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These walnut & spiced apple oat pancakes are the tastiest fall pancakes. Made with apples infused with brown sugar, maple syrup and fall spices. Mixed with toasted golden walnuts for a bit of crunch.

For other delicious pancake recipes, try these chocolate & chai pancakes, these bananas foster pancakes or these oat milk pancakes.
To drink, pair it with this vanilla oat milk latte or this oat milk matcha latte.
For toppings, serve these pancakes with this chocolate pancake syrup or this cranberry compote.
Recipe Highlights
- The combination of spiced apples, walnuts & oats makes these the coziest pancakes for the holiday season.
- These apple oat pancakes don’t use any applesauce! Instead, they are made by blending apples that have been infused with a homemade fall spiced syrup blend.
- There are a couple more steps involved than regular pancakes, but they can still be made in 30 minutes and are freezer friendly.
- This recipe is a great way to use up apples that are beginning to go bad, which is perfect during apple season.
- These pancakes can easily be made dairy-free and gluten-free.
Ingredients
- Oats: Use rolled or old fashioned oats for these pancakes. They will give the pancakes the best texture. Steel cut oats will not soften enough, and instant oats or quick oats will become too mushy.
- Apple: This recipe works with any type of apple, but it is best with a sweet variety, such as honeycrisp or pink lady.
- Walnuts: Toasted walnuts pair especially well with the spiced apples. They also add a bit of crunch and texture to the pancakes. As a substitution, use pecans.
- Oat Milk: Oat milk brings out the oat flavor well in these pancakes. You can use almond milk or regular 2% milk as a substitute.
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar sweetens both the spiced apples, as well as the pancakes. Any type of brown sugar will work. You can use granulated sugar as a substitute.
- Maple Syrup: Use pure maple syrup for the best taste. Avoid any artificial pancake syrups.
- Fall Spices: A combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves are infused with the apples. The reserve spice syrup is also mixed into the pancakes. A pinch of salt brings out all the other flavors.
- Butter: Butter adds a richness to the spiced apple syrup. For dairy-free pancakes, use vegan butter or a plant-based margarine.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder makes these pancakes extra fluffy by allowing the batter to rise. Baking powder can not be substituted with baking soda.
- Eggs: Eggs act as a binding agent to hold the pancakes together.
Equipment
- A small saucepan to make the spiced apples in.
- A food processor to blend the apples.
- A set of mixing bowls and a rubber spatula to make the pancake batter.
- A nonstick skillet or a griddle to cook the pancakes on.
- A flat, plastic spatula to flip the apple oat pancakes with.
Instructions
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400F. Toast the walnuts for 6 to 7 minutes until they are golden brown.
Step 2: In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add in the apples and fall spices. Bring to a low simmer for 4 to 5 minutes until the apples are tender. Strain out the apples and reserve 4 tablespoon of remaining spiced liquid.
Step 3: Blend the apple chunks in a food processor until smooth. Set aside.
Step 4: In a large bowl, mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt together.
Step 5: In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, oat milk, blended apples, and 4 tablespoons of reserved spiced syrup together.
Step 6: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing only until combined.
Step 7: Fold in the toasted walnuts.
Step 8: Melt a small amount of butter on a nonstick skillet. Add ⅓ cup of pancake batter and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 9: Once bubbles start to form in the batter, flip the pancake and cook the other side for another 2 to 3 minutes until the pancake is golden brown and cooked through. Serve immediately.
Storage
- Fridge: Store leftover apple oat pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 to 3 days. Don’t store pancakes with any toppings on them (such as maple syrup). This will make them soggy once they cool down. Store the apple topping separately in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Let the pancakes fully cool to room temperature. Then, store the pancakes in a Ziploc bag, separated by pieces of parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together. Store in the freezer for up to 1 to 2 months. Let them thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Reheating
- Microwave: Reheat the pancakes in the microwave for 30 to 40 seconds until warmed through. This method will result in slightly softer pancakes compared to reheating them on the stove.
