A pancake and vegetable fusion suitable for breakfast, brunch, or dinner. These whole grain plant-based pancakes are smothered with a savory topping of carrots, onion, mushroom, peppers, zucchini, greens, fresh tomato, avocado, and cilantro. Delicious, satisfying, and nutritious!
First, I must start by saying these Savory Cornmeal Pancakes with Veggies came about my happenstance. I wasn’t trying to create a new recipe. I was simply enjoying my delicious Garden Veggie Omelet one morning and remembered that I had some Cornmeal Pancake batter in the refrigerator.
And then a Eureka moment occurred!! Why not top my golden cornmeal pancakes with my savory veggie blend??? Why had this never occurred to me before?
Have you ever had Cornmeal Pancakes?
If not, I highly recommend you try them. That is, unless you don’t generally enjoy eating pancakes.
These Cornmeal Pancakes are super easy to make and absolutely delicious. They’re a little denser than your typical fluffy pancake but their character, golden hue, and flavor will rock your world! At least they rocked mine. I talk all about it in this post and show you how easy they are to make and enjoy.
One of the things I love about this recipe is that you can store your leftover pancake batter in the refrigerator. That way, when you’re ready to sauté your veggies, you can make your pancakes at the same time. But since the pancake batter stores well in the refrigerator, I think it’s just as easy to make them fresh when you’re ready to enjoy them.
I have refrigerated unused batter so many times over the years. This trick allows me to enjoy freshly made hot pancakes on busy weekday mornings without a whole lot of time or work. Just store the batter in a covered bowl or jar in the refrigerator. Then, when you want to have more pancakes, set the batter out for at least fifteen minutes to allow it to warm to room temperature. Cook the pancakes on a preheated griddle or skillet as you normally do.
Of course you can also store cooked pancakes in the refrigerator or freezer. I just prefer fresh-off-the-griddle pancakes.
Now here comes the fun part.
There are so many different ways to dress a pancake. It runs the full gamut of butter or margarine, dark or light corn syrup, maple-flavored table syrup, molasses, honey, pure maple syrup, jelly, jam, fruit preserves, strawberry sauce, blueberry sauce, lemon curd, nut butter, healthy chocolate hazelnut spread, whipped cream, whipped aquafaba, crème fraîche, fresh fruit, and so on.
Did I miss anything? Seriously, I may have. There are so many different possibilities and ways to top your pancakes. I used to be such a traditionalist when it came to eating my pancakes – just a smidgen of vegan butter and pure maple syrup… lots of syrup. Yum.
But I’ve recently ventured off the beaten path and thoroughly enjoy trying different toppings on my pancakes. This is one of my favorites. As I said, it came about when I was making myself a scrumptious Garden Veggie Omelet. I started wondering how the tasty veggie concoction would taste on these Cornmeal Pancakes. I quickly took my leftover Cornmeal Pancake batter out of the fridge and started heating my griddle on the stove.
As it turns out, this also may be quite untraditional, but this savory combination is absolutely phenomenal!! Phenomenal.
I excitedly ate a whole stack of cornmeal pancakes with the garden veggies on top. It was a wholly satisfying experience.
Have you ever added veggies to your pancakes? If so, I’d love to hear all about it.
I like to use an array of vegetables. And one of my favorite things to do is trying new and fun ways to eat them. Making a veggie omelet isn’t necessarily new; but being able to make a vegan veggie omelet is kind of radical. At least for me.
These Savory Cornmeal Pancakes with Veggies have three primary components. The Cornmeal Pancakes, the Veggie Topping, and the fruit medley. Don’t question me now. You’ve got to trust me on this.
Since I’ve already covered the Cornmeal Pancakes, let’s chat about these infamous veggies. My Garden Veggie Vegan Omelet includes an array of sautéed vegetables, including sautéed carrot, onion, bell peppers, mushroom, zucchini or yellow squash, and baby spinach or greens. Please feel free to omit anything you dislike or don’t have available.
What this really means is that you can use any vegetable your heart desires in this savory veggie blend, including chopped broccoli, asparagus, eggplant, parsnips, potatoes, and more. The idea is to eat the rainbow for optimum health and flavor. So I’m not going to tell you what you can or can’t add to your vegetable topping.
And the third component is the fruit! It sounds strange but seriously, avocado and tomato are indeed fruit. So we’re going to top our Savory Cornmeal Pancakes with veggies and fruit! I like to garnish mine with a little sliced green onion and chopped cilantro, though you can use fresh parsley, basil, or any other herb you choose.
And that’s my special Savory Cornmeal Pancakes with Veggies. They’re super easy to make and quite nutritious. They’re also very different than a traditional breakfast or brunch. For this reason, they make for a spectacular breakfast for dinner! I love that you can make the vegetable topping and pancake batter in advance so that it comes together rather quickly when you want to make this fun pancake and veggie meal.
