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Sweet Potato Rolled Oat Protein Pancakes

Gluten-Free Healthy Sweet Potato Protein Pancakes are a nutritious low-fat, high protein, moderate carb pancake recipe. Geared for those targeting specific macros and/or anyone who loves a great pancake, these healthy sweet potato pancakes are fluffy, moist and loaded with delicious flavor.

Gluten-Free Protein Pancakes made with sweet potato and rolled oats - an easy, delicious breakfast recipe

If you’ve followed The Roasted Root for a number of years, you know I am a pancake fanatic.

I’ll let you in on a little secret.

This sweet potato pancake recipe is my all-time favorite pancake recipe. In fact, I’ve made this recipe so many times I’ve lost count!

​My husband and I make them not just for breakfast but also for meal prepping for the workweek. The reason we’re so obsessed? They are both delicious and filling. 

Made with whole grains instead of white flour, these fluffy pancakes contain slow burning carbs to elicit less of an insulin response than regular pancakes. The boost of protein also blunts the blood sugar response. 

The macronutrient breakdown is great for those of you looking to keep your protein intake high while maintaining a low to moderate fat intake and moderate carbohydrate intake.

Not only are these fluffy sweet potato pancakes positively delicious for an amazing weekend breakfast, but they come with health benefits to boot!

Plus, they are a pure pleasure to consume.

top down photo of sweet potato protein pancakes

The main highlights of this recipe is they are moist and fluffy, require no flour, no added sugar, are high in protein, and easy to make in your blender. Plus, they are kid-friendly, adult-friendly, breakfast-for-dinner friendly.

Another great feature is they are macro-friendly, because they are packed with protein, slow-burning carbohydrate, and are fairly low in fat.

Let’s discuss the simple ingredients for these fluffy healthy sweet potato pancakes.

Gluten-Free Protein Pancakes made with sweet potato and rolled oats - an easy, delicious breakfast recipe

Ingredients for Healthy Sweet Potato Pancakes:

Rolled Oats: Taking the place of regular all-purpose flour, we blend up rolled oats. This slow-burning carbohydrate in combination with protein ensures you stay full for hours rather than getting a big blood sugar spike and crash, only to be hungry soon after eating.

Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats for gluten-free sweet potato pancakes. I use gluten-free sprouted oats.

Sweet Potatoes: Cook a sweet potato using your preferred method. I microwave or boil mine but roasting works too. You can also use leftover sweet potatoes if you have some on hand. You’ll need 1 cup of mashed potatoes, or one medium to large sweet potato.

Whole Eggs and Egg Whites: We need both whole eggs and egg whites for this recipe. The full eggs bring moisture and richness and the egg whites are the majority of the protein source. The end result is very fluffy protein pancakes!

While you can’t make this recipe egg-free with success, you can follow my recipe for Vegan Sweet Potato Pancakes

Protein Powder: Add two scoops of your favorite protein powder if you’d like. You can use any kind you enjoy. I usually stick with an unsweetened unflavored protein powder like goat whey protein powder.

Ground Cinnamon: A generous amount of cinnamon brings warm flavor to the pancakes.

Pure Vanilla Extract: A splash of vanilla extract brings more warm flavor, making the pancakes so enticing. 

Baking Powder: The leavening agent here, baking powder helps the pancakes to rise and hold together.

Sea Salt: Be sure to add the sea salt to level up all of the flavors.

Recipe Customizations:

  • Replace rolled oats with 1 cup of oat flour or rice flour.
  • Add a dash of maple syrup to the pancake batter if you’d like for sweetening.
  • Replace the mashed sweet potato with mashed butternut squash, kabocha squash, or pumpkin.
  • Use rice flour or a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend instead of oat flour. If using rice flour, use 1 cup, and if using a GF flour blend, use ⅔ cup.
  • Add 1 to 3 tablespoons of brown sugar to the pancake batter for sweeter pancakes.
  • Toss in 1 teaspoon of ground ginger if you have it on hand and enjoy it.

Now that we’ve covered the simple ingredients and possible changes to the recipe, let’s make some delicious pancakes.

