Healthy breakfast recipes like these Masa Pancakes are gluten free, dairy free, and with giant scoops of vanilla-soaked strawberries on top, hard to resist!
Eight months in and California, you’re still leaving me breathless (may I say this is a condition I hope never to be cured from). I can definitely handle mornings filled with Masa Pancakes and fresh strawberries.
Last weekend a wrong turn led us into a deep canyon, soft and misty and (thanks to buckets of rain) spectacularly green.
Then there was an innocent hike up a foothill whose summit revealed the ocean spread wide in front of us, immaculate orange groves behind, and lofty mountain ranges beyond that.
The scene however that I love the most are the vast and wide fields of, let me see, well, you name it: lettuce and tangerines, broccoli, and lemons.
Yesterday Hiro and I stumbled upon a field of artichokes on our way to the library. Artichokes!!
And of course, strawberries.
There are fields of strawberries at every turn; along the highway, between bike paths, right at the foot of the ocean, which I always think to myself whenever I see it, if you had to be picking anything anywhere picking strawberries while look out at the ocean has got to be at least one of the more desirable positions.
Thanks to the abundance of fresh strawberries they are plentiful at farm stands and in Farmer’s markets year round.
That means they are a staple at our breakfast table and top just about everything from yogurt to cereal and in this case, pancakes.
supremely addictive masa pancakes
These are a special breed of pancake made not with wheat flour but masa harina, the very finely ground corn flour used to make corn tortillas, tamales, and any number of Latin American dishes.
The masa harina makes a thicker-than-normal batter which might leave you in doubt but they fry up so fluffy and light and tender you’ll forget all about the weird, heavy batter.
a healthier pancake
Making them with masa harina means they are naturally gluten-free and when you make the batter with plant-based milk and vegetable oil like I did they are also dairy-free, so yay for healthy pancakes!
These masa harina pancakes also have a delicate corn flavor that goes beautifully with strawberries.
how to make masa pancakes
Whipping up a batch of these pancakes is simple but there are a few tricks to get them just right.
First, because we aren’t using buttermilk we want to mimic that tangy flavor by mixing lemon juice with 2 cups of milk (any plant-based milk will work) in a large bowl. Let that sit for a minute while you prepare the other ingredients.
Next, combine the masa harina, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
Add the eggs, oil, and 1/4 cup of honey to the bowl with the lemon juice and milk.
Stir the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. It will seem very runny at first but then turn very thick. Don’t worry, they will still cook up beautifully in the frying pan.
Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Add a teaspoon of oil and then ladle the batter in the pan. Cook until the bottom is golden brown, flip and cook on the other side.
As for the strawberries, I like to slice them and toss them with fragrant vanilla bean sugar made by my friend Lola and you can buy some for yourself here!
Otherwise you can toss them with plain granulated sugar and some vanilla beans or vanilla extract.
Top the pancakes with just the strawberries or strawberries and maple syrup.
One more thing. If you want even more corn flavor you can also add sweet corn kernels to the pancake batter with the wet ingredients. About 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn would be great.
more delicious breakfast recipes to try!
- Green Chilaquiles with Fried Eggs
- Sweet Potato and Chorizo Quiche
- Mexican Baked Eggs with Pierogies
- Toasted Coconut Cold Brew Horchata
- Classic Flaky Biscuits {Vegan}
- Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Muffins
- Lime Raspberry Poppy Seed Muffins
when in doubt, eat masa pancakes for breakfast!
I’d love to know how you loved this recipe! Snap a photo of your Masa Pancakes and maybe even a video of the beautiful people you feed it to. Tag us on Instagram using @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno. Happy eating!
Masa Harina Pancakes with Vanilla Strawberries
Glorious, gluten-free, dairy-free masa harina pancakes are ultra-fluffy and light. Serve with giant scoops of vanilla-sugar strawberries on top!
