Sourdough Oatmeal Pancakes

Made with oats and Sourdough Starter Discard, these pancakes can be made ahead and rested overnight or whipped up the same day. Learn How to Make Oat Flour to use in these fluffy pancakes! Like my Sourdough Vegan Pancakes, these sourdough oat pancakes are light, fluffy and full of flavor. They’re freezer friendly too! This recipe is vegetarian and easily dairy free. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: “This is my new favorite pancake, especially with the stewed apples. I’ve been looking for new sourdough pancake recipes, and this is perfect. Great texture, cook up great, yum!!” ~ Jennifer

Simple Sourdough Oatmeal Pancakes

Weekends call for pancakes! And when they’re this simple to whip up, why not? Overnight or same day sourdough pancakes can be made in a blender or whipped up in a bowl. So easy! I’ve been making these sourdough pancakes, tweaking the recipe ever so slightly for about a year now. A little more or less of this or that makes a big difference in the fluffy factor as well as taste. 

This recipe calls for oats, so you can use whole rolled oats and make the pancake batter in a high-speed blender, or you can use oat flour and whip up the batter in a bowl. Either produces delicious results!

Top your sourdough oat pancakes with your favorite seasonal toppings like Stewed Apples (pictured here), fresh summer berries, Blueberry Compote, bananas, jam such as Rhubarb Jam or simply with pure maple syrup.

If you prefer to DIY oat flour, I’ve a tutorial on how to. It’s easy, quick and SO economical!

   

Two Ways to Make Sourdough Oat Pancakes

Using oats in this recipe takes the texture, flavor and whole grain goodness of these pancakes over the top! In addition, the sourdough starter discard makes an ordinary pancake recipe extraordinary and with little effort. 

There are two ways to approach this recipe: blending or hand mixing, depending on kitchen equipment and/or type of oats. I like using a high speed blender (I use VitaMix) to make this recipe simply because it’s so easy, but either will work. In summary, here’s how to do it (see recipe card for full details):

High Speed Blender Method (using rolled oats):

• For Same Day Sourdough Pancakes:
  • First, into the pitcher of the blender, add whole rolled oats, sourdough discard, milk (whole pasteurized or dairy free – I like homemade cashew milk), eggs, vanilla extract, maple syrup, butter, salt, and baking powder and soda.
  • Second, blend for about 40 seconds, until the batter is smooth.
  • Next, set aside to rest at room temperature for 30 – 60 minutes.
  • Last, spoon batter onto a griddle, bake and enjoy!
• For Overnight Sourdough Pancakes: 
  • First, into the pitcher of the blender, add the whole rolled oats, sourdough discard, milk (whole pasteurized or dairy free – I like homemade cashew milk), vanilla, and maple. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and rest overnight at room temperature.
  • Second, the next morning, add the eggs, salt, baking powder and soda to the batter.
  • Next, blend for about 40 seconds.
  • Last, spoon batter onto a griddle, bake and enjoy!

Bowl Mixing Method (using oat flour):

• For Same Day Sourdough Pancakes:
  • First, into a large mixing bowl, add the sourdough discard, milk (whole pasteurized or dairy free – I like homemade cashew milk), eggs, vanilla extract, maple syrup, butter, oat flour, salt, and baking powder and soda.
  • Second, whisk for about 40 seconds, until the batter is smooth.
  • Next, set aside to rest at room temperature for 30 – 60 minutes.
  • Last, spoon batter onto a griddle, bake and enjoy!
• For Overnight Sourdough Pancakes: 
  • First, into a large mixing bowl add the sourdough discard, milk (whole pasteurized or dairy free – I like homemade cashew milk), vanilla, maple and oat flour. Whisk until smooth. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and rest overnight at room temperature.
  • Second, the next morning, whisk the batter then add the eggs, salt, baking powder and soda to the batter.
  • Next, whisk for about 40 seconds or until smooth.
  • Last, spoon batter onto a griddle, bake and enjoy!

Let’s Whip Em’ Up! 

Managing Sourdough Discard

I store my sourdough discard in a jar in the refrigerator and add to it when I refresh my Sourdough Bread Starter. When ready to use the sourdough discard, like in a this pancake recipe, I stir the discard down, then add it to the pancake ingredients. I also use sourdough discard in other recipes like easy Sourdough Biscuits, Shortcakes, waffles and Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies! It adds so much flavor to many baked recipes. 

Using sourdough starter discard is a practical way to use all the ingredients it takes to maintain a sourdough starter rather than throwing it out. Discarded sourdough starter also freezes well. So if it’s going to be a week before using the discard in a recipe, I freeze the discard then thaw it in the refrigerator before using it again.

Love Sourdough? Check out my Sourdough Collection of Recipes! 

 

Tips for Making the Best Pancakes!

• Use a nonstick griddle or skillet. I use no added oil when using nonstick surfaces.
• Test to see if the griddle is hot enough. I set mine between 350F – 375F but notice the temperature fluctuates a bit as it attempts to maintain the proper temperature. To see if the griddle is ready, flick a few drops of water on it. If the drops sizzle and evaporate fast, it’s ready. You can also make a tiny pancake!
• Leave enough room between the pancakes for flipping. There’s nothing like flipping a pancake only to have it land, overlapping on another!
• The edges of the pancakes will cook first, so that’s where you’ll see bubbles first appear. As the pancakes cook, bubbles will appear and pop in the center. Once you see these bubbles, gently lift the pancake and take a peak underneath. When golden, flip and finish cooking the pancake.
• Keep the pancakes warm in a 200F oven, covered with foil to keep them soft, until ready to share or even better, share right off the griddle.

Enjoy with real maple syrup, Stewed Apples, Easy Stewed Pears or Blueberry Compote a sprinkle of pecans or walnuts, or fresh seasonal berries! 

Thinking about a high speed blender? I use VitaMix (affiliate link) and have for over 10 years. I highly recommend it!

   

Pro Tips

• Overnight Ferment: if you prefer not to rest whole milk batter overnight at room temperature, you can put the batter in the refrigerator overnight to ferment. Pull the batter out of the fridge then rest at room temperature for about an hour before mixing in the eggs, butter and leaveners.
• About the Oats: this sourdough discard pancake recipe calls for whole rolled oats or oat flour, depending on the mixing method used (blender or bowl mixing). I DIY my own oat flour when using the bowl mixing method. It’s super easy and economical – see my how to make oat flour post for more details.
• Because these pancakes contain oats, you’ll notice the batter is thicker than regular pancakes. Because of this, the batter needs to be scraped out of the measuring cup onto the griddle rather than poured onto the griddle.
• New to sourdough? Check out my easy sourdough starter guide.
• Freezer Friendly? Yes Please! Although the pancakes are best fresh, they can be frozen. Freeze individual pancakes flat on a parchment lined sheet pan, then stack in a storage container until ready to use. Reheat in a 350F oven for about 4-5 minutes, wrapped in foil so they don’t dry out, or until heated through. Toasting dries them out too much.
• Use a nonstick griddle or nonstick pan to create the best sourdough pancakes! No added oil is required.
• Make it Dairy Free: use plant butter and plant milk. I use homemade cashew milk.