Sweet Potato Pancakes
what to expect:
Prep Time: 50 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Fluffy sweet potato pancakes naturally flavored with baked sweet potatoes and lightly sweetened with maple syrup.
*For helpful tips and how-to’s, make sure you read the whole post.
When we lived in Nashville, my husband used to work at a breakfast joint known for their sweet potato pancakes. So when I hit a bit of an idea block the other day and also had a hankering for pancakes, I figured why not try and create my own?
Full disclosure, these sweet potato pancakes required way more testing than I thought they would need. I just couldn’t nail down that signature sweet potato flavor…until I tried roading the sweet potatoes in the oven with the skin on.
That is the key to super flavorful sweet potato pancakes. More on that below 🙂
What You’ll Find in This Post
- What You Will Need (Ingredients)
- Helpful Tip: Roasting the Sweet Potatoes for Flavorful Sweet Potato Pancakes
What You’ll Need to Make Sweet Potato Pancakes
Ingredients for Sweet Potato Pancakes
- Orange Sweet Potatoes
- Eggs
- Maple Syrup
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Kosher Salt
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Nutmeg
- Soy Milk (or any milk of your choosing)
- Neutral Oil (if using something other than a non-stick skillet)
Don’t Skip Roasting the Sweet Potatoes
By roasting the sweet potatoes, you’re able to achieve a deeper and sweeter flavor for your sweet potato pancakes. This happens because you’re caramelizing the natural sugars in the potato when you roast them.
Does this extra step take some extra time? I won’t lie to you – the answer is yes. But is it worth it? 100%.
The good news is, you can do this step ahead of time (the night before, even!) so that you can whip up these sweet potato pancakes ASAP in the morning.
If you decide not to roast your sweet potatoes, it’s likely the flavor of your sweet potato pancakes will call flat and no blend of spices can help you. Trust me, I tried.
To best incorporate your roasted sweet potatoes into the sweet potato pancake batter, you want to ensure that the potatoes are cooked all the way through. You can check this by inserting the tip of a paring knife into the sweet potato when you think it might be cooked through.
If you can get your knife point to the middle of the potato with no resistance, you’re good to go!
If you give these sweet potato pancakes a shot, I’d love to know your thoughts and see how they came out! Don’t hesitate to leave a review below and tag me @ficklebea on Instagram so I can see how amazing they look.
You’re now a sweet potato pancake wizard!
New to baking or nervous about spending time in the kitchen? Check out My Kitchen Commandments for some helpful tips!
PrintSweet Potato Pancakes
Fluffy sweet potato pancakes naturally flavored with baked sweet potatoes and lightly sweetened with maple syrup.
- Prep Time: 50 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 cup Mashed Orange Sweet Potato (can be cooked and mashed ahead of time)
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp. Baking Powder
- 1 tsp. Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
- 4 Tbsp. Soymilk (*see note)
- 4 Tbsp. Water
- Neutral Oil (if using something other than a non-stick skillet)
Instructions
Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Preheat oven to 425℉
- Wash and dry your whole sweet potatoes and then pierce the skins all over with a fork.
- Place your pierced sweet potatoes on a lined baking sheet and bake for 45-50 minutes or until tender. You should be able to pierce a knife through the thickest part of the potato with no resistance.
- Let potatoes cool, then peel and mash with a fork. Place mashed potatoes in a covered container in the fridge if making ahead.
Sweet Potato Pancakes
- Place mashed sweet potatoes in a medium sized bowl and add your eggs one at a time, mixing with a fork to incorporate fully after each egg. Add maple syrup and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, kosher salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a separate medium sized bowl and whisk until well combined.
- Heat your skillet over medium-low heat. If you are not using a non-stick skillet, Add 1-2 T. of a neutral oil (I used canola oil) to a skillet heated over medium-low heat. Cover the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of oil. Your pan is ready to cook up some pancakes when the oil begins to shimmer.
- Add dry ingredients to the sweet potato mixture and combine with a fork. Add soymilk and combine before adding water. Mix with a fork until the batter is homogenous and combined. Scrape down the side of your bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. If batter is too thick, add water in small quantities until desired consistency is achieved.
- Use a ¼ cup measuring scoop to pour batter into the pan and wait until edges are set and bubbles form before flipping. Bubbles might not pop. Pancakes should be lightly golden brown – about 1 min per side.
- When pancakes are cooked through on both sides and golden brown, remove from the pan and place on a plate to cool. Repeat the process with the remaining batter until you have cooked all of the batter, adding oil to the pan (if using anything other than a non-stick skillet) as needed.
Notes
*Feel free to use any milk of your choosing, be it dairy-free or not. You can also substitute with water.
To help with your shopping list, here are the ingredients based on where they’re located in the grocery store and the total quantity you will need for the recipe:
Produce:
- 1-2 Medium-Sized Orange Sweet Potatoes
Dairy:
- 2 Eggs
Pantry:
- Maple Syrup (1 Tablespoon)
- Vanilla Extract (1 teaspoon)
- All Purpose Flour (1 cup)
- Baking Powder (1 teaspoon)
- Kosher Salt (1 teaspoon)
- Ground Cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon)
- Ground Nutmeg (1/2 teaspoon)
- Soy Milk (4 Tablespoons) – or milk of your choosing
- Neutral Oil (2-3 Tablespoons)
Jeff S says
We made these and you are totally right that the flavors just exploded in such a great way! We’ll definitely be making these again!
sierra.filson says
I’m so glad you liked these! And I’m glad all of that recipe testing was worth it to get that flavor 🙂