Whenever I have salad greens that are begging to be used up, I get excited. {Food Nerd Alert}. There are just so many possibilities!

From omelets to pesto to baked goods, I love making the most of whatever greens I have on-hand. Not only does adding greens to cooked dishes boost nutritional value, it also helps reduce food waste and saves extra trips to the grocery store, since you’re working with what you already have. Plus, making a veggie-packed meal with something you might otherwise have thrown away a few days later makes you feel super resourceful 😉

Even so, these Green Pancakes are a first for me.

But they were such a success!

Before you run away, let me tell you about how good these taste.

They’re sweet, soft and fluffy – and if you ate them with your eyes closed you’d never know they were packed with spinach.

Need more proof?

Lucy, who is normally skeptical of any food that looks different than what she’s used to, gobbled these down and asked to make them again the next day.

Obviously I said yes – partly because I loved them as much as she did, and partly because what parent says No when their kid asks for more spinach?!

Though we ate these pancakes for breakfast, they’d be perfect in a breakfast-for-dinner scenario, too. Or for an Earth Day celebration, or an Incredible Hulk birthday party, or any other time you need green-themed food.

I made these with Earthbound Farm’s baby spinach, since choosing organic greens makes these pancakes even more earth-friendly (here’s why). But I bet they’d be good with baby kale too – or even spring mix. They key here is to make life easy, efficient and “green” by using what you already have.

I’d love to hear what else you like to do with your ready-to-use baby greens! Happy Earth Day!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Green Pancakes

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

A fun and kid-friendly way to eat your greens!

Author: Amelia Winslow

Recipe type: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups Earthbound Farm baby spinach leaves (lightly packed)
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 egg
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• ½ cup milk (add more at end if needed)
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour (you can use whole wheat but the pancakes won't be as green)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• butter for the griddle
• honey, syrup, fresh fruit or more yogurt for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Place the spinach and water in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes, or until spinach has wilted. Stir and let cool slightly. Drain excess water (doesn't have to be completely drained).
2. Please cooled wilted spinach, banana, sugar, vanilla and oil in a blender and blend until you have a smooth puree. Add egg and yogurt and pulse to combine.
3. In a separate small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Then add the dry mixture, half at a time, and milk to the blender and pulse gently until just combined. (Be careful not to over-mix, otherwise pancakes will become chewy). Add more liquid if mixture seems to dry -it should be pourable but not runny.
4. Heat a griddle over medium-low heat. Pour pancake batter onto greased griddle and cook 2-3 minutes or until air bubbles begin to appear in the tops of the pancakes. Flip the pancakes and cook an additional minute.
5. Remove from the griddle and serve with desired accompaniments.

3.3.2998

This post is sponsored by Earthbound Farm, for whom I am a blogger ambassador. Thank you for reading and for your continued support of my blog!