Many Saturday mornings throughout my early childhood, Mom would slip into the kitchen while my brother and I watched our favorite 6 am TV shows, Gulla Gulla Island and Blue’s Clues. She poured out our “crazy drink” in plastic cups—a mixture of orange juice, apple juice, and carbonated water for a fun fizz—for us to sip on while she cooked breakfast.
Because we requested them so often, Mom almost always went with pancakes. She knew the recipe by heart, and she rarely pulled out the cookbook or measuring cups, opting to go by instinct and feel instead. Mom must have had the magic pancake touch because they turned out perfectly every time!
Since our family’s favorite breakfast restaurant always shaped their kids’ pancakes to look like Mickey Mouse, complete with whipped cream eyes and a fresh fruit smile, my brother and I begged Mom to make us Mickey Mouse pancakes too. It was the only way we would eat pancakes for the majority of our childhood years!
Mom, you’re a saint for indulging us. And putting up with us. And letting us douse those pancakes in so much syrup.
Once we each sat down with a plate, Mom would start cooking “adult” pancakes for her and Dad—aka ones with blueberries. We didn’t like any extra stuff in ours! (Well, except for chocolate chips… But those were only for very special birthday occasions.)
Dad never requested his pancakes to come with mouse ears like we did, so Mom shaped their blueberry ones into regular rounds. Although I later learned that some people drop the berries into the batter on the skillet, Mom mixed the fruit directly into the bowl, and the juices would bubble out as the pancakes cooked, staining the tops a deep indigo.
After growing up, I eventually realized just how much I was missing by refusing to eat those blueberry pancakes, and I started making up for lost time. I set out to create the perfect recipe—the best of the best, the cream of the crop—which finally resulted in these thick and fluffy Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes!
Nerd alert!
Because I was a chemist before a food blogger, I love talking about the science behind the ingredients and what makes recipes work. However, if you’d rather skip straight to the recipe, keep scrolling!
Buttermilk. Buttermilk provides the cozy, comforting, most iconic pancake flavor. It’s more acidic than regular milk, and that acidity reacts with the baking soda to give the pancakes their light, fluffy texture.
Because buttermilk isn’t a staple in most of my baking, I mainly use this powdered buttermilk substitute. It still has the same iconic flavor and keeps for ages when stored in the refrigerator. Simply mix the powder into the dry ingredients and water into the wet.
The other option is to use your own soured milk. Add 1 ½ teaspoons of vinegar to a measuring cup, and add your preferred type of milk until you reach the ½-cup mark. Just remember that this substitute won’t yield the same familiar buttermilk taste!
Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt helps achieve a more tender texture. It adds the same moisture to the pancake batter than extra butter, oil, or heavy cream would for a fraction of the calories. Greek yogurt also provides a little protein boost!
Butter and vanilla. Butter enhances the flavor of the buttermilk and helps with the tender texture as well. Vanilla actually brings out the flavor of the butter, making the pancakes taste much more indulgent than they really are! Using vanilla to enhance butter’s flavor is one of my favorite tricks in healthier baking, and I use it in my cookie recipes all of the time.
Because of my mom, I added the fresh blueberries directly into the bowl of batter before cooking the pancakes. (That’s the batter in the picture above right before adding in the berries! It’s pretty thick, which yields thick and fluffy pancakes.) You’re free to add them after dolloping the batter into the skillet instead! I prefer fresh over frozen here because the frozen ones bleed and turn the batter gray, but if you aren’t photographing your pancakes, either work just fine.
Bonus: I share my tips on how to cook the best pancakes here!
Now drizzle on the pure maple syrup and dig in! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your ultimate healthy blueberry buttermilk pancakes!
| The Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes | Print |
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (135g) whole wheat pastry flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120mL) low-fat buttermilk, room temperature (see Notes!)
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup (see Notes!)
- ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup (105g) blueberries (fresh preferred, frozen will work)
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, and vanilla. Whisk in the buttermilk and maple syrup. Stir in the yogurt until no large lumps remain. Add in the flour mixture, and stir until just incorporated. Gently fold in the blueberries.
- Lightly coat a large pan or griddle with nonstick cooking spray, and preheat over low heat.
- Using a generous 2 tablespoons of batter for each pancake, dollop onto the hot pan, and spread into a circular shape. Let the pancakes cook for 2-3 minutes, or until a slight skin starts to form around the edges and the bottom is light golden brown. Slide a spatula underneath, and flip. Continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes or until light golden brown on both sides. Serve hot.
This recipe is easily doubled to make more. If you have any leftovers, they freeze really well too!
OTHER FLOUR OPTIONS: White whole wheat flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the whole wheat pastry flour. However, regular whole wheat flour's heartier taste may overpower the delicate flavor of the buttermilk, so the pancakes can sometimes taste like plain whole wheat pancakes instead.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: For the gluten-free flour, I recommend the following blend: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, 2 tbsp (15g) brown rice flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will work as well, if measured like this.
BUTTER SUBSTITUTES: Stick-style vegan butter, coconut oil (melted!), or any oil may be substituted for the unsalted butter.
IMPORTANT BUTTERMILK NOTES: You must use buttermilk in this recipe. It’s more acidic than regular milk, which is required to react with the baking soda and baking powder.
As a buttermilk substitute, I highly recommend this powdered buttermilk. It’s shelf-stable and keeps for ages. Simply mix 2 tablespoons with ½ cup of water to yield the buttermilk required by this recipe.
Alternatively, measure out 1 ½ teaspoons of vinegar into a measuring cup, and pour in regular milk (just about any should work — nonfat, 1%, 2%, or your preferred dairy-free milk!) until you reach the ½-cup mark. However, this second method will not yield the same iconic buttermilk flavor.
PURE MAPLE SYRUP NOTES: My family usually drizzles more maple syrup over their cooked pancakes, which is why the amount is so small! If you prefer sweeter pancakes, you can easily add more to the batter.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup.
IF YOUR BATTER IS TOO THICK: This recipe yields a thick batter to create the thickest, fluffiest pancakes. If the batter is too thick for your liking or will not pour and spread in the pan, add up to ¼ cup of additional buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
Just made the ultimate healthy blueberry buttermilk pancakes. Yum!!!! I love to try different pancake recipes and this one did not disappoint, and I even just made it with the vinegar and milk as I had no buttermilk on hand. They are thick and taste like a pastry treat. Very satisfying. Will be freezing the leftovers and look forward to them when planned for my breakfast. Thank you.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these pancakes, Deborah! That’s such a huge compliment, if you think they’re really satisfying and taste like a pastry treat. Thank you for taking the time to let me know — it truly means a lot!!
Yummers!!! From across the pond, many thanks. Diana P.S.: My boys (husband and son) declared “deliciousness”. I only had about a quarter of one, son disappeared with the plate and platter. But, from all of us: many thanks!
I’m so glad your boys loved these pancakes, Diana! That’s the best kind of compliment, if they declared “deliciousness” and disappeared with the platter. 😉 Thank you for taking the time to let me know — it means so much!! (And I hope you get more than a few bites if you ever end up making them again!)