Lemon Chia Seed Pancakes with Roasted Strawberries

I’m excited to share that in 2014 I’m again partnering with Land O Lakes® Butter as part of Kitchen Conversations. Kitchen Conversations is all about sharing recipes and tips and includes some amazing food bloggers including my friends Ree Drummond from The Pioneer Woman, Jenny from Picky Palate, Bridget from Bake at 350, Brenda from A Farmgirl’s Dabbles, Sommer from A Spicy Perspective, Julie from The Little Kitchen, Jessica from The Novice Chef, and Joanne from Fifteen Spatulas. It’s quite the crew!

My first recipe for Kitchen Conversations is all about simple goodness. To me, pancakes are the definition of simple and good. We’ve been eating a lot of pancakes at our house. Pregnancy has me craving pancakes like crazy. I eat them for breakfast, as a snack and for dinner. Josh and Caleb were humoring my craving for awhile, but I think they were getting sick of having pancakes all the time. I went three whole days without eating pancakes, but then I caved. I told them too bad, I am making pancakes.

My boys were on board with my pancake idea because I made special pancakes, Lemon Chia Seed Pancakes with Roasted Strawberries. They were so good, they couldn’t resist. 

Josh ended up helping me make my pancakes. He gathered all of the pancake ingredients while I focused on the strawberries.

I bought a basket of strawberries at the store because they looked super sweet. Well, they weren’t very sweet, but I didn’t let them ruin my day. I decided to roast them to bring out the flavor.

I squeezed fresh lemon juice over the strawberries and sprinkled them with turbinado sugar.

I roasted them in the oven until they were nice and juicy! Mmmm! Now they were perfect!

Josh had a stack of Lemon Chia Seed Pancakes ready for me by the time I pulled the strawberries out of the oven.

 

I topped my stack of pancakes with spreadable Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil. I love this butter product because it has only three ingredients: sweet cream, canola oil and salt. Plus, I love how easy it is to spread! It melted into the hot pancakes and made them extra tasty!

Next, I added a few big spoonfuls of roasted strawberries. I also sprinkled a few extra chia seeds on top. If you haven’t tried chia seeds before, you are in for a real treat. They are similar to poppy seeds, but are a great source of fiber, protein, omega fatty acids and calcium. I like to add chia seeds to my oatmeal, yogurt, smoothies and pancakes! You’ve gotta try chia seeds and you’ve gotta try these pancakes. They are SO good!

And now I am craving pancakes all over again! Good thing I put some Lemon Chia Seed Pancakes in the freezer! I think I will eat a stack today!

Think spring and make Lemon Chia Seed Pancakes with Roasted Strawberries. They are heavenly!

 

 

Lemon Chia Seed Pancakes with Roasted Strawberries

 

 

Yield: 6 - 8 Servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Roasted Strawberries

· 1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and cut in half

· 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

· 1 tablespoon sugar in the raw

For the Lemon Chia Seed Pancakes

· 2 cups white whole wheat flour

· 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

· Zest of 2 large lemons

· 2 teaspoons baking powder

· 1 teaspoon baking soda

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 2 cups buttermilk

· 2 large eggs

· 1/4 cup Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled

· 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

· 1/4 cup chia seeds

· Land O’Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil, for serving

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 375^o F. In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries, lemon juice and sugar. Toss to combine. Pour strawberries on a greased baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes. Stir the strawberries and roast for an additional 7-10 minutes, until the strawberries are soft and juicy.

While the strawberries are roasting, make the pancakes. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Rub together with your fingers until lemon is fragrant.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar/lemon mixture, baking powder, soda and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, melted unsalted butter, lemon juice, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Do not over mix. Gently stir in the chia seeds.

Heat a griddle or pan to medium - low heat. Coat with cooking spray. Drop about a 1/4 cup of batter onto heated skillet. Cook until bubbles appear on surface of pancakes and a few have burst, 1 - 2 minutes. Flip carefully with a spatula and cook until browned on the underside, 1 - 2 minutes more. Continue making pancakes until the batter is gone. Serve warm with Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil and roasted strawberries.

Disclosure: this post is in partnership with Land O’Lakes and the Kitchen Conversations program. All our opinions are our own.