There comes times in every cookbook author’s life that they have a very specific kind of gift to bestow on unsuspecting others — tasty, deeply loved dishes that were dismissed/ejected/left homeless in the editorial process because they didn’t make the cut. The reasons may be myriad; the ingredient, format or flavor felt redundant with another dish or, as happened here, something else about it gnawed at me until I decided it was best to move on without it.
I believe we call these rejects. I, however, prefer to call them displacements, and I’m not even sad because this means I get to share it with you sooner. These are my most favorite dinner pancake to date and I loved them as endlessly when I made them for the first time two years ago (it’s true, I am this slow at book-ing) as I did when I revisited them last weekend. Here you use any roasted, mashed winter squash — I’ve made this with both kabocha and butternut but you can use whatever you have or can get — and you whisk it into a quick, thick batter with sour cream or buttermilk, flour, eggs and then, instead of the predictable sugar and pumpkin spice, we add salt, pepper and gruyere or parmesan, if you’re feeling it (no surprise here: we always are) and spoon them into a frying pan just like you were making pancakes on a Saturday morning, if you are the sort of person who does such things.
Not that anyone asked the details, but this is where I got stuck. Do we serve them with a yogurt sauce? Eh. Some sort of salsa verde? Probably, but they were so mellow, I wasn’t sure they needed anything so sharp. And so I started Googling “savory squash pancakes” and all the way at the bottom of the second page of results, I discovered that someone, the lovely and dangerous* Mimi Thorisson had gotten to my pancake idea first and I was very sad because I like to believe every thought that comes to my head is a special butterfly/unique snowflake, even when the evidence to the contrary mounts. And then right after I was sad, I realized that the recipe had did something mine had not yet — stuck the landing. Thorisson has you finish the pancakes with a bit of sage crisped in brown butter that you pour over the pancakes and it is everything, the perfect coda. It’s also a little crazy — yes, we’re just going to pour some butter over these pancakes like we’ve never heard of arteries — but I find that very little goes a long way and also that there’s absolutely nothing else on top that will be half as unforgettable.
* I had coffee with Mimi, her husband and two of their gorgeous kids a couple years ago and by the end of the hour was so charmed, the spell they cast is so pervasive, I was 100% ready to buy a farmhouse in France. Actually, I still cannot remember why we have not.
Previously
One year ago: The Broccoli Roast and Salted Peanut Butter Cookies
Two years ago: Fall-Toush Salad and Carrot Cake with Cider and Olive Oil
Three years ago: Lazy Pizza Dough + Favorite Margherita Pizza
Four years ago: Pancetta White Bean and Swiss Chard Pot Pies
Five years ago: Cumin Seed Roasted Cauliflower with Yogurt
Six years ago: Apple and Cheddar Scones
Seven years ago: Jalapeno-Cheddar Scones and Apple Cider Doughnuts
Eight years ago: Meatballs and Spaghetti and Cranbery Walnut Chicken Salad
Nine years ago: Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette and Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Ten! years ago: Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons
And for the other side of the world:
Six Months Ago: Sheet Pan Chicken Tikka
1.5 Years Ago: Artichoke Gratin Toasts
2.5 Years Ago: Baked Eggs with Spinach and Mushrooms
3.5 Years Ago: Bee Sting Cake
4.5 Years Ago: Banana Bread Crepe Cake with Butterscotch
Winter Squash Pancakes with Crispy Sage and Brown Butter
Finally, I can just about guarantee that you will not regret if you double this recipe. The pancakes keep well in the fridge and can also be frozen.
- 1 cup (8 to 8 1/4 ounces) roasted and mashed winter squash
- 1/3 cup (80 grams) yogurt or sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup (about 30 grams) finely grated gruyere, comte or parmesan
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
- A few grinds of black pepper
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour
- Butter or olive oil for frying pan
- 2 to 3 tablespoons butter
- A pinch or two of salt
- A few fresh sage leaves
Pancakes
To Finish
Heat a large frying over medium-low to medium heat. Coat the bottom with butter or olive oil, or a combination thereof, and spoon in pancake batter, a heaped soup spoon or scant 1/4 cup at a time. Press the back of the batter mound to flatten the pancake slightly. Cook until golden brown underneath, flip and then cook until the color until golden brown on the second side. If this is happening very fast, lower your heat. If you’re worried pancakes have not cooked in the center, you can finish them for 10 minutes in a 250 degrees oven. You can also keep your pancakes warm there until needed. Repeat with remaining batter.
To finish, wipe out frying pan and place butter, a pinch or two of salt and sage leaves back in it, heating over medium. The sage leaves will crisp and the butter will brown in a minute or two so keep a close watch on it. Pour leaves and butter over pancakes and quickly understand why you’ll never have them another way.
To roast squash: For butternut or kabocha, I halve the squash, scoop out the seeds and roast it face-down on an oiled baking sheet that I’ve sprinkled with coarse salt at 375 for 40 to 50 minutes, until tender. I get about 2 cups mashed squash from one 2-pound (i.e. small-medium) whole squash. If yours is already peeled and in, say, 1-inch chunks, it will likely be tender in just 25 minutes (just updated after rechecking my notes).
what are arteries? love this idea, and i bet the pancakes soak up the brown butter veryyyy nicely (;
Those curls! they’re the color of the squash!
It’s a Monday miracle! I have all the ingredients but the sage in the house, dinner solved!
They were amazing, even without the sage. Crispy egg made an acceptable substitute. 7 month old also approved.
Any chance this can be made without cheese, for the lactose-intolerant among your readers? (Me.)
Yes, meant to mark it as optional. It’s not urgent here at all.
Wonder if subbing almond flour would screw it up?
I feel like a tablespoon or so of nutritional yeast would add a nice cheesy flavor here too without messing with the consistency of the recipe. Its one of my favorite vegan swaps, but also solves the lactose problem
I definitely buy the peeled and already in chunks winter squash, and I appreciate that you noted that as an option. It’s sooo much easier…
Any thoughts on whether this will work with steamed squash without losing too much in terms of taste?
I don’t see why not. In general, roasted is thicker and has more flavor but as long as the steamed squash isn’t too wet, it should work just fine.
