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!
Butternut Squash Pancakes
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Ingredients
- 4 cups grated squash butternut or delicata
- 2 leaves of kale
- 3 eggs
- 2 stalks green onion
- ¼ c potato or tapioca starch
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 pinches pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Yogurt Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 c yogurt dairy free versions are fine, I LOVE Kite Hill Almond Yogurt
- 1 tsp dried mint
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
Make the Yogurt Sauce
- Place all of the ingredients in a small mixing bowl and stir until creamy.
- Taste, Add more salt if needed.
Make the Pancakes
- Pre-heat the oven to 350° and prepare a baking sheet with a wire rack on top.
- Remove the stems from the kale. Cut into 4 strips lengthwise then cut into 1/4 inch ribbons.
- Put the kale in a bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute or until it is just wilted.
- Finely chop the green onion.
- Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet on the stove for a minute or 2, then add the oil. Set the flame to medium-high.
- Use a ¼ c measuring cup to scoop out the mixture. Press down to compress it in the measuring cup, then flip the scoop into your hand, flatten gently and flip into the pan. Or use a spatula to transfer the pancake from your hand to the pan.
- Cook 3-4 minutes on each side. If they brown more quickly, turn the heat down. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to cook them in 2-3 batches.
- Transfer the pancakes to the wire rack. Heat them in the oven for an additional 7-8 minutes.
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