Skinny Funfetti Buttermilk Pancakes (Gluten Free option) Recipe

SomethingSwanky is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you.

Shortly after I discovered the Weight Watchers Simply Filling Technique (I wrote a whole post about that here), I came up with this amazingly fluffy pancake recipe that is a-okay Weight Watchers approved!

These pancakes are made healthier and Simply Filling-compliant by using 100% oat flour, fat free buttermilk, and applesauce instead of oil. You can sub in an artificial sweetener for the 1 tbsp of sugar (sugar is not Simply Filling compliant) if you want. But I’ve sworn off artificial sweeteners as much as possible, and I don’t feel like the 1 tbsp of sugar spread over multiple servings makes much of a difference– so I use sugar here. Honey would work too if you prefer.

Oat flour is really the star ingredient in this recipe. Oatmeal is one of the healthiest foods packing a high-fiber punch that keeps you feeling full longer. And oat flour is one of my favorite ways to sneak this health-full food into my diet in all sorts of ways. It can be used in lots of recipes as a substitute or supplement to white flour (although, be wary– it doesn’t always yield the same results in baking!) and is especially perfect when it comes to these pancakes. You won’t notice any weird texture and (unlike during baking) it puffs up into fluffiness nicely 🙂

Oat flour is really simple to make: simply dump a bunch of oatmeal (I’ve used both quick oats and old fashioned oats interchangeably) into a large blender, and then blend until it’s a smooth flour! Easy! PLUS– the use of oat flour actually makes these pancakes GLUTEN FREE if you use gluten free baking powder (I think Clabber Girl is gluten free).

The use of buttermilk is worth mentioning here too. In the past, I’ve been a fan of using “homemade” versions of buttermilk (ie, vinegar + milk or lemon juice + milk). But recently I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s just not the same. I can especially see a difference in this recipe. The first dozen or so times I made these (yep, I make these that much!), I used the “homemade” version. And they were okay. But then I used REAL fat-free buttermilk and omg. The difference was UNREAL. They went from being soft and nice pancakes to fluffy and out-of-this-world! If you have the time to plan ahead for these, be sure to pick up some real (fat-free) buttermilk. You’ll be so glad you did!

A few other note-worthy ingredients in these particular pancakes are the extracts–vanilla (obviously), butter, and almond. It’s the combination of the three of these that creates that identifiable cake batter/funfetti flavor, and I wouldn’t skip out on any of them if you can help it (even if you are my mother who hates almond extract– it won’t taste like almond extract)!! All three are easily found in the Walmart, Target, and many other grocer’s baking aisles (I only mention because folks always seem to have questions about where to buy butter extract).

If you’re not on Weight Watchers, drown these bad boys in maple syrup for a fluffy, heavenly, healthy breakfast. If you are trying to keep these WW compliant (and not willing to use sugar-free syrup, like me), top with fat free whipped cream and strawberries— soooooo good! And, of course, don’t forget the sprinkles!

The whole family is going to fall in love with these fluffy, buttery pancakes. And you can feel good about giving them a hearty serving of oats to start their day off right!

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do 🙂