Hi Deb! Finding myself with half a carton of buttermilk left after making a batch of your amazing buttermilk roast chicken (a near weekly staple in this household), I was hoping I could use buttermilk instead of yogurt or sour cream in the pancake batter. You mention it in your narrative, but I don’t see buttermilk listed in the ingredients. Would I use the same 1/3 cup as the yogurt/sour cream, or a little less, as buttermilk is more runny? Thanks!
Whoops, meant to add it. You’ll be just fine. It is a little runnier but they’re also very thick to begin with.
Do you think it’s possible to use butternut squash or sweet potato in place of the winter squash? I have bags of frozen butternut squash and sweet potato. Thank you!
Winter squash is a category, and butternut falls under it, so you should be good to go. You can also use acorn, kabocha, delicata, and probably sweet potato or yam, just keeping an eye out for the consistency of the batter. Enjoy!
Yum. Last week I made some squash pancakes (fritters might have been a better name) with ground cumin and coriander. They were fabulous. That recipe called for fried onions, which I imagine would be a welcome addition here too. Gonna try it.
You’re just inspired my next baby/mama food creation (minus the butter for baby)! It’s a healthier pancake for my little finger food lover (and it doesn’t hurt that he loves cheese!)
I’ve actually never tried squash pancakes, but these look so fluffy and shiny I think I need to give them a try.
Hi Deb, like you I’ve been leaning into fall foods lately, so I took a drive up to your “In Season” tab at the top of the site for additional inspiration. Just a heads up — at least on my machine — it’s still leading to photos/recipes of berries, zucchini, corn, and other such summery delights. Thanks for the adorable new take on pancakes…which I’ve been craving!
I’m terribly behind. :( Hope to take care of it this week.
On a related note, I recall recipe groupings by ingredient (e.g., winter squash) or other thematic tag. I see such links above under “see more,” but is there a more direct way to navigate to them? I tried going to the “Fall” season but didn’t see those groups there.
Outside of these links, the best way is to go to the Recipes tab up top (on desktop) or menu item (on mobile/tablet) where they’re sorted by general categories, vegetable/fruit, season and more. Is there a way you think it would work better? Definitely open to suggestions.
Ah, thanks. It didn’t occur to me to click just “Recipes”. Would “Recipes by Group” be too cluttery? Or could a little popup explain if a mouse cursor hovered over it?
As a loyal reader of Manger, I probably have saved this someplace already, but if your thoughts are unique snowflakes, my thoughts/intentions are fast-melting snowflakes. So this is a timely reminder, especially as my kid made pancakes for breakfast yesterday and I was torn between thrill at my kid cooking and disapproval at that much sugar for breakfast. Savory pancakes to the rescue! Will try this asap. School vacation starts Thursday, which is perfect for an unrushed breakfast. Merci beaucoup!!!
Ahhh I just picked up some kabocha, you have wizardlike timing (ok fine it’s october and squash is everywhere, whatever, WIZARD). So hyped to make this! I think with a kohlrabi salad on the side.
I was just thinking about savory pancakes! I’ve never made them but these look great.
Side note, a friend recently showed me something that made me think of you. Have you ever fried an egg on top of a pile of shredded cheese? Frico + fried egg. It’s so good. And the egg doesn’t stick to the pan!
Yes, I’d eat that. :)
Runny egg dripping down these pancakes would be amazing! (Unless runny egg yolk is a deal breaker for you, as it is for one of my friends, poor thing.)
Do you think this would work with canned pumpkin?
Yes, absolutely.
I know this is still new/early, but has anyone tried this with an egg substitute yet? (Or have you, Deb?) My little guy is allergic to eggs, and I am also not eating eggs for the time being, but these look so yummy!! I hear that water + chia seeds is the usual substitute (or applesauce, but I feel that would make these super runny?) – thoughts from anyone who is more experienced at egg-free cooking?
Ground flax seeds with water can be used as a substitute, which I have used to varying degrees of success in other pancake recipes.
Just made potato pancakes with Aquafaba (the liquid from a can of organic chickpeas) and it worked perfectly! MUCH better than flax/chia egg! Simply stirred a couple Tbls of the liquid into the grated potato batter and it worked flawlessly!
As a mother of a vegan, I’ve tried the pack of “no egg” , from health shops, also a combo from Internet of cider vinegar and baking soda, also the water from chick peas. Any of the above worked fine in pancakes and baked goods. Go for it, these look too good to let a little egg detail stop you!
I’m also allergic to eggs. My favorite egg substitute is a combination of the advise above: 1 tbsp ground flax seeds + 3 tbsp aquafaba = 1 egg.
My suggestion is a mix of chickpea flour and water: use 1/3 cup flour and 1/3 cup water to subtitue one egg. From my experience of cooking eggs-free dishes for my baby, it works great for all savory dishes, including meatballs and all kinds of fritters!
The famed Israeli restaurant Orna & Ella has a similar dish, one of their signatures pieces, made from sweet potatoes. You can find a variant of the recipe here – the most interesting touch is adding a bit of soy sauce to the batter.
Will have to try this with some leftover acorn squash in the fridge. None of your pancake or fritters (leek!) have failed me and I can’t wait to try this new version. I do believe that if you leave out the cheese and pepper, it could be served sweet as well, with perhaps a bit of maple syrup, or honey butter. Maybe with some crispy bacon on the side. Yum. Thanks as always, Deb!
We love winter squash in our household, so I’ve learned a few “processing” tricks to avoid peeling them, especially the butternuts. When I steamed them, I’d cut them into large pieces, scoop out the seeds (and put those out for the squirrels) then put on clean rubber gloves to scoop out the cooked squash. Ahh, but your pictures of the roasting process mean that I’ll never steam again; bigger pieces to deal with and much deeper flavor. Rubber gloves still useful.
Thanksgiving means Hubbard squash, those oval, warty, pale green monsters that taste best of all. So, when you find one in the market, set it on a rimmed cookie sheet, grab a two-pronged, long-handled “granny fork” and make a goodly number of holes in the squash (to prevent explosions). Roast at 350 until it collapses. Cool, scoop out seeds and flesh, then freeze until needed. Thanksgiving veggies: one down.
