Christmas Santa Pancakes with Strawberries
Servings: large pancakes
These adorable Santa Pancakes with Strawberries and Bananas are the cutest option for Christmas breakfast! Loaded with fiber and naturally sweetened, they're a perfect healthy start to a special day.
Ingredients
For the pancakes:
- 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour, whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt, plus a bit extra for eyes
- 3/4 cup milk or milk alternative
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For Santa decorations:
- Fresh strawberries, stems removed
- Banana slices
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Mini chocolate chips
Instructions
To make pancakes
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, Greek yogurt, milk oil, maple syrup, and vanilla.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir. Don’t over mix, there should still be a few lumps.Preheat a pan or griddle to 325 (medium heat).
- Preheat a pan or griddle to 325 degrees F (medium heat).
- Spray pan or griddle with cooking spray and pour 1/3 cup batter onto the griddle so that it forms a large circle. Allow to cook for about 3-5 minutes or until edges start to look dry and bubbles form on the surface. Use a thin spatula to flip the pancake over and allow to cook for another 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a platter and continue with remaining batter.
To make santas
- Place a pancake on a large plate. Slice the strawberries in half lengthwise and arrange at the top of the pancakes so that it resembles a santa hat. You may need to cut some in quarters to fill in the gaps. Place the tip of a banana slice at the top of the hat for the pom pom. Line the bottom of the hat with banana slices so that it looks like the bottom of santa's hat.
- Next arrange some more banana slices down the sides and bottom of the pancake to look like santa's beard.
- Dip a teaspoon into some plain or vanilla Greek yogurt and carefully place two dots next to each other (about a teaspoon each) underneath the hat for Santa's eyes. Stick two blueberries into the center of each dot of yogurt.
- Next place a raspberry underneath the eyes for santa's nose. If you want to give Santa a smile, arrange several mini chocolate chips in the shape of a smile underneath the raspberry nose on top of the beard. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- Serve fresh: This recipe is best served fresh since the bananas tend to go brown and sticky after sitting for a while and the fruit tends to lose its freshness.
- Slather with nut butter: Sometimes I'll slather the cooked pancake with natural peanut butter and then add the fruit toppings. It helps the fruit better adhere to the pancakes, while adding in some extra healthy fats as well!
- Switch up the decorations: You can also use some whipped cream for the top of Santa's hat and for his mustache for an extra touch. You could also give him a whipped cream beard instead!
- Get creative: Instead of just making Santa pancakes, fill a squeeze bottle with pancake batter and make snowman shape pancakes, reindeer pancakes, and more! Just squeeze directly onto a hot griddle and decorate with fresh fruit to complete the look.
Nutrition
Calories: 242kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 44mg | Sodium: 215mg | Potassium: 332mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 152IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 150mg | Iron: 1mg
