Happy Monday and welcome to week four of Vegan Mofo! Can you believe October is almost over? Wow.
I’ve had my share of kitchen fails lately. When I tried to make my spinach pancakes with flax egg, they bombed. I have made these pancakes many times with chia egg and they have turned out great! I was out of chia and tried a flax egg – the consistency is much different and didn’t work for pancakes (more grainy than gel).
*edit 9/12/12 – I have made these several times with flax, as the recipe reads. The ‘bomb’ result must have been a fluke, or mis-measure of other ingredients. You can use flax or chia with this recipe, same amount, same method.
So I went right out and replenished my chia supply. The result was perfect. They aren’t as fluffy as a pancake with egg, but they make great pancakes and sandwich bread!
I was craving this sandwich for a week.
I haven’t made my spinach pancakes in a while, and don’t eat many sandwiches lately, either. I had a mad craving for these pancakes, and they make the best sandwiches. In the past, I have used these pancakes to make a more traditional ‘deli style’ sandwich, and this time it was simple but delicious:
This triple decker started with a generous spread of garlic chive hummus, and stacked with kale and sliced roma tomato, this is a perfect sandwich full of fresh flavor.
spinach pancakes
vegan, gluten free, dairy free
3 cups (handfuls) fresh spinach
3 tablespoons flax seed, fresh ground
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon warm water
2/3 cup rice flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
Combine flax with water, set aside in refrigerator to gel. Pulse spinach and flax gel in food processor until blended. Add flour and baking powder, pulse until completely blended.
Pour in 1/4 cup increments onto heated griddle over low heat*, flipping once when cooked through. Makes 10-12 pancakes 3 inches in size.
*Low heat keeps the bright green color, a higher heat may brown.
Then they make sandwiches like this:
Any kitchen fails lately? I know they look odd, does a spinach pancake sound good to you?
{ 168 comments… read them below or add one }
How cool! That is the coolest sandwich idea ever!
Looks so good!
I hope your weekend was great girl! xo
thank you, Katie! do you think Anthony would go for these?
weekend was great, too short! hope yours was good too – I’ll be catching up today! 
Since I do have chia seeds and don’t really know what the heck to do with them, I need to give this recipe a try. Have you tried making them into waffles? Just curious.
I haven’t made waffles (did we talk about this before – seems like someone did…). I imagine they would work? they’d look pretty cool!
Boy, the things a guy can learn reading great blogs like yours! I’ve never thought of spinach pancakes, but these sure look great. Especially as sandwich bread.
Awesome picture too. Pinned!
thank you, Curt – that just made my day!
these are really fun, taste great and I love them as a sandwich bread!
Love the triple decker sandwich! My recent fails involve vegan pancakes too. They never seem to solidify in the middle. I’ll have to try these next.
triple decker is more fun… and these ARE thinner pancakes without the traditional egg… yep – I found with vegan pancakes I just have to be patient, cooking them over a LOWER heat and making sure they are ready to flip…
This is awesome! I especially like the picture of the sandwich.
thank you, Sarah!
I have been contemplating savory pancakes recently. And do you know when these need to be made? Christmas. And/or St. Patrick’s day. For Christmas, they could be paired with red-pepper hummus.
yes, holiday colors or St Patty’s Day… or even for the Packer game tonight!
add some yellow cheese to the green…
You’re a Packer backer too!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
YEEEESSSSSS! 7-0 weeeee!!
Mmmmmmm…..spinach pancake sounds wonderful to me!
I haven’t had any kitchen fails recently (but that’s mostly because I haven’t been doing much in the kitchen!).
just now for the first time, I thought to add BASIL to these!!
next time. which may have to be today… 
Oh my gosh, these are beautuful! Spinach pancakes don’t sound like something I’d want for breakfast but I’d be all over them for lunch, especially in the form of a sandwich like you did above. I can’t get over those pictures, gorgeous!
these make really good sandwiches! and thank you, Gina! these were fun to photograph!
I love sneaking spinach into pancakes! Well, usually into socca for me. I’m not the biggest plain spinach fan, but I love how bright green it makes food. And who doesn’t want brilliantly colored food??
Allie, I am SO with you!! I always say that – I love vibrant colors in food! I love spinach socca…
Not to be a suck up..but you kinda rock! Clara would totally eat these and i can call them “Monster pancakes” for Henry!
hee, thank you!
I hope you do make these – you’ll have to let me know how it goes! (perhaps for Halloween breakfast!?)
This looks so weird but so dang yummy! Great way to get some extra veggies in
yes, they aren’t your typical pancake, but I LOVE the color!