So Hubbard are better even than kabocha?
I think so. But it can depend on where the squash is grown, I’ve discovered. I loved acorn squash as a child growing up in upstate New York. Here in northern Illinois, they seem tasteless. Same for the Rutgers tomatoes my Dad grew and loved: in our alkaline soil, little flavor. What the French call “terroir” applies to things other than grapes..
Hubbard squash is typically what is in canned pumpkin. Or so I am told. There are a LOT of variations on “pumpkin”, but essentially they are all squash. Apparently Hubbard works best for canning for high production processes. There are also what are known as “pie pumpkins”, which I find at our local Farmers’ markets around this area (Central NC).
Hi Deb, you mentioned freezing the pancakes… would you recommend freezing the batter or the pancakes after they are made? If the latter, how would you recommend thawing?
I’d freeze them after they’re cooked. You can defrost them in the fridge for the day, or just in a low oven in a single layer.
I also pop cooked frozen pancakes into the toaster to defrost and reheat. Great for on-the-go breakfasts or quick dinners.
Or sweet tater or sketti squash and some spicy Italian sausage thrown in. Either way with or without meat — dinner win.
Successfully done with Libby’s canned pumpkin & gruyere! Not for lack of winter squash in my household, mind you, just not willing to part with a couple of Sweet Dumplings I have on reserve. Also, laziness. DELISH!
You couldn’t do much better than being on the same wave length as Mimi!
So excited to hit the ‘I made this’ button! I made this! And loved it. The flavor reminded me of Mac ‘n’ cheese, in a subtle, good way. Kids did not love the sage, but did eat the chickpeas and spinach I served with it, so dinner was still a win. I want to go down to the kitchen to eat leftovers; am exercising restraint by looking forward to eating them tomorrow. I used one of those little honeynut squash – basically a mini-butternut. I already had it sliced and peeled, and I steamed it with a bit of water in the microwave. Also used dried sage. Yum and thank you! I will make this again.
I also made this with canned pumpkin and subbed about a quarter of the flour with whole wheat. My kids loved it, and my husband said it reminded him of Doritos somehow. Halfway through dinner we started adding just a little maple syrup along with the browned butter, and liked it even more. I may be making this often as a not-so-sweet alternative to my usual fluffy blueberry pancakes.
I too subbed the flour for buckwheat — delicious — and started adding touches of maple syrup mid-meal. Mm!
These were amazing! Used the rest of the butternut squash I had roasted making your Butternut Squash Galette, rosemary chopped in the batter since I didn’t have sage, and served them with arugula & a swipe of sour cream — felt like they had enough brown butter from the cooking. Perfect Monday dinner.
Oh an used Fontina (from the aforementioned Galette) and half whole wheat flour — probably would have been a bit lighter with all white flour but worked fine!
Ohhh, That Butternut Cquash and Caramelized Onions Galette is one of my Favorite recipes of Deb’s! I’ve been making it since at least around 2010, so 13 years or so. I kept bypassing the butternut squash recently. I guess i really need to pick up a large one and make both these recipes! YUM!
(I’ll bet you could add a pinch of cayenne and caramelize some onions to go over the pancakes too!)
Delicious. This was a reject? Well, keep em coming.
I get something like this at a restaurant. They do savory dinner pumpkin cakes, essentially the same as this but add manchego cheese bits inside with a drizzle of honey, plus salted pepitas and sunflower seeds on top. Salty cheese + honey yuuuum. I think I’ll try a mashup of the two.
I like the idea of Kabocha squash since I never really cook with it. Butternut can’t get all of the glory!
Am I the only one who cannot stand sage? Totally detest that herb. Need to find something else to flavor the butter with.
All you’d have to do is substitute whatever herb you do like (rosemary or thyme) or make garlic butter or garlic olive oil, or chipotle butter with a little lime if you like things spicy. I love sage myself but just top it with what you think would taste good. I’m looking forward to trying these!
i love it but my partner hates it! i agree with kate that rosemary or thyme would be really nice. (just either chop it up very finely or remove the sprig before serving imho.)
This time of year my kitchen counter is covered with various winter squashes. I love to look at them, and eventually I cook them. A few days ago my husband was looking at a flamboyant turban squash and asked if it was for decoration or for eating. This recipe may seal its fate.
We also compost like crazy and as a result we have a volunteer butternut squash vine in the herb bed outside the kitchen door. It is threatening to take over the house.
I’m sure the pancakes are delicious, but your writing (especially the footnote) is everything that is right and good with this world.
Soyfig I second that!!!
Oh my… so delicious! I am drooling over this. I must try it, I am mad for pumpkin and squash. I have several in my pantry ready to be cooked!
Yum! So glad to have another savory pancake recipe… there are not enough out there. Now we can choose between swiss chard crepes and winter squash pancakes. :D Thank you.
yum! a little while back i made your sweet corn pancakes only i made them savory with no sugar and the addition of scallions and they were SO GOOD. i could not stop eating them. and if that was spring & summer, this is the fall & winter version and i’m all about it.
WOW that sounds good. I’m going to try this!
My husband just happened to come home from the store with smoked gruyere… Might have to try this recipe with that!
First Deb, I want you to know that without your website, my Rosh Hashanah dinner would have been very different; I used your brisket recipe, roasted garlic-mustard potatoes, and apple cake. This squash pancake recipe will likely make its debut on my Thanksgiving dinner table. Thanks for all you contribute.
Yum! I will definitely be making this!! How could I also turn it into a waffle recipe?
Oh, great idea. You’ll want more batter at least so maybe start by doubling it. Should cook fine, though.
So I’m thinking these might be a perfect little finger food appetizer to take to a party this weekend if made silver dollar size. I’m thinking maybe brown the butter/sage beforehand and then warm them in an open chafing dish (with a little bowl of butter for dipping?) Do you think they’d get too soggy? Would they be all right at room temperature?
I don’t think they’d get too soggy, but in general, a squash pancake isn’t going to hold a crisp as long as a more dry/cakey one.
Deb, do you think these would work with almond flour instead of regular flour? i am trying to be grain-free. But i really want these, made with butternut squash, which i am addicted to. Please say yes. Has anyone else tried these (or any pancakes for that matter) with almond flour?