How to Make Oat Flour Using Rolled Oats:

Have you ever made flour out of rolled oats? I pinky promise it is silly simple! You will need a high-powered blender like a Vitamix, Nutri-Bullet, Blendtec, Wolf, or some such radical blender.

All you do to make oat flour using rolled oats is transfer the oats to a blender and blend on high speed until a flour forms. This takes about 60 seconds.

You can’t really overdo it on the blending, so keep going (scraping the sides of the blender or stirring if necessary) until a flour is achieved.

How to Make Sweet Potato Rolled Oat Protein Pancakes:

Begin by cooking the sweet potatoes. I boil mine for 20 to 25 minutes in water on the stove top, but if you’re in a hurry you can microwave them. Once cooked and cooled, mash the sweet potato. You will need 1 cup of mashed sweet potato.

Boiled sweet potatoes in a pot

Add the oats to a blender and blend until a flour forms (note: you can also use 1 cup of oat flour if you have it on hand).

Add in the rest of the dry ingredients (cinnamon, salt and baking powder) and blend until all of the dry ingredients are combined.

oat flour from rolled oats in a blender

Add the remaining wet ingredients (sweet potato puree, eggs, egg whites, and vanilla extract) to the blender and blend until smooth and combined. Don’t worry about over-blending!

Ingredients for sweet potato pancakes in a blender

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat on the stove top and add enough oil to lightly coat the surface.

Sweet potato pancake cooking in a skillet on the stove top

Pour pancake batter onto the hot skillet (I use about ¼ to ⅓ cup of batter per pancake) and cook until the sides firm up, about 3 minutes. Note: you can also make huge pancakes if you’d like. We usually take this approach and each eat two large pancakes in a sitting.

Flip and cook an additional minute or two, until cooked through and golden brown.

Listen. The first pancake is always a bad pancake. It usually turns out either burned or undercooked or splatters everywhere. Use it as your test run, make any adjustments to the heat, and don’t panic.

Enjoy sweet potato rolled oat protein pancakes with choice of toppings – I like mixed nut butter and a drizzle of maple syrup. Peanut butter and fresh fruit are great serving options too.

Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can freeze pancakes in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. 

sweet potato pancakes with nut butter on top and honey being poured on top

And that’s it! These delicious pancakes are a great way of getting some health benefits into your breakfast while still enjoying your breakfast treat.

Make a double batch to have plenty of leftovers or to enjoy throughout the week.

​The perfect way to start the day, this sweet potato pancakes recipe is the easiest way to get in some quality protein and enjoy your favorite breakfast food simultaneously. 

Enjoy these healthy pancakes the next time you’re craving traditional pancakes but want to keep it health-conscious. Perfect for a fall morning or any time of year!

top down photo of sweet potato pancakes with almond butter and honey on top
top down photo of stack of sweet potato pancakes with almond butter, honey and a section taken out

If you love making healthier pancake recipes, I have lots and lots of gluten-free pancake recipes to choose from. Here are some of my personal favorites.

More Healthy Pancake Recipes:

Break out the pure maple syrup, and sweet potato thy pancakes!

Gluten-Free Protein Pancakes made with sweet potato and rolled oats - an easy, delicious breakfast recipe

Sweet Potato Rolled Oat Protein Pancakes

Gluten-free protein pancakes made with rolled oats and sweet potato.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
8 pancakes

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Begin by cooking the sweet potato. You can boil for 20 to 25 minutes on the stove top, roast it or microwave it. Once cooked and cooled, mash the sweet potato. You will need 1 cup of mashed sweet potato.
    Sweet potato chunks being boiled in a pot of water
  • Add the oats, ground cinnamon, baking powder, and sea salt (dry ingredients) to a blender and blend until a flour forms (note: you can also use 1 cup of oat flour if you have it on hand).
    oat flour from rolled oats in a blender
  • Add the remaining ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth and combined. Don’t worry about over-blending!
    Ingredients for sweet potato pancakes in a blender
  • Heat a skillet over medium heat on the stove top and add enough oil to lightly coat the surface.
  • Pour pancake batter onto the hot skillet (I use about ¼ to ⅓ cup of batter per pancake) and cook until the sides firm up, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook an additional minute or two, until cooked through.
    Sweet potato pancake cooking in a skillet on the stove top
  • Enjoy sweet potato rolled oat protein pancakes with choice of toppings – I like mixed nut butter and pure maple syrup.
    Horizontal photo of a stack of healthy sweet potato pancakes on a plate with a bite taken out.

