Greek Yogurt Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes

This is called fat stack happy. ↑

I’ve made these three times in the past 2 weeks. Once because breakfast for dinner is a regular occurrence, twice to capture all these photos/brinner once again, and finally for “recipe testing” which just meant I wanted them on Saturday morning too. Actually, I was at our new house on Saturday and while there are no cabinets, microwave, counter space, or even a working oven in the war zone that is our kitchen remodel– there IS a stove. So there WILL be whole wheat pancakes.

I packed a skillet in my overnight bag.

To rival the weirdness that was my Saturday morning/overnight bag contents, I spent $104 on chocolate chips, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, flour, and brown sugar the other day. Mind you they are for upcoming projects, but I’m feeling stranger with every supermarket trip. It’s getting bad. In fact, I am the definition of weird supermarket lunatic. My picture is next to it in the dictionary and I’m holding a skillet and $104 worth of sugar.

But I’ll tell ya one thing. Sitting down to breakfast food at dinnertime– even though there is a mountain of baking ingredients next to my plate because I store it all on the kitchen table– brings me back to normalcy. These days it’s not often that Kevin and I are both around for dinnertime, so I make a habit of no phone/no TV/no work talk once a week. It’s our little date night and even though it’s nothing fancy or glamorous (pancakes… again?), sitting down at the table, being mindful of what I’m eating and mentally present for conversation is my way of exiting la la land and slowing the heck down.

Beats the recent dinner at my desk consisting of: a bag of popcorn, a bucket of grapes, 1 Reese’s peanut butter cup that I found in my desk drawer, and leftover honey garlic shrimp that I’m too lazy to heat up. Told you. WEIRD.

Do you do that too? The no electronics dinner, not the weird foods dinner. Also, don’t you love brinner? It’s proven to be the best night of the week.

Besides being a crazy awesome breakfast for dinner option, these lemon poppy seed pancakes are the epitome of spring sunshine breakfast. At actual breakfast time. They’re made with whole wheat flour and Greek yogurt, so I mean… come on. You’re already winning at life by 9am! The lemon flavor is spot-on, the poppy seeds give the most pleasant lil’ crunch, and have I mentioned the Greek yogurt? *bows down to Greek yogurt gods forever*

There’s a whopping cup of it in this pancake batter!

What I love most about these pancakes is that they don’t taste dense or dry like some healthier/whole wheat pancakes can. There’s no way around it, whole wheat flour weighs pancakes down to hockey puck status. So let’s make up for it with other ingredients. First, enough baking powder and soda to really lift those pancakes up. Lots of moisture (and protein! heck yeah!) from the Greek yogurt, and 2 eggs for some serious richness and stability.

Confession: I swear by adding a little butter to this batter. I tried it with oil the first time and while the pancakes had wonderful flavor, they didn’t compare to the stack made with melted butter. Shocking. I think it must have something to do with the lemon; the lemon just neeeeeeds that butter flavor. And I don’t feel so bad about a measly 4 Tablespoons of it in 12 decent size pancakes. Not too bad, right?

Same goes with the 4 Tablespoons of sugar. I tested this batter with honey and agave in the batter, but same story. They tasted like they were missing something. But I’ll add it for you in the notes below in case you want to try the batter that way. Let me know if you do!

A fat stack of whole wheat Greek yogurt lemon sunshine poppy seed happiness. Try to resist these any time of day, dare ya.

Print

Greek Yogurt Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes

★★★★★
5 from 2 reviews

• 
  Author: Sally


• 
  Prep Time: 10 minutes


• 
  Cook Time: 3 minutes


• 
  Total Time: 45 minutes


• 
  Yield: 12-14 pancakes


• 
  Category: Breakfast


• 
  Method: Baking


• 
  Cuisine: American

Print

Pin

---

Description

Start your mornings right with these whole wheat Greek yogurt lemon poppy seed pancakes. The flavor and texture is out of this world!

---

Ingredients

• 2 cups (246g) whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour (spoon & leveled)


• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar*


• 2 teaspoons baking powder


• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 2 Tablespoons poppy seeds (or chia seeds work too!)


• 1 cup (245g) Greek yogurt (I use nonfat plain)*


• 1 cup (240ml) milk*


• 1/4 cup (58g) unsalted butter


• 2 large eggs


• zest & juice of 1 lemon (about 1 Tablespoon zest, 3 Tablespoons juice)


• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

---

Instructions

1. Microwave butter until melted. Set aside to slightly cool. You do not want it piping hot.


2. In a large bowl, toss the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds together until combined. Set aside.


3. In another large bowl, whisk the yogurt, milk, butter, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla until combined.


4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently whisk to combine it all. The batter is thick and a few lumps may remain.


5. Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Coat generously with nonstick cooking spray or butter. Once hot, drop about 1/4 cup of batter on the griddle. Cook until the edges look dry and bubbles begin to form on the sides, about 1 minute. Flip and cook on the other side until cooked through, about 2 more minutes. Coat griddle/skillet again with cooking spray or butter for each pancake or batch of pancakes.


6. Keep pancakes warm in a preheated 200°F (93°C) oven until all pancakes are cooked. Serve pancakes immediately with toppings of choice.

---

---

Notes

1. Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Pancakes taste best right after they are made. You can prep the batter ahead of time through step 3. Do not combine the wet and dry ingredients until ready to cook. Keep both bowls covered in the refrigerator, then allow to come to room temperature before mixing. Pancakes freeze well, up to 2 months. Reheat to your liking.


2. Berry Lemon Pancakes: Try folding 1 cup of berries such as chopped strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries into the batter. You can use frozen or fresh.


3. Sweetener: I tested these pancakes with a few sweeteners like honey, agave, and granulated sugar. To me, they tasted best with granulated sugar but feel free to use your favorite sweetener.


4. Yogurt: Plain or vanilla Greek yogurt both work well here. You can use a flavor that would compliment the lemon– maybe strawberry, honey, or even lemon flavored. Nonfat, low fat, full fat, it’s your choice. I typically use nonfat. You can use regular yogurt or even sour cream too. Lots of options!


5. Milk: I usually use skim milk, but any milk works like whole milk, buttermilk, 1%, almond, soy, rice, coconut, etc.

Keywords: lemon poppy seed pancakes, greek yogurt pancakes

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @sallysbakeblog on Instagramand hashtag it #sallysbakingaddiction

I think you’d LOVE these with lemon curd on top. Or you can try my honey butter as an option too. But my favorite of all? A waterfall of pure maple syrup. ♥

Share this post