Breakfast for Kids: Pancakes

I used to make pancakes from scratch. They are quite tasty, but a lot of work. These days, I don’t have the time or patience for doing that, so my pancakes are made from pancake mix.

Like many of our simple breakfast recipes, these pancakes are only made of 2 ingredients: pancake mix and water. We really do like to keep it simple at breakfast time.

The thing that’s great about pancakes is that you can really make them your own by what you put on top of them. One kid can have a very different experience from another.

My kids are kind of weird what they like to put on their pancakes: nothing. That’s right, my kids eat pancakes plain. My oldest son didn’t even know what syrup was until he was probably 3 or 4. He loves it, and if we have it, he’ll use it. But he is fine to eat them plain as well.

Of course, you don’t have to force your kids to eat pancakes plain. Certainly if they grow up only knowing that, then they’ll probably be fine with it, but trying to convince an 8+ year old that they can’t have their favorite pancake topping might be tough.

This breakfast takes about 10 minutes total to make. There is plenty of downtime as well, so you can be cleaning dishes, or other tasks around the kitchen while making them.

Our favorite pancake mix is Kodiak Cakes. I like that it’s got a little extra protein kick in it, and I just like the flavor of it better. My kids are not picky about the mix we use.

Making the pancakes

For our family, I use about 1 cup of pancake mix, and ¾ cup of water. 

• Place frying pan on stove and turn on high
• Stir water and pancake mix until completely combined
• Spray frying pan with cooking spray (optional)
• Scoop out about ¼ cup of mixture into the frying pan
• Let cook until bubbles start appearing on the top of the pancakes (2-3 minutes)
• Flip over and let cook for another couple of minutes
• Repeat as necessary

I’m not trying to get perfectly round pancakes, or anything pretty. My kids don’t care, and they generally just want to eat them.

Toppings

There are so many different things that you can put on pancakes. I don’t think you need me to tell you, but I’ll give you a few ideas of what my kids enjoy (beyond the classic syrup).

• Yogurt. Also can dip your pancake into the yogurt rather than spreading it if you’d prefer.
• Fruit. Bananas, strawberries, and blueberries are favorites of ours.
• Peanut butter. This is really my favorite to put on top.
• Honey. This is what my oldest son first had on his pancakes and still enjoys.

We try to keep our toppings healthy, but will splurge with something a little sweeter every now and then.

Conclusion

Pancakes are simple, and can make a tasty and filling breakfast for your kids. Adding toppings to the top can make each child’s breakfast slightly unique.