5 Mouth-Watering Recipes to Celebrate National Pancake Day

For many, pancakes have been a morning staple and seem to bring back memories of their own. Did your dad make the best pancakes and went to the kitchen for you and your friends on Sunday morning? Perhaps you had a favorite dish that served up a mountain of classic buttermilk with a thick smear of land butter.

Researchers believe pancakes have been a breakfast favorite for centuries. According to National Geographic, our prehistoric ancestors may have eaten the staples early in the morning. According to their website, a study of starch granules on 30,000-year-old milling tools shows that Stone Age cooks made their own version of flour from cattails and ferns. Researchers believe that this powder was then mixed with water and baked on a “hot, possibly greased stone”. It may not have been an exact version of today's buttermilk beauties, but the end result was a similar concept.

Since then, pancakes have exploded in popularity. The Greeks and Romans sweetened their pancakes with honey, and the Elizabethans added various spices, fruits, and even rose water. Early American colonists developed their own pancake jargon, using buckwheat, flour, or cornmeal to make "hoe cakes, flapjacks, and johnnycakes." Some recipes contained molasses while others used tastier ingredients.

Regardless of what we call them, pancakes have found a seemingly permanent place on breakfast menus. Below are classic recipes as well as some healthy spin-offs to help you come up with a hands-on approach to that fun vacation.

Super Easy Vegan Pancakes – Positive Health Wellness

Vegan pancakes are tricky because eggs and milk can go a long way towards a pancake's integrity. Fortunately, this recipe found a way to make a fluffy and sweet cake without using any animal ingredients. Unlike other vegan recipes, the end result sticks together quite well, making it an easy candidate to flip and a great platform for maple syrup.

Paleo Lemon Raspberry Pancakes – Paleo MG

Spring often means fresh flavors and hand-picked berries. This recipe combines both and uses zesty lemon and raspberries to make a fruit-flavored pancake. The recipe is also paleo and gluten free, making it suitable for a wide variety of dietary restrictions. The flavor combination is bold enough to eliminate the need for syrup, but there's no way we're going to stop you.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pancakes – The minimalist baker

If you've always wanted an excuse to have cookies for breakfast, hit your new favorite pancake. This recipe makes a seemingly indulgent cake, but it's completely refined sugar free and easy to make vegan. The nuttiness of the oats goes well with dark chocolate and sweet banana, and you might want a glass of milk to balance out the indulgent flavor. Since they come together in less than 10 minutes, this is a fabulous recipe if you're in a morning rush.

Buttermilk Buckwheat Pancakes – Ella, of course

Buckwheat has a unique taste: earthy and fatty, but balanced with a hint of maple syrup. They are thicker than regular pancakes, so you may need a smaller amount to fill up. Of course, Ella offers some variations that suggest you had bourbon and peaches for a Mediterranean twist, or add some fried eggs to make them palatable.

Homemade Pancake Mix – Spend With Pennies

The benefits of a homemade pancake mix are endless; It's affordable, adds simplicity, and makes a great breakfast on camping trips. If you are often in a rush or looking for more eco-friendly recipes, this is the ideal mixing recipe. It's also a great gift for the pancake lover in your life.

What are some of your favorite pancake recipes?

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Amanda Kohr is a 25-year-old writer and photographer with a passion for yoga, food, and travel. She prefers to bathe in the moonlight than in the sun and likes to live in a state of the three Cs: cozy, creative and curious. When she's not writing, she drives her VW Bug and looks for the next roadside attraction or the next family dinner. She also roams the internet at amandakohr.com and on Instagram.