I hope you enjoy these Savory Cornmeal Pancakes with Veggies as much as I do.
I would love to see your results! Please leave a comment and rate it down below, tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook! Enjoy!!
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Ingredients
- Cornmeal Pancakes (recipe below for convenience)
- 1 small carrot, shredded or diced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced or chopped
- 1 zucchini or yellow squash, chopped
- 2-3 cloves (1 Tbsp) garlic, minced
- 2 cups baby spinach or mixed greens
- 1-2 tomatoes, diced
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 green onion, sliced (optional)
- ¼ cup cilantro or parsley, chopped (optional)
Pancake Ingredients
- 1¼ -1½ cups plant milk*
- ½ cup apple sauce
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup, agave, or sugar
- 1 cup corn meal (I recommend Quaker’s yellow corn meal)
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour (or other flour)**
- 2 Tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt (optional)
- Spray oil or vegan butter for griddle (optional)
Instructions
- Sauté carrots, onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and zucchini* over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes. If the veggies start sticking, stir in a little water, vegetable broth, or oil. Add in the minced garlic; sauté 1-2 minutes. Stir in the baby spinach or greens and sauté 1 additional minute, until wilted. Set aside.
- Spoon one quarter of the cooked vegetable medley over the cornmeal pancakes and garnish with fresh avocado, tomato, green onion, and cilantro/parsley, as desired.
Pancake Instructions
- Preheat an electric griddle to 350° F or a non-stick griddle or skillet on medium heat.
- In a large bowl, combine 1¼ cup milk, apple sauce, lemon juice, and maple syrup. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Stir just until combined; allow the batter to rest for 5 minutes.
- Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop batter and pour onto the hot griddle.
- Allow to cook until the edges are dry and bubbles form on the center, about 3-4 minutes.
- Flip over and wait another 3-4 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the griddle.
Notes
* You can use any vegetable in this recipe. I recommend starting with bell pepper, onion, carrot, mushroom, baby spinach or mixed greens, and tomato. Though you can add anything you have on hand, including broccoli, asparagus, eggplant, parsnips, potatoes, and more. The idea is to eat the rainbow for optimum health and flavor.
** You may substitute any non-dairy milk for the almond milk. If you aren’t using white whole wheat flour, start with 1¼ cup of milk. (see **note below).
*** I use white whole wheat flour because it works well in baked goods. You can substitute it for all-purpose, whole wheat, or a gluten-free baking blend. Each produces slightly different results, but all are delicious. For instance, an all-purpose flour will produce a super light and fluffy pancake. You may need to use a little more or less milk, depending on the flour’s absorption. I recommend starting with 1¼ cup, allow the batter to rest 5 minutes, and then add a little more milk if the batter is too thick.
Savory Cornmeal Pancakes with Veggies (vegan)
Equipment
- stove
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Cornmeal Pancakes recipe below for convenience
- 1 small carrot shredded or diced
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 bell pepper chopped
- 1 cup mushrooms sliced or chopped
- 1 zucchini or yellow squash chopped
- 2-3 cloves 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
- 2 cups baby spinach or mixed greens
- 1-2 to matoes diced
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 green onion sliced (optional)
- ¼ cup cilantro or parsley chopped (optional)
Cornmeal Pancake Ingredients
- 1¼ -1½ cups plant milk**
- ½ cup apple sauce
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup, agave, or sugar
- 1 cup ground corn meal (I used Quaker's yellow corn meal)
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour***
- 2 Tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt optional
- Spray oil or vegan butter for griddle optional
Instructions
Instructions
- Sauté carrots, onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and zucchini* over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes. If the veggies start sticking, stir in a little water, vegetable broth, or oil. Add in the minced garlic; sauté 1-2 minutes. Stir in the baby spinach or greens and sauté 1 additional minute, until wilted. Set aside.
- Spoon one quarter of the cooked vegetable medley over the cornmeal pancakes and garnish with fresh avocado, tomato, green onion, and cilantro/parsley, as desired.
Cornmeal Pancake Instructions
- Preheat an electric griddle to 350° F or a non-stick griddle or skillet on medium heat.
- In a large bowl, combine 1¼ cup milk, apple sauce, lemon juice, and maple syrup. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Stir just until combined; allow the batter to rest for 5 minutes.
- Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop batter and pour onto the hot griddle.
- Allow to cook until the edges are dry and bubbles form on the center, about 3-4 minutes.
- Flip over and wait another 3-4 minutes, until golden brown.
- Remove from the griddle.
- Serve with pure maple syrup.