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Soft, fluffy, and full of cozy pumpkin flavor, these pumpkin oatmeal pancakes couldn’t be easier to make. Just toss everything into a blender and in 15 minutes, you’ll have a wholesome stack made with rolled oats, real pumpkin, and no added sugar in the batter.
Recipe at a Glance
- One blender, one bowl to wash: Everything blends together in one step, with no separate dry and wet mixing.
- Ready in about 15 minutes: From blender to plate, breakfast is ready fast.
- No added sugar in the base batter: It’s safe to serve as-is to babies and toddlers, and easy to sweeten for the rest of the family on top.
- Built around real, whole-food ingredients: Rolled oats, eggs, and pumpkin do the work, with no boxed mix or refined flour.
- Freezer-friendly: One batch covers busy mornings for weeks.
“These have been my toddlers’ favorite pancakes for years! We make them in big batches, freeze, and reheat them for an easy breakfast. Thank you for sharing!” – Laura
“Super easy and delicious. Made these on a weekday morning and didn’t add any sweeteners to the batter. I served them to my toddler with plain greek yogurt and some apple butter. He loved them (though he’s never met an MJ pancake he didn’t like)!” – Jenny
Every fall, I reach for pumpkin in just about everything, pancakes included. As a pediatric dietitian and mom of two, I built this batter around real oats and eggs, for the iron, fiber, and protein they bring, and left sugar out entirely. They’re also just genuinely good pancakes, soft, a little dense in the best way, and on repeat in our house every October.
Now that you’ve got some pumpkin left in the can, put it to good use, try this pumpkin banana bread, these moist pumpkin banana muffins, these no-bake pumpkin balls, or these pumpkin oatmeal bars. Or browse healthy ways to use leftover canned pumpkin for even more ideas.
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients
I am highlighting just the ones that need further explanation. The complete list is in the recipe card below.
- Pumpkin puree: Use 100% pure pumpkin, not pie filling, which adds sugar and spices. Homemade puree works too, just drain excess liquid so the batter isn’t too thin.
- Oats: Rolled oats blend smoothest. Quick oats work in a pinch; oat flour swaps in 1:1 by weight. Skip steel-cut oats, they won’t soften and will leave gritty bits.
- Eggs: Room-temperature eggs blend more evenly and trap more air, for a lighter pancake. Haven’t tested this with flax eggs, let me know in the comments if you try it.
- Pumpkin pie spice: A blend of warm spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves). Make your own or buy it, just check the label for added sugar if that matters to you.
If you want Sweeter Pancakes
These pumpkin oatmeal pancakes aren’t sweet, and that’s intentional. You can always add sweetness on top with fruit, a drizzle of maple syrup, or this homemade date syrup.
Babies also have a natural preference for sweets, so it’s a great “window of opportunity” to offer fruits and vegetables as early foods and help them learn to appreciate other flavors too.
If you desire a sweeter pancake, add to the batter:
- 2-4 tablespoons of maple syrup or honey (honey only over 12 months, never before, due to infant botulism risk)
- 2-3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
How to Make Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes
Step 1: Add all the ingredients into a food processor or high-speed blender.
Step 2: Blend until smooth. Do not over process.
Step 3: Add oil/butter to a griddle or large non-stick pan and place over medium heat. Drop about 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan.
Step 4: Cook for 2-4 minutes, or until bubbles form and the edges look set. Flip pancakes and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
Variations
If you’d like to add extra flavor (although perfectly delicious without), you can add to the pancake batter:
- Chocolate chips – Pumpkin and chocolate is a classic pairing, try these healthy pumpkin muffins (with chocolate chips) for another cozy baked treat.
- Chopped fruit – fold in blueberries or diced banana. For toddlers eating independently, dice pieces small and soft.
- Chopped nuts – Finely chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds work well, but save whole or roughly chopped nuts for kids old enough to safely chew them, since they’re a choking hazard for younger children.
Expert Tips
- Don’t overblend. Oats are mostly starch, and the longer they blend, the more they break down and release water, leaving you with a gummy pancake instead of a fluffy one. Thirty to 45 seconds on high is usually enough.