I tried almond flour. one to one swap is definitely too wet. Either try something/mix in more moisture absorbing like coconut flour, or use one of those gluten free blends that are designed to swap one for one. Use the search function (command-F or control-F) to search gluten free for other comments on trying this gluten free.
We have subbed chickpea flour for wheat flour in these (for lower carb/higher protein) with good results.
Made this and it was delish! Had some apple butter from an orchard trip so spread that on a couple and it worked great too. Was also thinking a small size would be perfect as an appetizer with a dollop of creme fraiche.
I made these for dinner tonight, using a GF flour, and they were fantastic! Definitely double the recipe and make the sage butter. Can’t wait to have the leftovers for breakfast tomorrow.
Hi Sarah, can I ask what kind of GF flour you used? Did they have a pretty nice texture? I’d like to make them for a Halloween party but am not sure if the gf texture would go over with everyone, so I might make gf and regular. Thanks!
These were very good but took a long time to cook through even though the outside was quite brown. I didn’t like the result when I put them in the oven to finish off. They puffed up and then deflated and looked sad…I ended up putting the last half of the batter in the waffle iron hoping to get a crisp outside and a tender inside. I have a non-electric waffle iron which I put over a low flame; each waffle took about 10 minutes but the result was exactly what I was after.
This makes me wonder why waffle recipes usually direct us to separate the eggs…because this was perfect without the extra steps (apart from the cooking time which was a bother both for pancakes and for waffles.
Hi!
First of all, I need those pancakes in my life. ;) I just wanted to say that I’ve been a blog reader for a while, and I adore your writing and your photography. Recently I made a compilation of some of my favourite blogs (which I had to feature yours in!), and you can check it out here: https://cookiesnchem.com/2016/10/19/my-top-22-favourite-food-blogs/
Thanks for making your blog so easy to read, exciting, and creative. Hope the rest of your day is amazing!
Cindy
These were delicious! Thank you for sharing them early… Can’t wait for the cookbook!!
Hi Deb, I absolutely love the squash pancakes, as we speak, I just finished making them and I’m eating them, absolutely amazing delicious, it’s a keeper indeed.😉
I happened to have a wedge of roasted squash leftover from dinner last night so I made a half-recipe of these for my lunch today. The yoghurt I used – also leftover – had been seasoned with smoked paprika, cumin and lime, and I was glad of that, or I think these would have leaned a little bland/sweet for my taste. I added a handful of corn and enjoyed the texture it gave, and for serving I decided to take these in a Mexican direction with avocado and lime rather than butter and sage (I’m in South America so the Fall flavors are less appealing right now). The recipe is simple and very good, and I’d certainly make it again but I must rather cheekily confess I’ll likely stick to my Latin-inflected moderations.
We made these last night using butternut squash, and they were great! (Half a large squash produced 2 cups.) The sage butter was amazing, of course. Served them with farmer’s sausage and Brussels sprouts. Delicious! Thanks Deb!
These pancakes look to die for!!! I did a sage brown butter sauce over some pumpkin raviolis the other day, and it was lovely – even if it clogs my arteries. So I bet it would be even better over something as light and fluffy and pancakes!! These flavors are making me hungry!! Can’t wait to give this one a try!!
This. This would be my perfect breakfast. Yes to pumpkin and brown butter and sage. #perfect
So good and easy!! And! My 17 month old ate two!! It’s usually impossible to get veggies in her. Thank you.
Hey friends,
Made this today with butternut squash and gruyere and mine tasted like Cheeze-Its. Did yours? I was really hoping for more of a squash flavor, but it came out like GRUYEREEEEEE . . . . and a little something to hold it together. Maybe I need to cut back on the amount of cheese?
Oh no! I used 1/3 cup gruyere in my first test and wanted more. I used 1/2 cup parmesan this time. Perhaps the extra couple spoonfuls of gruyere tipped it?
Thanks Deb. Will try scaling back next time and see if I can find the squash flavor (though my husband was pretty excited to eat cheeze it pancakes!)
These look and sound fantastic!!! Has anyone tried to make them with a different flour ie. almond flour?? We are gluten free and don’t want the carbs of the rice type flours…
Chickpea flour FTW!
As I suspected, this can be made on the sweet side by deleting cheese and pepper and serving with honey butter or syrup. My husband commented on how long the pancakes stayed hot. I am sure this had to do with their sturdy nature…they were on the thick side even after I spread them out on the griddle. One caution- if you use leftover acorn squash like I did, that had been refrigerated, make sure to really mash it up completely. This is a bit more difficult with cold from the refrigerator squash. If you don’t you will get lumps of squash that are not exactly the texture you are looking for. Other than that, they made a delicious Autumn meal for us.
Yum . . . Love the idea of making them as a sweeter breakfast pancake too. We have some fig jam, which I bet would also be good as a topper. I will say that although the batter was really thick, which made me a little nervous about the density of the end product, the pancakes were actually not dense at all.
Hi Deb,
Can dry rubbed sage be used in the browned butter, and is there any extra step that needs to be done before doing so? I’m not sure how the flavor in dried compares to fresh. Thanks!
I found something saying 7 sage leaves is about 1 tsp of ground dried sage, so probably half a teaspoon or less. Good luck!
Super very good!
Made these last night with a (sadly) watery kabocha. Squeezed the water out after I roasted it, which helped a bunch. Fried them in butter, and could not, in good conscience, serve them with the sage butter (I tried! So hard!). We ate them instead with a buffet of slightly more artery-friendly sauces–greek yogurt, peanut butter, and salata de vinete (creamy Romanian eggplant salad)–and everyone found something to make them happy.
Oh my God I absolutely need to have breakfast for dinner starring these pancakes. These sound amazing, especially with gruyere.
I made these last night with a can of TJ organic pumpkin puree. I used the entire can with 1/2 and 1/2 AP and whole wheat flour. I added 1/4 tsp harrisa to spice up the batter. I made a harrisa (my favorite spice paste at the moment) brown butter to serve on the pancakes. The pancakes were delicious! They will make delicious waffles. Thank you for your delightful recipes.