I love the flavor too, and I have heard many a parent have used this recipe and added sweetener, making them more kid friendly!
Well I love greens so this is right up my alley! Looks tasty!
you WILL love them then!
they have that mild spinach flavor (and next time I’m adding basil!)
St Patricks come early? This aren’t doing it for me, but Popeye would be ALL over it!
My last fail was homemade macaroni, it’s still too soon to talk about, lol:)
haa, St Patty’s would be a great time to make these. or the upcoming Packers game.
They look AMAZING! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the colour.
<:-)
aren’t they fun? I always love how brightly colored these turn out!
BRILLIANT!
note to self: find me some chia!
cuz I always have spinach and rice flour
Kris, if you are not concerned about these being vegan, go ahead and use (2 or 3) eggs!!
I have eggs!
As we speak!
In my fridge!
make them!! now!!
I love my chia but i bet they are even tastier with eggs!
I, personally, am a fan of cramming spinach into everything possible for an extra veggie punch. They are so cheerful and festive! As long as you don’t mind the color. Much prettier than a chocolate green smoothie which turns swamp sludge color!
I LOVE the color of these!! and yes, as soon as you add chocolate or fruit – that lovely vibrant green is GONE.
when I saw this post and th green pancakes, I got way to excited. GREEN IS BACK! I love the deli sandwich idea.
these are so good as a sandwich…
green IS back – weeee!
Cool! I immediately thought of green eggs & ham when I saw this… except these are much healthier than the ham and green (with food dye, not spinach) eggs my mom used to make me from time to time.
these always make people think of green eggs and ham!! when I used to eat eggs, I’d serve them with fried eggs, so they yellow with the green would really be great together!
Now that is the prettiest shade of green I’ve ever seen. You have to repost these for St. Paddy’s Day
exactly! although they are perfect timing for the Packers game tonight!
Love this as a sandwich! Mmmm. And I’ve been on a hummus kick lately. I go through phases with hummus. Sometimes I want nothing to do with it. Ha. I’ve been eating eggs, and will probably try this recipes with eggs soon!
oh my GOSH I have too! I’ve been all about the hummus and pretzels, hummus and broccoli, I even dipped an apple the other day.
I have a feeling I’m starting to get over it, though. I go through phases too and over do it. 
These look gorgeous and I will definitely try them this week, as I have both spinach and chia and rice flour. Thanks!
thank you, Stephanie – I hope you do, and let me know how you like them!
XO hope you are well – how was Bobs?
WHOA! I’m WAY impressed at how you made a sandwich look to-die-for.
thank you, Julia! they taste kinda to die for, too.
I love, love, love making sandwiches with waffles! I bet a pancake would be good too! This looks so good! I think I know what I need to do for dinner now!
ah, the boys would love these!! well, the color, anyway!
love this idea! think i could sub another kind of flour?
Natalie, I’m sure other flours would work, whatever you usually use for pancakes!
What a clever idea. These have to be the prettiest green pancakes I’ve ever seen!
they always make me happy
You might be a genius; these sound so good! They are beautiful and packed with nutrients. I love the idea of using them as bread in a sandwich.
why, thank you Amanda – takes one to know one, right? these are so simple and very good! and the bright beautiful color is just a bonus!
Can pancakes be beautiful?! Why, yes they can. Love the vibrant color!
thank you, Courtney!
they definitely can – you know I like my vibrant food!
how cool and beautiful is that sandwich!!! yummmmm
thank you, Richa!
Mmm! I love those spinach pancakes! This serves as a great reminder that I need to make them again.
I don’t often have fails…but I had a pretty major one on the weekend, with some whoopie pie filling. It involved the over-use of some peppermint extract. Usually I found I used too little…but this time I used too much, and there was no turning back! Luckily I tasted the filling before putting it on the pies
oh, good on the taste testing before assembly, right?
peppermint whoopie pie… I’ll trade ya! 
Yum! Love the bright green color of these! And what a great way to shake up a borning sandwich.
hey! my sandwiches are never boring!
but yes… they make them colorful, right? hope all is well, Molly! XXO!
i’m a sucker for anything green so i gotta try this one out
oh, good – I hope you do, Haley! they’re tasty as well as colorful!
that colour is blowing my mind!
hi Lou! aren’t they so fun? I love vibrant food!
I totally make spinach pancakes for myself and my boys all the time. But… the sandwich idea? You are just fabulous! I love it! Fun fun fun! Guess what I’m making tomorrow!
oh, good! you’ll have to share what you made!
how amazing do these look – and I am excited that you find chia eggs better than flax eggs – I am head over heels with chia
hi Johanna! for some recipes flax works fine – for these, the texture was off. the chia egg really is more like a real egg, with the gel… a flax egg gets gelly too, but has the grainy texture… for this recipe that is so few ingredients, the grainy really makes a difference.
yay Chia!