- Want super fluffy pancakes? Use room temperature eggs and milk. You can warm up the milk in the microwave in 10 second increments. For the eggs, place in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
- Cook low and slow. This batter is thicker than a flour-based one, so medium-low heat gives the inside time to cook through before the outside browns. Golden outside but wet in the middle means your heat is too high, turn it down, not up.
Serving Suggestions
There’s no wrong way to serve these pancakes! Enjoy as-is, or take them up a notch with:
- A drizzle of pure maple syrup or date syrup
- A dollop of Greek yogurt
- Creamy peanut butter, almond butter, or any nut butter of choice. Sunflower seed butter is a great nut-free option.
- Healthy cream cheese frosting
Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes FAQs
Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Here’s how to freeze pancakes as well as reheat them so they taste just as good as the day you made them.
Oats keep absorbing liquid the longer the batter sits, that’s the #1 cause of overly thick batter. Add milk a tablespoon at a time until it loosens back up, and try to cook the batter within a few minutes of blending rather than letting it sit.
Almost always overblending. Blending oats too long breaks down their starch structure and releases extra moisture, which cooks up dense and slightly gummy instead of light. Blend just until smooth, about 30–45 seconds, and stop.
I haven’t tested it, so I can’t say for certain how the texture would hold up in a waffle iron, the batter may be too dense to spread and crisp properly. If you try it, let me know how it goes in the comments! In the meantime, these pumpkin waffles are a tested, waffle-specific option.
Yes, with a few adjustments by age. For babies under 12 months, skip added honey and whole/chopped nuts, and cut pancakes into finger-length strips rather than rounds so they’re easier and safer to self-feed. As always, check with your pediatrician if your baby has any swallowing or feeding concerns.
More Healthy Pancakes to Try
Did you make this recipe? Leave a rating below and let me know how you liked the recipe! Your feedback means so much to me!
Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (180g) pumpkin puree
- 1 cup milk of choice
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (150g) rolled oats
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1-3 tablespoons maple syrup (optional), see note
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a blender in the order listed and blend until smooth, about 30-45 seconds.
- Heat a pan or griddle over medium to medium-low heat. Coat pan with butter or oil. Drop 1/4 cup of batter into the pan. Cook until bubbles start to form and the edges of the pancake begin to appear solid (about 3 minutes). Carefully flip and cook until golden brown. Repeat with remaining batter.
- Enjoy with toppings of choice.
Notes
- If you desire a sweeter pancake, you can add to the batter: 1-3 tablespoons of maple syrup. For babies under 2, you can add 2 tablespoons of unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana to avoid added sugars.
- Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Can I make this without the pumpkin spice?
Perfect, thank you!
Our family of 3 including my 2 year old daughter devour these! We love to add blueberries and also sweeten the batter just a touch with part of a banana as suggested.
Love the additions!
Quick, easy and super moist! My toddler loved it and so did I!
I’m so glad! Thanks for sharing!
These are such a hit with my daughter (16 months)!
I make a big batch of mini size for the week and she’ll eat them at any mealtime 🙂
I’ve shared this recipe with my mums group too and everyone loves it!
Thanks!
Aww thank you so much for trying out this recipe and for sharing with others!!
Super easy and delicious. Made these on a weekday morning and didn’t add any sweeteners to the batter. I served them to my toddler with plain greek yogurt and some apple butter. He loved them (though he’s never met an MJ pancake he didn’t like)!
Aww love hearing that!! Thank you for sharing, always!!
Delicious! My almost 2 year old helped make these and loved them! We didn’t add any sweeteners. Husband said they taste like pancakes (which he loves) and I thought they were yummy too! Thank you MJ!
This is the best! Thank you so much for taking the time to write this super heartwarming comment :).
My one-year-old has started to become picky at breakfast. She loved these pancakes. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I’m so glad!! And welcome to toddlerhood 🤪. I hope you will find my blog posts on picky eating helpful!
SO delicious! My boys & I loved these pancakes. Perfect for fall & great consistency!
Makes me so happy to hear this! Thanks for sharing!
My batter was a little watery but they still came out really tasty! I love how easy these were too. Throw all ingredients in the blender and that was all. Happy I gave these a try!
I’m so glad! If a bit watery try letting the batter sit a bit longer. The oats will help absorb the liquid ;).