Sweet Potato Pancakes

The sweet potato and I have a brief history together. I used to think sweet potatoes were something that only came out at Thanksgiving, and that they only served as a marshmallow delivery system. Boy, was I wrong.

A lot of recipes that we try on Test Kitchen Tuesday originate because of something in our CSA box that I didn’t know exactly how to best use. I go into research mode and try to figure out how to prepare said new item, and I usually end up with a few options. This time, for some reason unbeknownst to  me, I wanted to try sweet potato pancakes. I didn’t even know such a thing existed – but I knew potato pancakes were popular – and I set out to find a recipe for sweet potato pancakes. Let me tell you, there aren’t a lot.

But, I found one, and I excitedly whipped up a batch of pancakes with a healthy twist. I cannot say this enough: Yum. Yum, yum, yum, yum! Now, I confess to being enamored with pancakes in general, but the addition of the sweet potatoes is just really great. They come out moist and fluffy, and healthy to boot! Who doesn’t like a little pancake-shaped beta carotene in the morning? (Okay, 2Chili does not, but, I am pretty convinced he is the exception to the rule here.)

Sweet Potato Pancakes
Makes about 20 medium pancakes, or, five 4-pancake servings

Downloadable Word Document Recipe

Original recipe source/inspiration: Louisiana Sweet Potato Pancakes

Time required:

• 20 minutes to chop and boil sweet potatoes (mostly passive)
• 5 minutes to prepare batter
• 10 minutes to cook

Skill Level (out of a possible 5): 

2Chili’s Taster Rating (out of a possible 5): While Test Kitchen Tuesdays are pretty much about him, 2Chili didn’t taste this one. He is not a big fan of sweet potatoes, so I selfishly made them all for myself, and gobbled them all up. You might have noted, above, I think they are: yum, yum, yum, yum, yummy!

Serves: 5

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped (I used 2 larger sized sweet potatoes)
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup rolled oats (preferably not instant, but if that is all you have, it works)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder (the original recipe calls for 3.5 teaspoons baking powder; you may want to start there and reduce if you make again to a level that is suitable for you)
• 2 scoops protein powder with 16 g protein or more – if you do not have protein powder, add about 1/4 cup more oats, or, add 1/4 cup oat bran, wheat germ, or flax seed meal
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs or 1 banana
• 1 1/2 cups skim milk
• 1/4 cup applesauce

Note: Don’t have applesauce? Chop an apple, put it in a bowl, add about 1/4 cup water and microwave for 3 minutes. Drain most of the water and add to the food processor bowl, you’ll chop it later.

Method

• Place sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan of boiling water, and cook until tender but firm, about 15 minutes.
• While sweet potatoes are cooking, combine flour, oats, baking powder, protein powder, nutmeg, and cinnamon to a large bowl.
• Add cooked potatoes, banana, milk, applesauce (or cooked chopped apple, from above) to the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.
• Fold wet ingredients with dry ingredients together to form a batter; Do not over-mix. Let sit about 5 minutes.
• Preheat a lightly greased griddle or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Drop batter mixture onto the prepared griddle by 1/3 cup, and cook until golden brown, turning once with a spatula when the surface begins to bubble.
• Note: If your cakes are a little thick for your liking once you have made one or two, add about 1/4-1/2 cup more milk to the batter

Top with pure maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar, or, go crazy and top with your favorite fruit. I favored a drizzle of honey and chopped banana.

Nutrition

I used the Lose It app on my phone to calculate the nutritional info based on 1 banana in place of the eggs. Four pancakes equals one serving with the following nutritional profile. Modifications to the recipe will change this info of course!

• Calories: 259
• Total Fat: 1.7 g
• Saturated Fat: .4g
• Cholesterol: 19.3 mg
• Sodium: 233 mg
• Carbohydrate: 47.3g
• Fiber: 6.4g
• Sugars: 11.9 g
• Protein: 14g

The Verdict: Absolute keeper. I have made these several times since the very first time I tested them. I typically make up a batch, freeze half, and then have pancakes at my disposal whenever I want them (which is often). I have done lots of things with them, including adding shredded zucchini, substituting pumpkin, butternut squash, and even lentils, and each time, I liked them, just in a different way. I think you could swap out pretty much anything that suits your fancy here that is of a reasonable texture to the sweet potatoes.

Finally, what did I change in the recipe, anyway?

• Reduced the flour and added oats
• Added protein powder
• Omitted the salt altogether (there was already enough in the baking powder) and reduced the baking powder by almost half; Baking powder and salt make them fluffy, but you don’t need as much as was called for – and reducing them dramatically reduces the sodium per serving
• Subbed 2 eggs for one banana, this was a happy accident because I was out of eggs
• Used skim milk in place of milk
• Replaced butter with applesauce

If you try them, I hope you like them! Happy eating!