This easy Millet Pancake Recipe is gluten-free and makes such tasty, crunchy pancakes. You can top them with something salty like smoked salmon or with something sweet like berries.
Making Millet Crunchy And Delicious
The thing about millet is that it’s a tad dry even when cooked. That might sound like a bad thing. And it could be. Except if you have a plan involving a bit of heat and a bit of oil. Then that dryness is magic.
You see, when pan-fried, millet gets crunchy. That happens for these pancakes, and also in this millet breakfast skillet recipe that my family all loves.
The batter for these homemade savory pancakes is made of cooked millet mixed with eggs, Greek yogurt, cornstarch, and green onion. It’s, therefore, a nice and tasty gluten-free pancake batter that really sizzles when it hits the pan.
Note that you can learn more about how to cook millet over here, but the instructions are also given in the recipe below. I’ve also given the amount to use if you already have cooked millet leftovers that you’re hoping to use up.
How To Serve Millet Pancakes
I usually like to use these pancakes like the potato pancakes often served with caviar. So I make them for dinner topped with some smoked salmon, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), and some fresh dill.
However, they can be given a sweeter twist instead. Omit the green onions from the batter, and then go ahead and top them with berries and maple syrup, or whatever pancake toppings you love.
More Grain-Based Recipes
If you’re like me, you’re always looking for more wholesome recipes like this one. Here are some of my favorite recipes with grain-type ingredients as their base.
- How To Cook Farro
- Special Fried Farro
- Creamy Farro Side Dish
- How To Cook Quinoa
- Cauliflower and Quinoa Bake
- Quinoa Salad Bowl
- Quinoa and Feta Side Dish
Homemade Crispy Millet Pancake Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
This easy Millet Pancake Recipe is gluten-free and makes such tasty, crunchy pancakes. You can top them with something salty like smoked salmon or with something sweet like berries. Enjoy! -Christine xo
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup uncooked millet*
- Salt
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup Greek yogurt, divided
- 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 1/2 cup chopped green onion (optional)
- 6 tsp. vegetable oil
- 4 oz. smoked salmon
- 2 Tbsp. chopped dill
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan combine the millet with 3 cups cool water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring it to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium and let it simmer until tender, 15-20 minutes. Drain well. Return millet to the saucepan and spread it out in there.
- In a medium bowl beat the eggs lightly. Add 1/3 cup of the Greek yogurt, the cornstarch and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir. Add the millet and the green onions (if using) and stir until well combined.
- Preheat oven to 250F.
- Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium heat in a large nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron skillet.
- Add 4 big spoonfuls to the pan, spaced out with room to smoosh them down.
- Smoosh them until they’re pretty flat and about 3 inches round. Cook until bottoms are well browned, 2-3 minutes, adjusting temperature if they’re cooking too quickly or not quickly enough.
- Flip and cook until small brown spots appear on the underside, about 1 minute more. Transfer pancakes to a pan and put in the oven to stay warm (or see note** below for Make-Ahead instructions).
- Add 2 teaspoons more oil to the pan and cook another batch of 4 pancakes. Then 2 teaspoons more oil and another batch of pancakes.
- Remove pancakes from the oven. Arrange 3 pancakes on a plate.
- Top with 1 ounce of smoked salmon, a heaping tablespoon of Greek yogurt and one quarter of the dill. Repeat with remaining pancakes.
Notes
*If you already have cooked millet, you’ll need 3 cups of it for this recipe.
**These pancakes can be made ahead. They won’t be quite as crisp but they’re still delicious. Here’s how to do it: Once you have removed the pancakes from the skillet, transfer them to a plate to cool. Once all pancakes are cooked and then cooled, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 hours. When ready to serve, arrange them in a single layer on a pan. Heat at 400F until heated through, 6-8 minutes
Don’t those pancakes look crunchy? Head over to the COOKtheSTORY Facebook Page and tell me what you think. Or scroll down to leave a comment here.
This post originally appeared in February 2014. It was revised and republished in September 2018.
Hi! Thanks for sharing such a delicious looking recipe. Do you think it would work with a dairy free yogurt alternative like coconut yogurt? I’ve recently had to make major changes to my nutrition after a diagnosis and I’m trying millet for the first time, but I can’t have dairy. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
God bless you,
Marcy
Marcy, I haven’t tried it but I think it would work. The yogurt is just adding the creamy flavor here. As long as the yogurt you use isn’t sweetened or flavored, I think it should be fine. You could instead do a drizzle of water mixed with more cornstarch. I think that would work as well. If you try it, come back and let me know what you’ve done and how it turned out.
I have become completely addicted to millet lately. Using it for salads, porridge etc. Really enjoyed this recipe and will certainly be making it again. I will try the suggestion of your other reviewer to use flax eggs (I eat enough eggs as it is :-> ) Fabulous recipe!
That’s great, Afra! Glad you’re enjoying.
We did tried out your recipe by replacing egss with 1 tbl spoon of roasted / ground chia seeds and
roasted / ground flax-seeds
without using eggs….it has come out beautifully crispy, less lingering egg-smell.
we have seen that you have been proponet of using eggs
in everything to makemisxture gelled ( as a binder ) to back/fry/roast them crispy but you do not need to… you also have suggested to use corn meal / corn floor etc ( difficult to find prganic and or unable to pay prices for organic ). To be creative, you need to be poor, having less resources ( tools, material, equipment etc ). you shall think of your audience at the lowest level with less resources and or no resources and even some of them could be vegetarian and or vegan….
I do love your simplicity and clear procedure of means and method…but you shall always think of the lowest level audience…thank for your time and effort…
Rohit Desai ( Canada )
I found this recipe thanks to Pinterest and it may be my favorite recipe ever! I loved the combination of flavors and finding another use for millet!
Melissa, I’m so so happy you liked it! Aren’t they just so crispy and amazing?
Can I do them with sugar instead of salt and omit the onions so I can have sweet pancakes ?
Patricia, I haven’t tested them that way so I’m not absolutely sure. They would be crispy pancakes (like latkes) not soft breakfast-style ones. If I was you and wanted millet in my pancakes, I would make a regular pancake batter and add cooked millet to it. Just stir it in at the end before cooking the pancakes. Go with about 1 tablespoon of cooked pancake per number of pancakes you expect the batch to yield. So if the yield on teh recipe is 12 pancakes, you’d put 12 tablespoons of millet (which is 3/4 of a cup). I hope that helps. Let me know how they turn out.
I recently tried millet for the first time a few weeks ago. I like to experiment with different grains. I just had it plain like rice – I’d love to try millet with this recipe – it looks soo good!
They sound (and look) so amazing