for a walk in the sunshine and pick up a green juice, do an hour of hot yoga, then come home and eat a huge stack of pancakes.

Sounds pretty amazing, don’t ya think?

And while this certainly isn’t my routine most mornings, I do sometimes get to indulge. Specifically on the pancakes. My current flavor of choice being these amazing quinoa zucchini pancakes!

Light and fluffy, these whole grain stacks of goodness are packed full of tender zucchini and spiced with just a hint of cinnamon and vanilla. They taste eerily similar to zucchini bread, and yet in someway feel more satisfying.

Zucchini bread definitely has its own time and place, but when it comes to breakfast, especially a weekend breakfast, I’d much rather cozy up to a big stack of pancakes drizzled in warm maple syrup and topped with chocolate chips. You with me?

Like many of the pancakes on my site, the base is just my basic quinoa pancake recipe which is then slightly adapted with the addition of the spices and zucchini. As though of you who have tried these pancakes before, they are incredibly fluffy and you would never know they are gluten-free (or vegan for that matter!).

This version is perfect for this time of year because as we’re making our way into summer, zucchini is going to be everywhere. And if you have your own garden at home, I’m guessing you’ll have an abundance in no time. These zucchini pancakes are the perfect way to use some of that abundance up!

One trick for cooking and baking with zucchini is that you need to press it before adding it into your recipes. Since zucchini is about 95% water, if you don’t press it ahead of time, all that water will end up in your recipe and mess with your proportions.

Luckily, it’s super easy to remove the water.

Once you’ve grated your zucchini, all you have to do is place it in a clean dish towel and squeeze the water out. I like to twist mine into a ball and then squeeze as hard as I can. Then you just add this to the batter and you’re good to go!

For toppings, feel free to get creative! I chose to top mine with a dollop of vegan yogurt, some mini chocolate chips, some raspberries and of course, pure Vermont maple syrup. But you really could do whatever you want. Heck, you could even toss chocolate chips into the pancakes. Now we’re talkin’!

Whichever way you choose to top these pancakes, they’re going to make for one tasty breakfast. And since they’re made with whole grain, high-protein flours, these pancakes are also good for you!

Your turn…

What is your favorite way to use up zucchini? I’m planning to make lots more zucchini recipes this summer and would love to add your favorites to my list! Let me know in the comments section below

xo Alyssa

Vegan Quinoa Zucchini Pancakes

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

20 mins

Author: Alyssa Rimmer

Serves: 10 pancakes

Ingredients

• 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons flaxseed meal + 6 tablespoons water)
• 1 cup quinoa flour (I like to toast mine)
• ½ cup almond flour
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch
• 2 teaspoons coconut flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon vanilla bean powder (or extract)
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1¼ cup non-dairy milk
• 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or other light flavored oil)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 cup shredded zucchini (pressed)

Instructions

1. Preheat a griddle over medium heat.
2. Whisk together the flax and water and set aside to gel.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt.
4. Beat together the flax eggs, milk, oil and syrup then pour into the dry and mix until a smooth batter forms.
5. Grate the zucchini on a box grater and the place the shredded zucchini in a clean dish towel. Squeeze it into a ball and press all the moisture from the zucchini. Fold it into the batter.
6. Lightly grease your griddle with nonstick cooking spray or coconut oil. Ladle ¼ cup of batter onto the griddle and repeat until you have filled your pan. Cook the pancakes until small bubbles begin to form around the edges, about 2 - 3 minutes. Flip and cook for another 1 - 2 minutes longer until the other sides are golden brown. Repeat until no batter remains.
7. Serve warm with vegan yogurt, chocolate chips, fresh berries and pure maple syrup.

3.5.3208

WW SmartPoints: 5

Watch me make my vegan pancakes!

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