Easy Spinach Pancake for BLW + No Egg Option

If you’re looking for a simple spinach pancake for baby-led weaning, look no further than this recipe.

My Spinach pancake recipe uses fresh spinach and is a great way to add extra veggies to your baby’s diet.

Over the years, it’s become my favorite pancake recipe because it’s so easy to make and packed with nutrients.

Whether you’re making them as green pancakes for St. Patrick’s Day or spooky pancakes for Halloween, your baby or toddler will enjoy them as a cool breakfast idea.

You may also like – Blender Spinach Muffins For Toddlers – No Banana

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Why Spinach Pancake Is Great for Baby-led Weaning 

It’s a Healthy Breakfast for Kids

Green spinach pancakes have become part of my breakfast rotation because they are healthy and packed with iron from the spinach leaves.

This also makes them great for babies just starting their BLW journey. They can be cut into long strips, which makes them a perfect finger food for babies doing baby-led weaning.

You may also like – Easy Sesame Spinach Pasta for Babies & Toddlers

It’s An Easy Breakfast Idea

You can make these green pancakes with or without a blender. In this recipe, I show you how I do it below.

The nutrients in the spinach don’t rely on whether you blend the spinach or not to bring out its vibrant green color. The pancake will still taste good and be just as healthy. 

If you’re strapped for time then it’s best to just chop the spinach and mix it with pancake batter. I’ve done this many times in the past with great success.

You won’t need to use any extra equipment like a blender. 

You may also like – Healthy Spinach Fritters For Baby-led Weaning (4-ingredients)

Check out my other pancake recipes for your baby

• 3-Ingredients Banana Oat Pancake For Baby
• Sweet Potato Apple Pancake for Baby + No Egg Option
• Easy Blueberry Pancake For Baby + No Egg Option
• Carrot Pancakes for Baby-Led Weaning + No Egg Option

You may also like: 32 Dye-free St. Patrick’s Day Food For Kids (From Breakfast to Dessert)

The benefit of spinach for babies and toddlers

Remember the Popeyes cartoon we used to watch as kids? It was accurate!

Spinach is packed with essential nutrients like iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and folate, which are crucial for a baby’s growth and development.

Let’s break each one down.

You may also like – Easy 3-Ingredient Spinach Omelet For Baby & Toddlers

Spinach is an excellent plant-based source of iron, which is essential for the production of red blood cells and overall healthy blood circulation. 

Spinach is also rich in vitamin A, which supports healthy vision, immune function, and cell growth. 

Besides all these, spinach also contains dietary fiber which aids digestion and promotes a healthy gut (source).

You may also like this: Quick and easy blueberry pancakes for baby

Important Recipe Notes For BLW Green Pancakes

You can make them with a premade pancake mix

If using premade pancake mix, you should get the “just add water” kind. I prefer Kodiak Pancake Mix for this purpose.

This way, you can make an easy substitution for the flour using the pancake mix. Below is a simple recipe for using pancake mix.

Box Pancake mix ingredients 

• 1 ½ cup pancake mix of your choice ( I use Kodiak protein pancake mix)
• 1 ½ cup water
• ½ cup spinach (chopped)

You can Make Vegan Spinach Pancakes

If you’re vegan and still want to enjoy these spinach pancakes, there are ways to modify the recipe. You can use Almond milk, soy milk, and other vegan milk options as a milk alternative. You can also use nut butter like peanut butter or banana to replace the egg in the recipe. 

To see a full list of egg substitutes, check out the table below.

Egg Substitutes	Number of “eggs” Made
3 tbsp peanut butter	1 egg
1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water	1 egg (whisk until gelatinous)
1/2 mashed banana	1 egg
1 tbsp mashed sweet potato	1 egg
1/4 cup applesauce	1 egg
1 tbsp chia seed + 3 tbsp water	1 egg (stir & rest it for 15-30 min)
1 tbsp soy protein + 3 tbsp water	1 egg (mix & use immediately)

Recipe Variations for Spinach Pancakes

Spinach Banana Pancakes 

If your baby or toddler doesn’t like the taste of spinach pancakes on their own, then you can add some banana to the pancake batter to make it sweeter. Make sure you use very ripe bananas to increase the sweetness level. 

