A lovely dinner, spinach pancakes are loaded with greens and filled with even more veg for an energising, simple dinner or lunch. I’ve used the last of my bolting spinach for this and it’s a great way to use yours up before cutting back to make space for the next crop to go in.
These are thin pancakes, almost spinach crepes – not fluffy baking powder leavened American pancakes, but what’s quite common in Europe and the UK. Delicious filled with savoury vegetables using whatever you have on hand.
I use an immersion blender to make the pancakes, but of course a standard blender would work just as well, if not better. I still recommend mixing the spinach and liquid ingredients before adding the flours to ensure a nice smooth texture.
If you want to make sweet pancakes, omit the spices and add a tablespoon of coconut sugar instead. Fill with berries or other fruit, nut butter, and so on – if you want to go the sweet route, use more buckwheat than chickpea flour rather than half-half.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Spinach: baby or regular, it doesn’t matter for this recipe. Sub other greens for the spinach, as long as they’re not too tough to blend fully. Chard, rucola (arugula/rocket), and baby kale are all great.
- Parsley: or other soft herbs that you like. Optional but delicious – see parsley substitutes.
- Eggs: these are the binding agent. You can certainly try to make these vegan, but I found that they were very difficult to keep consistently good when both vegan and gluten-free. Flax is a decent substitute but doesn’t hold the pancakes together as well and they are much more likely to break.
- Buckwheat flour: whole or light, whatever you have. I always grind my own so it’s whole grain or dark buckwheat flour. If whole grain buckwheat is too strong a flavour for you, use light (sifted) instead.
Step by Step
Step 1: add the spinach, eggs, and water to a mixing bowl.
Step 2: mix with an immersion blender until very smooth (a standing blender can be used).
Step 3: add the flours and spices to the mix.
Step 4: blend again until smooth.
Recipe Notes
On that note, if you want vegan pancakes, and don’t mind gluten, just use wheat flour and then the eggs can easily be omitted (add water as needed for the right consistency). I still suggest adding about a tablespoon of arrowroot or cornstarch but don’t find that flax or another typical egg replacement is necessary in that case.
It’s probably possible to use a GF flour blend in place of the buckwheat and chickpea flour, but I haven’t tried. I do find that a combination of the two results in both the best flavour and texture – if you often make gluten-free recipes, these flours will be pantry staples in any case.
How to Store
Storage: unfilled pancakes can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Freezing: I haven’t tried freezing these but it should be fine to freeze cooked pancakes with some parchment paper between each.
Expert Tips
- Preheat the pan: if your first pancake breaks, it’s probably because the pan isn’t hot enough. Give it a little more time to heat fully before trying the second.
- Don’t worry about the smell: the batter may smell a bit odd before cooking, but that’s the chickpea flour, don’t worry – it doesn’t smell like that when cooked.
- Use frozen greens: to use spinach or other greens that are stored in the freezer, thaw them fully in a sieve before blending.
More Very Green Recipes
Lentil and Greens Patties
Super Green Pasta
Vegan Broccoli Pizza Crust with Spring Vegetables
Spring Green Minestrone
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Super Green Spinach Pancakes
Description
Ingredients
Spinach Pancakes
- 400 ml (1 ¾ cups) water room temperature
- 70 grams (3 cups) fresh spinach*
- 10 grams (~¼ cup) fresh soft herbs parsley, basil, dill, etc.
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for cooking
- 80 grams (½ cup) buckwheat flour
- 70 grams (½ cup) chickpea flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper to taste
Dill Yogurt Sauce
- 100 grams (~½ cup) coconut yogurt
- Juice of a lemon ~3 tablespoons
- 1 small garlic clove minced
- Small handful fresh dill
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Spinach Pancakes
- Add the water, spinach, herbs, eggs, and oil to a blender (or a large bowl if using an immersion blender).400 ml (1 ¾ cups) water, 70 grams (3 cups) fresh spinach*, 10 grams (~¼ cup) fresh soft herbs, 2 large eggs, 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Blend on high speed until the greens are fully blended and the mixture is smooth.
- Add the buckwheat flour, chickpea flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Mix again until no lumps remain.80 grams (½ cup) buckwheat flour, 70 grams (½ cup) chickpea flour, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add a drizzle of olive oil.2 tablespoons olive oil
- Pour a ladleful** (about a quarter cup) of the pancake mixture into the pan. It should spread into a thin pancake on its own without having to swirl the pan.
- Cook for about a minute on the first side, until lightly golden. Flip carefully and cook the second side for another 30-60 seconds, or until golden.
- Repeat until all of the batter has been used. Serve with fresh vegetables, chickpeas, and dill yogurt sauce. Leftover pancakes (not filled) will keep in the refrigerator in a sealed container for a couple of days.
Dill Yogurt Sauce
- Add the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, dill, salt, and pepper to a container or dish. Mix until combined and serve.100 grams (~½ cup) coconut yogurt, Juice of a lemon, 1 small garlic clove, Small handful fresh dill, ¼ teaspoon sea salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
This post was first shared in January 2018. It has been updated with some improvements to the recipe as of July 2021.
I was suspicious of the water so added only 300ml. I ended up adding a bit more flour too as it was still super runny. And some spices into the mix for more flavour. It turned out well 🙂