15-Minute Fluffy Spinach Pancakes for Babies & Toddlers

Medically reviewed and cowritten by Jamie Johnson, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), and Lauren Braaten, Pediatric Occupational Therapist (OT).

Made with fresh spinach, this recipe for spinach pancakes has become an all-time reader favorite! The pancake batter is prepared in the blender, and in 15 minutes the pancakes are done! Made with simple ingredients, the pancakes are fluffy, soft and perfect for baby-led weaning, hungry toddlers, and older kids too. 6 months and up!

Ingredients

Make sure to read the recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions!

• Oats/Flour: I’m going to give you two ways to make these pancakes. The first is the OG pancakes made with oats that you then blender until you have homemade oat flour. Or, the second way is that you can use all-purpose, white wheat flour, store-bought oat flour or a gluten-free one-for-one blend.
• Spinach: the star of the show – spinach! You will need a cup of fresh spinach for this recipe. Don’t pack in the spinach or your pancakes may become soggy in the middle. I have made this recipe with frozen spinach before (added it frozen to the blender), and while it works in a pinch, fresh spinach doesn’t have as strong of a spinach flavor and we preferred the taste of fresh spinach pancakes better.
• Banana: a medium banana with lots of brown spots works best for this recipe.
• Oil: you can use mild olive oil, coconut oil or melted butter in this recipe.
• Milk: you can use regular milk or a plant-based milk such as almond, hemp, soy, rice or oat milk.
• Egg: one large egg is needed to bind everything together.
• Spices, cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt:  I love adding a pinch of cinnamon and vanilla extract to my spinach pancakes to really up the taste factor. But you can also omit these spices if you prefer. I also have a list below of other fun ingredients you can add to the pancakes if you are feeling fancy.

If you are looking for more easy and healthy pancakes for your little one, then be sure to check out my 3-Ingredient Banana Pancakes, Pumpkin Pancakes for Baby, or these delicious Sweet Potato Pancakes. You can also find more recipes and information in my best-selling cookbook Little Foodies: Recipes for Babies and Toddlers with Taste.

Let’s Get Cooking

There are a couple of ways you can make these delish pancakes!

Oat Spinach Blender Pancakes (the Original)

1. Blend Oats: place the oats into the blender and blend into oat flour.
2. Add Ingredients: add in the banana, spinach, egg, milk, oil, cinnamon and vanilla and blend on medium-high until completely smooth.
3. Add Baking Powder: add in the baking powder and salt and blend on low.
4. Cook: heat a medium skillet over medium heat, spray with cooking spray or add a little butter if needed. Drop 2-3 tablespoons of batter on the skillet and let cook for 3-4 minutes or until the sides are starting to become firm and the bottoms are golden brown. Flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Serve: let cool slightly and serve.

Fluffy Spinach Pancakes

1. Flour: in a medium bowl, add flour (all-purpose, white whole wheat, store-bought oat flour or a gluten-free one-for-one blend).
2. Blend: in a blender, add in the banana, spinach, egg, milk, oil, cinnamon and vanilla, and blend on medium-high until completely smooth. Pour these ingredients into the bowl with flour and mix well.
3. Cook: heat a medium skillet over medium heat, spray with cooking spray or add a little butter if needed. Drop 2-3 tablespoons of batter on the skillet and let cook for 3-4 minutes or until the sides are starting to become firm and the bottoms are golden brown. Flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Serve: let cool slightly and serve.

How to Serve These Pancakes to Toddlers and Kids

These pancakes are made to be easy, so don’t feel like you need to serve them with anything too complicated. Here are some of my favorite easy ways to serve them to your baby or toddler:

• BLW – cut in half and served for baby-led weaning
• Classic – cut into chunks and served with maple syrup and fresh berries
• Bagel & Hemp Sprinkles – Smear with whole fat cream cheese and sprinkle with hemp seeds (serve whole or in chunks)
• PB&J Sandwich – take one pancake and spread with your favorite jam, then take another pancake and spread with a nut or seed butter or your choice, press two pancakes together and serve as a sandwich. Great for preschool or school lunches.
• Dipping Fun – cut pancakes into long strips and serve with some yogurt (thinner yogurt works better for this recipe) to dip the pancakes in. Serve with a side of your favorite fruit, anything goes – chunks of banana, cut up berries, slices of cooked apples, etc.

