Delicious and fluffy with soft apple chunks and a calming chai spice flavor, these refined sugar-free pancakes are a great breakfast or brunch option!
Key Ingredients
If I’m going sweet for breakfast, I always opt for pancakes. I especially love buttermilk pancakes for their fluffiness and slight tanginess. I’ve revamped the classic buttermilk pancake here with a decidedly fall version of apple and chai spice pancakes that’s great all-year long.
- Buttermilk: this recipe really does require buttermilk to get that fluffiness and tanginess.
- Apples: Stewing apples is a really quick and healthy way to get apples softened. Just finely dice and throw them in a pot with some vanilla extract and a little bit of water and they’ll cook down to soft chunks in no time.
- Chai Spice: I use half of a chai tea bag to get that chai flavor. Alternatively you can use a mix of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg to get a warm fall spice flavor.
- Toppings: I like to stew some extra apples and top the pancakes with them along with some chopped nuts (I’ve used pecans and pistachios, but walnuts would be great, too). You could also top with powdered sugar or cream. But the one must is, of course, maple syrup!
Storing Apple Chai Spice Buttermilk Pancakes
- Enoy these the first day or place in an airtight container or wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- You can also wrap these and place them in the freezer to defrost at a later time. I really like doing this, especially when I want a quick breakfast treat during the week but don’t have time to cook pancakes.
For healthier pancakes that are just as tasty, try these banana oatmeal pancakes!
Chai Spice Buttermilk Pancakes
Delicious and fluffy with soft apple chunks and a calming chai spice flavor makes these refined sugar-free pancakes a great breakfast or brunch option!
Equipment
- 1 griddle or sauté pan
- 1 whisk
- 1 small pot
Ingredients
Stewed Apples
- 1 large apple (or 2-3 small ones) any kind
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp water
Pancakes
- 1¾ cup flour
- 1⅓ tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ½ tsp chai spice (1 chai spice tea bag)
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups buttermilk
- ½ cup stewed apples
- 2 tbsp butter, melted (plus more for cooking pancakes)
Instructions
- Peel and finely dice the apple. Place in a pot with vanilla extract and water and heat to medium-high heat. Once it starts cooking, stir frequently for 2-3 minutes. Lower temp to medium-low and cover for 5 minutes, checking periodically to make sure the apples are not burning. Turn off heat and let stand.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk until fully mixed then add the stewed apples and mix. Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until a batter forms. Add in the melted butter and mix until fully incorporated.
- Heat a griddle or pan to medium/ medium-high heat and add a spat of butter to the pan. It should sizzle. Using a ½ cup scoop. pour one scoop of batter on to the pan. Let cook until bubbles start to form. Once they do, flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. The first pancake never looks that great (but it'll still taste good!) but the following ones will. Just remember to add a pat of butter to the pan once in a while to make sure the pancakes don't burn. *You can use a 1/4 cup scoop to make these into smaller, silver-dollar size pancakes.
- Top with fruit, nuts, or maple syrup and enjoy!