A savory stack of breakfast! Mix up your morning meal with these subtly-cheesy, veggie-studded, soft, fluffy Zucchini Cornmeal Savory Pancakes. Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free.
To balance out the sweet way this blog year week started, how about something savory for a change?
Because smoothies and oatmeal exist, making a savory breakfast is a rare occurrence for me. It has happened once or twice, usually due to grocery shopping procrastination or having some sort of really delicious leftovers in my fridge that just can’t wait until lunch. But sticking with this month’s unofficial breakfast theme and sticking with my 2017 goal of at least one savory recipe a month–savory pancakes!
As I’ve mentioned before (pretty much every time I post a savory recipe), my brain doesn’t think in savory flavors. It’s like savory is a foreign language to me–I know a few words but most of the time I’m just guessing and making stuff up. There is a reason it says Feasting on FRUIT up in the url bar, not Feasting on VEGGIES. A reason I consider myself a baker not a cook. But I try.
I have noticed a trend though in my own savory meals and recipes. They almost always involve either nutritional yeast or coconut aminos. Cheesy or Asian-inspired–that’s all I’ve got. Like a one two trick savory flavor pony. Anyways…
These Savory Zucchini Cornmeal Pancakes fall into the cheesy category. Not too cheesy, but subtly so thanks to a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast in the mix. For the dry ingredients, I used a combination of oat flour and cornmeal. With it’s ever-so-slight natural sweetness, oat flour tends to be used in sweet recipes much more than savory ones. But in combination with the cornmeal for extra texture, it works perfectly and makes the pancakes so thick and fluffy. And underneath salt, pepper, scallions, and nutritional yeast, the oat flavor is well hidden. If you wanted to skip the cornmeal, you certainly could use all oat flour too.
Since we are not feasting on fruit with this one, I added zucchini into this savory pancake equation to bring the fresh feasting on veggie vibes! The first time I tested this recipe, I blended the shredded zucchini into the batter until there were nothing but the tiniest green flecks left. But the extra moisture threw off the texture of the pancakes. Pulsing the shredded zucchini into the batter very briefly worked much better! Or if you are not using a blender, just shred the zucchini finely and stir it in.
I don’t know about you, but I also just kind of enjoy the bits of green poking through, it makes me feel healthier somehow. Almost like a fritter, but actually a pancake. You could make them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner–whenever a soft, fluffy, slightly-cheesy, studded-with-veggie stack of pancakes sounds most appetizing to you!
Since these pancakes are obviously not syrup-soaking appropriate, I topped this stack with a dollop of Kite Hill Chive Cream Cheese. The creamy texture and slight tang was a lovely compliment to the cakes, I highly recommend the combo. But honestly I wouldn’t be mad about a side of ketchup with these either–the least classy but most versatile condiment.
Keep in mind with any and all savory recipes on FOF that my palate is not accustomed to spicy or super bold food. If that’s what you are after you will have to hop over to Brandi’s blog. Salt and pepper is usually plenty for me, but always feel free to add extra seasoning or spices to your taste.
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A savory stack of breakfast! Mix up your morning meal with these subtly-cheesy, veggie-studded, soft, fluffy Zucchini Cornmeal Savory Pancakes.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup non-dairy milk
- 3/4 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 2–3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
- 1–2 stalks of scallion (chopped)
- Optional: vegan cream cheese and additional chopped scallion for topping
Instructions
- In a blender or mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the zucchini and scallion.
- Blend/mix until combined. The batter should be quite thick.
- Add the zucchini and scallion and pulse briefly until evenly distributed throughout the batter but still chunky. Do not over mix.
- Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add about 1/4 cup of batter to the pan. Use the back of a spoon to gently spread it into a circle if necessary.
- Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes or until a spatula easily slides underneath. The cover is optional but does make for more even cooking and better texture in the middle of the pancakes.
- Flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes on the second side. Repeat until all the batter is used up.
- Add toppings of choice and enjoy!
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And with that I am off!! Tomorrow I leave for a two week trip to the opposite hemisphere to explore Fiji and Australia and have some amazing adventures with amazing people!
Yum! This reminds me of the corn fritters my boyfriend used to make me. Adding courgette into the mix sounds amazing!
Totally similar!! I didn’t realize it until afterwards, but they are very fritter-like 🙂 Definitely give the zucchini addition a try, you don’t even notice it’s there!
You are just checking off ALL of your resolutions! Woot woot! Savory breakfasts are one of my favorites–must have something to do with the fact that I eat sweets all day… Ahem. 😉 Side note… if you ever start a blog called Feasting on Veggies, you must notify me immediately! I’ll have to drop everything and just pin all of things. Ya know, I’ve totally been eyeing those potstickers of yours! Can we add this to the Foods Natalie Needs to Make When We Meet Up List? And also rename the list to something shorter and waaaay more clever? 🙂 Can’t wait to keep ya company at the airport!!! Happy, Safe and super adventurous travels, my sweet bestie. Love ya to the moon and back. <3
Hahaha!! Yeah because I’ve decided running one blog isn’t enough work for me so I’m just going to go ahead and buy up feastingonveggies.com and get to work on that too 😀 But it would be a lie anyways because I only eat like one serving of veggies a day–hardly “feasting”? Anywho, the FNNMWWMUL list…?? No actually I think that is less clever and more confusing than the original name. Well whatever it’s called, I’ll pencil those in. Yay airport chats–looking forward to it!! Love ya to…Neptune and back? xoxo
Wow that sounds so exciting! Have an amazing time, Natalie 🙂
These look totally delicious <3
Ahh I can’t wait!! Thanks Aimee <3
Natalie that fork shot is INSANE!!! But seriously, way to go with sticking to your once a month savory proposal! What a fantastic recipe to start that off with – you know I’m all about pancakes, and even though I feel like my entire mouth is sweet, fruit loving teeth, I have to admit these look totally mouthwatering. Love the addition of zucchini, too! And nutritional yeast immediately improves anything you throw it into, haha. Have SO much fun on your trip, that sounds incredible, I look forward to hearing how it goes – travel safe!
