Quinoa pancakes with the flavor of lemon and poppy seeds, topped with sweet roasted strawberries.

I had to squeeze this post in before it seemed too out of place, timewise. It is now mid-September, and though I’m totally looking forward to fall, I can struggle a little bit to give up my summer produce. It was up around ninety five degrees in the Philadelphia area last week, so that certainly didn’t help me get in the mood for apple bobbing and pumpkin pie. This is actually a blessing because I wanted to try this exact recipe out for a while and I needed a little last bit of summeryness as an excuse. Go get some half decent strawberries while you still can, and make these pancakes before it’s too late! In fact, you could probably get away with using strawberries that aren’t the sweetest, because these are lightly sweetened with some maple syrup and roasted! That’s right, roasted. See…it’s sort of like a fall recipe.

What I love about baking with quinoa is that it gives you a seriously satisfying product. Normally I’m all about my big, fat, fluffy pancakes. These, on first glance weren’t gonna cut it. They’re rather thin. But pick one up and you’ll find it weights about twice as much as your typical fluffy pancake. The quinoa packs in moisture, fiber and protein, and costs you nothing in taste. These pancakes are absolutely delicious, but they feel healthy. Hearty, nutrient packed and totally vegan. Eat these instead of your basic old buttermilk flapjacks. You body will thank you :)

The flavor is just light and tangy enough. Subtle lemon, complemented by crunchy poppy seeds. I love the poppy seeds, particularly along with lemon cakiness, like in a lemon poppy seed pound cake, a favorite summer dessert. The seeds are not an absolute necessity though, and you could totally leave them out if you (1) don’t have them on hand, (2) aren’t particularly fond of a little poppy crunch in your pancakes, or (3) have concerns about Elaine’s experience with poppy seeds on Seinfeld (I don’t think this is likely to happen to you if you stick with the amount in the recipe).

Print Roasted Strawberries Quinoa Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes with Roasted Strawberries Prep Time 5 minutes Cook Time 45 minutes Total Time 50 minutes Servings 4 Author Alissa Ingredients For the Roasted Strawberries 1 lb. fresh strawberries coarsely chopped

2 tbsp. maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract For the Pancakes 1 1/2 cups spelt flour

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa

1 1/2 tbsp. poppy seeds

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup raw sugar

1 1/4 cups milk of choice

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 tsp. lemon rind

1/2 tsp. lemon extract Instructions Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients for the roasted strawberries and layer in baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring once or twice during baking. Remove from oven and allow to cool while you make your pancakes. Mixture will thicken up while cooling. While the strawberries roast, make the pancakes. Mix first six ingredients (up to raw sugar) in medium mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix until blended. Spray or coat skillet or griddle with oil and heat to medium. Drop 1/3 cup of batter onto cooking surface. Cook until small bubbles form throughout batter and edges firm up. Be careful and test with spatula to make sure pancake is stable enough to lift. This took about four minutes for my batch. Gently flip and cook another minute or two on opposite side, until it begins to brown. Repeat until you've used all your batter. You should get 8-10 pancakes. Top with roasted strawberries.

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