Butternut Squash Pancakes

These gluten-free butternut squash pancakes are a perfect portable breakfast or snack, school lunch, side dish, main dish or as an appetizer with a yogurt dipping sauce. These naturally sweet pancakes also make a great healthy, kid-friendly snack. They are so versatile and even my meat and potatoes husband gave them the thumbs up. That is extremely high praise coming from the most picky eater I have ever met!

Be sure to check out more of my healthy, gluten-free snack recipes including my grain-free vegetable spring rolls with dipping sauce, whole fruit pops and mini quinoa stuffed peppers.

Making these gluten-free butternut squash pancakes is almost exactly like making potato pancakes. Mix shredded butternut squash with eggs, seasonings, onion and potato starch. I sneak in some finely chopped kale which adds a nice balance to the sweetness of the squash.

Shredded Butternut Squash

Some markets carry shredded butternut squash. If you can find it, it will make this a pretty quick and easy recipe. Otherwise, using a food processor if you have one, is the quickest way to get shreds. If not, you’ll get a nice workout using a grater.

Delicata squash has a very similar flavor and is an alternative. The advantage is that they are smaller and easier to handle than your average 2-3 lb. butternut squash.

Peel the squash with a vegetable peeler, trim a piece off the top and bottom and cut in half from top to bottom. Scoop out the seeds and cut it into pieces that will fit in the chimney of your food processor.

Cooking Squash Pancakes

These butternut squash pancakes are cooked in a pan with a light coating of oil and then baked to finish the cooking process. Butternut squash takes longer to cook than potatoes and, if left in the pan too long they’ll burn. So they are finished in the oven on a wire rack to keep a nice crust on the outside and soften the shredded squash.

Yogurt Mint Sauce

These squash pancakes are great on their own as a yummy, nutritious snack. But the yogurt dipping sauce (see the recipe card below) is a wonderful creamy and tangy addition. The sweet squash and bitter kale with tangy yogurt and bright mint is a wonderful flavor combination.

For a different flavor profile, use a tablespoon of pesto to flavor the yogurt. My cilantro lemon pesto is a reimagining of traditional basil pesto. The lemon and cilantro are a perfect flavor combo with the pancakes.

Green Valley is an excellent lactose-free yogurt but if you are dairy-free. use your favorite yogurt substitute. Kite Hill (my personal fav) and So Delicious make great yogurt alternatives that are also non-gmo, woo hoo!