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Egg Free GAPS-ish Squash Pancakes

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squash pancakes on brown plate
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Although we started the GAPS protocol for other reasons, our son’s food allergy was a factor. He had added dairy to his diet after 16 years of dairy allergy. Before starting GAPS, we had him tested, hoping he had “outgrown” another allergy. Sadly, he was still very allergic to eggs and nuts. Eggs are a bigger part of GAPS than nuts, but both can be included after awhile. I was going to need to invent some recipes to keep our diet interesting. Egg Free GAPS-ish Squash Pancakes were one of the first inventions. Well, one of the first inventions that worked, anyway.

In order to pull off the squash pancakes, I used commercial coconut flour. This is a no-no on GAPS. Freshly made coconut flour is acceptable, so that would be the way to go if you want to do this right. Hence the “GAPS-ish” label. They aren’t proper GAPS food. (Happy story: after 6 months on GAPS, our son began eating most nuts and a bit of egg after 20 years of allergy!)

Gelatin is also not a favored ingredient on GAPS– too processed. However, it isn’t strictly prohibited. I used a gelatin egg at first. Later, I used a chia egg. Chia is not really a good GAPS food either, as seeds are hard on the gut. This is truly not a GAPS compliant recipe. The most GAPS-y way would be to use freshly made coconut flour and a gelatin egg.

Between the gelatin egg and the chia egg, chia works a bit better. The gelatin improves if you let the pancakes cool fully. Both are more fragile than they would be with an egg in them, but they work if you handle them carefully.

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Procedure

clean the squash first

This requires a bit of advance planning. The squash needs to be fully cooked. There are three ways to do this:

  • Cut the squash into cubes (or use prepared cubes from the store) and steam in water on the stove top. This is labor intensive (or pricey if using store bought). Hence, I have yet to do this.
  • Bake the squash in the oven. I rinse it, remove any stickers, and stick in in a glass pan or on a baking sheet. Generally, I do this when I already have the oven on for some reason, like making dinner.
  • Rinse the squash and put it in a slow cooker for 2-3 hours until a knife slides into the middle (not the bulgy part where the seeds are!). Occasionally, a squash is too big, but most of them fit in a 6 quart slow cooker. If one is too big, I cut just enough off the end to fit it in. This is great if I am not planning to run the oven for anything else, and especially in warm weather when I don’t want to heat the house up.
how to prepare a squash in a slow cooker

Let the squash cool at least enough to handle. At that point, slice it open, remove the seeds, and cut away the rind. Once you have it roughly in cubes, it can go in your food processor to be pureed.

cut up cooked squash

When the squash is smooth, I leave the amount I want to use in the processor bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. (Coconut flour, chia meal or gelatin egg, a bit of salt, and cinnamon.) Then mix all that and remove it to a container in the refrigerator until breakfast time. (You can do this just before making the pancakes, but the longer soaking allows the coconut flour to absorb moisture and also improves the chia meal. If I can’t do it the night before, I try to allow half an hour to get the texture right.

purée the squash in a food processor

When it is time to makes the pancakes, heat at least 2 tablespoons fat in a skillet until very hot. I like butter or coconut oil, but others are fine. You want the mixture to be a bit on the dry side. It holds together better that way. Ideally, it is almost like play dough that is nearly crumbling. As different squashes and coconut flours behave differently, you may need to adjust slightly each time. The measurements are less important than the texture.

how to form the pancakes

Unlike more conventional pancakes, you will mold the squash mixture into little patties no more than 2 inches across. One or two tablespoons of the mixture is about right. Set them gently in the hot oil, and turn them after a couple of minutes. Egg Gree GAPS-ish Squash Pancakes will be fragile the whole time, even when fully cooked.

squash pancakes frying in cast iron pan

Egg Free GAPS-ish Squash Pancakes

GAPS style squash pancakes without the eggs and nuts!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Course Breakfast

Ingredients
  

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 1/3 C coconut flour
  • 1 T chia meal OR one gelatin egg (see below)
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon OR pumpkin pie spice
  • dash dash salt
  • fat for frying (coconut oil, ghee, butter, etc.)

Instructions
 

  • Cook squash until soft; puree until very smooth. Reserve 1 1/2 C squash puree in the food processor or blender; remove the rest for another use.
  • Add remaining ingredients, minus the fat. Process to blend. If time allows, refrigerate overnight. If not, try to allow a half hour or so for the liquid to absorb.
  • Heat generous quantity of fat until very hot. Form patties about 1 1/2 inches across. The squash mixture needs to be a bit dry looking in order to hold together. (The oil will resolve the dryness.)
  • Very gently turn the pancakes over after a couple of minutes. Try to let them brown a bit, but not burn. After another couple of minutes, carefully remove to a plate. They will be quite fragile, especially if you used a gelatin egg or the dough was a bit too moist. They still taste good even if they break!
  • If you don't use all the dough mixture up at first, it keeps very well in the refrigerator. In fact, I often prepare several days' worth at once and just use a bit each morning until we finish it all. Since there is no leavening, this will work.

Notes

Gelatin Egg:
Measure 1 tablespoon gelatin into a small bowl. Whisk in 3 tablespoons hot water slowly. Let set for a few minutes to thicken.
To serve: I serve these with some sausage patties and/or scrambled egg, depending on the person. Although we had a habit of adding butter and maple or berry syrup to regular pancakes, we don’t use those for these pancakes. They already have plenty of butter on them, and maple syrup isn’t a GAPS food. We didn’t even add honey, even though it is GAPS complaint. There really isn’t a need, as the squash is sweet and we are training our palates to enjoy less sugar, even honey.
squash pancakes served on brown plate

Pointers:

  1. Try serving these plain before you mess around with toppings. Even the pickiest eater in our family accepted these happily on the first try. Toppings are not really essential if you have the fat in adequate quantities.
  2. If it is hard to adjust to less sugar, a minimal drizzle of honey might help, though. Another thing we have done is add some cooked apple with cinnamon. Though that is delicious, it means another dish to prepare. Homemade apple or pear sauce would also taste good.
  3. If you have egg-eating family members, it isn’t terribly difficult to prepare both. Actually, I normally make both. I prepare the egg free version of the dough, then prepare the egg version with the leftover squash. Typically, I use similar proportions, but double the squash and use two eggs, then adjust the coconut flour to keep the mixture a bit dry. (I have mostly egg eaters, so having double of the egg version works for us.)
  4. If you have more squash than you want to use for pancakes, you can use the rest to make a squash soup with your meat stock, or occasionally I simply stir it into a stew or chili. It sounds odd, but it mostly disappears into the other flavors.
  5. You can make these with a more savory slant by omitting the cinnamon and using different seasonings. For example, I might use a teaspoon each of onion powder and smoked paprika to serve with soup or some other dinner.
  6. This also works pretty well with bananas in place of the squash. It is best of they are quite ripe, thus a good use for overripe bananas. Banana pancakes also require no sweetener on top! If you prepare the batter the night before, the top will brown a bit. I mix it up again and no one is any the wiser.

Egg Free GAPS-ish Squash Pancakes can help fill you up at breakfast. They seem a bit like a treat! For a protein to make a filling breakfast, my Chicken Apple Breakfast Sausage Patties accompany them comfortably. Perfect to a cool fall morning, or really any morning!

Easy Chicken Apple Breakfast Sausage Patties