These Spiced Zucchini Pancakes are such a treat to have for breakfast, drowned in maple syrup. They’re a gratifying way to use up all that zucchini wrinkling on your bench, when you get sick of zoodles!
Another Spiced Zucchini Recipe??
Zucchini is that wonderful ingredient that is coming out of our ears during the summer months. Our zucchini sadly did not take off this summer, but we were fortunate enough to be given a stack of massive zucchini (or more correctly, marrow).
I absolutely love having something that I have to use, and to use it innovatively.
You have my Spiced Zucchini Cake recipe, which is an incredibly decadent and soul-satisfying cake.
But I still had me some zucchini (marrow) left!
So I scratched my head and started to think about what other baking recipe into which I could smuggle this emerald green weapon of health.
Then the Idea came to me like a majestic ship sailing into harbour: Pancakes!
Why hide Zucchini in a Pancake?
Like carrot, zucchini is a wonderful vegetable that lends itself magically to both sweet and savoury recipes. These pancakes are magical because they use up a LOT of that zucchini in the best way possible.
Carrot Cake was the inspiration behind that delightful Vegan Zucchini version, and the success of that venture got me thinking. “Carrot Cake Pancakes” are a thing, so why not use that model, but substitute zucchini, instead?
It worked for the cake, right?
Pancakes are easier more frugal to make and than their heftier cousin, the cake. They have less sugar and butter, and are less risky overall to make.
They are also pretty flexible. As long as you have a basic (succesful) batter, you can sub in any flavour you desire (or needing to use up).
Hence, Zucchini Pancakes.
These pancakes are not so sweet, but they are oh, so fluffy – they are really good at absorbing all that syrup!
Pancakes are one of the best ways to disguise a vegetable.
The best way to disguise a vegetable is to transform it so that the original form cannot be felt, tasted or seen. Zucchini can be disguised so thoroughly, it is the perfect vegetable for squirrelling into tasty treats!
When grated finely, the zucchini dissolves so thoroughly when cooked, it is barely perceptible in the final pancake. So what you get is a slightly darker pancake with all that vegetable goodness, but without the vegetable texture and vegetable flavour.
And do not throw out those massive zucchini giants with thicker skin! When grated at the right angle, you can shred this skin so finely, it is also imperceptible in the final product.
However, with these pancakes, which are faster cooking, I have blitzed all the zucchini in with the wet ingredients. This is definitely not necessary but it helps make a smoother batter.
Pancakes are a great way to use up your Sourdough Discard!
Sourdough starter responds really well when it has a massive portion taken from it, and replaced with their “food” of flour and water combined.
I think suddenly having a LOT of new food, makes the remaining starter get really excited, and it starts feeding in a frenzy. Hence, your starter becomes more bubbly and active.
Pancakes use up a LOT of sourdough discard. So, if you are needing to resurrect your starter, then you should try making a batch of sourdough discard pancakes. I made a few batches after we came back from our summer holiday to resurrect my starter, which had been sitting in our fridge whilst we were away.
Why is Vegan Baking so Good?!
I adore Vegan Recipes, but especially Vegan Dessert Recipes.
For the most part, they are less expensive to make than their dairy/egg-filled counterparts. A vegan cake, for example, does not use eggs or butter or milk, instead using baking powder, soda, vinegar and oil.
These ingredients are a lot cheaper, are more shelf stable, and “do” more recipes than eggs or butter.
A vegan cheesecake will use desiccated coconut and coconut cream instead of cream cheese and eggs, which again makes it a fraction of the price to have this decadent treat (stick around for my Vegan Peanut Butter Cheesecake, which will be coming soon to the blog!)
I am finding that in these times of inflation, Vegan desserts allow me to have my sweet fix, stay healthy, and STILL stick within my $100 grocery budget.
What Ingredients are in these Spiced Zucchini Sourdough Discard Pancakes?
Zucchini, the hero of this pancake recipe, is blitzed into the wet ingredients so it is fully incognito.
Sourdough Discard is the main liquid in this pancake batter. There are no eggs or milk, so the discard is absolutely necessary. If the batter is too thick, I usually add water until it reaches the consistency I like. I find that batter, while not as rich, is still light and fluffy.
Just a little bit of Oil is used to bind the dough and give it that luscious bit of fat that all baking needs to stay moist.
Sweetener is also in the batter for balance. The batter definitely is not super sweet, so don’t be afraid to add it in.
Salt balances out the flavours and makes them stand out.
I used a combination of spices for this recipe: cinnamon, ginger and mixed spice is a lovely combination. But zucchini is so neutral a flavour, I’m sure you could be quite creative!
