High Protein Kimchi Pancakes (with Kodiak mix)

Pancakes are beloved by most people, but the flour and the sugary syrups (or toppings) tend to make them high carb and high sugar. These savory pancakes made with Kimchi and a high protein pancake mix add a lot of nutrition while lowering the refined sugar content. And they’re wonderful!

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What are Kimchi Pancakes?

Kimchi pancakes are typically thought of as a Korean savory pancake that is often served crispy and thin. They are what some Americans would refer to as “fritters” and they can be made crunchy, chewy, salty or spicy.

The recipe below is a more traditional pancake made with a high protein mix (Kodiak Cakes) and a Kimchi filling. Substantive enough to have for dinner…..Flavorful enough to have for brunch!

What Topping Goes with Savory Kimchi Pancakes?

If you are having your pancakes for breakfast, a sweet maple syrup pairs really wonderfully with the tangy fermented kimchi. Add a little sour cream to the syrup and you have an over-the-top delicious breakfast of layered flavors and textures.

Kimchi pancakes are also good cold if you want an easy lunch or snack. Serve them with a soy sauce dip or add a touch of wasabi sauce mayonnaise to the top of the cake and roll it up.

For dinner anything goes, but fish is always popular with anythin kimchi. A few other complimentary dinner ideas include:

• Baked salmon with a soy glaze
• Pork and sautéed Asian greens
• A fish soup

Are Kimchi Pancakes healthy?

Kimchi itself is a staple of Korean cuisine, and is made of salted, fermented vegetables. Though it usually begins with cabbage as its base, dozens of varieties of kimchi exist using other vegetables, such as radish, cucumber, or onion.

The fermentation process that kimchi goes through adds to the health benefits with it’s abundance of probiotics.

With minimal calories, a low carb count, and zero fat, kimchi can make a healthy choice for just about anyone.

When kimchi is added to the high protein count of the Kodiak pancakes, you end up with a very healthy meal indeed!

What are High Protein Pancakes

A typical pancake from a mix has an average of 2.4 grams of protein, whereas most protein pancakes contain around 10 grams. The extra protein can come from dried eggs, oats, flax seed, protein isolates extracted from whey, milk, or soy, or some combination of all of those ingredients, depending on the brand.

Based on my son’s recommendation, we tried the Kodiak Cakes that have about 14 grams of protein (per 1/2 cup). The ingredients are primarily whole grain wheat flour, whole grain oat flour, and protein isolates from wheat, whey, and buttermilk.

I found these pancakes to be delicious and extremely filling, especially with all the vegetables from the kimchi.

Are High Protein Pancakes Low Carb?

A serving of two medium Kodiak pancakes will end up giving you about 15 carbs. While that doesn’t really qualify as “low carb”, the protein cakes make up for it with a high protein, low sugar nutritional analysis.

They will also be very satiating, which means you will get full faster and stay full longer. All of these considerations need to be taken into account on a low carb lifestyle.

If you are experimenting with a slow carb diet lifestyle, you might want to save these delicious, healthy pancakes for cheat day.

Are Protein Pancakes Better from Scratch or from a Mix?

I took a look at a wide range of protein pancakes recipes and from a health standpoint, I think the Kodiak mix won. It has very little sugar and uses the same type of whole grain wheat and oat flours that most of the “from-scratch” recipes used.

The thing that brought the homemade recipes down a notch in my opinion is the sugar. Many of them used bananas to keep the batter moist and bananas are really high in sugar.

Homemade recipes also used a range of different protein powders. Protein powders can cover a wide variety of ingredients, and there is a great deal of debate on the “health” of some of the powders. They are all pretty heavily processed.

With respect to “taste”, I don’t have a good sample size. The only thing I can say is the Kodiak pancakes were crispy, savory and awesome.

I believe the kimchi filling or the topping you choose would determine the tastiness more than the cake. Pancakes can be a vessel for the good stuff, rather than the main event!

Frequently Asked Questions

Other similar recipes that might interest you:

Savory or Sweet Pumpkin pancakes

Spicy Fish Cakes with 2 Dipping Sauces

Slow Carb Asian Chicken and Broccoli Dinner