Swedish Pancakes are thin, unleavened pancakes. They're high in protein and lower in carbs than American pancakes, and taste great with fruit and syrup!
There are a lot of different kinds of pancakes out there. Traditional North American pancakes are fluffy, a little bit sweet, and best served with butter and syrup.
Swedish Pancakes have very little in common with them, except for the fact that they are also round and generally eaten for breakfast. Swedish Pancakes are thin and dense, unleavened, and have more protein and fewer carbs.
I love both American and Swedish Pancakes each in their own unique way.
I had rarely seen Swedish pancakes on restaurant menus, but I first tried them in Rockford, Illinois at a diner. It is apparently a bit of a specialty to that area and a number of restaurants there serve them. My order was one giant pancake, folded into quarters to fit on the plate. I loved it, and started making them at home shortly after that.
The texture of these is much different than regular pancakes. These ones are slightly chewy - my daughter describes them as "noodley", which I would think would be a good thing for her since noodles are her favorite. However, she prefers regular pancakes.
How to make Swedish Pancakes:
When I make Swedish Pancakes, I cook them in my 10" non-stick skillet. You could make them bigger, but they might be slightly more difficult to flip. You could also make them smaller, but that would increase cooking time since you'd be making more pancakes.
In any case, you do need to make them in a round skillet with sides because the batter is very thin (like eggnog). If you tried to make them on a griddle, you'd end up with a puddle that would not hold its shape and run everywhere.
Making the batter for Swedish Pancakes is very easy, and the ingredient list is short. You simply whisk the dry ingredients together in one bowl, and the wet ingredients together in another bowl.
Then whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients (note that this is the opposite of what you'd typically do for pancakes or other quick bread recipes, but in this case, the volume of wet ingredients is greater than the volume of dry ingredients).
As I mentioned above, the batter is very thin - much thinner than that of traditional American pancake batter. It will be a thick liquid that looks very much like Eggnog.
Note that this recipe is on the small side. When I make a batch, it usually feeds only Mr. Dreamboat and I for one meal if we are eating only these Swedish Pancakes for breakfast. If you want this recipe to feed a crowd, simply double or triple the recipe (consider making the pancakes larger to save cooking time).
I love these served with fresh fruit and real maple syrup, and Mr. Dreamboat always eats them with nut butter or chocolate hazelnut spread and sliced bananas.
Swedish Pancakes Ingredients:
The ingredient list to make Swedish Pancakes is short, and you likely already have all of the ingredients on hand in your pantry and fridge:
- All-purpose flour (Use a gluten-free flour blend to make these pancakes gluten-free)
- Salt
- Milk
- Eggs
- Unsalted butter (You will use melted butter in the batter, and you will also need a bit more butter to grease the pan when you cook the pancakes)
Want more pancake recipes?
Swedish Pancakes Nutrition Notes:
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for three 10-inch pancakes. It does not include any syrup or additional toppings.
These Swedish Pancakes can easily be made gluten-free. Simply replace the all-purpose flour in the recipe with your favorite Gluten Free flour blend.
Eat Swedish Pancakes with a serving of fresh fruit to make a complete meal.
Swedish Pancakes
Equipment
- Non-Stick Skillet
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup all purpose flour (Use a gluten-free flour blend to make these pancakes gluten-free)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter melted (plus more for cooking)
Instructions
- Whisk together flour and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs and melted butter. Add the flour mixture to the milk mixture and whisk until smooth. Note that the batter will be thin - it will resemble Egg Nog in color and texture.
- Heat a 10 inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. Lightly butter the skillet (I like to do this buy quickly rubbing the end of a stick of butter around the hot skillet) and pour in enough batter to just coat the bottom of the skillet. Cook until the top is just dry and the bottom is lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Carefully flip the pancake and continue cooking until browned, about 2 more minutes. If the pancakes start to brown too quickly, reduce heat to medium-low. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve with fruit and syrup or powdered sugar.
Dean Gregory Haskin says
My mom made these for our family in Midland, MI since the 40's. Never had the normal fluffy pancake until I keft home. I still make these at my home.