Hi!
These look great, and I’m thinking my one year old will love them. Will the batter keep well in the fridge? Wondering if I can mix them up Saturday and make them Sunday night (trying to be realistic about how much cooking can really happen during nap time).
Hi Deb,
If you refrigerate or freeze the pancakes, how would you recommend reheating them?
They sound wonderful and I can’t wait to try them out!
Low oven, single layer. They get a bit tougher/more crisp outside, but stay soft inside.
Absolutely glorious photo of Jacob. We see Anna frequently these days, but this new “mature” Jacob seldom appears in such utter gorgeous beauty. If the “eyes are the mirror of the soul”, that boy has a delightful future. The pancakes sound good too.
Oh my word, these sound absolutely divine!! The squash and sage combo is always perfection. Can’t wait to try these! XO
Hi Deb,
Since we had no squash, we made the pancakes with sweet potatoes. They were delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
Your fans from eastern europe.
Bruno and Larisa
Looks so good! Will try these soon!
Made this because of CSA squash. I was getting tired of the purée options. Surprised to find that it tasted just like sautéed plantains and was very tasty. Would love to find other options for the batter, love the waffle idea but something else that would be both soft and caramelized.
I used butternut and Parmesan with Greek yogurt.
Hi AW, random SK reader here :) but I had an idea that might fit your criteria- what if you tried making gnocchi with the batter? You may need to add another egg or possibly more cheese for sturdiness (there is a pumpkin gnocchi recipe floating around at the moment, you could reference that to see what is needed to give it the proper texture), but it would taste fantastic in a similar brown butter sauce with maybe some garlic or kale added for greens. The best part is you can pan fry the gnocchi in the brown butter, which will give you that browning/caramelization you want on the outside and keep its creamy interior! Hmmm this is sounding awfully good…
Not a winter squash fan, but a neighbor gave me a butternut from her garden. When this recipe posted, I knew it was destiny. Made this pretty much as written (except subbed in some WW flour), and they were delicious! Used 2.5 T butter, and thought that any more would have been too rich. Thanks, Deb!
Hi Deb! I don’t have SC, do you think ricotta would work or the texture would be funky? Thanks!
It might be more visibly grainy and less tangy but should otherwise work.
Oh my gosh these were SO good! Had ALL the ingredients and it’s definitely going on our repeat dinner list!
Hi Deb,
I’ve been really excited to try these. Did so today. They weren’t tough at all, but I wouldn’t call them fluffy (and I was super careful not to beat the batter – only gently folded in the flour until just incorporated).
After cooking them, I put them in the oven to warm, as a test – on a plate, lowest setting (approx. 122℉ – probably should have been warmer, in retrospect). Anyway, the result was not rubbery, but gummy. Not a pleasant texture really.
The flavor is great and the color beautiful, but not happy serving this texture to guests. Any advice for me??
I’m not sure anything went wrong, they may just not be to your liking or maybe something happened that they didn’t get much rise. You also might look at more cakey other breakfast pumpkin pancakes; most use less roasted puree than this and more flour, yielding a cakier pancake. You could use squash and cheese instead and nix the sugar and spices.
Ahh, thank you. I guess I had an inaccurate expectation (your photos are so good, my eyes took in “fluffy”) – no fault of yours! :D
Thanks for the suggestions!!
Might I suggest skipping the plate (and raising the temp) when you put them in the oven? I wished I had just set mine on a rack because the side in contact with the plate got too moist, which I think could lead to gumminess. I would describe the pancakes as fluffy overall, and delicious, definitely worth another shot!
This recipe offered me the perfect way to use some leftover roast acorn squash that would otherwise have languished in the refrigerator and also to try out my new bag of King Arthur’s measure-for-measure gluten-free flour. Results were excellent, a tasty and filling supper. I served them with butter and maple syrup, as I don’t care for sage, and I guess if I see a pancake on a plate I have to reach for maple syrup.
Personal chef (er, I mean husband)made this last Saturday night with some already-cooked butternut squash (from the farmer’s market), fresh sage from our garden, yogurt instead of sour cream. Thank goodness he had the good sense to make a double batch! We had them for dinner with kale salad and other local yummies on Sat. night. And we had them again for breakfast on Sunday!!!!! I am not exagerating when I say that this recipe MADE MY WEEKEND!!!!!! Definitely a do-over.
I made this with home made pureed squash after my baby decided he’s done with purees. I used cheddar cubes and added in chopped fresh spinach. Delicious and I will make it again with the rest of the purees in my freezer that the baby doesn’t want. Baby loved the pancakes.
Fantastic! Our batter was quite thick, so I added more sour cream. Just a hint of sweetness, so I can see how another reviewer would pair these with a tiny amount of maple syrup. We paired this with a salad that had Gorgonzola chunks. The Gorgonzola was incredible with the pancakes! We are thinking of adding it to the mixture next time.
I tried my first batch topped with the sage butter and it was okay. While they were good I wasn’t too excited about them. I tried the leftovers with honey and they were amazing!
Liked the flavor, loved the sage butter!! I used part of a roasted kabocha squash, and the texture was really thick, so had to add ~1/2 cup water to batter. Even then, the pancakes took about 10min to cook on griddle, still soggy in middle. Recommendations for next time?
I made these yummy delights tonight. I followed the recipe as written. I used butternut squash and comte cheese. I was able to make 10 smallish pancakes. Love the idea of a savory pancake, something I don’t make enough of. Roasted some broccoli to go with them for a complete meal.
These were pretty good. Creamier tasting than other veggie pancakes I’ve made. Cooked them to eat on the go so didn’t try the brown butter sauce, but looking forward to trying it next time.
Since I have pineapple sage growing in the gahden dahling, I was inspired to roast/grill/char some pineapple rings (fresh or canned) and chop and add to buttah, pineapple sage mix heating on the stove….then drizzle over the wee cakes.
I gave birth 4 weeks ago and this is the first recipe that I cooked since (we had been living on food brought by relatives). It was so worth it! Bonus : I had leftover squash purée and made a risotto with it tonight. I feel so accomplished even though I am sleep deprived! :-D
These squash pancakes are so delicious! I made them this week and used some of the pumpkin that I just roasted. We had them with a warm mushroom and arugula salad.
