Delicious light and fluffy lemon poppyseed pancakes with blueberry sauce will surely make your morning a little brighter! Free of gluten, dairy, and refined sugar. Recipe makes 6–8 medium pancakes, so double if you need more.
Lemon and blueberry have to be one of the best flavor combos ever, aside from strawberries and chocolate, chocolate and peanut butter, peanut butter and bananas, bananas and—we’ll just stop there or this list could go on forever!
The fragrant, tangy juice of the lemon is such a nice contrast to the sweet berries. It reminds me of that summer we spent many Saturday mornings picking berries at the blueberry farm, picking some for the bucket and dusting a few off on our shirts before popping them into our mouths along the way…it’s really just too hard to resist. 😋
The sauce is so simple. Just a few handfuls of berries, some freshly squeezed orange juice, which naturally sweetens as well as adds a wonderful flavor, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a little cornstarch slurry to thicken. I like my sauce to be more thick than runny. I find that it sits atop the pancakes rather nicely this way, so I add the greater amount of cornstarch I list in the recipe. However, it also continues to thicken as it cools, so if you don’t plan to use it right away, you may want to opt for less cornstarch. If it gets too thick at any point, just add a bit of water or orange juice to thin.
These fluffy lemon poppy seed pancakes and luscious blueberry sauce will surely make your morning (or evening) a little happier! Would also be a nice sweet addition to breakfast/brunch this Mother’s Day weekend! Enjoy, friends!
- ⅔ cup milk of choice, a splash more may be needed (I used almond milk)
- juice of 1 medium lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour or gluten-free all purpose (for gluten-free I use Bob's Red Mill Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
or King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour
)
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- zest of 2 small lemons, about 3-4 teaspoons
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
, sugar, or other sweetener of choice
- 2 tablespoons melted butter or oil, plus extra for griddle
- 1 large egg or flax * (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
or 
)
- 2 cups frozen blueberries
- ½ cup orange juice, about 2 medium oranges
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- ½-1 tablespoon corn starch
mixed with 1 tablespoon water (add the greater amount of cornstarch for a thicker sauce)
mixed with 1 tablespoon water (add the greater amount of cornstarch for a thicker sauce)- Place lemon juice and milk together into a glass measuring cup or bowl and let sit while you prepare the pancake batter. Milk may curdle, but that's fine.
- Into a large bowl, mix together flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest until well combined. Add sweetener, melted butter/oil, egg, vanilla, and milk/lemon juice mixture. Stir just until incorporated—don't over mix. Depending on the flour you use, a splash more milk may be needed if the batter is too thick. Let batter rest for 2-3 minutes.
- Place a griddle or large pan on the stove over medium heat. Melt extra butter or oil in the pan to keep the pancakes from sticking. When the pan is hot, scoop batter onto griddle leaving 1-2 inches between pancakes. Flip when edges are set. Makes about 6-8 pancakes.
- Place 2 cups of blueberries into a large saucepan and stir in orange juice and maple syrup. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and add cornstarch mixed with water. Use less cornstarch for a thinner sauce, more for thicker sauce. Continue to stir until sauce has thickened. Add more sweetener, if needed. Can also add more orange juice or water, if mixture gets too thick. Serve sauce warm over pancakes. This blueberry sauce is also delicious with crepes, oatmeal, ice cream, or on top of yogurt!
You May Also Enjoy These Similar Recipes:
Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf with Cream Cheese Glaze
Lemon Yogurt Bundt Cake
Lemon Blackberry Muffins
Could I sub white wheat for the all purpose flour? Thanks
Hi CheyAnne! Sorry, just saw your question! I would recommend subbing 1/3 to 1/2 of the all-purpose flour with wheat, because if you substitute it all, it could lead to very heavy and dense pancakes. By subbing up to half, you still get the nutritional benefits of wheat, but a little of the light and airiness from the all-purpose. If you really want to use 100% white wheat, I would suggest adding an additional teaspoon of baking powder and you may also need to add a couple of additional tablespoons of milk if the batter is too thick. Please let me know if you try these with the changes and how it turns out!!
Hey, no worries! Just now coming back to make these. I’m going to do 100% white wheat, and I’ll let you know how they turn out!
Awesome! Yes please let me know! Enjoy!
These are phenomenal! My kids and I are eating them now! Thanks! (I made them vegan with a flax egg & did half whole wheat flour, still perfect!)
Oh.my.god. I loveee lemon and poppyseed anything but on pancakes! With the blueberry sauce, too! I am pinning these for later….
Oh my gosh! That luscious blueberry sauce is talking to me, Joscelyn. Love how amazingly fluffy these pancakes look. Lemon + poppy seeds + blueberry sounds like a killer combo. So good.
WOW! They look gorgeous, delicious and fluffy. Your pics are amazing!
Oh my goodness!! Lemon blueberry is the BESSST. And poppy seeds make it a trifecta! Haha. I have a pancake recipe going up tomorrow, but it’s more tropical-related ;).
These look fabulous! I haven’t had so really GOOD pancakes in a while. YUM!
Hi Christine. Thank you for your encouraging words! I hope you enjoy this recipe. Have a great evening!
You had me at pancake, and you sold me at lemon and blueberry (two of my most favorite flavors in the world!). These are not only gorgeous but they sound incredibly delicious!
Thank you, Mary! I love flavors together as well. It was such a nice twist. I hope you get a chance to try this recipe out. Have a wonderful week!
Wow, my mouth is watering just from looking at the photos! Definitely need to try this recipe out when my friends and I get together for Sunday brunch!
Hi Kiara, thank you for your kind words. I hope you all enjoy, these were so yummy, my family ate them all up!
I love all things lemon! These look amazing and fluffy! I can’t wait to give them a try.
Hi Kailei, thank you for your encouragement and for stopping by. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we have. Have a great day!
Oh Wow – these are going on my “must try” list!
Thank you, Carrie. I hope you get an opportunity to try this out. I think you will really enjoy. Have a wonderful week!
I LOVE lemon & poppyseed together! Lemon poppyseed bread is one of my favorite springtime treats– I will definitely be trying these pancakes, I just know I will love them! What a yummy flavor combo with the blueberries too.
You pictures are beautiful, Joscelyn. I’ve always wanted to make a big ol’ stack of pancakes like this!
Aww, thank you for the sweet compliment, Stacey! I love a big stack of pancakes too 😉 Lemon poppy seed is one of my favorites as well! I keep imagining all of the things I can make with this combo…so many possibilities!
You made my favorite breakfast :). Love your clicks and the pancakes look so fluffy and light.
Aw, thank you for your comments. I love breakfast and lemon poppyseed is one of my favorite flavors as well.
These pancakes are perfection! They look so fluffy and absolutely delicious!
Thank you, Marsha! I appreciate your comment here. Thank you for stopping by!
Omg, these look AMAZING! I love all these flavors, especially lemon poppyseed muffins, so these pancakes are a must try!
Laura | Laura Aime Vous
Thank you, Laura! I hope you have a chance to try this out. I hope you have a wonderful week!
Woah, look at these fluffy pancakes, they look absolutely amazing!!!
Thank you, friend. I also made a lemon poppy seed crepe and just love this flavor. They came out really well. Thank for your kind comments!
Wow! These look and sound absolutely delicious! I love lemon and poppyseed as a combination so will definitely have to make these.
Thanks Bree, I hope you get a chance to make them. Please let me know how it turns out for you!