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There’s nothing better for breakfast than some soft, fluffy and delicious pancakes. That’s exactly what these Butternut Squash Chia Pancakes are. Aside from how good they are, they’re also super healthy and loaded with essential nutrients. Top them with this sweet Homemade Berry-Chia Sauce which takes them to a whole other level. It’s a true explosion of flavors!
Butternut Squash Chia Pancakes (with Homemade Berry-Chia Sauce)
I’m always talking about how much I love to incorporate veggies into breakfast foods. Adding vegetables to your breakfast has many benefits such as adding nutritional value to your meal. This is especially great if you have toddlers and/or kids in your home. It also sets up the day for one of healthy eating and making better decisions when it comes to your other meals.
Although Butternut Squash is technically a fruit, it is mostly used as a vegetable when it comes to cooking. Furthermore, there’s no denying the wonderful health benefits this delicious squash is filled with. These pancakes are a delicious and nutritious way to start your day.
The Homemade Berry-Chia Sauce that comes with this recipe is the perfect sauce to top these fluffy, moist and tasty pancakes. The flavors compliment each other very well making it a delicious combination. The sauce is zesty and sweet with little added sugar. While the pancakes are soft and spongy all while being gluten-free, dairy-free and have no-refined sugars.
Health Benefits of Butternut Squash:
- Rich in Antioxidants
- Promotes Strong Bones
- Rich in Fiber
- Lowers Blood Pressure
- Low Calorie
Homemade Berry-Chia Sauce:
This Berry-Chia Sauce is so sweet with very little added sugar. Most of the sweetness comes from the natural sugar the strawberries and raspberries contain. Using ripe berries will get you a sweeter sauce too. I love making it for these specific pancakes because I feel like it compliments the flavors very well. You can also make this Berry-Chia Sauce and keep it in the fridge to make nut-butter sandwiches or to top other pancakes or waffles, or even on oatmeal. It’s delicious and great to have in hand. Keep refrigerated for up to 7 days.
Other recipes you can use your Homemade Berry-Chia Sauce on:
How to make Butternut Squash Puree:
To make these delicious and nutritious pancakes you will need Butternut Squash Puree. Making your own is very easy and simple. Just take one cup of cubed butternut squash. Add to a saucepan then add enough water to cover the squash. Place on stove on high heat and bring to a boil until squash is soft. Drain reserving 1/2 cup of the water. Add cooked squash and reserved water to food processor or high speed blender and blend until smooth consistency is reached.
What you need to make these Butternut Squash Chia Pancakes and Berry-Chia Sauce:
Ingredients:
- Tapioca Flour
- Bleached Almond Flour
- Butternut Squash Puree
- Chia Seeds
- Maple Syrup
- Refined Coconut Oil
- Cinnamon
- Eggs
- Unsweetened Applesauce
- Pink Salt
- Baking Powder
- Vanilla Extract
- Fresh Strawberries
- Fresh Raspberries
Equipment:
- Griddle
- Large Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
- Cooling Rack
- Small Saucepan
How to make Butternut Squash Chia Pancakes with Berry-Chia Sauce:
For Berry-Chia Sauce:
- Remove stems from strawberries and slice into fourths. In a small saucepan combine strawberries, raspberries and maple syrup. Place saucepan on stovetop and start to simmer berries on medium-low heat. Keep simmering until berries start to cook down into a sauce. It should take about 7-8 minutes.
- If there are big chunks of fruit left, use a spatula and gently mash them down. Turn heat off and remove berries from stovetop. Sprinkle in chia seeds stirring into the sauce. Allow sauce to completely cool-off. Pour sauce into a small mason jar and store in the fridge.
For Butternut Squash Chia Pancakes:
- While Berry-Chia Sauce cools down, start making panckaes. In a large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients; tapioca flour, almond flour, baking powder, pink sea salt, and cinnamon.
- In another large mixing bowl, combine and whisk together wet ingredients; butternut squash puree, eggs, applesauce, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ones and whisk together until everything is well combined and batter has formed. Make sure there aren’t any streaks of flour left. Fold chia seeds into batter.
- Grease griddle with a bit of coconut oil and heat-up on medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto heated griddle at a time. Pan fry first side of pancakes for 2-3 minutes. Flip pancakes over and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Repeat until all batter is has been cooked through. Place pancakes on cooling rack as they get cooked. Keep warm.
- Serve pancakes while they are still warm and top with Berry-Chia Sauce. Enjoy!
Tips and Substitutions:
- Use a griddle to make pancakes- if you don’t have a griddle and make pancakes on a regular basis, I highly recommend to invest in one. They are pretty cheap and great for making pancakes. Your pancakes won’t stick to the bottom and you can make more at a time.
- Look for the small bubbles that pop-up on pancakes while cooking them- This is a good sign that they are ready to be flipped.
- Gently stick a spatula under the pancake when ready to flip- if it easily slides right through without getting stuck, it means the pancake is done on that side and ready to flip. If the spatula gets stuck and won’t easily slide under the pancake, don’t force it. Remove spatula and allow pancake to continue cooking for another few seconds.
- Keep cooked pancakes on a cooling rack if possible- This will help pancakes to evenly start to cool-down preventing them from getting mushy and will remain fluffy and soft.
- No applesauce? No problem– Substitute for a large ripe banana. The applesauce in this recipe helps the pancakes get fluffy. A ripe banana will help achieve the same result.