I made these guys today and it was super delicious! I fried the butter with 5 sage leaves which wasn’t enough for me, next time I’ll add a few more.
Also, I served it with a dollop of sour cream mixed with some chopped scallion.
I made these for my 10 month old and he absolutely LOVES them! They are so soft and perfect for his little toothless mouth!
This looks just delicious! I love the use of squash with sweet and savory components. Here’s a butternut squash galette recipe I published on my blog, the Delightful Table:
http://thedelightfultable.com/butternut-squash-fennel-and-goat-cheese-galette/
Thanks!
These pancakes were SO good I had leave a comment (and I don’t normally do this thing). Just made these for dinner and definitely up there as one of my favourite pancakes (and I have pancakes for breakfast A LOT). The sage browned butter really completes these and is soooo delicious. Substituted the all-purpose flour for gluten-free flour and they came out perfectly. Would continue eating if I hadn’t already finished my plate!
These winter squash pancakes are AMAZING!!
The leftovers are really good for breakfast, warmed in the toaster over and served with a little almond butter, just saying! ;)
Made these as waffles using spelt flour. The yield was 4 waffles using about 1/3 cup batter per in the Belgian waffle iron. Finished with extra shredded gruyere, roasted sweetcorn (frozen from the farmers market in August), and cumin-spiced black beans with a squeeze of lime. And showered with pepitas, of course. Nom! Next time – runny-yolk egg.
So yummy and creative! My roommate was definitely eyeing them as they came off the girddle
Yum. Recently I made some squash pancakes with ground cumin and coriander. They were fantastic. That recipe required fried onions, which I visualize would be a welcome addition here as well. I was just thinking of tasty pancakes! I’ve never ever made them yet these look great. Gonna try it. Many thanks for the excellent delicious recipe!!
I own and run a B&B and have successfully served these pancakes to my guests. One question; how do you get the sage leaves crispy? My leaves were just limp though tasty.
I suggest this for the browned butter; brown the butter and add fresh rosemary and a few hot pepper flakes. The rosemary does crisp up nicely and feels good in the mouth. Be careful on how much pepper flakes you add as they can be a bit overpowering.
I haven’t had trouble getting them to crisp; something about that (terrible description, I know) furry/fuzzy texture seems to make it easy. Maybe we are using different varieties of sage? Might yours begin damp?
Can I make the batter in advance and keep it in the fridge? Expecting I’d need to add some milk before making the pancakes.
I don’t advocate making the batter in advance because the leavener will weaken. However, these reheat and defrost really well.
Thanks, Deb. My husband made them from scratch and we enjoyed them.
This was my first smittenkitchen recipe! I made these with butternut squash, sour cream and Parmesan and they were delicious. My 23 year old son who would never let squash near him was tricked by the pancake, ate it, and had four.
I wonder if you could make drop biscuits with the batter and bake them in the oven? Maybe add the sage or thyme into the batter? Thanks so much for the recipe.
Made these last night – like others, I had CSA squash! I was going to make the butternut & onion galette but by the time I would have gotten started we would have been eating pretty late. These were faster!
Used one butternut, one honeynut, both small-ish. Realized I didn’t have yogurt so I subbed milk at the last minute, but less, so it wouldn’t be too thin. Didn’t have the cheese so took Deb’s advice that it was optional. These were awesome with maple syrup (at dinner) and reheated plain (at lunch today). Next time I’m going to try them with the butter and sage! (There will be a next time.)
We used canned pumpkin and found these pretty bland, other than the topping. I’d use roasted squash if I made them again.
Hi!
I don’t have squash on hand, but I have sweet potatoes. Do you think those would work? Many thanks and this looks DIVINE! xx
Yes, I do. Enjoy!
I’ve made these multiple times now, all with butternut squash, all the sweet (no cheese) version. One warning – the pancakes keep but the batter does NOT. It just ends up tasting like baking powder. Make them all immediately, then save!
made these 2 times already, shamefully admitting i baked these with a generous drizzle of olive oil… they were delicious.
These are DELISH! I made them following the recipe for all but the flour and the fresh sage. I only had dried sage, subbed arrowroot powder to make the recipe GF. Next time around I think I would skip the brown butter sauce entirely. It was a little much since I cooked them in a generous amount of butter. I may place fresh sage right in the pan as I am making the pancakes. This was a winner in our house. At first I was just making these as an appetizer. We ditched grilling our steak and ate all the pancakes. Thank goodness I headed your advice and made a double batch. Thank you for all your amazing recipes. You inspire me!
Oooooh YUMMMY!! Perfect for a rotten New England weather dinner!!! I wish there was a way to add every one of your recipes to favorites Folder so I don’t forget how much I loved them and am searching for a perfect recipe. Thanks sooo much for the deliciousness😄!!!
Deb, I’ve found one serious problem with these – I can’t stop eating them!! Seriously, I made a double batch, with every intention of eating a reasonable amount, and then freezing the rest. But that number is slowly dwindling as I wait for them to cool down. Thank you for this recipe!! It reminds me of a pancake version of squash or sweet potato gnocchi.
I made these for pancake day, I used Greek yoghurt and mature cheddar. Incredible! I also added a balsamic reduction dizzled over, which helped cut through some of the buttery richness.
Best Shrove Tuesday dinner ever. Thanks Deb!
These were unbelievably delicious. We had them with parmesan & herb crusted chicken & we poured maple syrup over them – sort of like a fried chicken & waffle thing, but so much better. Thank you SK!
Holy Guacamole these were freaking DELICIOUS! and SO EASY. Love everything about it. Thanks Deb, for another dinner win!
My family and I love these! Though I don’t mind stuffing my face with them until they’re gone, I’m curious which side you recommend (or make with them) if you make it as a main. Thanks so much!!
I feel like it needs something green so maybe a spinach salad or roasted brussels sprouts? I’m sure crispy bits of pancetta scattered about, if nobody is vegetarian, wouldn’t be unwelcome.
Served mine with a veg mixture of Brussels, carrots and broccoli. (And baked chicken thighs). It was wonderful.
