Yessss you read the name right! These pancakes are really made with Dandelion petals and they also happen to be vegan, gluten free, and refined sugar free! These pancakes are perfect for Spring time when you see Dandelion heads popping up!
For those of you who haven’t heard, Dandelions (the kind you see growing everywhere) truly are an AMAZING nutrition power house and so fun to use in the kitchen! They help to support your liver, kidneys, digestive function, and also have a very anti-inflammatory effect in the body! Read this post for more details on why Dandelions are WAY more than just weeds!
How to Harvest Dandelions?
- Harvesting Dandelions are really as easy as you can imagine it to be! If you’re like me – you might feel a little alarmed at first wondering if it truly is safe?! But I assure you – it is very safe to eat Dandelions!
- All you need to do is find an unmaintained park or area where you know pesticides haven’t been sprayed and start picking away!
- If you can’t find them: Dandelions love growing in “disturbed soil” so anywhere you know the soil might have been moved around or tilled up is a great place to start looking
- It is best to stay away from busy roadsides as the Dandelions growing here will be contaminated with more pollutants.
- Pick them on a sunny day as the flowers tend to close up when it is rainy or cloudy.
- For this recipe, you just need the flower heads, however the entire part of the Dandelion is edible!
Dandelion Prep for this Recipe
- For this Dandelion Petal Pancake Recipe you need approximately 1/2 cup of Dandelion heads
- After harvesting, do an inspection to ensure there aren’t any bugs or big pieces of dirt on your Dandelion heads
- Next, cut off the green area that attaches the stem to the head. This is not necessary, however I find it helps to take away the bitter flavour
- After you’ve done this, pop your Dandelions into a blender and follow the recipe below!
Ingredients
Vegan Option:
– 1/3 cup Dandelion heads (green parts removed) – you can start with less, if you’re brand new to eating Dandelions
– 2 very ripe banana
– 1 and 1/2 cups whole oats
– 1 tsp baking powder
– 3/4 to 1 cup almond milk (start with 3/4 cup and add more as needed, depending on how thick you like your pancakes)
– 1 Tbsp. flax seeds
– 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Option with Eggs:
– 1/3 cup Dandelion heads (green parts removed) – you can start with less, if you’re brand new to eating Dandelions
– 2 very ripe banana
– 1 and 1/2 cups whole oats
– 1 tsp baking powder
– 1/2 cup almond milk
– 1 large pasture raised egg
– 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
– Place oats in a blender and flax (if making vegan option) and blend until you reach a fine flour like consistency
– Place all other ingredients for the pancakes into your blender
– Mix until combined, being careful to not over blend. The oats should be all ground up and the batter should be a homogenous texture
– Add more milk if batter is too thick
– Pour approx. 1/2 cup of batter onto a well oiled and very well heated pan (it’s important to ensure the pan is very well heated for fluffy pancakes!)
– Flip pancakes when golden brown
– Best served with my 3 ingredient Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce (see recipe below)!
Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
– 1/2 cup soft dates (Medjool preferably)
– 1/4 cup peanut butter (a runny kind is best)
– 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. boiling hot water
Instructions
– Place all ingredients into a high speed blender and mix until very well combined!
– Add more water or PB to help the sauce to become the consistency you want (if needed)
– Enjoy sprinkled over your pancakes for a great alternative to syrup!
Final Words: I want to acknowledge that wild harvesting from the land comes from Indigenous wisdom – and for this I am so grateful. When harvesting, be sure to always have up most respect for the plant and ensure you leave enough for the rest of the ecosystem to thrive!