Popcorn Pancakes (with food scrap popcorn corn flour!)
Pancakes infused with popcorn flavor are a delicious comfort breakfast and creative way to use food scraps! I'll show you how to turn those pesky unpopped popcorn kernels into a corn flour ready for your next stack of pancakes.
vegan • low waste • easy
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Jump to:
- 📝 quick popcorn pancakes recipe overview
- 🌽 why this popcorn corn flour version is worth making
- 🥣 how these popcorn pancakes different from others
- 🍿 pro tips for making popcorn corn flour from cooked, unpopped kernels
- Recipe
- 🥣 ingredient notes
- 🔪 equipment notes
- 🧑🏽🍳 instructions to make the best batch
- 🍿 topping suggestions
- 🧊 storage
- ✅ substitution and variation suggestions
- ♻️ sustainability tips
- waste
- ❓ frequently asked questions
- 🥞 more breakfast recipes
- 🥣 more food scrap recipes
- 🕰️ the latest
I'm channeling my family's Iowa roots (a few generations removed) for this tasty stack of popcorn pancakes! When testing this for the first time, I knew it would be an immediate favorite and great way to get a little more mileage out of your food scraps. Think of this as a low-waste, subtle version of a Johnnycake.
For my fellow pancake fans, you might also enjoy these vegan lemon poppy seed pancakes!
📝 quick popcorn pancakes recipe overview
- Skill level: Easy
- Taste: Popcorn flavor crossed with cornbread
- Waste: None
- Sustainability: Highly sustainable using popcorn scraps and vegan ingredients
- Cleanup: Easy
- Ingredients: Common, easy to source
- Equipment: Common, easy to source
- Time: Fast, ready in about 25 minutes
- Consistency: Slightly more dense than a traditional pancake
- Kid-friendly: Yes
🌽 why this popcorn corn flour version is worth making
No-waste recipe using food scraps. No scraps are leftover...in fact, we use food scraps in this recipe to give unpopped kernels a second life and create a light texture thanks to the brine from chickpeas. Delicious and sustainable!
Deep flavor perfect for people who love sweet and salty. Pancakes with a subtle corn flavor are absolutely DELICIOUS topped with a little vegan butter and pure maple syrup. If you're a fan of sweet-salty combos, then popcorn pancakes should absolutely speak to you. 😊 There are no extra seasonings or seasoning powders needed.
Beautiful, tender texture. Even though we incorporate a more dense "popcorn corn flour," the whipped aquafaba and baking soda + vegan buttermilk mix gives these enough rise to still have a tender texture.
🥣 how these popcorn pancakes different from others
Some recipes call for:
- Simply topping the pancakes with popcorn. Here, we not only add some popcorn as a topping, but infuse flavorful, unpopped kernels throughout the batter.
- Soaking popcorn in the liquid ingredients to impart flavor. That wastes the kernels and adds an extra step to the process. We skip this step without sacrificing popcorn flavor.
- Grind popped kernels into a flour. While that's fine, I like using the food scraps here so you can have the best of both worlds: popcorn as a snack AND the flavor-infused pancakes.
🍿 pro tips for making popcorn corn flour from cooked, unpopped kernels
I keep leftover, unpopped kernels in an airtight container until there's enough to use for recipes. When ground, the flour will expand in volume compared to the intact kernels. About ¾ cup of unpopped kernels generally makes 1 cup of popcorn corn flour.
‼️ For this recipe, I recommend grinding the kernels in a spice or coffee grinder and then sifting the flour to separate the finely-ground flour from course pieces. Sometimes, I'll grind the coarse bits again before moving on to the next batch of kernels.
The finer-ground flour is essentially corn flour and the coarse pieces are closer to cornmeal. Since the flour come from cooked popcorn kernels, I refer to it in this post as popcorn corn flour.
Recipe
Popcorn Pancakes
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Melt 4 tablespoons coconut oil in a small saucepan until clear. Set aside to cool.4 tablespoons coconut oil
- Mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice into 1 cup soy milk and set aside to curdle.1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 cup soy milk
- Using a hand mixer, whip 6 tablespoons aquafaba, whipped in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. This should take 2-3 minutes.6 tablespoons aquafaba, whipped
- Whisk together dry ingredients (1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, 1 cup popcorn flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt).1 cup popcorn flour, 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- In a larger bowl, stir together the wet ingredients (2½ tablespoons sugar, 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, plant-based buttermilk, and melted coconut oil).2½ tablespoons sugar, 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet. Then, fold in the whipped aquafaba until evenly combined. Be careful not to overmix. If the batter is too thick, add more milk a tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Allow to rest 5 minutes to allow the popcorn corn flour to hydrate.¼ cup soy milk
- Coat the skillet with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. I use a small natural-bristle brush to coat the bottom and repeat between each pancake. Over a medium-low temperature, add a spoonful of batter, gently shaping into a circle. Once bubbles start to appear along the edges and near the center (after 1-2 minutes), use a spatula to flip. Cook for another minute before removing from heat.1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Repeat the process until all batter has been used. Keep the pancakes on a wire cooling rack until ready to serve. Best enjoyed warm with the toppings of your choice.