- Not a fan of coconut oil or you’re out of it?- Substitute for olive oil, unsalted butter, or ghee.
- Switch up your squash- You can use pumpkin or sweet potato puree as well for this recipe.
- Substitute for maple syrup- Use honey instead.
- Use ripe strawberries and raspberries- Using ripe berries will get you a sweeter sauce naturally.
How to Store your Butternut Squash Chia Pancakes and Homemade Berry-Chia Sauce:
These pancakes are great to make ahead and keep in your fridge or freezer. Place them in Tupperware that has an airtight lid. Using a silicone bag is also a great way to store your pancakes. They can be kept in the fridge for up to 5-7 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Meal Prepping it:
These Butternut Squash Chia Pancakes are perfect for meal prep. They make a large batch and you can always double it to make more. Freeze half to keep as part of your freezer stash. Another great way to meal prep these too is to make your butternut squash puree ahead of time. Make the Homemade Berry-Chia Sauce ahead of time too.
Like this Butternut Squash Chia Pancakes recipe? You may also like these other Pancake recipes:
- Best Gluten-Free Pancakes
- Banana-Berry Sheet Pan Pancakes
- Mint Chocolate Chip Pancakes
- Green Smoothie Pancakes
Butternut Squash Chia Pancakes (with Homemade Berry-Chia Sauce)
There's nothing better for breakfast than some soft, fluffy and delicious pancakes. That's exactly what these Butternut Squash Chia Pancakes are. Aside from how good they are, they're also super healthy and loaded with essential nutrients. Top them with this sweet Homemade Berry-Chia Sauce which takes them to a whole other level. It's a true explosion of flavors!
Ingredients
For Berry-Chia Sauce:
- 1 cup strawberries
- 8 oz raspberries
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
For Butternut Squash Chia Pancakes:
- 1 cup bleached almond flour
- 1 cup tapioca flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch pink sea salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup butternut squash puree (see note)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup melted refined coconut oil (plus more for greasing)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
Instructions
For Berry-Chia Sauce:
-
Remove stems from strawberries and slice into fourths. In a small saucepan combine strawberries, raspberries and maple syrup. Place saucepan on stovetop and start to simmer berries on medium-low heat. Keep simmering until berries start to cook down into a sauce. It should take about 7-8 minutes.
-
If there are big chunks of fruit left, use a spatula and gently mash them down. Turn heat off and remove berries from stovetop. Sprinkle in chia seeds stirring into the sauce. Allow sauce to completely cool-off. Pour sauce into a small mason jar and store in the fridge.
For Butternut Squash Chia Pancakes:
-
While Berry-Chia Sauce cools down, start making panckaes. In a large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients; tapioca flour, almond flour, baking powder, pink sea salt, and cinnamon.
-
In another large mixing bowl, combine and whisk together wet ingredients; butternut squash puree, eggs, applesauce, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
-
Pour wet ingredients into dry ones and whisk together until everything is well combined and batter has formed. Make sure there aren't any streaks of flour left. Fold chia seeds into batter.
-
Grease griddle with a bit of coconut oil and heat-up on medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto heated griddle at a time. Pan fry first side of pancakes for 2-3 minutes. Flip pancakes over and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Repeat until all batter is has been cooked through. Place pancakes on cooling rack as they get cooked. Keep warm.
-
Serve pancakes while they are still warm and top with Berry-Chia Sauce. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Tips and Substitutions:
- Use a griddle to make pancakes- if you don’t have a griddle and make pancakes on a regular basis, I highly recommend to invest in one. They are pretty cheap and great for making pancakes. Your pancakes won’t stick to the bottom and you can make more at a time.
- Look for the small bubbles that pop-up on pancakes while cooking them- This is a good sign that they are ready to be flipped.
- Gently stick a spatula under the pancake when ready to flip- if it easily slides right through without getting stuck, it means the pancake is done on that side and ready to flip. If the spatula gets stuck and won’t easily slide under the pancake, don’t force it. Remove spatula and allow pancake to continue cooking for another few seconds.
- Keep cooked pancakes on a cooling rack if possible- This will help pancakes to evenly start to cool-down preventing them from getting mushy and will remain fluffy and soft.
- No applesauce? No problem– Substitute for a large ripe banana. The applesauce in this recipe helps the pancakes get fluffy. A ripe banana will help achieve the same result.
- Not a fan of coconut oil or you’re out of it?- Substitute for olive oil, unsalted butter, or ghee.
- Switch up your squash- You can use pumpkin or sweet potato puree as well for this recipe.
- Substitute for maple syrup- Use honey instead.
- Use ripe strawberries and raspberries- Using ripe berries will get you a sweeter sauce naturally.
How to make Butternut Squash Puree:
- To make butternut squash puree place one cup of cubed butternut squash in a small saucepan with enough water to cover it.
- Place on stove on high heat and bring to a boil. Boil until squash has softened.
- Remove from stove and drain reserving 1/2 cup of the water.
- Place squash and water in a food processor or blender blend together until smooth consistency is reached.
*Number of total servings in estimated. Actual number of servings may vary depending on your own personal preference in portion sizes.
**Nutritional values shown are general guidelines for 1 serving using the ingredients listed above. These numbers do not reflect and may vary depending on substitutions, additions and/or different brands and/or other ingredients that may be used.
**Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links and sponsored content. All the opinions are my own and I only recommend products I use in my own home with my own family.