Vanilla Essence pairs really well with spiced recipes, and rounds out that aromatic flavour. I’m usually quite heavy-handed with this!
Baking Soda and Baking Powder are the chief rising agents and what gives these pancakes their fluffiness. They allow the batter to remain vegan.
And last but certainly not least, flour. 1 1/2 cups will do, which is hugely economical when this recipe feeds 3 mouths for 2 meals.
How do you make Spiced Zucchini Pancakes?
In a nutshell, these pancakes are made by blitzing the wet ingredients, and folding them into the sifted dry ingredients.
Mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately, ensures that each individual ingredient is well incorporated, but that the batter as a whole is not over-mixed.
Once the wet ingredients are added to the dry ingredients, with light hands you fold it. This is to dampen the flour and get it incorporated, without losing too much air.
This batter can be made the night before, but leave the baking powder and baking soda out. Add them in the morning when you want to fry them.
Flipping Tip:
Make sure you leave the pancake long enough so that it un-sticks itself from the pan. It will do it, I swear! My heavy-bottomed cast-iron pan is not the most conducive to pancake flipping. But, I have found that if I leave the pancake long enough, it will survive the flip!
Spiced Zucchini Pancake Variations:
Strawberry and Ginger:
Sub in 1 tablespoon sweetened strawberry coulis for the sweetener, and 3 tsp ginger for the mixed spice.
Carrot Cake:
Sub in the zucchini for equal quantities of finely grated carrot. Squeeze out the excess moisture.
I served these babies with a honey butter sauce, which was utterly sublime!
How to serve Spiced Zucchini Sourdough Discard Pancakes:
The batch we made for the purposes of this post was with butter and honey, mainly because we couldn’t afford the classic maple syrup with our $100 grocery shop!
My first choice would definitely be lashings of maple syrup, whipped cream, with a dash of cinnamon and strawberries staining the cream.
My husband’s favourite garnish is a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkling of sugar.
All are fabulous with these Spiced Zucchini Sourdough Discard Pancakes. Or, is there anything else you would serve with them? Let me know in the comments!
Spiced Zucchini Sourdough Discard Pancakes
These Spiced Vegan Zucchini Pancakes are such a great way to use up that harvest of zucchini and your sourdough discard, transforming them into an utterly delicious breakfast.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Zucchini, grated
- 2 cups Sourdough Discard
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Sweetener
- 1 tsp Salt
- slosh of Vanilla Essence
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- 1 1/2 cups flour
Instructions
Combine the Wet Ingredients
- Grate 1 ½ cups of Zucchini into a tea towel. Squeeze out all the excess water, and set aside.
- Measure all the ingredients except the spices, flour, baking soda and baking powder into a bowl.
- Blitz until smooth.
Combine the Dry Ingredients
- In a separate bowl, fork together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spice.
- Make a well in the centre and add the wet mixture.
- Carefully fold, making sure all the flour mixture is dampened without losing too much air.
Fry the Pancakes
- If you have a non-stick frying pan, definitely use that! My cast iron skillet is not the most amenable to flipping pancakes (although, I make do!)
- Spoon desired quantity of batter into the heated frying pan (I usually do about 3 tablespoons per pancake), and spread into a nice circle.
- Leave to cook for 2 minutes, or until the batter is thoroughly covered with bubbles and the pancake has set.
- Flip and cook for about 1 minute on the other side.
- Store in a warm oven until all the pancakes are ready.
- Serve with copius quantities of maple syrup, cinnamon and whipped cream.
Notes
- If you find the batter is not runny enough, add water (to keep it vegan) or milk. Adding milk will definitely make the batter richer, but the batter is still delicious if you use water to thin it.
- When spooning the batter into the frying pan, take care not to make the pancakes too big, otherwise they will be tricky to flip!
- The best pancake flipping tip I can give is to leave the pancake in the pan until it has released itself from the bottom of the pan. I blunder often because I am too impatient to see it cooked! But I have found that if I leave it long enough, the pancake will unstick itself and it will be a lot easier to flip!
- This batter can be made the night before. Leave in the fridge overnight and add the baking powder and soda in the morning.
- This recipe makes very fluffy pancakes that are still delicious a couple of hours after cooking. If you are making a large batch, I recommend freezing them fresh. Then, pull them out of the freezer and defrost them about an hour before you want to eat them.
- These pancakes make awesome healthy snacks or lunchbox meals for kids. Simply spoon 1 tablespoon of batter into the pan, to make dinky kid-sized pancakes that will delight them. My son scoffed about 10!