Hahaha I think I have one of those mouths too–all sweet teeth, every one of them 😀 But despite that we both can pull off the occasional savory recipe/meal, your stuffed spaghetti squash from the other week looked fantastic! Thank you for the good travel wishes, I am so excited and will hopefully take lots of pics to share when I get back 🙂
Hahaha, I died laughing at your comment!! Does that mean you hate my food?? Hahahaha, just kidding! I admit I love spicy food a lot, BUT that isn’t ALL I love. I know for a fact I would love these because A. you have my favorite veggie: zucchini, B. you have cornmeal in them and C. you have nutritional yeast…so I know these would be just flavorful enough for a delicious and light breakfast. Seriously, they look DELICIOUS. I know you aren’t a big savory person at all, but I love savory breakfasts even more than sweet, something that has changed a lot for me as I’ve gotten older, so these would be something I’d probably eat every single day, quite happily! Love seeing a savory recipe on here!! Woohoo!!
And wow, your trip sounds like it will be sooo much fun, how exciting! Have a blast!!
Absolutely not!!!! That’s the perfect thing about recipes, I can always dial down the spice and still enjoy the savory amazing flavors and delicious ideas you come up with! I was also writing this right after reading/commenting on your last post, so the boldly flavorful lettuce wraps were fresh on my mind. Plus I have had people comment before on my savory recipes saying they are boring/need more seasoning lol, so I’m just sending anyone with a spice-loving palate your way because if they are on my blog than clearly they are lost 😀 Perhaps I will one day find my love for savory breakfasts too even, who knows. Ah thank you, I am soooo excited!!
Great recipe! I’ll try it this weekend.
Just for fun I wanted to let you know that this recipe still falls under your
Feasting On Fruit theme as Zucchini is botanically a fruit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂
Have a great time visiting Australia and Fiji, they are both awesome places to explore.
Ha that’s true!!! I always forget about that fruits-that-seem-like-veggies category–using fruit even when I don’t realize i am 😀 Thank you Heidi, and I hope you love the pancakes!!
Wow! This is so amazing, I savory recipes. I like it looks delicious, wanna taste it soon.
Hi Bindia! Thank you so much, they are delicious indeed so I hope you love them 🙂
Wow, these looks so good! I need to get all of the ingredients to try them asap!
Hi Amanda!! Thank you for checking them out 🙂
Please tell me why I have never had a savory pancake before!!!? I have to admit that I’m usually a sweet person but these look so darn fluffy that I would replace these with the usual <3
I’m totally a sweet person too, but these make me feel much less weird when I have pancakes for dinner 😀 Thanks girl!!
I know you are queen of sweets, but you also do savory so well! These sound fantastic, must try them soon 🙂
Haha thanks Nisha, I try! Hopefully if I can stick to my one per month it will slowly feel less foreign to me by the end of the year 😀
Ohh Natalie I looove savory pancakes. Have to make this recipe with my mom since she’s always looking for glutenfree corn recipes. I think I’d more have them for lunch or gonna try them at a brunch. Thank you so much for sharing! xX Much Love, Annelina
Brunch–they would be perfect for that! Great idea! I even had them for dinner one night and they were lovely. Thank you for the sweet comment Annelina, I hope you have a chance to try them amidst all your baking and cooking adventures 🙂
Ohh! I’m always super excited when I see you’ve posted a savory recipe! And this one looks so good! I love that you added shredded zucchini. I haven’t tried Kite Hill Cheese yet (we don’t have it here, buuhuuu) but I’ve only heard good things about it! Hope you have a wonderful time, Natalie!
Kite Hill juuuuust showed up near me finally, so don’t feel too out of the loop. Plus I’m sure you could invent some sort of delicious homemade savory sauce/topping that would be even better with these, you are great with the savory stuff! The trip was amazing!! Now just trying to transition back into normal life 🙂 Thanks Bianca!
Your sweet treats are so awesome, but when you sneak in a savory one every now and then i’m blown away too! I actually have a bag of cornmeal i need to use up…these look delicious! I like the idea of the savory pancake and the addition of zucchini!
I am trying sooooo hard to stick to one savory a month–it’s gonna be tough! But I enjoy the challenge…and having leftovers that actually qualify as an acceptable meal is nice too 🙂
so tasty, thank you very much for this !
i come from germany and i love your recipes :-*
Greetings
nicole
★★★★★
I am so happy to hear that Nicole! Thanks for the support 🙂