Low-Sodium Buttermilk Pancakes - Tasty, Healthy Heart Recipes (2024)

These Low-Sodium Buttermilk Pancakes will have you enjoying breakfast once again. When I learned that buttermilk pancakes were extremely high in sodium, I was very disappointed and resolved to make them part of my breakfast again. It should have been no surprise being that pancakes would fall under the “salty six” of the saltiest foods, but the amount per cake was still shocking. With a few changes, I found I could enjoy my pancakes and eggs once again and even have a side of my Low-Sodium Italian Sausage too!

Once you master a few easy techniques, you will be making Low-Sodium Buttermilk Pancakes easily for a special weekend breakfast, I am delighted to have them at my table again. I’ve found this recipe makes about 8 pancakes depending on how much you scrape the bowl and the size of your pour. Although the cooking time can get to be rather tedious if you cook them one at a time, it ends up being worth it. I clean my kitchen in between pours and flips. Haha!

HOW MUCH SODIUM IN A PANCAKE?

Buttermilk pancakes at a well-known pancake house are480 mg of sodium each or 1440 mg for a 3 stack just by themselves! Store boughtbox mixes hover around 500 mg and most from scratch recipes from 250 up to 500 mgof sodium for ONE pancake! With this recipe you can slash the sodium down to 70mg or less per cake while still tasting and looking delicious!

BEAWARE OF SODIUM LEVELS IN SYRUP

Many off the shelf store bought syrups vary widely in the amount of sodium. And many regular name brands can be quite high at 120 mg+ per ¼ cup. Look for a natural syrup, for instance this Log Cabin Natural Syrup is just 20 mg per ¼ cup. Honey and some fruit syrups and jams also make for some delicious alternatives.

HOW BUTTERMILK PANCAKES ARE MADE LOW SODIUM

These Low-Sodium Buttermilk Pancakes are made by simply removing the saltand baking soda. Also by replacing regular baking powder while slightlyincreasing the amount with Haines featherweight no sodium baking powder.Further, drastically cutting the sodium is making a buttermilk substitute; madesimply with milk and vinegar this alone saves you over 100 mg per cup.

WHYUSE BUTTERMILK INSTEAD OF MILK FOR PANCAKES?

Not only does buttermilk provide a distinct flavor inpancakes, it helps activate the baking powder in the batter making CO²bubbles, helping to result in a light and fluffy cake when cooked. Additionallythe acid in buttermilk helps break down gluten in the flour which also developssoft, moist and tender Buttermilk Pancake.

Keeping buttermilk on hand for the few times you may need it before it goes bad is a pain and to reduce the higher sodium in buttermilk you need to make a buttermilk substitute. This homemade mixture may not be as rich and creamy as store bought buttermilk, but it will do its transformation in the batter.

For 2 cups of buttermilk all you need is 2 cupsregular (I use 2%) milk mixed with 2 tablespoons of white vinegar or lemonjuice. I use the white vinegar because I always have some on hand. Set it asideat room temperature for 10 – 15 minutes, usually while you’re prepping andmixing all of your other ingredients together.

PERFECT YOUR BUTTERMILK PANCAKE BATTER

The following tips when preparing your batter makesall the difference in fluffy or a flat dense pancake:

The less you mix the batter, the thicker and fluffierthey will be. Overmixing the wet and dry ingredients will end up making it toosmooth and runny making a thin pancake that can’t
“fluff”. Don’t worry about any smalllumps as they will dissolve when the batter is resting.

Let the batter chill in the fridge and “rest” for atleast 10 minutes while you heat up your skillet. This allows the acidic portion of buttermilkto do its work on the gluten in the flour and the butter to solidify. The butter creates air pockets “bubbles” whenit hits the hot skillet, making an extra fluffy pancake.

HOW TO COOK FLUFFY BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

Preheat your nonstick pan or griddle on medium heat first. I prefer using cast iron skillet as it really holds the heat in well. If you have a cast iron griddle that’s even better as cooking cakes one at a time is rather slow. Once it’s hot, lower the heat down to just below medium heat. Lightly grease the pan with a small dab of butter and spread around with spatula.

I use a ladle to pour thebatter because it gives you just about the right and equally even amount tomake consistent sized pancakes. And Ican also use the back side of the ladle to smooth out and spread the batterslightly to make a uniformly round shape.But don’t spread too much!

Allow your buttermilk pancakes to cook properly! Cookfor approximately 4 minutes on one side.You will be looking for bubbles to be forming on top of the cake and theedges to start turning color. Only thenshould you peek under the cake to see a golden brown color and you are ready toflip.

Nutrition Information – The information shown is provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be substituted for a doctor’s or nutritionist’s advice. Please understand that not everyone’s sodium requirements are the same, therefore some recipes may be higher than you’re allowed. Always consult with your doctor for your recommended daily sodium allowance.

As always, please let me know how you like this recipe in the comments! I get motivated when I hear from you and am interested to learn about how you liked and served your Low-Sodium Buttermilk Pancakes. And please leave a comment or rating and share any tips you might have.