Oatmeal Pancakes

Updated April 7, 2025

Oatmeal Pancakes
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
35 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(484)
Comments
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This breakfast startles in the best way: It tastes like cozy, steaming porridge, but looks and feels like delightful buttermilk pancakes. Tiny quick oats soaked in buttermilk, along with flax and honey, lend a unique tenderness. Biting into a round, crackly with butter and caramelized from honey on the outside, reveals the pleasant, familiar creaminess of oatmeal in the center. Flax meal softens alongside the oats, amplifying their nutty flavor and binding the batter, eliminating the need for eggs. The pancakes are flavorful enough to enjoy on their own, but also taste great with toppings like fresh berries.

Featured in: The Secret to Great Pancakes Has Been in Your Pantry All Along

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Ingredients

Yield:10 to 12 pancakes
  • cups/395 grams buttermilk
  • cup/75 grams quick-cooking or plain instant oats (see Tip)
  • 2tablespoons ground flax (see Tip)
  • 2tablespoons honey, plus more for serving if desired
  • ½teaspoon fine salt
  • 2tablespoons canola or other flavorless oil
  • 1teaspoon baking soda
  • cup cup/95 grams all-purpose flour
  • Salted butter, for cooking and serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (11 servings)

119 calories; 5 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 191 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Mix the buttermilk, oats, flax, honey and salt in a large bowl. Let sit for at least 10 minutes and up to an hour. The longer the mixture sits, the creamier and more tender the pancakes. This is a good time to make coffee, eggs, bacon or to get ready for the day.

  2. Step 2

    Heat a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-low until hot.

  3. Step 3

    While the skillet heats, stir the oil into the wet ingredients until fully incorporated, then stir in the baking soda until dissolved. Add the flour and stir very gently until no traces of it remain.

  4. Step 4

    Swipe a large pat of butter over the hot pan to coat it generously. (Sizzling the batter in lots of butter gives the pancakes a rich flavor.) Scoop in generous ¼ cups of batter, spacing them 2 to 3 inches apart. Cook until the bottoms are deeply browned and the tops bubble, 2 to 3 minutes, then carefully flip the rounds and cook until browned outside and cooked through inside, about 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter, buttering the pan between each batch.

  5. Step 5

    Serve hot, with honey and more butter if you’d like.

Tips
  • Quick-cooking oats are slightly flatter and cut smaller than old-fashioned oats, and instant oats are even smaller and thinner. If you have only old-fashioned (rolled) oats, pulse them into tiny bits to replicate the lighter texture that quick-cooking oats deliver.
  • Ground flax, also known as flax meal, binds this batter together and accentuates the nutty taste of oats. You can substitute 2 large eggs for the flax, beating them well and adding to the soaked oats along with the oil in Step 3. The pancakes will taste more like classic buttermilk ones.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
484 user ratings
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Comments

I'm going to be That New Englander and ask if maple syrup will work in place of the honey.

@Kat I do it all the time--just a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar to your oat milk and let it sit for 10 minutes to make it a buttermilk substitute!

A couple of additional tips. When cooking pancakes, flip once and only once. Once flipped, do not press them with the spatula. Multiple flips and pressing leads to tough pancakes. When to flip? I flip once the tops stop bubbling. At that point they will be nice and brown.

Even though I use unsalted butter, these are so delicious no one wants "regular" pancakes again! I've also used agave syrup instead of honey. Don't be tempted to thin the batter, it is thick. Thank you Genevieve!

does anyone know if these would freeze well...?

Extremely gummy!

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