Fluffy, moist, squash pancakes with maple butter are the perfect fall breakfast or dinner that you need to make right now!
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You can use any type of squash, but I recommend butternut, delicata, or acorn. You may be thinking, “well why not pumpkin”? Okay, this is going to be an unpopular take but…I don’t really like pumpkin. I can almost hear your audible gasp. Don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean I don’t eat any pumpkin spiced treats in fall, but I think what most people actually love in their lattes and muffins are the spices and sugar. That is because pumpkin has very little natural flavor compared to other types of squashes. One place where this blah squash shines is in savory dishes, such as this pumpkin soup with cranberries and apples where it acts as a thickener. But, in baked goods and in these pancakes, roasted and pureed butternut, delicata, or acorn squash will add just the right amount of sweetness so that you don’t have to add any sugar. The squash is also a sneaky way to get some extra nutrition into your kids.
Beware, the cooking time listed on this recipe does not include the time it takes to bake the squash. Depending on the variety and size of the squash, you will need to add 30-40 minutes. However, the easiest way to do this is the make the squash ahead of time or when you are baking squash for another meal. It will keep in the refrigerator for several days. Here is my basic baked squash recipe.
Now, if you have certain family members that tend to use half a bottle of maple syrup on one pancake (I’m looking at my oldest son as I type this), then you should try out the whipped maple butter topping. Adding just a touch of real maple syrup to butter will provide the right amount of sweetness and avoid a sticky situation, pun intended.
This recipe will make about 10 four-inch sized pancakes. When I recently made these, I actually doubled the recipe since I had a pretty large squash I was working with. I’m glad I did! I was hoping for leftovers to freeze, but alas, the kids gobbled them up! If you do want to freeze the leftovers, simply place the cooled pancakes in a zippered freezer bag, separating each with parchment paper so you can pull out single servings for snacks or an easy breakfast. I prefer to use these silicone bags for freezing, which keep baked goods longer without freezer burn. For parchment paper, I use the brand If You Care. It is the only one I can find that is fully compostable in your home compost, which is very important to me. A lot of other parchment papers are actually coated in an oil-based, plastic coating. Who wants that in contact with their food? Yuck!
Squash Pancakes with Maple Butter
Ingredients
- 1 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour (or use whole wheat flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup baked squash from about 1/2 of a small squash, preferably butternut, acorn, or delicata; mash with a fork or puree in a food processor until smooth
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk *see notes for substitute
Maple Butter
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp pumpkin spice
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- You will need one large mixing bowl and two medium mixing bowls. In the large mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Once everything is well combined, make a well in the middle and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together squash, egg, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and buttermilk.
- Pour the liquid mixture into the well in the dry ingredients and stir until just combined with no large lumps. Then let the mixture rest for 10 minutes.
- While the pancake batter is resting, preheat your griddle over medium low heat.
- In the third medium-sized bowl, add the room temperature butter, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, and pinch of salt then beat with a hand mixer until nice and creamy. Transfer to a small bowl for serving.
- Grease the griddle with a small amount of coconut oil and use a ¼ cup measuring cup to drop batter onto the griddle. Cook about 2 minutes on each side, flipping when there are several bubbles that pop in the middle of the pancake and it is starting to cook around the edges. You should get about 10 pancakes that are about 4 inches in diameter.
- Serve warm and spread a layer of whipped maple butter over the top.
