What Are Yogurt Pancakes?

Nothing hits the spot on a weekend morning like pancakes. They are so easy to make and so very versatile, whether they are served with melting butter and syrup, topped with fresh fruit and dusted with confectioner’s sugar, or served with bananas, walnuts, and whipped cream. Yogurt pancakes can be topped with everything from fruit to nuts, combined with any kind of flour from enriched to whole grain, and are even more tender, moist, and flavorful than their nonyogurt counterparts.

Crafting yogurt pancakes requires almost no additional effort, and the results will bring cheers. Plain yogurt can be used to replace milk or other liquid in any pancake recipe, although unless the cook is following a recipe specifically for yogurt pancakes, it might be necessary to add a bit more or less flour to arrive at the right consistency. Yogurt can even be added to packaged pancake mixes for convenience and to save time.

Yogurt fans already know that topping a stack of pancakes with a dollop of Greek or fruit-flavored yogurt adds both flavor and zing. Anyone partial to sour cream-topped pancakes is likely aware that replacing the sour cream with yogurt will cut calories and fat. These folks may not realize, though, that incorporating the yogurt into the batter improves the texture and taste of a favorite pancake recipe too.

Just as yogurt and fruit unite in a perfect marriage for a breakfast smoothie, so, too, do yogurt and fruit make a divine pancake combination. Blending berries into a yogurt-laced batter makes a pancake that tastes far richer than its healthy nutrition might suggest. For the cook who discovers someone ate the blueberries intended for the pancake batter, an easy shortcut is adding fruit-flavored yogurt instead. If only plain yogurt is available, some fruit preserves or even fruit jelly will do the trick.

Diners concerned about fiber have likely switched to whole grain pancakes already. Using whole wheat, barley, or brown rice flours add healthy bulk, but a common complaint is fitting all that fiber into the batter, which is done so at the cost of taste. Whole grain pancakes do tend to be heavier, denser, and less moist than white flour pancakes. A quick fix is easy by mixing in yogurt and adjusting the flour until the right batter thickness emerges.

Another way to add yogurt to pancakes is by whipping up a cream cheese yogurt topping. Using low or nonfat cream cheese saves calories without sacrificing taste, and the yogurt provides a little tang. Tossing them into the blender along with honey or a little brown sugar and a few drops of vanilla, orange, or hazelnut extract makes a topping extraordinaire for yogurt pancakes.