How to prepare Beet Mini Pancakes – Dairy Free, Iron Boosting

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Yes, beets can be messy, they can stain your table, clothes and even change your baby poop’s color 🙂 but they are an awesome baby food!

Beets provide needed minerals (zinc, iron, copper, potassium) and are a good source of folate, vitamin B and C. They also contain an excellent amount of carotenoids, antioxidant.

All good reasons to cook some beets and have fun coloring your baby food.

Let’s start from some easy super pink pancakes, only 4 ingredients. Great for breakfast, school lunch or snack. I wanted an easy recipe for little ones that could be prepared in 10 minutes without any kitchen appliance and just a small pan on the stove and with a super bright appealing color. I think I got it 🙂

PROCEDURE

For this recipe you will only need 1/2 cup of cooked beet. I usually cook 3-4 beets at the time and store them in the fridge to be used for many recipes so that, when needed, I can easily use the requested quantity.

In a large bowl mash the beet with a fork, add the banana and keep mashing. The more you mash, the smoother the pancake will get. For a smoother texture you can place all the ingredients in a food processor, and in few seconds you will obtain a silky mix. I also tried with a potato masher and that’s great too! 

Add the flour and the egg. Mix well. It’s time to cook the pancakes. Heat 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in a skillet and pour half a tablespoon of mix into a round shape. Cook around 1 min, flip on the other side and cook for 40 more seconds. The heat should be set at low not to burn the pancakes (it took me one or two tries to find the right temperature). Keep cooking the pancakes. You can make them as big or as small as you like. My kids like small pancakes, as big as a banana slice so that they can stack them into a banana/pancake tower.

WHICH KIND OF BEET TO USE?

There are many varieties of beets at the store, any of them will work. Sometimes I like to play with the rainbow beets (purple, orange and yellow) as I can obtain pancakes with different shades of reds and orange. The taste is exactly the same.

HOW TO COOK BEETS?

To prepare beets you start cutting out the leaves and the bottom tail. Place them in a pot filled with water and bring to boil. Boil for around 1 hr. Pending the size of the beets you might need between 45 and 90 min. To check if they are cooked simply insert a fork in the middle. If you can easily poke the beets, they are cooked.

HOW TO STORE LEFTOVERS?

This recipe freezes very well! You can place the leftover pancakes divided by some parchment paper in an air tight container or freezer bag so that they will not stick together. Freeze for up to 4 months. You can also store them in the fridge for up to three days. I would still suggest to keep them divided by some parchment paper. Warm lightly before serving. I use both microwave or the toaster oven. 

HOW TO SERVE THEM?

You have so many options. In the recipe I paired the beet pancaked with a banana, but you can also serve them with some yogurt or applesauce, chopped fruit, a drizzle of maple syrup or honey (after 12 months).  I love them with pears and a drizzle of cinnamon on top. They are also great by themselves!

GLUTEN FREE PANCAKES?

Simply choose a gluten free flour: rice flour or oat flour will work nicely. 

EGG FREE PANCAKES?

You might want to skip the egg because of an allergy or intolerance. No problem. Switch the egg with 1/4 cup applesauce. If you are looking for more egg substitution, you might be interested in this post too. 

MORE PANCAKE RECIPES?

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