According to our calendars, it is still technically summer. Although fall won’t start yet for another couple weeks, I’d say when you can successfully sleep in until 9a.m. tucked under your covers because it’s so chilly, it’s fall. This means it’s time to break out the hot tea, homemade pumpkin lattes and hoodies. In preparation for my favorite season, I’ve decided to begin my cooking escapades the best way I know how – by making my kitchen smell like a pumpkin pie fresh out of the oven. The aroma of Thanksgiving treats floating through the air and pancakes heating up on my stove is always a good thing.
Pancakes used to be a rare breakfast for me once I jumped on the health wagon. In high school I was hooked on making “protein pancakes” with greek yogurt and protein powder (yup, one of those girls) but after I realized I wanted to focus more on ingredients and nutrition rather than eating strictly protein, I kind of gave up on ’em. It wasn’t until a month or so ago that I fell back in love with the tasty cakes, all thanks to my friends at Simple Mills. For a boxed mix, the ingredients are incomparable to others on the market. Two weeks back I featured them on my friend Rachel’s blog in a sweet blueberry chocolatey stack but with fall approaching, I needed something savory and sweet.
To give you a bit of background into these pancakes, I’ve been envisioning them in my head for the past few weeks. I even mentioned to the team at Simple Mills twice how excited I was to create this recipe.
Before I hit my health kick mid-way through high school, for every holiday my aunt would make her infamous carrot cake stacked high with sweet cream cheese frosting. I remember that cake and it’s arrival into my house every single time she made it. It wouldn’t last long on our cake stand shortly after its entrance into our kitchen and never failed to bring a smile to my face (Thanks Aunt Melissa!).
After hitting college and realizing my true passion for sweets was held in frozen no-bake cookie dough bites and coconut milk ice cream rather than cake and frosting, my encounters with carrot cake vanished into thin air. But in hopes of bringing back some of that old flavor, I had to whip something up that would not only be a healthy twist on an old favorite but perfect to pile high on a plate, alongside a cup of hot tea (black honey for this morning) and my fleece blanket.
In my quest of searching for ingredients to pop into these pancakes, shredded carrots were essential. A few variations of carrot cakes include banana, pineapple, raisins, glazes, coconut, pecans, walnuts… the list goes on and on. I figured by combining pecans, carrots glazed with coconut oil and some pineapple, I’d have just the right amount of add-ins, toppings and enough room to drizzle a little coconut butter on top if I wished. I can tell you right now these pancakes contain so many spices and flavors that the coconut butter (or maple syrup) is not even necessary!
A soft bite of the almond flour-based pancakes mixed with the sweetness of the pineapple and slight crunch of the pecans will leave your belly verrry happy. And you’re getting a fair amount of veggies in so obviously it’s a good-for-you dish 🙂
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- ½ cup frozen pineapple
- 1 cup of Simple Mills Pancake and Waffle Mix
- 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
- 4 tsp coconut oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice (or a combination of dashes of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves)
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- ¼ cup coconut butter (for a glaze, if you wish) *optional
- Begin by preheating your oven to 350º to roast your sliced carrots. Toss them in a tbsp of coconut oil and place them on a baking sheet alongside your frozen pineapple.
- Put the baking sheet into the oven for about 10-15 minutes, until carrots crisp up a bit.
- Next, follow the instructions on the back of your Simple Mills baking mix box in order to make 8 pancakes. This requires the ingredients listed above.
- Once eggs, milk, oil and mix are incorporated as instructed on the box directions, mix with a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice.
- Spoon two tablespoons worth of the mix onto a greased skillet (I grease mine with about a 1-2 tsps. of coconut oil) at medium high heat.
- Drop a tablespoon worth of the shredded roasted carrots into the center of each pancake. Flip when the edges of each cake start to bubble/slightly brown. Save 2-3 tbsp worth of the carrots for topping at the end.
- Layer your cakes high, top with leftover carrots, followed by your pecans.
- Drizzle with coconut butter for a creamy glaze.
- Enjoy!
Simple Mills pancakes are not only super easy to whip together (all they require is milk, an egg or two and oil) but they can be the basis for numerous ideas and add-ins. If you want to make chocolate pancakes, add some cocoa powder or dark chocolate chips. Feeling the fall weather a little too early like I am? Add pumpkin or cinnamon roasted apples! By tossing in shredded carrots, each bite contained a few pieces which was a nice surprise. Whereas most carrot cakes have coconut flakes in or on top of the cake itself, I used coconut oil when baking to include the flavor.
A few coconut shavings afterwards didn’t hurt either!
Now after a kitchen fiasco of using every dish, knife and fork possible to layer these up for the right photo op, I sat down to take the first bite. With a pecan stabbed into a chunk of cake and a coconut shaving in between, I turned one bite into one pancake. Surprisingly decadent, I felt satisfied after just having one. No syrup or glaze involved. I will keep these in my fridge for 2-3 days for leftovers and reheat them in the oven or on the stove within a minute or so since this batch made eight!
Next time you can’t decide between savory or sweet for breakfast (in my case scrambled eggs or a smoothie bowl), cut open a bag of Simple Mills Pancake and Waffle Mix, roast some carrots and make these delicious naturally gluten-free carrot pecan pancakes.
These were followed by watching the cartoon version of Cinderella and listening to Spotify hits from 2005. Forever loving lazy Saturdays filled with pancakes and cold weather.
You can purchase Simple Mills products ranging from this Pancake and Waffle Mix to Pizza Dough right here.
-Addie
*All opinions are my own and this recipe was created on a whim. This post is not sponsored or compensated for, however I did receive Simple Mills Pancake and Waffle Mix in exchange for review. They are a company I firmly stand by, trust and love.*
[…] sweet Addie made these Simple Carrot Pecan Pancakes using my favorite mix from Simple Mills. I talk about my love for Simple Mills quite often (here […]