Wild Rice Pancakes

If you’ve ever had leftover wild rice in the fridge and wondered what to do with it, these pancakes are your answer. Cooked wild rice folded into a basic pancake batter adds a nutty, earthy chew that turns an ordinary breakfast into something worth talking about.

The sour cream is a small addition that does real work here. It adds a slight tang and extra fat that keeps the pancakes tender and moist, even with all that chewy rice mixed in. Leave the batter lumpy. Over-mixing develops the gluten and gives you tough, flat pancakes instead of fluffy ones.

Cook these on a medium-hot griddle. Wild rice takes a little extra time to heat through, so you want a steady, even heat rather than a screaming-hot surface that browns the outside before the center sets.

Pro Tips

• Use fully cooked, slightly cooled wild rice. Hot rice will activate the baking powder prematurely and you’ll lose some of the rise.
• The batter should be thick and lumpy, not smooth. Those lumps are pockets of flour that steam during cooking and create lift.
• Flip when you see bubbles forming across the surface and the edges look set. Don’t press down with the spatula after flipping. That squeezes out all the fluffiness.
• These reheat well in a toaster. Make a double batch and freeze extras between sheets of parchment.

Variations

• Add fresh blueberries to the batter alongside the wild rice for a classic Minnesota combination.
• Stir in chopped pecans and a drizzle of maple syrup right into the batter for built-in sweetness.
• Use buttermilk in place of the milk and sour cream for tangier, even fluffier pancakes.