This is just genious. I have to make this.
thank you, Vanessa! enjoy – hope you love them!
These look INCREDIBLE! I’m always looking for good bread alternatives (not a fan of wheat/gluten and sprouted breakds can be so hard to find). I’m definitely trying these – plus you’ve inspired me to try spinach socca as well.
Thanks for the recipe and congrats for making it on to findingvegan
thank YOU, Nada! I hope you love them – it’s a great sandwich bread! and spinach socca – my favorite kind!! enjoy!!
This is seriously the coolest recipe I’ve seen in a long time- I LOVE IT! And I really love using them as bread! I can think of so many awesome ingredients to stuff in the middle of them! I’m assuming they’d turn out just as well with other types of flour? (Sorry if someone already asked that- I’m lazy.)
ha, no problem, Lauren… yes, I’m sure any flour would work… you’ll know the “pancake consistency” to get to… and thank you!! so awesome to see people get excited about these – they are my FAVORITE. such great sandwiches. enjoy – let me know what you do with them!
These are a perfect idea, and yes, a pretty color. I’m currently grain free so I will be trying this recipe with coconut or almond flour….fingers crossed.
I have made them with almond flour, Denise!! should work fine! Coconut would be a good one too, I’m sure.
please let me know how you like them!!
don’t you just love green food?? haha, love the color of these!
yes, I DO!!
Think this would work with kale? I have some I need to use up. Maybe I’ll blanch it first so it’s not as tough and purees better.
Caroline, I don’t know – I’ve always used spinach. the texture may turn out similar, but the flavor might not! maybe use half and half?
let me know how it goes!
Oooh those are gorgeous!
thank you, Rande!
Brilliant!! These look so easy & I would love to make sandwiches with them!! Can’t wait to try
oh, YAY! you will have to let me know how you like them… they are SO good as a sandwich.
I’m so excited about these, think I’ll add some scallions to the mix & a pinch of salt. Thank you!
that sounds good too – I love scallions! enjoy!!
Whee!
XXO!
I love this! Spinach tortilla is a thing of the past now that you’ve make spinach pancakes! I can’t wait to try them out!
thank you, Ann! I hope you love them as much as we do! they’re really tasty and the vibrant color is just a bonus, right?
They are so pretty! I want to make some and gobble them up. Maybe make a rainbow of pancakes
yes! a rainbow! red could be beets. orange, carrot (I’ve already made those!). yellow… um, banana?) green, spinach of course. blue… berry! purple… a blackberry or purple potato! there – a rainbow!! are you doing this or shall I ???
I will totally sign up for this! haha yellow is a tough one though, oh wait corn!
oooh, CORN!! good call. we should do this, and post them on the same day?? like, you know, in a couple weeks or something. how FUN would that be!?
How did yours stay so green? When I cook mine they turn brown. Yours look harder/more dense. Mine are a bit softer ( I don’t want this texture). And I’m battling between having the outsides brown-burning and the inside slightly un-cooked. Maybe I’m making them too thick…?
hmm, I don’t know? sounds like they could be too thick… I keep it on pretty low heat too, and just wait… it definitely takes patience
maybe try to thin the batter with a little water?
Yea my heat is on low also. I have a batch on the skillet right now that I made much thinner than the other ones. But, I’m still lost at how yours stay so green? Maybe you could make a video sometime!
hee – maybe I will!! I’ve been thinking of doing a vlog lately…
these are so fun! you are right, once I was more patient they DID work!! lol, thank you for your DMs and all the help. the sandwich turned out beautifully (even if I cannot shoot like you, I’ll show you a pic).
YUMM!
hi Alicia! good to know, I was hoping that would help! it was fun emailing with you, glad you like them, enjoy!
so fun! great pics!
love the pretty color!! mine were brown around the edges, but otherwise came out perfect!! (I think my fault, temps too high?)
thanks for this, fun recipe!
hi Liz – that is possibly the reason? I always have my temp pretty low so I get just the green
stunning! love the color, I know these have to taste just as good as they look!!
thanks, Christy!
they DO… really!
thanks, Christy!!
I made these today, and I love them! the color is so beautiful and they are FUN. I can’t wait to make more and I’m also planning to try the blini with your pimento!
thank you, Holly! I hope you love the pimiento!
Cheers!
I am bookmarking this. I love savory pancakes, and I’m sure I’ll love this.
hello Babette! I hope you try these and love them! let me know! Cheers and happy holidays!
so green – all I can think is how healthy and nutritious!
