Beetroot pancakes

Name: Beetroot pancakes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 28 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Ukrainian
Ingredients: 3 Beetroot; 50 ml Milk; 200g Self-raising Flour; 1 tsp Baking Powder; 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup; 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract; 3 Egg; 25g Butter; 200g Frozen Mixed Berries; 2 tablespoons Blackcurrant Jam; 100g Greek Yogurt

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Dessert recipe with Ukrainian flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 40 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 28 min total

3 Beetroot
50 ml Milk
200g Self-raising Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 tablespoons Maple Syrup
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3 Egg
25g Butter
200g Frozen Mixed Berries
2 tablespoons Blackcurrant Jam
100g Greek Yogurt

Step-by-step instructions

Put the beetroot in a jug with the milk and blend with a stick blender until smooth. Pour into a bowl with the rest of the pancake ingredients and whisk until smooth and vibrant purple.
Put a small knob of butter in a large non-stick frying pan and heat over a medium-low heat until melted and foamy. Now create 3 or 4 pancakes each made from 2 tbsp of the batter. Cook for 2-3 mins then flip over and cook for a further minute until cooked through. Repeat with any remaining batter. Heat oven to lowest setting and keep the pancakes warm in there until needed.
Serve with your favourite pancake toppings or make a simple compote by simmering frozen berries in with 1 tbsp blackcurrant jam until bubbling and syrupy (about 5-10 mins). In a small bowl stir together the remaining jam and the yogurt. Stack the cooked pancakes with the yogurt and pour the warm berry compote over the top.

Why this works on a weeknight

Beetroot pancakes genuinely fits a 30-minute weeknight window, which is why it earned a spot in our Sweet Finishes collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Beetroot pancakes actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🍮 Sweet Finishes Dessert Ukrainian ⚡ 30-Min Dinner