- Stovetop: Use a nonstick skillet to heat the pancakes on low to medium heat until they are warm. The goal is just to warm up the pancakes without actually cooking them. This method results in a crispier pancake after reheating, as compared to reheating them in the microwave.
- Oven: Preheat a toaster oven or full-sized oven to 350F. Place the pancakes in a single layer on a baking sheet and heat in the oven for 8 to 15 minutes until warm.
Expert Tips
- Make a double batch of spiced apples. This recipe does not include extra apples for topping the pancakes with. If you want to add spiced apples on top of your pancakes, double the spiced apple portion of the recipe. You can also use the extra spice syrup to drizzle over the pancakes.
- Don’t increase the stove temperature. When cooking the pancakes, keep the stove set to “medium” heat. Increasing the temperature won’t make the pancakes cook faster. Rather, it will burn the outside of the pancake without cooking the inside.
- Keep the pancakes warm. If you are serving a group of people, place cooked pancakes on a baking sheet in an oven preheated to 200F. This will allow you to serve warm pancakes to everyone at the same time.
- Let the batter rest. Allowing the batter to rest for 5 to 15 minutes before making the pancakes allows the baking powder to activate the gluten in the flour. This makes sure even your first couple pancakes are fluffy.
FAQ
This recipe has not been tested with applesauce. These fall spiced apples have a lot more flavor than regular applesauce — the extra couple steps is worth it!
It is not necessary to peel the apples, as long as you have a high quality food processor. You won’t notice the apple skin in the pancakes. However, if you prefer, you can peel the apples before cooking them.
For gluten-free pancakes, make sure to use gluten-free certified rolled oats. Replace the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.
📖 Recipe
Apple Oat Pancakes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 pancakes 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These walnut & spiced apple oat pancakes are the BEST fall pancakes. Made with apples infused with brown sugar, maple syrup and fall spices.
Ingredients
- Toasted Walnuts:
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped
- Spiced Apples:
- 1 ½ tbsp butter
- 1 apple, cut into small chunks
- 2 tbsp brown sugar, packed
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 ½ tspcinnamon, ground
- ⅛ tsp ginger, ground
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg, ground
- ⅛ tsp cloves, ground
- ⅛ tsp salt
- Apple Oat Pancakes:
- ⅔ cup (85g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ½ tbsp brown sugar, packed
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ⅓ cup oat milk
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Toast the walnuts. Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Layer the walnuts in a single layer. Bake the walnuts for 6 to 7 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool down.
- Make the spiced apples. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the apple chunks, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
- Bring the mixture to a low, gentle simmer. Continue to simmer for 4 to 6 minutes until the apples are soft. Remove the saucepan from the stove and strain out the apple chunks. Set aside. There will be extra liquid remaining in the saucepan. Measure out 4 tablespoons of the spiced liquid and set aside for now.
- Add the apple chunks to a food processor and pulse until smooth. Set aside for now.
- Make the apple oat pancakes. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt.
- In a medium sized bowl, beat the blended spiced apples, almond milk, 4 tablespoons of reserved spice liquid and eggs together until smooth.
- In a couple parts, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing only until just combined. Gently fold in the toasted walnuts. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes.
- Melt a couple teaspoons of butter on a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add ⅓ cup of pancake batter to the skillet. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles start to appear in the pancake. Flip the pancake and cook the other side for another 2 to 3 minutes until the pancake is golden brown and cooked through.
- Add any optional toppings and serve immediately.
Notes
- This recipe does not include extra apples for topping the pancakes with. If you want to add spiced apples on top of your pancakes, double the spiced apple portion of the recipe.
- Storage: Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 to 3 days.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Pancakes
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pancake
- Calories: 230
- Sugar: 9.1g
- Sodium: 308mg
- Fat: 11.7g
- Saturated Fat: 3.1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7.7g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 27.1g
- Fiber: 2.5g
- Protein: 6.2g
- Cholesterol: 70mg
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