I am completely fascinated by these! I can’t make them right away (no chia seeds in the house) and that makes me sad! The color is absolutely stunning! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
its so pretty!
I cannot wait to try these this weekend! I am looking for new things to make for my girls that they will enjoy….but that are super healthy! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
I have heard from MANY parents that their kids LOVE these – most likely for the color.
they are mild in taste and can easily be eaten “sweet” like a traditional pancake. we like them for sandwiches.
Great! I can make shamrock pancackes next month and the kids will be none-the-wiser!
Kids…will…love…this!
Love this – and so easy! Going to try this soon.
What a great idea of a sandwich – love how green these are!
thanks, Jeanette! I still love how green they are, every time. they make a great sandwich!
so clever – love the color!
found your blog from tastespotting, and have been poking around a while. beautiful photos and creative recipes, I love this place!
what is chia? Where do I get it? I can’t wait to try these. looks like great picnic basket food.
hi Patricia – chia seeds mixed with water make an excellent egg substitute and can be found in most bulk sections of grocery stores, in the natural foods sections. if you cook with eggs, you can replace the chia and water with 2 eggs in this recipe. I hope you enjoy – these are a favorite of many!
I am REALLY intrigued by these; I may have to see if my kidlets will go for these.
hi Rachel, I have had so many reports from parents that their kids love these! they eat them sweet or savory, I think the kids like the green
I just tired these. I only got 5 out of it, but still…a healthy sandwhich. Tastes yummy! Thanks for sharing!
oops….I tried these…not tired these!
you are so welcome, Kim – glad you like them! my pancakes are kinda on the small side, maybe three inches across?
Just curious how long these keep after making them? I’m pretty sure that I’ll be the only one in the house adventurous enough to try them so should I keep the extras in the fridge, or freeze and defrost as needed? I can’t wait to try them!
hi Lorraine! they keep a few days in the fridge. I make sandwiches with them, and they don’t last long! I haven’t tried freezing them, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t be okay if wrapped up well. I hope you enjoy these as much as everyone else has! Cheers, Kristina
These look amazing! I’m hoping to get to try them out today. I don’t have rice flour. I’ll see if our store carries it and if it’s not too expensive I’ll get some. But if I can’t get any is the ratio the same for whole wheat or regular flour to the rice flour? I can hardly wait to try these! I’m hoping the kiddos will be intrigued enough to give it a try, too!
hi Melissa! you do not need rice flour, sub another type. rice flour is lighter, though, so if you are using whole wheat or even an all purpose, just start out adding a little less… the consistency of this batter is very close to a normal pancake batter.
I have SO MANY parents tell me their kids love these! the color is a delight, and the flavor is mild enough you can serve them as a regular pancake with syrup or whatever sweet toppings. I hope you all love them!
these look very good, love the green. thanks for share
made these for breakfast and my kiddos love them! still went traditioal with syrup and all the sweet toppings, but to know they’ve had some vegetables already today is good for me! thank you betty!
my whole family loved ‘em! I made breakfast this morning, surprising them with these. we had savory sandwiches (fried egg, bacon, cheddar) and we had sweet stacks with syrup, bananas and blueberries. I wish I could share a pic with you, I don’t know how!
my kids would love these!
These look amazing. The recipe texts calls for flax, but everywhere else the talk is all about chia. So, use ground chia NOT flax, correct?
hi Caroline, you are the first person to notice this – I thank you for actually reading the post!
I think my measurements ingredients were off the time I had the “goof”, because I use ground flax almost exclusively now, and many times with these pancakes. (I thought I had a disclaimer at the bottom explaining the flax/chia change, I will add this).
This recipe works very well with either chia or flax, so please feel free to use either. I actually have another version that does not use either one (no ‘egg’ replacement), I will be sharing that soon.
I hope you enjoy these!
Hi, I was just wondering, everyone keeps saying these are made with chia, but on the recipe I’m reading flax. So if the chia works better, is it the same amount as the flaxseed with the same method, or something different? I would just like to clarify before I try these for dinner tonight. Thank you.
hello, you can use chia or flax, same amount, same method, with this recipe. enjoy.
Thanks so much!
you are welcome – enjoy!!
Spabettie,
fantastic grinch pancakes!!! So Yami and simple. I made with kale and some spinach. Yamii! Thanks for an idea!
SpaBettie,
Amazing pancakes! I made it with kale and spinach! Amazing!
p.s. i do not know why my post do not appear
((
These are wonderful!! I just tried my first batch (using the chia seed recommendation), and added some fresh cuban oregano! These are amazing! Thank you for sharing!
