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Hello! Is anyone in the mood for pancakes? How about delicious, fluffy and healthy orange pancakes? Since pancakes are pretty much a breakfast staple, I suspect that I will get many affirmative answers to that question.
The inspiration for this recipe came from the orange-laden tree in my backyard. I kept staring at those oranges day after day, and it made me want to cook up something fabulous with them. I am happy to share this beautiful recipe with you today.
These healthy orange pancakes come in at less than 200 calories per pancake.
This recipe was featured in our lineup of quick and easy breakfast recipes. Check them out for more easy and delicious breakfast goodness!
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🥞 Healthier Pancakes
I made a couple of modifications to make these these orange pancakes a little bit healthier. First, they get most of their sweetness from natural sugars like freshly-squeezed orange juice. Second, they are sweetened with low glycemic agave syrup. As I mentioned in my Cherry Vanilla Granola recipe, low glycemic sweeteners are absorbed slowly by the body preventing sugar spikes in the blood stream.
Consider serving these orange pancakes with a dollop of yogurt and sliced strawberries as a healthier option to pancake syrup.
You can also make them healthier by serving them with a dollop of vanilla yogurt and sliced strawberries sweetened with a light sprinkling of sugar or sugar substitute. The sugar helps the strawberries to make their own syrup. However, if you want to go all out and don’t mind the extra sugar, you might want to give our strawberry compote recipe a try instead.
🧾 Ingredients
Many pancake recipes use buttermilk because it helps them to rise and fluff up, but did you know that you can also use yogurt or ricotta? I used ricotta in this recipe because it gave the best result.
This recipe also calls for fresh orange zest. If you do not know how to zest an orange this tutorial from A Couple Cooks is very helpful.
For an eggless version of orange pancakes, omit the egg and increase the ricotta cheese by 1/4 cup.
- All-purpose flour (1 cup). You can substitute whole wheat flour. I have not tried this recipe with gluten-free flour.
- Baking soda (1 teaspoon). It helps the pancakes to rise and fluff up.
- Baking powder (1/2 teaspoon). Helps the pancakes to rise. Use a double acting baking powder. This is what is available in most grocery stores.
- Salt (1/4 teaspoon). For flavor.
- Orange zest (1 tablespoon). Adds natural orange flavor.
- Orange juice (1/3 cup). Adds natural orange flavor and liquid.
- Agave syrup (1-1/2 teaspoon). You can substitute 2 teaspoons of sugar.
- Ricotta cheese (3/4 cup). Adds fat and assists with the rise.
- Large egg (1). Gives structure and adds rise.
- Butter, melted and cooled (2 tablespoons). Adds fat and flavor.
📋 Step-by-Step Instructions with Photos
Step 1. For topping, add 2 teaspoons sugar to sliced strawberries and set aside.
Step 2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Step 3. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients.
Step 4. Whisk wet ingredients until frothy and bubbles start to form.
Step 5. Pour wet ingredients over dry and stir until just combined.
Step 6. Batter will be thick.
Step 7. Spoon batter into skillet or onto griddle and spread to 5-in. diameter circles.
Step 8. Flip pancakes when popped bubbles leave holes.
Looking for more information about making pancakes? Visit our complete guide for making homemade pancakes from scratch, including detailed ingredient information, step-by-step instructions and more!
💭 Tips for Success
- Sift dry ingredients to help incorporate air to make pancakes light
- Before adding to dry ingredients, beat wet mixture thoroughly in order to froth egg. This will give you fluffier pancakes.
- After adding wet ingredients to dry, stir only until combined. Lumps are okay. Overmixing can lead to tough and chewy pancakes.
- Make batter immediately before cooking. The baking soda starts working immediately to give your pancakes their rise but only lasts for a short time. However cooked pancakes freeze well, so if you want to make them ahead, you can cook them then freeze them.
- While cooking, wait for bubbles to form, pop and then for holes to remain in the batter before flipping to cook the other side.
🍲 Side Dish Suggestions
- Baked Eggs in Tomato Sauce
- Cheesy Scrambled Eggs 8 Ways
- Homemade Chicken Breakfast Sausage from The Worktop
🍴 Related Recipes
More pancake and crepe recipes to love ❤️
Orange Pancakes
Ingredients
Strawberry Topping
- 1 cup strawberries sliced
- 2 tsp sugar
Orange Pancakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp orange zest
- 3/4 cup orange juice
- 1-1/2 tsp agave syrup
- 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tbsp butter melted and cooled
Instructions
Strawberry Topping
- Sprinkle sugar over strawberries and let stand for 30 minutes to make a syrup.
Orange Pancakes
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate bowl, combine orange rind, orange juice, ricotta, egg, syrup (or sugar) and melted butter. Beat until creamy and bubbles start to form.
- Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Batter will be thick.
- Spray a small skillet or griddle with cooking spray over low-medium heat. Add 2-3 Tbsp batter, spreading to form 5-6-inch round pancakes. Cook until bubbles form over the top (about 3-4 minutes) then quickly flip and cook the other side (3-4 minutes more). Repeat with remaining batter.
- Serve with a dollop of vanilla yogurt and fresh strawberry topping. Sprinkle granola over the top if desired.
Thank you for the recipe! I had some silken tofu that I needed to use up. I subbed the tofu for the ricotta, brown sugar for the sweetener, and doubled the recipe. These were a huge hit. Loved the orange flavor
Hi Keri,
You’re very welcome! I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe and found creative ways to make it your own. Substituting silken tofu for ricotta and brown sugar for the sweetener sounds like a fantastic twist. Your adaptation sounds like a winner, and I’m glad you loved the outcome! If you ever try any more variations or have questions about other recipes, feel free to share. Happy cooking! 🍊🥞
These pancakes are simply divine. I am already planning to have all my nieces and nephews over a sleepover just so that I can make these the next morning.
I’m glad you enjoyed the pancakes, Rajani. I hope your nieces and nephews enjoyed them as well!
Made these pancakes yesterday. They are outstanding. Much better than the regular ones.
Thank you! I’m glad you like them. 😊🥞