Healthy Eating 101 Best Healthy Foods The Best Healthy Pancake Mixes to Buy We love homemade pancakes, but when you're in a rush, these store-bought mixes are a great healthy back-up option—and they taste great too. By Julia Westbrook and Maxine Yeung, M.S., RD, NBC-HWC Maxine Yeung, M.S., RD, NBC-HWC Instagram Website Maxine Yeung is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Personal Trainer and Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach with over 10 years of experience in the nutrition, fitness and health and wellness fields. She has been published in EatingWell Magazine, Self.com, yahoo!life and other publications. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Updated on November 19, 2021 Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Instagram Jessica Ball, M.S., RD, has been with EatingWell for three years and works as the associate nutrition editor for the brand. She is a registered dietitian with a master's in food, nutrition and sustainability. In addition to EatingWell, her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Real Simple, Parents, Better Homes and Gardens and MyRecipes. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Share Tweet Pin Email We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Healthy pancake mix that tastes great too? What a way to start your morning! Pancakes aren't exactly known for their stick-to-your-ribs staying power. So we analyzed nutrition labels for protein and fiber and sampled more than 30 brands to find the ones that will fill you up. Check out the five that were our absolute favorites out of them all. Pick up a package of the one that sounds best to you and whip up a batch of fluffy pancakes to make your morning that much better. Plus, get advice on some nutrition numbers to look for on the package. How to Make Healthy Pancakes Best Whole-Grain Pancake Mix Wheat Montana Farms & Bakery 100% Whole Wheat with Flax Pancake Mix 140 cal, 5g fiber, 2g added sugar, 5g protein Made with mild-tasting white whole-wheat flour, this mix cooks up light and fluffy. Flax adds fiber plus omega-3 fatty acids (buy it: Walmart, $4). Best Buttermilk Pancake Mix Kodiak Cakes Frontier Flapjack & Waffle Mix Buttermilk & Honey Kodiak Cakes 180 cal, 5g fiber, 1g added sugar, 8g protein A blend of whole-wheat and oat flours is lightly sweetened with honey to balance the tangy buttermilk flavor. Egg whites and wheat protein make this choice filling (buy it: Target, $5). Best Protein Pancake Mix Krusteaz Protein Pancake Mix Buttermilk 220 cal, 4g fiber, 7g added sugar, 15g protein Whey and wheat protein pack this one with more than double the protein of most of our other picks. It has more added sugar than we'd like, but the cakes are enough to serve with less syrup (buy it: Walmart, $4). Best Gluten-Free Pancake Mix Simple Mills Almond Flour Pancake & Waffle Mix Ted + Chelsea Cavanaugh 180 cal, 3g fiber, 5g added sugar, 4g protein Nutty almond and coconut flours puff these up without the gumminess other gluten-free mixes have. Top with nut butter to hit our protein recommendation (buy it: Target, $8). Best No-Added-Sugar Pancake Mix Purely Elizabeth Grain-Free Pancake & Waffle Mix Ted + Chelsea Cavanaugh 300 cal, 7g fiber, 0g added sugar, 6g protein Coconut milk powder and cinnamon give this choice a wallop of flavor in every bite. Chia seeds bump the fiber count up to the highest on this list (buy it: Thrive Market, $6). How to Shop for a Healthy Pancake Mix 1. Go for Whole Grains Protect yourself against heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and weight gain—all before lunch? Yes, please! Opt for a whole-grain mix over refined. But don't just pick up any box claiming whole grains on the front. Look for the word "whole" in the ingredient list and make sure it's listed first. Another clue: if fiber is very low (0-1 gram), the product is probably not whole-grain. 2. Added Sugar Is OK (within Reason) A little bit of sugar can help balance out the natural bitterness of whole grains. But if you're also adding syrup to your stack, finding the line between lightly sweetened and dessert is tricky. Considering the American Heart Association caps added sugars at 25 grams for women a day (36 grams for men), limiting your pancakes to 5 grams per serving lets you have your syrup too. Just keep in mind: 1 tablespoon of maple syrup adds 12 grams of sugar. Taming your sweet tooth? How to Cut Back on Sneaky Added Sugars 3. Forgo the Flavored Mixes Blueberry, chocolate chip, pumpkin spice-as tempting as these flavors sound, they aren't usually the healthiest options. They're rarely made with whole grains and can be seriously higher in sugar-we found several with 11 grams of sugar per serving. A better bet is to pick a standard mix and add your own mix-ins or toppings, like our recipe for Blueberry-Ricotta Pancakes. 4. Focus on Fiber Seeking out a version with 3 or more grams will help stave off hunger and help you reach the minimum fiber recommendation of 25 to 38 grams daily. Mixes made with 100% whole grains and/or with added seeds like chia and flax tend to have the highest amounts of this nutrient. When choosing grain-free, opt for blends with almond or coconut flour to get a fiber bump. 5. Pick Protein Most pancake mixes have between 2 and 4 grams of protein per serving. For a little extra oomph, scan the ingredient list for buckwheat or chickpea flour, vital wheat gluten, seeds and pea or whey protein and choose a brand with at least 5 grams of protein per serving of dry mix. Numbers to Look For: (dry, unprepared) Fiber: ≥ 3g Protein: ≥ 5g Added Sugar: ≤ 5g Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit