Apple Cinnamon Chia Pancakes
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Chia bran is my new favorite cooking flour. Chia bran isn’t ground chia seeds; it’s actually what’s left over after you extract the oil from chia seeds. Basically, when a manufacturer wants to make chia oil, what’s left over is chia bran. There are no starchy carbs or sugars in chia bran. It’s mainly fiber and protein — 20% protein in fact. Chia bran is ideal as a flour substitute because there’s no gluten or insulin increasing sugars. You’ll find chia bran in your health food store, or you can buy it in online. I use chia bran to make breads, muffins, pizza, bagels, and the tasty pancakes you see here.
Autumn Apple Cinnamon Chia Bran Pancakes
Serves: 4 – 6 pancakes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup chia bran
- 4 eggs
- ½-1 cup coconut water
- 2-4 Tbsp. coconut palm sugar (depending on taste preference, start with 4 Tbsp. in your first batch)
- ¾ tsp sea salt, Himalayan salt or your favorite healthy salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ apple very finely chopped
- cold pressed coconut oil, ghee or your favorite healthy cooking oil
Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in mixing bowl. Use only ½ cup coconut water to start.
Mix ingredients together to create a consistency similar to a traditional pancake batter, only slightly thicker. Add more coconut water if needed to create desired consistency. Use a medium/high heat on the stove.
Grease pan with healthy cooking oil.
Use a ladle to pour pancake batter into pan.
Flatten with a spatula to about ¼-1/2 inch thickness.
Let sit a few minutes until the bottom is firm enough to flip the pancake. Let sit slightly longer if you desire a crispier consistency.
Flip the pancake and let sit another minute or so (about ½ the time as the first side).
Remove from heat and serve.
Serve with coconut yogurt, or your favorite pancake toppings.
Note: It’s ok if the pancake’s center is slightly moist when you take it off the heat. It will continue to dry even after it is done cooking.
Tip: After you make each pancake you may need to add more coconut water. This is because the chia bran absorbs the moisture of the batter.
Hi looks yummy, but I’m allergic to coconut. What can I use instead?
Hi Ginger,
A great question! Instead of coconut water you can try Almond milk or Cashew milk. Instead of coconut palm sugar you could try a small amount of stevia or a pureed fruit such as apple or banana or berries. However, with any of the fruit additions as they will be more liquid than coconut palm sugar you will need to reduce the amount of milk slightly. You might need to play around a bit with the quantities to get the right flavour and consistency but you will end up with a super yummy pancake nonetheless.
I hope this helps. Let me know how you go.
Den
What is coconut water?
Hi Suzanne,
Coconut water is the clear liquid inside young coconuts. Its flavour is quite sweet, and the liquid has a clear milky sort of consistency. Depending on where you live you should be able to purchase it in cans from Health Food Stores, Organic Stores and your Grocer (Fruit and Vegetable store). Just make sure that the ingredients list has nothing added and that the product is pure coconut water.
Hope this helps.
Den – The GM Team
Is it possible to just use ground chia? Will that work?
Hi Sharon,
No that won’t work. It has a completely different consistency. Also the oil will get corrupted by the heat.
Where can I find Chia Bran? The biggest health food store in my area, which is pretty comprehensive, has never heard of it. In the meantime, what can I use instead of Chia Bran?
Thanks,
Su
You can buy chia bran online at few places, such as nuts.com
You might want to try it with flax meal or hemp meal, which are also very similar. Enjoy!
I bought it off Amazon relatively cheaply. Also, I have used ground almond/hazelnut meal to make waffles with chia bran. Still experimenting with the perfect mix to get a truly crisp waffle, but I think equal thirds will work. The bran is VERY cohesive, bonding the nut meals which typically don’t want to stay together when cooked. The waffles have a nutty flavor that I simply LOVE. I’m going to experiment with making my own maple syrup with water, maple flavoring and stevia and cocunut palm sugar. Or you can just use a fresh fruit topping.