I am so happy to hear this, PatriciaRae! the oregano sounds like a nice addition – perhaps with a marinara topping?
Ooooh, how yummy, GONNA try, ‘specially with basil…hey, maybe with even other herbs…or nutmeg – nutmeg it GREAT with spinach…
Sooooo, spinach socca, huh…I have gram (chickpea) flour, DO TELL! How did you do it?
xoxo Karen
hi Karen! Basil is one of my favorite herbs (our dachshund is named Basil…) and these taste GOOD with basil! I have also made an Italian version with herbs, and a lemongrass one as well – SO good. These are very versatile!
my spinach socca is here – pickle burgers with spinach socca Enjoy!
You are the best, I so appreciate the response. Already visited the link you gave, woot! xoxo Karen
you are most welcome, enjoy!
These are great! I cant wait to give them a try!
thanks, Nicola – I hope you love them like everyone else does!
Hey,
Greetings from Macedonia, in the Balkans;-)
I tried the pancakes over the w-end, greetings for the idea.
But, mine came a little chewy, do you know what that could be attributed to?
I combined them similarly as you did, with humus (though I added some mustard, and sesame paste in it) and they were still (no matter being chewy;-) really great.
I am experimenting lately with raw and vegan food, and I have come up with some great ideas as well. We stay in touch, best
hello Biljana!
good to hear from you. this recipe does have more of a chewy texture than a traditional pancake, having more of a ‘dense’ batter from the protein rich spinach, I believe. I am happy to hear you still enjoyed them, even with a chewier texture. I have been meaning to revisit this recipe, now that I have several other pancake recipes in my collection, so perhaps the next version will be fluffier – I will keep you updated!
so happy you found me – I look forward to hearing about your raw and vegan journey – if you ever have questions or have recipe requests, please let me know!
Cheers,
Kristina
In the words of Rachael Ray, yum-O! I made myself these for dinner tonight by halving the recipe and adding in some Tony Chachere seasoning and holy yum! I actually topped them with a bit of Earth Balance and some of Trader Joe’s Cuban-style black beans. For some reason, I thought it was one hell of a fantastic combination! Perhaps I’m crazy for having liked that combo, but the textures and flavor profiles complemented each other wonderfully! Thank you for this fabulous recipe. I know I’ll be making it many, many more times in the future!
nope, that combination sounds FANTASTIC to me as well!
so happy you like these – they are so versatile, as you have already found out! I use these as sandwich “bread” just as much as a pancake!
I was so happy to find this recipe! I tried it out today. The only thing I changed was I used 1 tbsp of chia and 2 tbsp of flaxseed.Tthe batter was a bit clumpy and I am wondering if I didn’t measure the water correctly. Is the batter supposed to be thinner? The pancakes did come out okay, a bit moist in the middle though. I am going to keep trying until I perfect it! I have been searching for a basic gluten free sandwich recipe like this for a long time.
hi Debbie, so happy you found me too!
I don’t think I have ever had clumps in the batter – I always blend it or combine in the food processor at high speed. I make these often, and even when I measure, the batter will be thinner sometimes and thicker other times – the pancakes still turn out well either way. The thing I always do, with ALL pancakes? Cook at a very low temperature – sometimes they have to sit for a bit longer, but they cook more evenly that way.
If the batter is too thin, start with a smaller amount of water and add more as needed? enjoy!
These spinach pancakes definitely sound good and look vibrant to me!
I put flax seed meal in my wheat flour dough when I make the Indian roti and works fine. But I would be hesitant to mix flax meal with warm water (whether in these pancakes or my roti dough) because of the gooey texture it creates.
While scrolling down I was imagining you’d use wheat flour or all purpose flour … but rice flour, that’s interesting. I’m going to try this one of these days for breakfast (hopefully, if I wake up before brunch)…
I make the “gooey texture” to replace an egg, but I am pretty sure I have also just added the fresh ground flax directly in with the flour, then add liquid. and I make these with almond flour all the time, probably more than I do with rice flour!
the bright green is one of my favorite things about these – enjoy!
Hi there, I promise I read through a decent dose of comments, but finally gave up and thought I’d ask directly, do you know if these can be frozen? Just curious before I make gobs of them. I recently found out that every blasted member of my family has tons of food allergies, so these look promising. I have 3 very little ones that always need food on the go, so freezing would be great for me.
hi Alyssa, I have never frozen these, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t be okay to freeze – they are like a regular pancake. Sorry to hear about the challenges with allergies, I hope these help! We eat these as sweet or savory pancakes, as sandwich “bread” – possibilities are endless (and kids usually love the bright green color!).
Let me know if you freeze them! Cheers, Kristina
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