Valentine’s Day Pancakes (Gluten-free, Vegan)

I recently posted my gluten-free, vegan spin on Swedish Pancakes, which comes close to the pancakes I grew up eating. Shortly after discovering that recipe, I came across a recipe for quinoa wraps that includes beets for color. I decided to combine these two flatbread recipes to create my scrumptious Valentine’s Day Pancakes. The method for these is basically the same as the Swedish Pancake recipe I shared. Just add some cooked beets to the blender with the lentils and quinoa.

These pancakes require some planning ahead, as you’ll need to soak the lentils and quinoa overnight. However, the process is actually quite simple. Start by rinsing them in a fine-mesh strainer. Both quinoa and lentils create quite a few bubbles and foam. I like to rinse them until the water runs just about clear.

Soak the red lentil and quinoa overnight in a bowl with several inches of filtered water.

Drain and rinse the lentils and quinoa thoroughly the next day. It’s basically a three-step process: rinse, soak overnight, rinse again.

Next, cut your beets into pieces and steam to desired tenderness. It doesn’t take a lot of beets to color the pancake batter. I use approximately 1-2 medium beets, or whatever I have on hand.

Add the cooked beets, red lentils, and quinoa to a blender with salt and 3 cups of water. Blend until smooth. The batter will be pretty runny.

Transfer batter to a large bowl.

Finally, it’s time to cook the pancakes. Traditionally, my grandmother would use a non-stick skillet, but I use my round cast-iron griddle with a Dexter stainless steel turner. Either way is fine. It just takes some practice to get the batter to spread evenly around the pan. Once you get the hang of it, it gets easier. I use lard to grease the pan, but you can use any cooking oil.

Once the batter is evenly spread over the pan, wait for bubbles to form. Carefully use a turner to go around the edges before flipping. Sometimes the first one doesn’t turn out perfectly.

I like to serve these Valentine’s Day Pancakes with maple syrup, strawberries, coconut cream, and mini chocolate chips. They are definitely a fun treat for the whole family to enjoy.