Baby-Led Weaning Pancakes

These pancakes are perfect for baby-led weaning or as a finger food because they are soft to eat and your baby can easily pick them up in their hands for a palmar grasp or with their pincer grasp if they cut into smaller chunks. You can serve them to your baby sliced in half or cut into small chunks.

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15-Minute Fluffy Spinach Pancakes for Babies & Toddlers

These Easy Blender Spinach Pancakes are a great way to serve spinach to your little one. Made with simple ingredients, these pancakes are fluffy, soft and perfect for your baby, baby-led weaning, toddlers, as well as kids! 6 months and up!

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 10 small pancakes

Calories 91kcal

Author Michele Olivier

Ingredients

Oat Spinach Pancakes (the Original)

• 1 cup old-fashioned oats, see notes
• 1 cup spinach, not packed
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 egg or flax egg
• 1/2 cup milk of choice, regular, coconut, almond, hemp, etc
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, olive oil or melted butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Fluffy Spinach Pancakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, white wheat flour or a GF blend
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 cup spinach, not packed
• 1/2 cup milk of choice, regular, coconut, almond, hemp, etc
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, olive oil or melted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Oat Spinach Pancakes (the Original)

• Blend Oats: In a blender, place the oats and pulse on medium speed for 30 seconds or until oats are a flour consistency.
• Add Ingredients: Add in the spinach, banana, egg, milk, oil, cinnamon and vanilla extract and blend on high for 30-60 seconds or until batter is completely smooth and the spinach is completely broken down, scraping down the sides of the blender if needed.
• Add in Baking Powder: Add in the baking powder and salt and blend on low for 20 seconds.
• Cook: Heat a non-stick pan or pancake griddle over medium to medium-low heat. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of batter onto the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes or until tiny bubbles appear on the outside of the pancake. Flip and cook for an additional 2 minutes. If batter gets too thick, add in a tablespoon at a time of milk and re-blend until you have the right consistency.
• Continue: Transfer pancakes to a cooling rack and repeat the process until you have used all of the batter.
• Serve and Enjoy!

Fluffy Spinach Pancakes

• Dry Ingredients: in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
• Wet Ingredients: in a blender, add the banana, spinach, milk, oil, egg and vanilla extract and blend for 45-60 seconds on medium-high speed or until all of the spinach is incorporated.
• Mix: pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold until incorporated.
• Cook: Heat a non-stick pan or pancake griddle over medium to medium-low heat. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of batter onto the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes or until tiny bubbles appear on the outside of the pancake. Flip and cook for an additional 2 minutes. If batter gets too thick, add in a tablespoon at a time of milk and re-blend until you have the right consistency.
• Continue: Transfer pancakes to a cooling rack and repeat the process until you have used all of the batter.
• Serve and Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Age: 6 months and up

Yield: 10 small pancakes

Oats for the Original Recipe: I recommend you use old-fashioned oats or quick oats as they blend really nicely into flour. If you are gluten-free, make sure you use oats that are labeled as gluten-free. Where oats themselves do not contain gluten, the packaging processing uses the same equipment as wheat.

Using Flour for the Fluffy Spinach Pancake Recipe: to get a fluffier pancake, you can use flour instead of homemade oat flour. You can use all-purpose, white whole wheat, store-bought oat flour or a gluten-free one-for-one blend. 

Store-Bought Oat Flour: if you still want to use oats but don’t want to make your own flour, you can use store-bought oat flour. Using store-bought oat flour will give slightly fluffier pancakes than the original recipe but not as fluffy as using other flours.

Freezer-Friendly: store any extra pancakes in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer for up to a month. To reheat, simply place the frozen pancake in the microwave for 30 seconds or pop them straight into the toaster.

Storage: These pancakes will store in an air-tight container for 3-4 days in the fridge. Pancakes also freeze well and will last up to one month in the freezer. To reheat, gently heat in the microwave or toaster.

Nutrition

Serving: 1small pancake | Calories: 91kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 2.2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 74mg | Potassium: 161mg | Fiber: 1.3g | Sugar: 4.5g | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg

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