Ingredients
For the Pancakes:
- 2 cups milk (any kind will do, I used vanilla soy milk)
- Juice of 1/2 of a lemon
- 1 1/2 cups masa harina
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil, plus more for the pan
- 1/4 cup honey
- Butter and maple syrup, for serving (optional)
For the Strawberries:
- 1 pint fresh strawberries
- 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar or 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and the seeds of 1/2 a vanilla bean, or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To Make the Pancakes:
Heat oven to keep pancakes warm. Heat oven to 200°F.
Make sour milk. Combine milk and lemon juice in a large bowl. Let sit 5 minutes.
Combine dry ingredients. Meanwhile, combine masa harina, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk to break up any lumps.
Combine wet ingredients. Add eggs, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, and honey to the milk mixture and whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined and no dry spots remain. Batter will seem really thin at first and then get super thick after sitting for a few minutes, but will still cook up light and fluffy.
Cook pancakes. Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add about 1/4 cup of the batter for each pancake and spread into a 1/4-inch thick circle. Cook until crispy and browned on the edges, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook 2 more minutes on the other side.
Keep pancakes warm. Transfer pancakes to a baking sheet or large heat-proof plate and place in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter.
To Make the Strawberries:
Macerate strawberries. Stem and slice the cleaned strawberries and place in a medium bowl. Sprinkle vanilla sugar over the top and toss to coat the strawberries in sugar.
To Serve. Serve a couple warm pancakes with a generous spoonful of strawberries and butter (or dairy-free butter) and syrup, if you'd like.
Notes
The original recipe called for 3 cups of milk. I have lowered that amount to 2 cups of milk after hearing the batter was too thin for some people.
The masa harina flour soaks up more liquid than all purpose flour which results in a very thin batter at first and then getting super thick as it sits. The pancakes will still be very light and fluffy even though the batter may seem very stiff.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 96Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 67mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 1gSugar: 10gProtein: 4g
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These look scrumptious & I love your description of the beautiful fields. I can’t wait to eat some produce from California after the rains.
Thank you!! I’m wishing you an early spring in North Dakota my friend!
These pancakes look delicious as the strawberries, now I need a big serving!
Thanks so much Silvia, and they’re gluten-free so yay!!!
This looks delicious Kate. While living in SoCal I made arepas with masarina and I didn’t like them. I think the addition of honey or maple syrup to the masarina pancakes is a hit!
These are great Enri! Super light and crisp.
3 cups of milk was WAY too much. I was skeptical reading the recipe but figured I’d trust it. Unfortunately, it made thin, useless batter that cooked poorly. Looked at other recipes and they call for 3/4 cup milk. Was 3 cups a mis-type and supposed to say 3/4?
Added more dry ingredients and then it was wonderful. Great flavor. We had SO much batter though.
Hi Jenny,
So sorry the recipe didn’t work out for you. The masa harina flour really soaks up a ton of liquid after it sits for more than a few minutes so that’s why the milk amount is so high. I will retest today just to make sure and let you know. I really appreciate the feedback. -Kate
Just wanted to let you know I did try the recipe again and changed the milk amount to 2 cups. The batter may seem very thin at first but the masa harina soaks up a lot of liquid and becomes very thick after sitting for a few minutes.
Just made these for our 9 year old who loves pancakes but can no longer have gluten or cow’s milk products. Swapped in goat’s milk instead. They came out perfect and we both loved them! Thanks for this great new option!
That’s wonderful Tina!! So happy you and your kiddo loved them.
Just made these for Sunday morning breakfast. They were fabulous! First time I’ve been able to enjoy pancakes for years! Used 2 cups of coconut milk. Worked fine. Did not notice any coconut flavor in the pancakes. Makes a HUGE batch. Will decrease it by half next time since I’m cooking for myself. Used cinnamon sugar over the fruit (blueberries & strawberries were perfect combo) with real maple syrup. Thinking it would be tasty with apples and cinnamon, too. Keeping this recipe handy!