Chia Seed Pancakes
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These Chia Seed Pancakes are light and fluffy, full of fiber and protein, and served with lemon yogurt and blueberries on top. It’s a simple, nutritious twist on a classic breakfast!
Why you’ll love this recipe!
Good for you! Why put chia seeds in your pancakes? Because they’re high in protein, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids!
Simple breakfast – The batter is a breeze to make in one bowl, and the pancakes are as easy to cook as any classic pancake recipe, like my simple protein pancakes.
Flexible – Make them gluten-free, stir in some blueberries, or swap the yogurt lemon topping for maple syrup.
Table of Contents
Craving a side of fiber and omega-3s with your stack of blueberry pancakes? Let me introduce you to these Chia Seed Pancakes.
They’re essentially the same as classic pancakes but made with whole wheat flour, Greek yogurt, and chia seeds. I really don’t know why it took me so long to put chia seeds in my pancakes. I mean, I’ve been loving them in my morning jar of chocolate chia pudding, so it was a no-brainer that I would love them in a hot breakfast, too.
Let me tell you why you should, from now on, always put chia seeds in your pancakes: Chia seeds are high in protein, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids, PLUS they’re completely flavorless. You get all those benefits while enjoying a fluffy stack of pancakes topped with lemon yogurt and blueberries. Sounds great to me!
I love this recipe so much! I make a double batch (which doesn’t effect taste) at the beginning of the week and add some vanilla extract. They keep well in the fridge all week, so i just heat them up in the microwave when I want them.
– Sarah
Chia Seed Pancakes Ingredients
Flour – This recipe calls for whole wheat flour, but you could substitute all-purpose flour or a 50-50 mix of both.
Yogurt – I used plain Greek yogurt for the extra protein. Regular yogurt works, too.
Milk – Any kind of milk goes, dairy or non-dairy.
Chia seeds – Whole or ground chia seeds give the pancakes a boost of protein, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids. The best part is you don’t even taste them!
Lemon yogurt topping – I mixed plain yogurt and lemon zest together for a creamy, tangy pancake topping. It’s optional, but adds a gorgeous pop of brightness to each bite.
Blueberries – My fruit of choice to sprinkle over the yogurt topping. Fresh or frozen blueberries both work well.
Variations
- Gluten-free option – I haven’t tested it, but gluten-free all-purpose flour should work well.
- Dairy-free option – Just swap the dairy milk and yogurt for unsweetened non-dairy alternatives.
- Vegan option – Try using 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tbsp water) instead of real eggs, maple syrup instead of honey, and non-dairy yogurt and milk.
- Mix-in ideas – Once you’ve mixed the batter together, feel free to gently fold in 1/2 cup of blueberries, chocolate chips, raspberries, cherries, or diced strawberries.
How to Make Chia Seed Pancakes
Step 1: Whisk the batter. Start by whisking the eggs, honey, yogurt, and milk together in a large bowl. Add the flour, baking soda, and chia seeds, then whisk to combine.
Step 2: Soak the chia. Set the batter aside for 10 minutes so the chia seeds can soak.
Step 3: Cook. Scoop 1/4 cup of batter at a time onto a hot griddle and cook until it starts bubbling. Flip and continue cooking until both sides are golden. Repeat this step until you run out of batter.
Step 4: Make the topping. Whisk the yogurt and lemon zest together in a bowl.
Step 5: Serve. Top the fluffy chia pancakes with the yogurt topping and blueberries, then serve and enjoy!
Erin’s Tips and Tricks
- I recommend making the pancake batter at least 10 minutes in advance. This gives the chia seeds time to expand and soften, which helps thicken the batter.
- If the chia seeds are clumping together in the batter, just give it a quick stir before cooking the pancakes.
- This recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of chia seeds, but you can use 1 tablespoon or 3 tablespoons instead if you’d prefer. Just don’t use more than 3 tablespoons, or else the batter will be chunky.
My Pro Tip
Toppings, Toppings, and More Toppings
I absolutely love chia pancakes with lemon yogurt and fresh blueberries on top—how perfect for spring, right?! But if you’d like to switch it up, you can always swap the yogurt for a drizzle of maple syrup, top them with blueberries or banana slices, dollop blueberry jam on top, or drizzle a gorgeous berry compote over the stack instead.
