Easy Shredded Apple Pancakes

Ingredients

Apples - The star of the show in apple pancakes, of course. I used Gala apples, but you can use your favorite type. Note that different apples have different levels of sweetness!

All-Purpose Flour - Our base is going to be good ole all-purpose flour. Bleached or unbleached is fine.

Baking Powder & Soda - The baking powder assists with giving a great rise to the pancakes. Baking soda helps with getting that perfect golden-brown color.

Almond Milk - My household doesn't consume dairy milk, so almond or oat are what I've used in these pancakes.

Melted Butter - A bit of melted butter gives our batter the perfect amount of fat for flavor and moistness.

Variations and Substitutions

To Dairy, or Not?: Buttermilk instead of nondairy milk will result in a fluffier pancake. If you only have regular milk, that's fine too.

Toppings: Serve as pictured, with more chopped apples and syrup. Or, drizzle some local honey on top. Fun fact: I actually love topping my pancakes with jam - these would be so good with homemade blueberry preserves!

How to Make Pancakes with Shredded Apples

I'm a sucker for baked good recipes that only require ONE bowl. The key is to gently mix together the dry ingredients in a pile before incorporating everything towards the end. Check out my Instagram for step-by-step video instructions.

Start out by shredding your apples into a large mixing bowl. Note: the chemical reaction of cooking these pancakes turns the red apple skin green! The taste isn't affected at all; but if that weirds you out, just peel the apples before shredding.

Add in the remaining wet ingredients to the bowl like the melted butter, your choice of milk, water, large eggs, and vanilla extract.

In that same bowl, create a pile of the dry ingredients: the flour, sugar, baking soda and baking powder, and the salt.

Mix the dry ingredients together on that pile. This helps us avoid having to have an entire separate dirty dish for dry ingredients!

After that, gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together until you get a batter. The consistency will be a little runny; see the process pictures below.

Let the batter sit for 10 minutes, then you're ready to cook.

Use a ¼ cup measuring spoon to keep your pancakes the same size.

My secret to perfectly golden brown pancakes with that crispy edge? Cook them on medium heat with non-stick spray and a touch of butter.

Finally, when the pancakes have tons of bubbles on top, flip again. Only flip one time to keep the pancakes fluffy. That's it!

A silver mixing bowl with apple pancake batter inside.

The finished batter should be slightly runny and look like this.

A hand pouring pancake batter on a tan skillet.

Use a measuring cup for evenly-sized pancakes.

A black spatula flipping an half-cooked pancake in a tan skillet.

Once the top of the pancake forms tons of bubbles, it's time to flip!

A stack of pancakes with syrup drizzled on top.

Serve with lots of syrup and extra chopped fruit or fruit jam.

Recipe Pro Tips

Let the batter rest for a bit. After mixing the batter, let it sit for 10 minutes before cooking. This allows the leavening agents like baking powder/baking soda to activate, making for a fluffier pancake.

Supreme Pancakes. My secret for Insta-worthy pancakes with that golden brown crust? Add non-stick spray to your hot pan, then drop in a bit of butter. Pour your pancake batter right on top of that melted butter.

Enjoy the chef's tax. The first pancake always turns out a little wonky - it's used to figure out if your heat is too high/too low, or if your batter has sat out for the right amount of time. I never serve this "test pancake" and just munch on it to make sure everything tastes good!

Keep 'em warm. When making a lot of pancakes, you can store the finished ones on a sheet pan in the oven on its lowest setting. It'll keep everything warm without drying out your hotcakes.

Recipe FAQs

Why does my first pancake always turn out pale and ugly?

We call this the "test pancake" or the "chef's tax". The first pancake should always be sacrificed so you can ensure the heat is correct for the remainder of your cooking time! You want to aim for medium-heat, and a cast-iron skillet will distribute the heat most evenly.

My apples turned green in my pancakes - what happened?!

So, this is due to the chemical reaction of the red apple peels and the other ingredients of the pancakes, all being cooked at high heat.

The taste of your pancakes will be unaffected. However, you can avoid the kooky colors by just peeling your apples before shredding them into your batter.

How long can my batter sit out?

At room temperature, the FDA would recommend no longer than two hours at the maximum. This batter can sit in the refrigerator overnight, but the baking soda will begin losing its "power" so your flapjacks won't be as fluffy.

I personally recommend to just cook up all of your batter and then store your cooked pancakes in the fridge.

Can I freeze apple pancakes?

Yes! These pancakes, when stored properly in a freezer-safe bag, can keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, I'd defrost them in the fridge overnight and use a toaster oven or air fryer.

Marshea says

December 06, 2024 at 2:44 pm

I really liked these pancakes. There are lots of recipes out there with chopped apples, but I wanted something where the apples gave flavor to the batter, not texture. Shredding the apple first helps it incorporate a lot better...we are baby led weaning and were able to use these pancakes for our 11 month old. I'll be back to the site to try more recipes.