What better way to be frugal than to use the produce that’s in season? Most people don’t have a problem coming across summer squash in the…summer. I usually get a good amount of it given to me (thanks, Uncle Bob!) and we get tired of eating it sautéed. Sometimes I get fancy and make Squash Casserole but then I had a dream about pancakes. Surely I’m not the only one out there who repeatedly dreams up recipes in her sleep?
Sure, people use zucchini like crazy in things like fritters, Chocolate Zucchini Bread, and muffins…but rarely will you find a recipe calling for summer squash in it. That seems a bit vegetable racist to me. I like to embrace diversity. So, here it is – Summer Squash Pancakes…and they’ll knock your socks off. Good thing we don’t need socks at breakfast.
You need 2 cups of shredded summer squash for this recipe. That equaled out to about 3 small/medium squash for me. Shredding squash is a lot easier than shredding cheese – but it’s not as fun to eat. I love cheese. Anyway, back to the pancakes!
In a mixing bowl combine squash, maple syrup, eggs, milk, vanilla, and coconut oil. Whisk well.
You might recognize this is my meatloaf mixing bowl. Something crazy came over me and I grabbed it out of the cabinet instead of my normal bowl. I’m still in shock over the whole thing. Must be that Momnesia again.
Sometimes I live life on the edge.
To the liquid ingredients, add flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Stir well. Watch it foam. That’s just stinkin’ awesome – I don’t care how old you are.
Now we’re ready to fry up those pancakes, baby! It doesn’t really matter how you do it – just do your thang. I always use my griddle because I can get them done faster. You might use a skillet. Either way, grease that baby up. I like frying mine with a bit of coconut oil. It makes them crispier around the edges. That’s easier to accomplish in a skillet, but I still grease my griddle.
Well, grease my griddle! I think that needs to be my new saying. “Well, grease my griddle cause that’s how I roll!”
As you’re cooking your cakes, you might want to keep them warm in your oven. I just sock mine on a cookie sheet and keep them in the oven on the lowest setting…no one likes a cold pancake.
These smell sooooooooooooo good while you’re frying them. It’s hard to wait for the family to come to the table. Show some restraint for Pete’s sake! (PS – Who is Pete?)
Serve these puppies with butter and warm syrup…real butter and real syrup. Trust me. It makes everything better. I think that’s in the Bible somewhere. 😉
Summer Squash Pancakes
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or white wheat flour if you don’t have it)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 cups grated summer squash
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- In a mixing bowl, combine squash, maple syrup, eggs, milk, vanilla, and coconut oil. Whisk.
- Add dry ingredients.
- Fry as for pancakes.
- Serve with butter and hot syrup.
Yield: about 16 pancakes (I only get about 11-12 because we like BIG pancakes)
I’m not a huge fan of summer squash on its own, but I have a few from our CSA that I want to use and you have just given me the best way I can think of to do so. Can’t wait to try these tomorrow. Thanks!
What a great way to sneak vegetables into a picky eater’s diet. When grating I used the finest setting so there is not a trace of squash texture. That is a deal-breaker for my son. I made a huge batch and froze the rest. Thanks!
Sneaky! Sneaky! I love it! 🙂
I cannot wait to try this!!! I recently began making my pancakes from scratch and they are leagues above pancakes from a mix! Who knew? Thanks for the great recipes!
Oh yeah – people think pancakes are difficult, but they’re really not hard at all. Enjoy!
What an awesome idea! I too have wondered why zucchini is always in baked goods, but not summer squash. This would be a great way to sneak in some extra veggies!
I love sneakin’….it’s so fun!
Stacy, you crack me up! I am sitting here reading your blog and giggling. My hubby is getting suspicious of the activity! I love the idea of using the squash! It does not seem right that summer squash has less usage than all of the others! Time to do some brainstorming! You “grease your griddle” and I will ride in the “Julie Brainstorm” and see what comes out! Oh, and if you find out who Pete is, Please let me know!
Thanks for your creative suggestions!
Take care!
My friend, Cindy, says above that Pete is her husband’s boss. 🙂 Check out that Squash Casserole recipe link up there too – it’s delish!
I have frozen squash before when we had an abundance. If you are planning to use it in pancakes, casseroles, or other cooked dishes it is just fine. I wouldn’t fry it afterward, it becomes softer after freezing. Sauteed should be fine, though (I think that was how we fixed ours). 🙂 Some way to store that abundance for later! 🙂 http://pickyourown.org/freezing_summer_squash.htm has the instructions.
Thanks for sharing! I’m not a huge fan of freezing it, but my mom does it almost every year. 🙂
These sound so good. And I love how much you make me laugh just reading a recipe. I think it makes your recipes sound better than other blogs. 🙂
🙂 Thank you for the lovely compliment!
Pete is my husband’s boss. For the past 8 years, I’ve refused to do anything “for Pete’s sake”. 😉
Well, that explains EVERYTHING! 🙂
These sound so good! I can’t wait to make them.
Have you ever used whole oat groats to make your pastry flour? Oh MY!!! I tried it recently and it makes the most heavenly flour and almost ‘silky’ (sorry, i can’t think of a more accurate descriptive) pancakes…
I have some whole oat groats in the pantry!
Thank you thank you thank you! For this recipe, that is! I must have gotten Momnesia this spring when I planted my garden because I planted THREE HILLS of summer squash and THREE HILLS of zucchini…with about 2-3 plants on each hill! YOWZA! Needless to say, I had a ton of them to try and eat up, which wasn’t working too well! And I’ve often wondered why people only used zucchini when squash is so similar. I set out this week to find some recipes that use the squash and I did find a few! And I’ll add this one to the stack…although I’m not sure you should call 2-3 recipes a stack! lol
Anyways, thanks again! I’m going to try them out this morning! 🙂
Well I hope you enjoy them – and check out yesterday’s recipe too! 🙂 They’re super delish!
I just made them, but pureed the squash instead. They were good! And, after taking a bite, my 8 yr old says, “Mom, I’ve got to tell ya…these pancakes are awesome!” And they are super filling too…I am stuffed and only had 1 1/2! Thanks again!
Well….I’m eating for two, so I had two – but then I came back for more later. *Cough* 😉 And I hogged all the leftovers for myself.
well, grease my griddle… those look good 🙂 thank you for making me smile so early this mroning.
🙂 You’re welcome! Thanks for commenting and making me smile.
i made pancakes from scratch on sunday instead of using the prepackaged mix. i was so proud of me! i also put them in the oven on warm while i cooked the others. they were so much better than the stuff from the pouch. mine surely didn’t involve squash, but that sounds interesting. 🙂
Well, next time add squash and knock your family’s socks off! 🙂