Notes

*Protein powder is optional. I use goat whey protein powder, which is unsweetened and doesn’t have any flavors added. Vanilla protein powder would be great here! 

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 8Calories: 94kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 7gFat: 2gFiber: 1gSugar: 3g
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: almond flour pancakes, gluten free, gluten free pancakes, healthy breakfast recipe, low fat recipes, macro friendly recipes, oatmeal pancakes, protein pancakes, rolled oats, sweet potato, sweet potato pancakes
Servings: 8 pancakes
Calories: 94kcal
Author: Julia
Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Rolled Oat Protein Pancakes - easy healthy pancakes made in a blender with rolled oats!

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Recipe Rating




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April

Monday 13th of February 2023

I am new to your site and tried these today. They were delicious. I made them for my son so I used whole eggs and added pecans, a tablespoon of coconut oil and ginger and tumeric. I did add the collagen peptides since that what I had. One more note as it may impact really digging into other recipes on your site. Your ad placement really interferes with scrolling and reading your recipe in it’s entirety. I totally understand you need ads to make money on your site but the placement is problematic. Just letting you know.

Julia

Monday 20th of February 2023

Hi April! Welcome to my site! So thrilled you enjoyed the pancakes! I totally understand how annoying ads can be. Have you considered using an ad blocker? If ads on sites are bothersome, you may want to use an ad blocker so that you don't have to deal with them at all when browsing the internet :) As an alternative, most blogs (mine included) have the Jump To Recipe button at the top to help you navigate straight to the recipe. Hope this helps! xo

Linda

Saturday 29th of October 2022

Could I used canned sweet potato in this recipe? It sounds delicious can’t wait to try it!!

Rose

Sunday 2nd of July 2023

@Julia, I used canned sweet potatoes I also didn't have baking powder and Google the substitute with baking soda We loved them

Linda

Wednesday 16th of November 2022

@Julia, They turned out perfect!! Delicious!! Thank you!!

Julia

Monday 31st of October 2022

Hi Linda! I haven't tried the recipe using canned sweet potato so I'm not sure how it would work out, but I imagine they will turn out great! Let me know if you try it! xoxo

Kelly

Friday 29th of July 2022

You mention two scoops of protein powder with an asterisk. I've never used protein powder. Is it necessary? And if so, are all the scoops the same size?

Julia

Friday 29th of July 2022

Hi Kelly! You can leave the protein powder out if you don't have any on hand and/or don't care about the protein content of the pancakes. A scoop of the protein powder I use is about 1 1/2 tablespoons. Honestly, I'm not sure if this is standard or not - I'm betting some brands may vary their scoop sizes. This to say, if you did want to add protein powder, you'd add about 1/4 cup. Hope this helps! xoxo

Amy

Friday 29th of July 2022

I think that I could love these pancakes but not only am I gluten-free; I can't eat eggs. Do you have any ideas?

Julia

Friday 29th of July 2022

Hi Amy! I haven't tested the pancakes without eggs yet, but it may be possible to replace them with flax eggs. I've also had great success making pancakes using a gluten-free flour blend and using any non-dairy milk to replace the eggs. If you wanted to try this, you would replace the oats with 1 cup of your favorite gluten-free flour blend, omit the eggs, and add 1/2 cup of your favorite non-dairy milk (or regular cow's milk works too). If the batter seems too thick, add 3 to 4 tablespoons of more milk until it seems like regular pancake batter. Let me know if you try it and how they turn out! xoxoxo

Nicky

Saturday 26th of February 2022

Yum yum in my tum! Just had these, lovely thank you Julia 🙌🏼

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