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    Home » Real Food » Santa Pancakes

    Santa Pancakes

    By Kristen Chidsey | 5 Comments | Published December 5, 2021 | Updated December 2, 2021 *This post may include amazon links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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    Santa Pancakes are an adorable and easy recipe perfect for Christmas morning or the holiday season.

    Santa Pancakes are an easy way to bring holiday cheer to your breakfast. Using fresh fruit and whipped cream, transform ordinary pancakes into a festive Santa Claus with just a few simple steps.

    Whether serving on Christmas morning or just as a festive way to kick off the day, you will be sure to delight both the big and small kids by making these Santa Pancakes.

    Santa shaped using a pancake, strawberries, whipped cream and bananas on white plate.

    One of my all-time favorite things to do as a mom is to make holidays a bit more special by creating themed foods.

    And when it comes to Christmas, I have endless simple ideas to dress up food to make it festive. From Candy Cane Pizzas to Reindeer Cookies to these Santa Pancakes, these easy ideas make meals a bit more fun--yet couldn't be easier to make. Because just like you, I am busy and the holidays are crazy enough!

    Santa Pancakes are one of my kids' favorite holiday breakfasts. And I love that these Santa's are created using mostly fresh fruit--which helps balance out the copious amounts of Christmas Cookies we eat during the month of December.

    Ingredients Needed

    Ingredients needed to create Santa Pancakes labeled on white counter.
    • Pancakes: You can use any pancake batter you like to create Santa Pancakes. Today I am sharing with you my simple Whole Wheat Pancake recipe, but you can use my recipe for Vegan Pancakes or Gluten-Free Oat Pancakes if desired. Of course, you can also use pancake mix to keep this recipe super fast and simple.
    • Strawberries: Use strawberries to create Santa's hat and nose.
    • Bananas: Banana Slices are used to form Santa's beard.
    • Whipped Cream: Use whipped cream to add details to Santa's hat and for his mustache. For simplicity, I use aerosol whipped cream, but of course, you can take the time to use my recipe for stabilized homemade whipped cream.
    • Chocolate Chips: For Santa's eyes, chocolate chips are a perfect choice.

    How to Turn Pancakes into Santa Claus

    • Prepare the pancake batter by whisking together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and canola oil or melted butter. Combine the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined.
    • Heat a large nonstick griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Grease with butter or nonstick spray.
    Side by side picture with pancake batter next to pancakes in frying pan.
    • Place a pancake in the center of the plate. Add strawberry halves to form a triangle above the pancake, for Santa's hat.
    • Ladle pancake batter onto the heated pan and cook until bubbles form on the surface of the batter. Flip and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes or until set and then remove from the pan.
    • Add a strawberry slice in the center of the pancake for Santa's nose.
    • Add chocolate chips above the strawberry slice to create Santa's eyes.
    • Add sliced bananas in an upside-down triangle shape below the pancake to form Santa's beard.
    • Use whipped cream to add embellishments to Santa's hat and to give Santa a mustache.
    Collage of 3 pictures showing adding strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream to form a santa.
    • Serve up Santa and deliver some smiles!
    Pancakes with strawberry hat and banana beard to form Santa.

    More Christmas-Themed Recipes

    • Christmas Deviled Eggs
    • Reindeer Cookies
    • Christmas Fruit Salad
    • Candy Cane Pizza
    • Reindeer Pretzels

    If you enjoyed this adorable, yet simple, recipe for Santa Pancakes, I would love for you to share a comment and review below.

    Santa made out of pancake, strawberries, and banana on white plate.

    Santa Pancakes

    Santa Pancakes are an adorable and way to dress up simple pancakes to make a special breakfast perfect for Christmas.
    5 from 6 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Breakfast
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 25 minutes
    Servings: 16 pancakes
    Calories: 129kcal
    Author: Kristen Chidsey

    Ingredients

    For Homemade Pancakes

    • 2 cups flour whole wheat or all-purpose
    • 4 teaspoons baking powder
    • ⅛ teaspoon salt
    • 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
    • 2 eggs
    • 2 tablespoons melted butter or canola oil
    • butter for greasing the pan

    To Create Santa

    • 1 pint strawberries
    • 3-4 bananas
    • 32 chocolate chips
    • whipped cream
    Prevents your screen from going dark while preparing the recipe.

    Instructions

    For the Pancakes

    • In a large bowl, sift together the baking powder, flour, and salt. Lightly whisk together until everything is evenly incorporated.
    • In a separate small bowl, mix together eggs, melted butter, and buttermilk together until well combined.
    • Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together until just incorporated.
    • Preheat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat and grease well. Once heated, ladle ¼ cup pancake batter onto the skillet. Cook until bubbles form and the edges are dry. Flip pancakes and cook 1-2 minutes before removing them from the skillet.

    For Santa Pancakes

    • Place one or two pancakes in the center of a plate to form Santa's head.
    • Slice strawberries, reserving 2-3 whole strawberries, in half, and then arrange them in a triangle shape at the top of the pancakes for Santa's hat.
    • Slice the remaining strawberries in slices and add one strawberry slice in the center of the pancake for Santa's nose. Add 2 chocolate chips above the nose to give Santa eyes.
    • Slice up the bananas and arrange the slices at the bottom of the pancake in an upsidedown triangle to represent Santa's beard.
    • Outline the strawberry hat with whipped cream to replicate the white tassel and white trim on Santa's hat.
    • Serve immediately.

    Notes

    Pancakes: Use this recipe for pancakes or your favorite recipe. 
    Buttermilk: To make homemade buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice to a mixing cup and add milk until you reach the 1 ¼ cups mark. Let it sit for 5 minutes before using.
    Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 129kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 61mg | Potassium: 276mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 127IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 1mg
    Liked this Recipe? Tag me Today!Snap a picture and tag #amindfullmom on Instagram - I would love to see!
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    About Kristen Chidsey

    Hi, I am Kristen, creator of A Mind "Full" Mom. I believe that making a wholesome family meal does not need to be hard or expensive! I love nothing more than to share with you delicious solutions for your hungry family.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Melissa

      December 10, 2021 at 5:21 pm

      5 stars
      My family just loved these, thanks for a great recipe!

      Reply
      • Kristen Chidsey

        December 12, 2021 at 7:44 am

        You are very welcome Melissa! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.

        Reply
    2. Kara

      December 09, 2021 at 10:15 pm

      5 stars
      My kids loved this, especially adding the whipped cream to the hat and mustache! On some of the plates he definitely looked like he needed a trim. haha 🙂

      Reply
      • Kristen Chidsey

        December 10, 2021 at 7:28 am

        LOL! Love it! So happy to hear you all enjoyed Kara!

        Reply
    3. Betsy

      December 09, 2021 at 9:29 pm

      5 stars
      Love this! Definitely a perfect Christmas morning breakfast! My kids LOVE this! So awesome!

      Reply

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