Would these make a good accompaniment for your tomato soup recipe? Perhaps as waffle croutons? Thinking of serving them both at Book Group. Thanks!
Pancakes sound delicious! I find it handy to roast several squash, peel, mash and freeze. It saves a step to have some squash stashed in your freezer, ready to go. Also, a short-cut to squash soup.
We got a spaghetti squash in our CSA and I wasn’t sure it would be the right consistency for this recipe, but the preponderance of cheese and eggs won out in the end! Didn’t bother with the browned butter. These were delicious as a side to a veggie soup. Thank you!
Delicious! The sage butter really did make it perfect. I’m planning to serve the leftovers for breakfast with a fried egg.
I made these tonight, with modifications I need for one of those month-long-cleaner-eating-program I’m doing. (Subbed coconut cream for the yogurt, 3/4 c quinoa flour and 1/4 c oatmeal for the flour, and vegan butter and took at tip
from someone else and added 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast instead of the cheese). And they were a huge hit! My kids ate them with maple syrup, and I had them with the brown butter. I can’t wait for breakfast, I’m going to have them with a fried egg and some salsa! Thank you, Deb!
Halfway through, I added some milk to thin them, as it wasn’t easy to cook them through. This made them less crispy, so I think it was a mistake.
But definitely the best use of leftover squash I have ever experienced.
Made these with kobocha squash and white whole wheat flour — so good and a fun way to do something different for dinner! I doubled the recipe and just two of us still only ended up with a few pancakes leftover (I made them larger than shown above)…so I’d say definitely double it :) I had some trouble forming the batter into flat circles so I’ll make them smaller next time. I cut back on the butter a bit and topped them with spicy maple. So flavorful! Served with a simple spinach salad.
I saw Jamie Oliver make this a while back, and I’ll be honest…making pancakes that aren’t sweet has always freaked me out. It just feels like one of those food lines I can’t cross. I also have a hard time believing the sage wouldn’t be overwhelming. Can someone cure me of this fear? Lol
These are delicious and a great way to add a vegetable to a side starch dish. We prefer them savory so skip the syrup and use plenty of butter.
I’m a huge fan of savory pancakes and muffins (Dorie Greenspan’s Swiss chard pancakes are a favorite) but I find they are hard to get right. They need a lot of flavor where sweet ones can hide under sugar (and butter and maple syrup…). Made these in the morning with canned pumpkin, GF flour blend, and gruyere. I didn’t LOVE them but liked them enough that I will probably give it another go. I went light on the salt since canned pumpkin has some sodium already but should have used the full amount, and some extra pepper. Next time I would increase the cheese too and try with homemade roasted squash – maybe that’s the ticket. Didn’t make the sage butter cause I didn’t think the kids would go for it. Tried salted butter and maple syrup but preferred them with greek yogurt on top.
Have you tried these with Almond Flour/Meal making them gluten free? Just curious?
Here are two comments from people with their gluten-free tweaks:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/10/winter-squash-pancakes-with-crispy-sage-and-brown-butter/#comment-862797
https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/10/winter-squash-pancakes-with-crispy-sage-and-brown-butter/#comment-861838
I just tried it with almond meal, substituted 1 cup for 1 cup. Gonna call it a fail without further substitutions: did not cook into a cohesive pancake by the time I got a crust on one side. I ended up stirring it around like I was cooking a hash, and the texture isn’t particularly appealing. I’m eating it with the butter and sage anyway. The remainder of the batter, I spread into a brownie pan and am baking it, but I don’t have high hopes for it.
Made this with whole wheat flour. These pancakes look better than they taste, but granted I did eat five of them, hahaha.
I wonder how these would be if made gluten-free, perhaps with chestnut flour or oat flour. At Thanksgiving we have a family member who cannot eat gluten, and I am always looking for interesting side dishes for her.
I wonder how these would be if made gluten free, say with oat flour or chestnut flour. (Sorry if this is a duplicate question. I tried to post it when I was not yet logged in, then I logged in, and I don’t know if it was already posted or if it had disappeared.)
This recipe was just perfect for sneaking some extra vegetables into my Dad’s diet, even if it was topped with lots of butter! We’ve taken to making “desserts” with vegetables in these days so we can convince ourselves we are being healthy… However, if I want to make these dairy-free and simply remove the cheese – what can I use instead of yoghurt/sour cream?
I made these last night for dinner with canned pumpkin and a mix of cheddar and parmesan cheese. I skipped the sage butter because I didn’t have any on hand. These pancakes were fantastic! I love the idea of making them savory. These will definitely enter my regular rotation, probably with sausage and some sort of greens on the side. Thanks!
Any suggestions on what to serve this with for dinner? Looks delightful!
Oh, no worries, as long as the butter comes from grass-eatin’ cows, it’s actually GOOD for the arteries, or so the latest seems to be. Lard and suet too. The whole no-animal-fat thing was a ruse developed by whoever wants us to eat not-animal-fats, like canola or margarine. Anyway, these sound way worth it, thanks for always sticking the landing!
Hey Deb.
I made these last night and had to let you know they were FANTASTIC! I knew they would be good but really that doesn’t even begin to describe them. Rave reviews all around! Thanks for a great recipe I’ll be using again and again. They elevated a simple dinner and the fun level. The brown butter with sage was just the right touch. Well done Deb.
I waffled this. Made a half recipe, substituted leftover pumpkin puree for the squash and asiago for the cheese. It made 2+ waffles in my standard sized Cuisinart iron; I think next time I’ll underfill it a bit to make 3 medium sized waffles that crisp better on the edge and so I don’t waste overflow batter. They cook better for longer on the lower settings (I think I put in on 2 and left it in there until it started to brown, much longer than the indicator light).
This was super delicious, in that I ate the 2nd waffle rather than saving it like I should have. Topped it with the browned sage butter, and then a drizzle of maple syrup because waffles. I feel like it would work well with pork or chicken (or a crispy egg), maybe some roasted brussel sprouts. It defintely smells like CheezIts when cooking.
