Healthy Apple Carrot Pancakes are made with only a few ingredients and are a wonderful way to start your day. Mixed entirely in your blender, breakfast has never been easier or more delicious!
Like most people, I pretty much always have a big of carrots chilling in my fridge.
And it makes sense. Fresh carrots are an affordable vegetable that is available year round most places and a big ‘ol bag of them seems to last a lifetime in the fridge. Go check. I bet you have a sack of carrots hanging out in your crisper too.
But because of our constant access to carrots, we also tend to get a bit carrot-sticked-out over in the TNN house. So, to help use up those beautiful orange root vegetables and to continue getting veggies in at every meal (#veggieloadedapproach), I have started veggie-loading with grated carrot in all sorts of places….including these delicious and easy healthy apple carrot pancakes.
The combination of carrots and apple in a recipe is classic. They just compliment one another and with the addition of a little cinnamon, these pancakes just taste like fall. The natural sweetness of both carrot and apple brings a lovely flavor to these pancakes without having to overload them with sweetener…which makes them a beautiful addition to the breakfast menu!
Topping ideas for healthy apple carrot pancakes
We love to jazz up pancakes with all sorts of toppings! Here are some of our favorites!
- nut butter ( or sunflower seed butter for a nut-free option)
- honey
- maple syrup
- homemade whipped cream (we love this because we can control how much sugar we add and it makes the pancakes feel like dessert! Plus you can make it ahead of time and store it in the fridge for days)
- whipped coconut cream (a dairy-free alternative to whipped cream)
- chia jam . We love drizzle this warm over our pancakes but cold is good too!
Wondering how to store your carrots so they stay fresh as long as possible? Check out my post on How to Keep Cut Carrots Fresh and get the most out of your produce buck!
Tip for making healthy apple carrot pancakes
- Make them small. I find these cook up and flip better when made a bit on the smaller side.
- No high-speed blender? Blend in stages to prevent over-taxing your blender and so that you have a smooth batter. Blend the oats alone first until they have a flour-like texture. Then add the wet ingredients. Blend again. Then the dry. Lastly, the grated carrots and chopped apples. Blend until everything is smooth and then cook as normal.
Suggested adaptions for making healthy apple carrot pancakes
- Make them egg free! Replace the eggs in this recipe with 3 “flax eggs”.
- Make them Paleo. Replace the oats in this recipe with 1 1/2 cups almond meal. Since almond meal is moister than oats, I also suggest removing an egg from the recipe to prevent them from being too wet.
- Up the sweetener. Since pancakes usually get topped with something sweet, I like to keep my pancakes mildly sweet. However, if you need or want your’s a bit sweeter, up the honey or maple syrup to 1/3 cup in your batter!
Other healthy veggie-loaded breakfast recipes you are going to love…
- Breakfast Pumpkin Soufflé
- Superhero Waffles
- Flourless Chocolate Waffles (with greens!)
- Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffins
- Sweet Potato Peanut Butter Muffins
- Instant Pot Morning Glory Oatmeal
Did you try this veggie-loaded pancake recipe and now you’re hungry for more?
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Healthy Carrot Apple Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup grated carrot
- 1 cup grated apple
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 cups rolled oats (I used gluten free)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup milk of choice I used unsweetened almond milk
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients into a high-speed blender. If you don't have a high-speed blender, see above tips for blending suggestions.
- Blend until smooth, being sure to scrape down the sides occasionally to ensure all ingredients is incorporated.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat and add a little oil. Once the oil is warm, portion the batter out into pancakes.
- Cook for about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Enjoy warm, topped with favorite topping (see above for suggestions)
- Allow leftovers to cool completely and store in air-tight container in fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- if making for a child under age 1, do not use honey.
Nutrition
The nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and may vary based on the product type, servings and other factors. If you are following a diet, please consult with a professional nutritionist or your doctor. Stay healthy!
Comments
Cool recipe, once again 🙂
Do you think I could skip the maple syrup or honey ? I’m currently in a diet to take care of my Candida albicans and I can’t have sugar…
Have a nice day ! And thanks again for helping my daughter like spinach and zucchini in recipes 💕
You totally could! Just know these will probably not be terribly sweet!
