Yes, you can make pancakes with olive oil instead of butter. Here is the olive oil pancakes recipe!

olive oil pancakes recipe
olive oil pancakes with maple syrup

The olive oil pancakes recipe is an Italian version of classic pancakes. 

In Italy, we use a lot of extra-virgin olive oil for cooking: it is healthier and exalts flavors instead of covering them. This doesn’t imply you should ban butter, especially good quality butter. What would a risotto be without it? But many dishes are simply tastier with olive oil.

I find pancakes to be tasty in both ways. When I use butter, I get the classic and rich taste I’m used to: spongy and, of course, buttery. But when I make olive oil pancakes, I experience something different. I get a less greasy hot pie. I savor smoothness and mildly bitter notes, mainly when I use robust olive oils from Tuscany.  

Those notes and aftertastes give a dish personality. The olive oil pancakes you make today will probably be different from the ones you’ll cook tomorrow. Cause extra-virgin olive oil is never the same, not even if you buy the same brand.

cooking olive oil pancakes
olive oil pancakes mixture consistency

Torino

The city of elegance

Papal Rome

The city of food

Venice

The city of opulence

olive oil pancakes

Course Breakfast
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4 medium pancakes
Author Claudia Rinaldi | Gourmet Project

Ingredients

  • 1.4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 2 teaspoons brown cane sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus more to grease the pan
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 pinch ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup milk plus more if needed
  • maple syrup

Instructions

  1. Place wet ingredients in a bowl: milk, egg, olive oil, and mix well.

  2. Add salt, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar. Mix well. Add flour and baking powder. Mix.

  3. Add more milk, if necessary, to get a smooth, not too runny mixture. The less liquid you add the fluffier and tall your olive oil pancakes will be.

  4. Heat a pan greased with a bit of olive oil. Pour a ladleful of mixture into the pan and cook over medium heat until you see small craters bubble out. Flip on the other side and cook until golden.

  5. Serve pancakes hot with a lot of maple syrup or Nutella!

the inside of olive oil pancakes
piled olive oil pancakes

Enjoy your olive oil pancakes!

Claudia