10 Ways to Eat Pancakes for Dinner

Need a reason to eat pancakes for dinner? Here are 10 of Food Network's top-rated, most-creative pancake recipes.

FNK_Pancakes

Photo by: Tara Donne ©Food Network: 2012, Television Food Network, G.P.

Tara Donne, Food Network: 2012, Television Food Network, G.P.

Ah, pancakes. Glorious pancakes. Whether you stuff them with chocolate chips, drown them in maple syrup or bury them in a wintry pile of powdered sugar, pancakes are a downright indulgent, endlessly customizable and filling breakfast favorite — so filling, in fact, that you might consider enjoying them at a time of day when your appetite is a little more stoked.

Give "breakfast for dinner" new meaning by filling your supper plate with flapjacks, and check that guilt at the door when pilling on the toppings — it’s dinner, after all.

Start with a classic stack (shown above). Nutmeg adds a hint of spice to these straight-up pancakes that are meant to be speckled with the filling of your choosing (or keep them plain to appreciate their cakey glory). Serve with plenty of maple syrup for the authentic experience.

CHOCOLATEBANANA
PANCAKE BREAKFAST CASSEROLE
Food Network Kitchen
Unsalted Butter, Allpurpose
Flour, Sugar, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Buttermilk, Eggs,
HalfandHalf,
Vanilla Extract, Bananas, Semisweet Chocolate Chips, Confectioners’ Sugar

CHOCOLATEBANANA PANCAKE BREAKFAST CASSEROLE Food Network Kitchen Unsalted Butter, Allpurpose Flour, Sugar, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Buttermilk, Eggs, HalfandHalf, Vanilla Extract, Bananas, Semisweet Chocolate Chips, Confectioners’ Sugar

Photo by: Matt Armendariz ©2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

Matt Armendariz, 2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

The genius of this Chocolate-Banana Pancake Breakfast Casserole is that the banana slices and chocolate chips are added in between shingled pancakes along with a creamy egg custard. The pancakes themselves are pure fluff — unmarred by fillings — but they sandwich a bevy of melty toppings. It’s the best of both worlds.

Chef Name: Food Network Kitchen

Full Recipe Name: Hotcakes with Delicious Blueberry Compote

Talent Recipe: 

FNK Recipe: Food Networks Kitchenâ  s Hotcakes with Delicious Blueberry Compote, as seen on Foodnetwork.com

Project: Foodnetwork.com, HOLIDAY/SUPER BOWL/COMFORT/HEALTHY

Show Name: 

Food Network / Cooking Channel: Food Network

FNK_HotcakesWithDeliciousBlueberryCompote_H

Chef Name: Food Network Kitchen Full Recipe Name: Hotcakes with Delicious Blueberry Compote Talent Recipe: FNK Recipe: Food Networks Kitchen’s Hotcakes with Delicious Blueberry Compote, as seen on Foodnetwork.com Project: Foodnetwork.com, HOLIDAY/SUPER BOWL/COMFORT/HEALTHY Show Name: Food Network / Cooking Channel: Food Network

Photo by: Renee Comet ©2013, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

Renee Comet, 2013, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

The star of this show is the blueberry compote spooned over the ricotta-filled hotcakes. Lemon zest and sugar add brightness and zing to the syrupy topping. Make sure to watch the berries so they don’t become too mushy and lose their beautiful shape.

CINNAMONPECAN
PANCAKE BREAKFAST CASSEROLE
Food Network Kitchen
Unsalted Butter, Allpurpose
Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Sugar, Buttermilk, Eggs,
HalfandHalf,
Vanilla Extract, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Maple Syrup, Pecans

CINNAMONPECAN PANCAKE BREAKFAST CASSEROLE Food Network Kitchen Unsalted Butter, Allpurpose Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Sugar, Buttermilk, Eggs, HalfandHalf, Vanilla Extract, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Maple Syrup, Pecans

Photo by: Matt Armendariz ©2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

Matt Armendariz, 2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

Much like its chocolate-banana sister, this pancake casserole starts with plain pancakes that are then stacked with a cinnamon-spiked custard. A quickly simmered pecan-maple syrup drives home the Southern twinge these pancakes possess.