Hi there! The nutritional information that you provided, is for what portion size? Thank you!
The recipe makes about 16 pancakes. The nutritional info is per pancake
These look great! Do you think i could use applesauce instead?
Probably, though I’d reduce it to 1/2 cup
You’ve done it once again! The family ate them all. So much for the double batch I made in hopes of leftovers for tomorrow 🤦♥️
This recipe was AMAZING, delicious and so simple to make! My 1.5 year old ate them up! Thank you!
🤩🤩🤩🤩
Perfect for apple season now! Do you peel the apple before grating it? I like to keep the peel whenever possible for the nutrition but wouldn’t want the texture to mess up the pancakes.
I personally keep it on, but it is totally a personal preference!
Do you think these can be frozen after cooking?
Oh totally!
can these be freezed?
yes!
I’m going to make these this week! They look amazing! On a side note about the recipe part of your blog, what do you use to figure nutritional info and post the recipe itself? I’m thinking about starting a food blog on the near future and am curious how the recipe part of the past works.
I use WP Recipe and it has a nutritional info calculator!
Awesome thanks!
This recipe was wonderful- thank you! In the future though, since you blend all the ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth, is there really any point in grating the carrot & apple? Wondered if that step could be eliminated to make them even easier to make.
You could eliminate it. Especially if you have a high-speed blender!
Oh these are perfect. My husband and I try to limit carbs and sugar but still crave pancakes sometimes. And there’s just something so cozy and homey about eating them. These pancakes were the solution! Instead of adding any liquid sweetener to recipe, I just added about a Tbs of turbinado sugar and a tad more coconut oil. The taste is quite nice. The first time I made them, I made some whipped cream and also put some chopped pecans on top – perfect. The second time, I made a pancake peanut butter sandwich with just a touch of maple syrup on top. Great recipe 🙂
These Carrot Apple Pancakes are delicious and a perfect breakfast for children and adults alike! I made a double batch and froze half. The recipe was very easy to follow and I will definitely make again in the future.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Hi! My son can’t do any grains- any substitution ideas for the oats?
I often switch out almond meal and oat flour in recipes with pretty good success. Almond meal is a bit moister than oats due to the natural oils in the nuts, just an FYI. The recipe calls for 2 cups of oats, so I’d use 1 3/4 cup almond meal in this recipe.
Hey! I made these pancakes with the flax eggs and they turned out gummy ( consistency of flax eggs). Do you have any suggestions on how to fix this?
Hm. Interesting. I’ve made them with flax eggs before and they have worked well for me. Did you make any other changes to the recipe?
Taesha, for someone who prefers waffles over pancakes, I definitely indulged in more than a few servings of these this weekend! This will be in regular menu rotation for hard ultra-endurance event training weekends. Super tasty and chock full of recovery nutrients. Bravo on a delicious breakfast recipe!
Yay! I am jazzed to hear that I was able to help you get a new, nutrient dense recipe into your breakfast rotation that you also really enjoy!
Great recipe with nice flavour!
My one year old scarfed hers down and my five year old licked his plate!
Mine were just a little on the crumbly side, any tips?
Hmmmm. Maybe try cooking on a lower heat (different pans conduct heat in a different way).
Hands down my favorite pancakes! I strongly dislike carrots and this are incredible!! We love TNN recipes!
I am so glad! Finding a way to enjoy a veggie you don’t love is so magical!
Like!! Great article post.Really thank you! Really Cool.
I followed this exactly and my kiddos and I love this recipe! It’s so much tastier than plain pancakes.
I’m so glad it was a success! And I totally agree, I love the flavor of these over traditional pancakes!
Can I substitute the coconut oil?
Yes. You can use whatever oil you prefer to bake with
Hi Taesha. Can I use sunflowers oil instead of coconut oil? Thank you!
I can’t see why not!