Thank you for reminding me that today is Pancake Tuesday! Had to try this savory pancake recipe and it did not disappoint! The half a butternut squash that I did not use for last nights dinner was the perfect amount for the recipe. I used chickpea flour so it would be gluten free for my husband (and I wouldn’t have to make 2 versions) and non fat plain yogurt so it would have less “points” for me. Didn’t have fresh sage and we try not to use butter these days so I served it with a dollop of non fat plain yogurt and some chopped and sautéed red onion- delicious and it looked pretty. (My husband said it didn’t need anything).
Deb, I am curious how you baked the squash. In the photo it look like there is liquid in the baking dish. Is that from the squash or do you put it in the baking dish when you cook it?
It’s just olive oil
Could you make the batter ahead / sit overnight in the fridge?
I just made this with one leftover roasted sweet potato. I ended up using only one egg and less than a cup of flour, and eyeballed the grated swiss/gruyere. I didn’t have any fresh sage, but I added some of my crushed dried sage (that I harvested from my garden) into the butter/oil mixture that I was cooking my pancakes in. It lent a subtle sage taste, and was a delicious compliment to the pancakes! Thanks yet again for another great inspiration, Deb.
I made these as waffles because I prefer waffles. Used pumpkin, didn’t have sage leaves but I put ground sage in the batter and old white cheddar. So yummy! I want to try again with all the right ingredients but my improv was pretty good too!
Have you ever tried these with some cornmeal in the mix?
My grocery store carries already peeled chunks of butternut, how much of that would make 1 cup?
Check the weight — you want 8 to 9 ounces.
Wow, this recipe looks so great I’m going to pass it to my mum. And I’ll bet she’s going to thank me many times over ;)
I never thought pancakes would go with a brown butter/sage combination. It’s the first time I’m hearing about it. TBH I’ve always been more of a yogurt sauce kind of person. BUT, I think I’m definitely gonna give this a try with the crispy sage leaves-brown butter coda.
The butter was waay too thick and I had to add another egg. I had to use breadflour though as that is what I had on hand. Had to finish them off in the oven. It is quite good but I wasn’t amazed by the flavor
Here’s the best tip for cutting any of the hard squashes. Put them whole in the microwave for about 5 min, up to 7 for a giant one. (Poke a few holes in the rind before putting in the microwave.) They cut in half easily and super simple to peel. Game changer for winter squash. I actually microwave them after I’ve deseeded them as well. Half a kabocha cooks in about 13 min. Smaller ones quicker.
This was our meatless Monday dinner tonight. My husband gave me the “are you nuts?” look, but once he tasted them, he raved. We also tried some with the addition of a little maple syrup, and that was terrific—and was complementary, not competitive, with the brown butter sage sauce. Thank you!
As it happened, after making the recent squash and pasta bake I had some leftover butternut squash, which after roasting and mashing came up to about half a cup, and also some leftover grated parmesan – so decided to make a half-batch of these pancakes. After reading some of the comments, decided to try and make them a little bit fluffier by playing around a bit with some of the ingredients: used about 75 grams of flour (instead of 65) and heaped the 1/2 tsp of baking powder, and also used a bit more liquid to get the batter consistency more like the one in your buttermilk pancake recipe (50 grams of yoghurt instead of 40, and then added splashes of milk to the batter until it felt about right). Put on a little maple syrup along with the sage brown butter, just for some extra decadence. That was a really nice brunch for one.
Like some other commenters noted, the pancakes at the bottom of the plate do tend to get a little bit gummy in texture, but I can’t really see how it can be avoided (you can put them on a rack, perhaps, but then you lose out on the butter and/or maple that you pour on). Anyway, since I was prepared for it I didn’t mind it very much.
Eating these right now…holy wowzer! I did the brown butter/sage and also a bit of warmed maple syrup, with a crispy fried egg. Heavenly. I made a double batch, cuz that’s the amount of squash I had to use up, so I ended up with quite a few – into the freezer the extras will go, for a future breakie/lunch/dinner/snack…yum!
I might try this with chickpea flour instead of all-purpose for a bigger protein bang. Has anyone here tried it with alternative flours?
These were delicious and so easy to make! I’m vegetarian but I cook with a lot of vegan products, so here are the changes/choices I made:
– Used Just Egg instead of actual eggs. I think they needed a little more moisture because of this so I added a splash of oat milk.
– Used honeynut squash (about 1.25 were enough) which I cooked with olive oil, salt, pepper, cinnamon, cardamom and cumin.
– Used Forager plain yogurt (cashew-based)
– Used parmesan cheese
Also, in half of the pancakes I added marshmallows (Dandies vegan mini) and it came out BEAUTIFULLY. I served all the pancakes, with and without marshmallows, with IKEA’s lingonberry jam and the crispy sage on top and my fiancé and I *really* enjoyed it. Definitely making these again.
One recipe made about 11 pancakes which was a perfect serving for two people but I say listen to Deb, which I sadly did not, and double this ish.
I’ve made this about 12 times over the last two years. Double batch! They freeze really well and reheat in the toaster just fine and easy for a quick snack or meal. The sage butter is great, but not necessary for deliciousness. Most times I just butter it like a flapjack. Thank you again for the recipe!
Is it weird to want to put corn in these?
I made these tonight but wasn’t going out for fresh sage so I just made this butter-soy-garlic-syrup that I make for savory French toast. Oh WOW are these good, even without the topping!
Breakfast for dinner forever!
I might reduce the flour a bit next time, though — maybe 3/4c?
Made these for dinner tonight and they were so good! The whole family approved. I roasted sweet potatoes and acorn squash in place of butternut, and used Swiss instead of Gruyère. It all worked! I also experimented with putting some of the batter in the Belgian waffle iron and the waffles were even better than the pancakes.
These were fantastic! Lovey silky texture, a welcome change from traditional sweet pancakes. Sprinkled a bit of cinnamon while the pancakes cooked and being a loyal Canadian did have some maple syrup – both were delicious with the squash pancakes. Even my husband was swooning over them, that says a lot!
What about caramelized onion jam as syrup replacement. And fring the pancakes in sage and browned butter? I love your page, and book and personality:) you’re awesome
Would it work to use canned pumpkin in this? My life this winter has no bandwidth for roasting and mashing.