Savory Jalapeño, Lime, and Avocado Pancakes

Calling all avocado-lovers! Looking for a new way to enjoy your favorite fruit? Stir some into your pancake batter. No, really! These savory avocado pancakes are essentially guacamole in pancake form — and they may just become your new go-to brunch dish.

The batter starts with all the usual pancake suspects: flour, eggs, milk, and baking powder. And then the fun begins, with the addition of mashed avocado, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, and lime (I told you these were reminiscent of guacamole!). They cook up light and fluffy and feature a pale-green tint, thanks to the avocado. They’re studded with little specks of purple onion, green cilantro, and black pepper throughout, and feature a hint of sweetness from cornmeal, which is mixed in with the dry ingredients.

It goes without saying this job is certainly not one for maple syrup. Instead, you can serve these savory pancakes with a variety of toppings: I suggest lacy-edged fried eggs, pico de gallo, sour cream, and hot sauce. And hey, why not pile on some sliced avocado while you’re at it?

Making avocado pancakes not only adds a whole new dimension to everyone’s favorite weekend breakfast, but it also kicks the nutritional value up a notch. Avocados are packed with fiber, potassium, and vitamin C. They’re also high in monounsaturated oleic acid, a heart-healthy fatty acid believed to have anti-inflammatory benefits.

There are a couple of ways to make these even more nutritious. First, you can swap out the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat pastry flour, which is milled from whole, unrefined grains but still yields a light, fluffy texture (unlike regular whole-wheat flour, which could result in too-dense pancakes). Another option is to use a plant milk instead of dairy, such as almond, cashew, or soy. Just make sure it’s unflavored and unsweetened.