Thank you for a delicious recipe! I used a Blendtec blender, blending the oats and other dry ingredients first and then adding the rest. It worked very well! I grated the carrot (1 lge) and apples (2 small), but I might try skipping this step next time since the blender should take care of it? One substitution: 1/4 brown sugar for the 1/4 c honey or maple syrup. Because of that, I added a little extra almond milk (1/8-1/4 c). These were really good and my one year old granddaughter liked them! TY!
Yay! I am so glad they were a hit! Yes, the high speed blenders should do the trick without grating the veggies! Save yourself the work!
My one year old daughter DEVOURS these! (The only meal that doesn’t get thrown on the floor at all 🤣) I also add a banana and zucchini so they’re even more nutritious 😊
So happy to hear that! Love the addition of the banana and zucchini! Yum.
Love these! I have made these several times and they always turn out great. My question is can you use this recipe for bread? I’ve looked everywhere for a carrot flourless oatmeal bread. Thank you
I haven’t tried but I was actually just dreaming up an apple carrot zucchini bread recipe. Maybe I’ll start with this recipe and see how it translates to a loaf!
Can these be baked into a muffin? They are similar to the chocolate veggie ones so I’d think so!
I haven’t tried but I bet they would work! Now I want to give it a go
What type of apple do you recommend ? Would gala be ok?
I actually use gala usually because they are so sweet and add so much to the pancakes. I also like honey crips in this recipe
These are so good! I made a double batch and froze half! Thank you!
I am so glad! Thank you for sharing that!
These were amazing! I added extra spices and told hubby and son they were carrot cake pancakes and they loved them!
Yay! I am so glad!
Great recipe! I used 1 banana to substitute for the oil and the honey, and it was great. No sweetener needed, and perfect for the baby AND the adults (even the one on WW).
Oh I love those subs! I’ll have to try next time I make these!
Is there a substitute for the sugar ?
I assume you mean the maple syrup or honey? You can omit if you like a lightly sweet pancake or plan to add a little syrup. Or you could use monkfruit
My oldest (6) never eats veggies. My youngest (2) has been on a veggie strike. He also has many food allergies so it’s important for him to get proper nutrients. They both ate these up! I’m so happy! Goodbye regular pancakes!
Yay! I am SO glad, Natalie! Thank you for taking the time to share 💚
I’ve been making this recipe at least once a week. My family loves it! Instead of maple, I use apple concentrate or coconut sugar mixed in water. Thank you 🙏🏽
So glad you enjoy them, Erica!
My 2 year old loves these! I keep what I need for the week and freeze the rest. I recently discovered your site and have tried several recipes and they’re all toddler approved! I’m hooked! Thank you so much!
I am so glad, Rachel! Welcome!
OMG! They were divine! What a wonderful recipe and flavors! I swapped one cup of oats for 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour and 1/2 almond flour. So nice and fluffy! Served them with a little bit of butter and a drizzle of maple syrup. Thanks for this easy blender recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Jennifer. What great swaps! Thanks for sharing, as I am sure other readers will be interested in the adaptations you made. I can’t wait to try them in my next batch.
In fact, can these be baked as muffins? If so, what would be your recommendation for times and temperature? Thanks
I haven’t tried baking this specific recipe as muffins but this recipe is a very similar vibe in muffin form. https://thenaturalnurturer.com/carrot-apple-vegan-muffins/
Any chance these could be made into muffins instead??
These pancakes were actually inspired by these muffins here! https://thenaturalnurturer.com/carrot-apple-vegan-muffins/
My 1 year old LOVES THESE. I found them very easy to make, recipe was very straight forward and easy to follow. They smell and taste basically like carrot cake. I froze a bunch and just put them in the toaster when we need them. Highly recommend!
So glad you and your son enjoy these! They are so great for a freezer stash!
Hello, can these be made as waffles or would I have to alter the recipe so they don’t stick to the waffle maker? Thanks
Hi Jennifer! I have never tried these as waffles but they might work! I’d make sure to oil your waffle iron well and cook until there is no more steam coming from the waffle iron. If you give it a go, let us know how they come out!