Banana spinach pancakes are great for picky eaters too because they taste sweet while also being healthy. Another way to make the batter sweeter is to add some maple syrup as well.

Cottage Cheese Spinach Pancakes

This is another variation that lots of parents of young babies love. The addition of cottage cheese helps increase the fat and protein content of the pancakes. Cottage cheese also contains calcium which is great for the bones of kids.

Greek Yogurt Spinach Pancakes

Another alternative to cottage cheese is to use Greek yogurt. It contains the same type of nutrients, but it’s cheaper and much more available in your local supermarket.

Homemade Oat Flour Spinach Pancakes 

I use oat flour to replace white refined flour most of the time when I make spinach pancakes and other recipes. That’s because oat flour contains more nutrients than refined flour. To make homemade oat flour, you’ll need to blend rolled oats using a high-powered blender until it is finely ground to resemble white flour. 

Favorite Toppings for Spinach Pancakes

Chocolate Chips 

On special occasions for my kids, I add chocolate chips to their pancakes as a topping. You can also melt the chocolate and drizzle it on top of the spinach pancake if you prefer. This topping suggestion is best for older toddlers. It’s not recommended to give babies chocolate too early in their BLW journey. 

Jams, Jellies, and Preserves

My kids will only eat pancakes when topped with jam and jellies on normal occasions. There’s something about having them on their pancakes that just makes them light up with joy. Adding jams and jellies also helps to dampen the strong flavor of the blended spinach in the pancake.

Maple Syrup

Some people love adding maple syrup to their pancakes as a topping. Some kids prefer it over jams and jellies.

Equipment Required For This Recipe

The Vitamix Blender

High-powered Blender

If you’re planning to puree the spinach, then you’ll need a high-powered blender like a Vitamix. I use my Vitamix all the time for small and large jobs to quickly blend what I need. The best part is that there’s only one part to wash after prepping, which makes cleanup a breeze. 

Ingredients for Baby-led Weaning Spinach Pancake (green pancakes)

Flour – you have the choice of using whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, or a mix of both. 

I’ve used all three options in the past and they came out great. 

If using whole wheat, you may have to add a little more water or milk because whole wheat flour absorbs more water. 

Spinach – you can choose to puree your spinach with a high-powered blender or use a food processor to chop them into smaller pieces before adding them to the batter.

Egg – you can use real eggs or an egg substitute for this recipe. See the table above for egg substitutes. 

Water or milk – I use either water or milk to loosen the pancake batter. Milk makes the pancakes more fluffier than water. 

Vanilla – this gives the spinach pancakes some flavor

Cooking Directions for Spinach Pancakes For Babies & Toddlers

• In a blender combine all the ingredients and blend until they’re pureed.
• Grease a pan over medium-low heat. Scoop some pancake batter on the pan. Let it cook until the edge is a little brown or bubbles stop forming.
• Flip and cook the reverse side. Remove from the heat and serve 

Step-by-Step Instructions For Baby Spinach Pancakes

If blending the spinach in a blender

Step 1

Combine all ingredients in a blender

Step 2

pour some batter into the pan and cook

Alternative method – If chopping the spinach

Step 1

Chop the spinach and mix with the dry ingredients

Step 2

cook and enjoy

Check out my other pancake recipes for your baby

• 3-Ingredients Banana Oat Pancake For Baby
• Sweet Potato Apple Pancake for Baby + No Egg Option
• Easy Blueberry Pancake For Baby + No Egg Option
• Carrot Pancakes for Baby-Led Weaning + No Egg Option

FAQs about pancakes for babies and toddlers

How to feed pancake to babies ages 6 – 9 months old

Babies ages 6-9 months old can have pancakes cut into strips. The strips should be large enough to fit on two adult-sized fingers pressed together. This will make it easier for them to grab and self-feed.

How to feed pancakes to babies ages 10 – 12 months

Babies from 10 months old can handle pancakes cut into small bite-sized pieces. At this age, they’ve developed the pincer grasp which allows them to pick up food with their thumb and pointer fingers. 

Did you make this baby-led weaning recipe? 

Let me know in the comments how it turned out!

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