
Mar 14, 2022
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Deliciously fluffy spinach pancakes are a smart way to sneak in extra veggies into your family’s favorite breakfast. No funny flavor or specs, they taste just like regular pancakes with a bright green color that’s fun for the kids.

I’m usually not one to add veggies to desserts and baked goods unless it’s my Carrot Zucchini Bars, but for these pancakes- it works!
Spinach is an excellent source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals such as vitamin A, C, K, and folic acid, iron, and calcium. No wonder we are looking for more ways to add it to everyday recipes such as smoothies, pasta, and now, pancakes.
Green Spinach Pancakes
Spinach and pancakes? Yes, this isn’t your typical breakfast recipe, but trust me, once you whip up a batch of these yummy, bright green pancakes, they will be a regular breakfast favorite.
Just like regular, homemade pancakes, these are light, fluffy, and taste nothing like leafy greens. Thanks to the blender, the spinach is blended into the batter and gives off no weird, suspicious flavors, just added nutrition.

Why These Spinach Pancakes are Perfect for Picky Eaters
The spinach adds extra nutrition and a bright green hue without the use of added food dye. I realize that most picky eaters aren’t too excited about green foods, but something about their favorite foods [enter pancakes] served in different colors is a different story.
You can add more kid appeal to this pancake breakfast by serving them with a theme, like St. Patrick’s Day, Earth Day, or the Hulk.
This is the perfect example of the types of tips I use in my picky eater’s program to help parents and kids try new foods in delicious and simple recipes parents can easily prepare.
Getting our kids to try new foods is not easy but it is possible! Learn how many parents are helping their kids learn to try new foods.
Perfect Spinach Pancake Batter
To avoid specs of leafy greens in your pancakes, the spinach and wet ingredients are blended until smooth, then poured into the dry ingredients, and stirred until just combined. Pancake batter should be thick, without lumps, and even.
Pancake batter that is too thin will yield flat pancakes without much fluff.
You can also prep the batter the night before and refrigerate. Since the baking powder will lose some of it’s “boosting power” overnight, when ready to make pancakes, whisk ¼-1/2 teaspoon of additional baking powder into the batter, before cooking.
How to Make Green Spinach Pancakes
Ready to make these hulk-green spinach pancakes a regular breakfast at your house? Let’s get to it!
- Sift
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. - Add to the Blender
To a high-speed blender, add milk, egg, butter, and spinach. Blend until smooth. - Combine
Pour the blended mixture into the flour and whisk to combine. - Cook
Heat a large non-stick pan or griddle over medium-high heat. Pour or scoop ¼ cup of batter for each pancake. Wait until bubbles begin to form to flip. Repeat with the remaining batter. - Stack ’em High
Serve the pancakes with butter, maple syrup, or your choice of yummy pancake toppings.
For those of us that love to learn by watching, check out how these pancakes are made in this quick video:
While some people prefer to make pancakes on a pan, I really like the efficiency of a large non-stick griddle when it comes to making my pancakes. A large surface allows me to make more pancakes at once, which means I can serve them hot and please a crowd (or my kids).
I do feel, however, that a non-stick surface is necessary to make pancakes. And remember, just because your surface is non-stick, it does not mean you can skip using butter or spray. This is essential.

How to Make Fluffy Spinach Pancakes
Just because these are spinach pancakes doesn’t mean they can’t be fluffy! In my opinion, the fluffier the pancake the better and the secret is in fresh baking powder. While we all have baking powder in our pantries, it’s important to note that after nine months from opening, its “rising properties” begin to decline.
Meaning, its ability to provide your pancake batter with a fluffy “lift” and help them rise declines quickly or stops working. This is the culprit to pancakes not coming out as fluffy as they should with this recipe.
One simple trick is to mark the opening date with a pen in your baking powder bag or package, so you know it’s always fresh! If your baking powder is sealed but expired, it will also not provide optimal lift.

Can They Be Gluten-Free or Dairy-Free?
These healthy and yummy pancakes can easily be turned into a gluten and/or dairy-free recipe so the entire family can enjoy them.
To make these pancakes gluten-free swap the all-purpose flour for equal parts 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour.
My favorite one for this recipe is Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour. A lot of people have also claimed success with King Arthur’s Gluten-Free flour too.
Whether you ran out of regular milk or your household is dairy-free you can still make delicious pancakes by using non-dairy milk such as almond or soy. I recommend neutral-flavored non-dairy milk to keep the taste of the pancakes similar to the original recipe.
Topping Your Spinach Pancakes
These spinach pancakes can be served with savory or sweet flavors. If you’d like to make them savory, consider adding shredded Cheddar cheese to the batter, it’s a decision you won’t regret. Otherwise, since you can’t taste the spinach flavor you top them with all your usual toppings or a few new ideas:
- Vanilla Greek yogurt
- Sliced fruit
- Whipped cream
- Maple Syrup
- Homemade Pancake Syrup
- Honey
Interested in more pancake topping ideas? Good, I have over 50+ ideas to top pancakes so you won’t get bored anytime soon.

Best Spinach Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 ¼ cups milk
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- Large handful of spinach about 1 cup chopped
- Maple syrup and butter for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
- In a blender, pour milk, egg, butter, and spinach. Blend until smooth.
- Pour blender mixture into the flour bowl and with a whisk or fork, mix to combine.
- Heat a non-stick griddle or large pan over medium-high heat, I set my griddle at 300-350 F.
- Pour or scoop ¼ cup of batter for each pancake. Wait until bubbles form to flip. Continue cooking for an additional minute to cook through, and brown on the other side. Remove from the pan or griddle and serve with additional butter and maple syrup.
Iris
Hi! Can you make this without eggs? Would love to serve this to my baby but he is allergic to egg.. thank you!
Laura Fuentes
You sure can! You can use an egg substitute/replacer -like the ones I show you in this pancakes without eggs post.
Natalie
So easy and yummy!!!
Pat B
I wish your recipes could be saved to Pinterest. That’s where I keep favorite recipes.
Paula Rollo
If you click the pin button at the top of the page you can save any recipe to Pinterest. Enjoy! 🙂
Sara L.
My 3 year old refuses anything green. He even helped me make these, so saw the spinach, but still loved them! We topped them with plain yogurt and cooked down fruit!
Sarah
I forgot to add that he loved these spinach pancakes even though he doesn’t like green stuff.
Colette
Picky eater approved! It is such a lovely neon green – great for St. Patrick’s Day, or any day! I will be making this often, thank you.
Laura Fuentes
So glad these pancakes were a success for your kids!
Preet
Thank you Laura! I have been trying all your recipes and they are absolutely yummy! Green pancakes recipe is no different! Thank you!
Laura Fuentes
I’m so glad you loved these spinach pancakes!
Sarah
can I substitute butter with vegetable oil?
Laura Fuentes
Yes! Vegetable oil works too.