Nutrition
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!🥣 ingredient notes
- Plant-based milk. This will create a vegan buttermilk when mixed with the fresh lemon juice. I recommend unflavored milk so it doesn't interfere with the taste of the other ingredients.
- All-purpose flour. I use unbleached all-purpose flour.
- Popcorn corn flour (food scrap). Save unpopped kernels when you make popcorn to create this popcorn corn flour. Keep in mind, these unpopped kernels have already "cooked" in your oil when making the original batch of popcorn and may also already be salted.
- Aquafaba (food scrap). Brine reserved from a can of chickpeas or the water from cooking dried chickpeas.
- Coconut oil. I recommend using refined coconut oil to keep the flavor neutral.
- Organic granulated sugar. Organic sugar is vegan in the U.S. Adds a little sweetness to the pancake batter.
- Lemon juice. Interacts with the plant-based milk to create vegan buttermilk.
- Vanilla extract. Creates depth of flavor and a little subtle sweetness.
- Baking powder. Primary leavening agent in these pancakes.
- Cornstarch. Creates a more tender texture.
- Baking soda. Supports leavening by interacting with acidic vegan buttermilk to create a little more rise in the pancakes.
- Salt. Enhances flavor. We use less in this recipe since the unpopped kernels may have salt from making the initial batch of popcorn.
🔪 equipment notes
- Spice or coffee grinder to make the popcorn corn flour.
- Hand mixer to more easily whip aquafaba.
- Liquid measuring cup. Use to mix the vegan buttermilk.
- Measuring cups and spoons.
- 2 bowls. Use one for dry ingredients and the other for the wet before combining.
- Whisk to combine dry ingredients.
- Spoons to merge wet and dry ingredients as well as vegan buttermilk.
- Small saucepan to melt coconut oil.
- Cast iron skillet or pancake griddle.
- Natural bristle brush to coat the skillet with olive oil.
🧑🏽🍳 instructions to make the best batch
Melt coconut oil and set aside to cool. No need to cool completely, you just want to make sure it won't "seize" and re-solidify when it merges with cooler buttermilk.
Add lemon juice to buttermilk, stirring to combine. Let it rest on the counter to warm a little.
Whip aquafaba in a medium-large bowl. You can use a hand or stand mixer.
Whisk together the dry ingredients.
Stir together the wet ingredients, excluding the whipped aquafaba.
Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet. Don't overmix, just stir until no large clumps of flour remain. Fold in the whipped aquafaba until evenly incorporated. Allow to rest for a few minutes.
Cook pancakes in your skillet over medium heat, flipping once small bubbles appear on the surface. Repeat this process until you've used all your batter.
🍿 topping suggestions
Popped kernels. It's a BIG missed opportunity not to add some actual popped popcorn to the plate when serving these. 😉 Add some texture and a little nutty saltiness.
Vegan butter and maple syrup. My preferred topping is vegan butter and some pure maple syrup. The flavors really complement the popcorn and creates a delicious sweet-salty combo.
Whipped coconut cream. Adds a little rich coconut flavor.
🧊 storage
These pancakes really shouldn't last long. But, you can store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or the freezer for up to 3 months. Use airtight containers compatible with the fridge or freezer, and reheat before serving.
✅ substitution and variation suggestions
Using only popcorn corn flour and no all-purpose. Without a better binding agent, like xantham gum, the pancakes will likely fall apart. Using only corn flour is tasty with much more corn/cornmeal flavor.
Vegetable oil or melted butter in place of coconut oil. Though I haven't tested this, you should be able to substitute veggie oil or vegan butter with a 1:1 ratio.
♻️ sustainability tips
sourcing
- Try to use unbleached flour when possible. It's less processed and has fewer chemicals, which is better for the environment.
- Sugar can be tricky, but aim for an organic sugar and from a company that practices regenerative farming.
- I would also suggest using cast iron cookware, which is durable, long-lasting, and naturally non-stick.
waste
- Popcorn pancakes are naturally low waste because you're using two different food scraps in the recipe (popcorn corn flour and aquafaba from a can of chickpeas) and all ingredients are used in the pancakes.
- When using lemon for fresh lemon juice, zest it first and separate the seeds, saving both in the freezer for other recipes. Learn more about getting the most from your lemons and what to choose at the store to keep it sustainable.
❓ frequently asked questions
Is popcorn flour a thing?
Yes, popcorn flour is a finely-ground version of corn and used in a variety of recipes, especially gluten-free cooking. Popcorn flour is made from blitzing popped kernels into a fine powder, while grinding kernels results in either corn flour or cornmeal, depending on the fineness of the grind.
Can popcorn be made into flour?
Popcorn can be made into flour, either after popping or while still in kernel form. At home, you will need to use a blender, food processor, or spice grinder to break down the popcorn into a flour form. If you want lighter flour, use a sifter to separate coarse pieces. Otherwise, the finished result is a version of cornmeal. Popcorn flour can be used in a variety of recipes, including baked goods.
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- Applesauce Fritters
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