This country breakfast is full of nutty, southwestern flavor. It's the perfect recipe for lazy weekends!
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❤️ Why you'll love it
- Hearty and filling breakfast that excites the whole family.
- Blue cornmeal gives these pancakes a pretty color and unique flavor.
- The fresh blueberries and a pop of lemon juice perfectly balance the not-too-sweet pancake mix.
These delicious blueberry pancakes are tasty beyond compare. Using blue cornmeal is a great way to make an easy, fun breakfast—it's a wonderful treat to start the weekend!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- In a separate medium bowl, blend the wet ingredients.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and fold in the blueberries.
- Cook pancakes in an iron skillet over medium heat until golden brown and repeat with remaining batter.
🥫 Storage
The best part about these pancakes is that you can easily store and reheat them later. Yay for special breakfasts all week long!
Let pancakes cool to room temperature, then store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. Reheat in the microwave or toaster until warmed through.
You can also wrap the pancakes in plastic and freeze them for up to three months. Thaw before eating, or heat from frozen (you just might have to add a little bit more time in the toaster or microwave.)
📖 Variations
- Make "red, white, and blue" pancakes by swapping half of the blueberries for another fresh fruit, like strawberries. Add a bit of shredded coconut for a beachy taste!
- For more vibrant colors, add 1-2 tablespoon of butterfly pea powder or blue spirulina powder to the batter. (Bonus—they both have great health benefits, too!)
- To make different shades, add a drop of food coloring to small, separated bowls of batter. Remember, blue + yellow = green and blue + red = purple! Colorful foods are a fun way to entice picky eaters!
- Instead of maple syrup, these pancakes are also tasty with a simple honey butter, honey drizzle, or agave nectar.
- Allergic to gluten? Use a 1:1 GF flour substitute to make this blue corn pancake recipe gluten-free.
- If you prefer plain pancakes (I don't judge) you can leave out the fresh berries. Consider using them as a topping instead.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: For fluffy, thick pancakes, rest your batter for at least a couple of minutes before starting to cook them—I'd even recommend up to 15. That's just enough time to get your bacon started! Yum.
- Don't overmix your pancake batter! Some small lumps are totally fine. The "resting" period mentioned above will help dissolve the little lumps.
- Make sure your baking powder is fresh, not nearing expiration. Otherwise, your flapjacks will be more like "flat" jacks! (Unless you're cooking for a literal army, I don't recommend buying the never-ending Costco-sized baking powder. It'll lose its leavening power before you use it all—trust me!)
- Use the largest skillet you have or a long electric griddle to make multiple pancakes at once and save precious morning time! Just remember that thicker pans can retain more heat. So, turn the temperature down to medium-low heat if your pancakes start becoming too dark.
- Instead of butter, use a vegetable oil spray to grease a pan prone to sticking. Butter has a lower burn point than oil, which means your pancakes will start to turn brown too quickly after a few batches.
👩🍳 FAQs
Blue cornmeal is similar to regular cornmeal but has a bit more protein. It's also blue in color, though sometimes can range from indigo to blue-gray. The flavor is a little sweeter and has lovely nutty undertones. The texture is hearty and perfect for a country, homestyle breakfast!
The easiest spot to find blue cornmeal is on Amazon (and, it might even ship in time for breakfast tomorrow!) You can also find it at most health food stores. It's a refreshing change from yellow cornmeal!
Yep! Use the same amount of neutral-flavored oil instead of melted butter. Then, sub the milk for your favorite non-dairy alternative. We love how the subtle toasty taste of oat milk complements the cornmeal in this pancake recipe!
Swapping leavening agents is a science experiment, and I don't recommend it in this recipe. The baking powder helps your pancakes to fluff up. In a nutshell, here's a quick way to remember what each ingredient does: powder puffs and soda spreads.
Whole wheat flour absorbs more liquid than AP and, when improperly substituted, can cause your pancakes to be very dense. For a fluffy pancake, I recommend subbing no more than 25% of the AP flour for whole wheat. If you're interested in a whole wheat pancake recipe, perhaps try this one!
📚 Related recipes
- Keep the colorful breakfast fun going with these Rainbow Pancakes.
- Blue Cornmeal Waffles are hearty, crisp on the outside, and perfectly chewy and soft inside.
- Scones and breakfast—a perfect combination. Try this no-fail method to make the best Glazed Lemon & Blueberry Scones ever!
🍽️ Serve with...
- Mock Devonshire Cream (think: upgraded whipped cream for your upgraded pancakes!)
- Breakfast Egg Bites
- Patriotic Summer Fruit Salad
- Banana Yogurt Parfait
📞 The last word
The first time I had blue cornmeal pancakes was on vacation in New Mexico... and let me tell you?
I was hooked. Pretty color, delicious flavor, and quirky enough to make me happy!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Blueberry Blue Cornmeal Pancakes
Print Pin Recipe SaveIngredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup blue cornmeal
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups milk
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- 2 cups blueberries
- Grated zest of one lemon
Instructions
- Preheat your griddle
- Mix the dry ingredients
- Whisk eggs, milk, and melted butter together until well blended
- Add wet to dry and stir quickly to blend. Batter will be lumpy
- Fold in blueberries
- Scoop by ¼ cup measure onto a hot griddle
- Cook until bottom is golden and bubble form and break on the top
- Flip and cook until done
Nutrition Facts
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We'll never share your email or send you spam. Pinkie swear.First published October 12, 2009. Last updated June 23, 2022.
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