Chia Pancake FAQs
Absolutely. I almost always prepare the batter 1 hour in advance, or the night before I cook the pancakes. As the batter sits in the fridge overnight (covered), it will thicken perfectly, and the chia seeds will become nice and soft.
I’ve used this batter to make waffles before, and it worked really well! Let me know in the comments if you try it.
When I’m not using them to make my coconut chia pudding, I blend chia seeds into smoothies, stir them into jars of PB&J overnight oats, and bake them in muffins.
Storage
Make-ahead: Make the batter as usual, then cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Just remember to take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking the pancakes so it has time to come down to room temperature.
Refrigerator: Once the cooked pancakes are cool, transfer them to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Freezer: Chia pancakes also freeze well for up to 2 months. Wrap them individually in plastic or keep them in a freezer-safe bag. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Reheating: Reheat as many pancakes as you plan on eating in the microwave, toaster oven, or toaster.
More Pancake Recipes
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Chia Seed Pancakes
Video
Ingredients
for the pancakes:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour, or sub all purpose
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp plain yogurt
- 1 cup almond milk, or milk of choice
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
for the yogurt:
- 2 tbsp plain yogurt
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/4 cup blueberries
Instructions
- Whisk eggs, honey, yogurt, and milk together; then add flour, baking soda and chia seeds to that same bowl and whisk to combine.
- Set the pancake batter aside for 10 minutes so the seeds have time to "soak".
- Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet over medium-low and use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop batter out onto it.
- Wait until batter starts bubbling (approx. 1-2 minutes) and then use a spatula to flip pancake over. Cook on both sides and repeat the process until batter is gone.
- For the topping: place yogurt in a bowl and stir in lemon the zest. Top pancakes with yogurt+blueberries and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
That looks amazing.
I just found your blog today and tried the recipe. The pancakes turned out great!
Cooking tip: The smaller the pancake, the easier to turn over. If you make a large pancake, slip the spatula around the entire edge of the pancake and then scoop it up from underneath. Otherwise, your pancake may split. The picture shows a plate of fluffy looking pancakes with enormous blueberries (lol). It’s just a close up view of small pancakes, folks. Try them though. They are delicious and won’t disappoint.
I made these today and they’re very tasty! However, my batter was SUPER thin. I had to add an extra 2 tablespoons or so of flour after cooking a test batch, and even then it was very thin. Is that normal? It was very hard to get the first side cooked long enough to flip without a gooey mess. Is 1/2 cup flour correct?
Try mixing your batter at least 1 hour before cooking them. That usually thickens the batter. Give a stir before cooking. Sometimes I mix the batter the night before and refrigerate. Sometimes the batter is too thick and I need to thin it with a little milk. I make waffles with this more than pancakes.
I love this recipe so much! I make a double the batch (which doesn’t effect taste) at the beginning of the week and add some vanilla extract. They keep well in the fridge all week, so i just heat them up in the microwave when I want them.
Tried it love it! Was in a rush and forgott my milk in it ;D. Still enjoyable thanks for this!
Made them this morning! Delicious!!
Could these be made into muffIns instead of pancakes?
Tried this , although I didn’t catch on to the whole wheat. Grand daughter is on gluten free, so I did just sub Bob’s Red Mill Gluten free Baking flour, and the chia seeds which can substitute for a binder for gluten flour. My chia seeds are ground and usually added to my morning oatmeal and dried cranberry breakfast.
first time i cooked with gluten free flour and they were great. one thing, my pancakes turned very brown , almost looked burnt, but they weren’t . but they needed to be cooked thru so that was the trade-off.
You could probably use flax seed too, I just didn’t have any this morning.
Hi, Could I use ground chia seeds for this recipe instead of whole ones? If so, would that change the amount used? Thank you so much! Love your page!!
Hi! I believe you could use ground chia seeds, and I think the amount would stay the same. Let me know if you try them!
Consider this one pinned to Pinterest!
Kudos especially for the topping, to have a healthier pancake, a healthier topping is great so people aren’t pouring that ‘high fructose fake maple’ on there.
As for other baked goods with chia, we’ve had a few as it can often be used (in gel form) to substitute up to half the butter or oil out of lots of cookie/cake/non-yeast bread recipes without changing the taste.
Officially tried with non-dairy yogurt and so delicious
I’m glad to hear that, thank you!