Sweet Potato Pancakes

Fluffy, warm, sweet potato pancakes are the perfect autumn breakfast or brunch dish. With hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and brown sugar, these better-than-box-mix pancakes totally embrace the spirit (and flavors) of the season.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

• A breakfast food that incorporates all the deliciousness of autumn? Say no more. These sweet potato pancakes are rich, warm, and a little sweet. And even though pancakes are traditionally a “breakfast” food, we like to get a little wild and have pancakes at lunch, dinner, or even as a dessert. These are perfect any time of day.
• This a great way to use up leftover sweet potatoes after the holidays! If you cook whole sweet potatoes as a side and end up with too many extra, just scoop out the insides of the potatoes, mash them up, and turn them into pancakes.
• Sweet potato pancakes are SUPER easy to make and once you get on a roll, they cook really quickly, too. Still, you can totally make them in advance if you want. Keep them refrigerated in an airtight container and reheat them in the microwave or the toaster. You can even freeze the pancakes to enjoy a month or two down the road! Just wrap them really well in plastic wrap and store them in an airtight, freezer-safe container or freezer bag. You could also vacuum-seal them!

Key Ingredients

Sweet Potato – Skip the canned stuff. These pancakes turn out best with fresh sweet potatoes! You can use Thanksgiving leftovers or cook a sweet potato specifically for this recipe. Either way, you want to start with a sweet potato that’s been fully cooked (baked, air fried, cooked in the Instant Pot, or microwaved) then mashed up.

Spices – Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and brown sugar. All the classic flavors of the holiday season that compliment a sweet potato BEAUTIFULLY. They add an incredible depth and warmth to the sweet potato pancakes that really puts things over the top!

Chef’s Tips

• Have you ever heard of the first pancake rule? In a nutshell, it’s sort of a rule that the first pancake in every batch is always awful. The skillet is too hot or too cool, the bubbles don’t bubble enough so you flip the pancakes too late, the batter bleeds together so you end up with one giant pancake, it falls apart when you flip it… You kind of have to get into a pancake-making rhythm. Don’t be upset if your first sweet potato pancake doesn’t turn out perfectly!
• Note that this recipe for sweet potato pancakes calls for kosher salt specifically. If you’re using a different type of salt (like table salt), you’ll need to adjust the amount you use so you don’t over- or under-salt the batter.
• You don’t need any fancy equipment to prep the pancake batter – a good old bowl and whisk will work just fine! If you want to make the recipe even easier, you can use a hand mixer, stand mixer, or even a blender to combine your wet and dry ingredients. Just don’t over-mix!
• Instead of topping the pancakes with whole toasted pecans, try chopping them up very fine and gently mixing them into the sweet potato pancake batter! Adding them that way will distribute them throughout each and every pancake. If you’re feeding people with a nut allergy (or who just don’t like nuts in things) then stick to adding them on top, or skip them completely.

Can’t Get Enough Sweet Potatoes? Try These Recipes!

• Sweet Potato Soup
• Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
• Southern Sweet Potato Pudding
• Sweet Potato Soufflé
• Healthy Creamy Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Ranch (Whole30, Paleo)
• Sweet Potato Hash