camp meals

Trail Oat Pancakes

Oat pancakes with the fridge taken out of them. Powdered egg, powdered milk, and a pan.

calories
520
weight
4 oz
cal / oz
130
protein
17 g
serves
2, scales
prep
5 min
cook
12 min
total time
17 min
water
180 ml cold
cost
$

Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.

  • Breakfast
  • Canister stove
  • Grill grate
  • Car camping
  • Basecamp
  • Canoe / raft
  • Bikepacking
  • Vegetarian
  • Gluten free
  • Nut free
  • One pot
  • Pre-mix at home
  • Shelf stable
  • Basic

Ingredients

Rolled oats 1 1/2 cups certified gluten-free if that matters to you
Powdered whole milk 1/3 cup stands in for the yogurt and milk
Powdered egg 3 tbsp equals 2 eggs
Baking powder 1 1/2 tsp
Baking soda 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon 1 tsp
Salt 1/2 tsp
Coconut oil 3 tbsp two in the batter, one in the pan

Method

  1. Pour the dry mix into your pot and add 180 ml of cold water plus 2 tbsp of melted coconut oil. Stir until there are no dry pockets.
  2. Let it sit five minutes. The oats need that time to drink, and the batter thickens noticeably.
  3. Heat the pan over a low flame with the last of the coconut oil. Low. Oat batter scorches before it cooks through on a roaring burner.
  4. Spoon in rounds about three inches across. Wait until the edges look dry and bubbles hold open, roughly three minutes, then flip.
  5. Give the second side two minutes. Cook the rest in batches and eat them as they come off.

The original leans on yogurt and eggs, neither of which survives a day in a pack. Powdered whole milk and powdered egg do the same two jobs: the milk solids brown the outside and the egg binds a batter that has no gluten holding it together. Water goes in cold, which matters, because hot water starts gelling the oats before the leavening has anywhere to go.

Grinding the oats at home is the difference between pancakes and clumpy porridge patties. Whole flakes cook unevenly and tear on the flip. Keep the flame low and give the batter its five-minute rest; both are about letting the oats hydrate rather than sit raw in the middle of a browned cake.

Packing

Blitz the oats to a coarse flour at home and mix everything dry into one bag per double batch. Coconut oil goes in a small screw-top jar; it stays solid below about 75F and liquid above, so warm the jar in your hands if it has set.

Variations

  • Stir a handful of dried blueberries or chopped dates into the batter.
  • Swap half the powdered milk for whey protein for another 10 g per serving.
  • No pan? Cook the batter as one thick cake in a lidded pot over very low heat, about eight minutes.

https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/oatmeal-pancakes