These fluffy, easy Zucchini Pancakes are a total win for babies, toddlers, and kids! The mild flavor of zucchini blends right into the cozy, spiced batter for a pancake that’s soft, tender, and naturally sweet. Serve them for breakfast, lunch, snack time—or even a quick breakfast-for-dinner night. Perfect for 6 months and up!
Healthy Zucchini Pancakes
Zucchini — the vegetable that just keeps on giving!
Just when you think you’ve used zucchini every way possible, along comes another recipe that fits it perfectly. These healthy zucchini pancakes are the perfect mix of cozy and wholesome – soft, lightly sweet, and filled with all that sneaky veggie goodness.
The first time I made these pancakes, it was because I was craving a slice of warm, homemade zucchini bread… but didn’t have the patience (or time) to bake one. So, I turned that craving into something faster – these fluffy, tender zucchini pancakes. And just like that, they became an instant hit with my kids and me.
All you have to do is grate your zucchini, mix it into the pancake batter, pour it onto the griddle, and BAM, golden, veggie-packed pancakes on the table in under 15 minutes. They’re nutritious, easy, and the best way to sneak in a little extra green (without a single complaint from the kids).
Ingredients
To the Kitchen, we go ->
Add-Ins
You can enjoy these zucchini pancakes just as they are, or mix things up with a pinch of spice or some tasty add-ins. Here are my kids’ top 5 favorites:
🍫 Chocolate chips
🥜 Chopped walnuts
🥕 Grated carrots
🤍 White chocolate chips
🫐 Blueberries
Baby-led Weaning Pancakes
These pancakes are perfect for baby-led weaning or as a finger food because they are soft and easy to eat, allowing your baby to pick them up with a palmar grasp or a pincer grasp, if cut into smaller chunks. You can serve them to your baby sliced in half or cut into small chunks.
Zucchini Pancakes for Toddlers and Kids
These quick and easy pancakes are also great for toddlers and kids. You can serve them a smear of cream cheese or peanut butter, topped with yogurt and berries, or the classic version with butter and syrup.
Recipe Tips
- Squeeze as much water out of the zucchini as you can to avoid the pancakes being too moist.
- Use nondairy milk instead as needed to make it dairy free.
- Keep pancakes warm while you finish cooking the rest by placing them on a baking sheet in a 225-degree oven.
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 tbsp melted butter or oil (see notes)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extact
- 1 cup grated zucchini (roughly 1 medium zucchini) squeezed in towels until dry
- 1 1/4 cup milk
Prevent your screen from going dark
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Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and ground nutmeg.
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Wet Ingredients: Add in the melted butter, maple syrup, egg, vanilla extract, grated zucchini, and milk.
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Incorporate: Stir until incorporated, do not overmix.
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Cook: Heat a non-stick pan or pancake griddle over medium to medium-low heat. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of batter onto the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes or until tiny bubbles appear on the outside of the pancake. Flip and cook for an additional 2 minutes. If the batter gets too thick, add in a tablespoon at a time of milk and stir until you have the right consistency.
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Continue: Transfer pancakes to a cooling rack and repeat the process until you have used all of the the batter.
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Serve and Enjoy!
Yield: 12 small pancakes
Note on Flour: Use an all-purpose, white whole wheat, store-bought oat flour or a gluten-free one-for-one blend.
Note on Milk: Depending on the flour you use, you may need to add additional milk. Start by adding 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired thickness.
Note on Zucchini: Squeeze out excess moisture from grated zucchini using paper towels or cheesecloth to prevent the pancakes from getting soggy.
Freezer-Friendly: Store any extra pancakes in the fridge for 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, place the frozen pancake in the microwave for 30 seconds or pop it straight into the toaster.
Kids in the Kitchen: Although pancakes can be a little challenging for younger toddlers to flip, there are still many ways they can help make this recipe.
Toddlers
- Toddlers can help measure and put the ingredients into the bowl.
- The little ones will love to squeeze the zucchini to get the liquid out.
- They can help mix the ingredients together.
- They can help pour pancake batter onto the griddle for cooking (with adult supervision).
Kids
- They can pick out and measure all of the ingredients.
- Kids can help mix the ingredients together.
- They can help pour the batter onto the griddle (with adult supervision).
- They can help flip pancakes.
- Kids can help spread butter and pour syrup onto warm pancakes.
Medically reviewed and cowritten by Jamie Johnson, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), and Lauren Braaten, Pediatric Occupational Therapist (OT).