Chef Name: Melissa d'Arabian

Full Recipe Name: Chocolate-Chocolate Veggie Pancakes 

Talent Recipe: Melissa d'Arabianâ  s Chocolate-Chocolate Veggie Pancakes, as seen on Ten Dollar Dinners

FNK Recipe: 

Project: Foodnetwork.com, Back to School/Sandwich Central/Dinner and a Movie/Sides

Show Name: Ten Dollar Dinners

Food Network / Cooking Channel: Food Network

MelissadArabian_ChocolateChocolateVeggiePancakes_H1

Chef Name: Melissa d'Arabian Full Recipe Name: Chocolate-Chocolate Veggie Pancakes Talent Recipe: Melissa d'Arabian’s Chocolate-Chocolate Veggie Pancakes, as seen on Ten Dollar Dinners FNK Recipe: Project: Foodnetwork.com, Back to School/Sandwich Central/Dinner and a Movie/Sides Show Name: Ten Dollar Dinners Food Network / Cooking Channel: Food Network

Photo by: Renee Comet ©2013, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

Renee Comet, 2013, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

If you’re trying to sneak vegetables into your little ones’ diets (or maybe just your own), these masters of disguise are your ticket to eating well. Carrots, spinach and apples are blended (along with yogurt, oats, cocoa, milk, honey and vanilla) before being mixed with the rest of the pancake ingredients and chocolate chips. Once they're cooked, you’d never know the nutritional power these puppies are packing.

Try this atypical recipe for hands-off pancake preparation. Cook apples slowly with sugar and butter in a nonstick skillet, then pour blended pancake batter over the fruit and bake in the oven. Whole-wheat pastry flour gives the pancakes more substantial texture and a slightly nutty flavor.

These Greek yogurt-filled, protein-packed pancakes are like a cross between flapjacks and crepes, and they are low in both calories and fat. Offset their tangier flavor with a blueberry-peach sauce cooked only in a can of unsweetened pineapple juice — no added sugar.

SAUSAGEANDCHEESE
PANCAKE BREAKFAST CASSEROLE
Food Network Kitchen
Unsalted Butter, Allpurpose
Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Sugar, Buttermilk, Eggs,
HalfandHalf,
Breakfast Sausage Patties, White Cheddar Cheese, Scallions, Maple Syrup

SAUSAGEANDCHEESE PANCAKE BREAKFAST CASSEROLE Food Network Kitchen Unsalted Butter, Allpurpose Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Sugar, Buttermilk, Eggs, HalfandHalf, Breakfast Sausage Patties, White Cheddar Cheese, Scallions, Maple Syrup

Photo by: Matt Armendariz ©2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

Matt Armendariz, 2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

This totally twisted take on pancakes serves all of breakfast’s bests — sausage, cheese and eggs — in a casserole dish along with the layers of hotcakes. When the meaty, cheesy, scallion-speckled topping has cooled, dig into the most-unique sweet-and-savory dish you’ve ever dared to make.

A stack of pancakes topped with syrup and walnuts

0310_OnlyIn_Pancake_83.tif

A stack of pancakes topped with syrup and walnuts

©Food Stylist: Anne Disrude Prop Stylist: Pamela Duncan Silver

Food Stylist: Anne Disrude Prop Stylist: Pamela Duncan Silver

A sourdough starter lends its yeasty flavor to these pancakes that are filled with chunks of tart green apples. Embrace their bite by serving them dry, or douse them in syrup to add sweetness.

Photo by: Marshall Troy ©2012, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

Marshall Troy, 2012, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

Mix cinnamon, oats, raisins and chopped walnuts into pancake batter for the sweet, nutty flavor and chewy texture of oatmeal-raisin cookies, then add mashed bananas to ensure that these flapjacks are as moist as a fresh-out-of-the-oven batch.

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