Keto Pancake Showdown | Packaged VS. Homemade

One year anniversary video! I took one of my favorite older recipes and pitted it against some prepackaged keto mixes. I probably did over 10 trial recipes of pancakes before I figured out the final pancake recipe and I'm pretty proud of it. I made it sweet so you don't need an alternative maple syrup on them. I usually just put butter and a maple flavored whipped cream using maple extract. But the sweetener is totally optional in this recipe, especially if you are gonna use a keto maple syrup. My recipe is also gluten and nut free.

For comparison with the other mixes I cut my recipe in half to make it even, I figured out when I actually made them and measured that I didn't get 6- 4 inch pancakes, they made 5. So the pancakes I originally made were probably more like 3-3 1/2 inch pancakes, lol. But in comparison with price mine cost .98 for 6 - 3 1/2 inch pancakes or $4.90 for 30 pancakes which is the amount that most of the packaged mixes make.

Pancake recipe: Makes 12 -3 1/2 inch pancakes

2 Tbs. Isopure unflavored protein isolate (10 g)

1/4 cup coconut flour (30 g)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. xanthan gum

3 Tbs. choice of sweetener (to taste)

2 eggs

2 Tbs. unsalted melted butter (if using salted omit the salt)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup club soda or other carbonated beverage

In a large mixing bowl, sift and whisk dry ingredients together. In a small mixing bowl beat eggs, melted butter, Stevia, and vanilla extract together. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients by whisking together. Once combined, whisk in club soda. Spray a skillet with avocado oil and place over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, pour batter onto skillet forming 3-inch diameter pancakes. Wait for bubbles to form and pop on the surface of the pancakes, then carefully flip. Cook for 1 minute and remove. Recipe makes approximately 12- 3 inch pancakes.

Macros for 12- 3 inch pancakes

539 calories

38 g fat

22 g total carbs

10 g fiber

12 g net carbs

27 g protein

First UP:

Birch Bender brand pancake mix were the only one on the market when I first started keto, now there are tons of choices. Birch Benders is by far the easies mix with just needing to add water. The ingredients are very clean and straight forward with not a lot of frills. There are no sugar alcohols or even natural sweeteners. This results in a less flavorful pancake that falls apart while cooking and disintegrates when adding syrups. It is also 5 g of net carbs per 2 pancakes which is somewhat high for a keto diet of 20 or less a day. But it is the cheapest on the market because you don't have to add eggs or oils to the mix although many suggest adding things to it to make it stay together and taste better. It was by far the hardest to flip and after 10 minutes of cooking were still kind of mushy inside. Its $2.21 for 6 pancakes with just the mix and water. The mix on Amazon costs $9.57.

The Highkey pancake mix is the most involved in putting together with 4 added ingredients to the dry mix. But adding the extras definitely gives this pancake great flavor. It is a really thick batter that you really have to spread out with only using 2 Tbs. of batter per pancake. Also did not get 6 four inch pancakes, I got 5 and a half. But they were yummy and sweet enough for me to consume with no added keto syrup, which I like because I don't enjoy our alternatives. And at 2 g of net carbs for 3 pancakes they are definitely one I would recommend. They are not quite as light and airy as others but they are a nice substitute. They also are not the most expensive pancake mix that I tested at $2.33 for 6 pancakes or 5 1/2 like I got. This mix on Amazon is $9.97.

Keto & Co pancake mix was by far the best mix out of the three. It was definitely the fluffiest, and most pancake like. It held together well and would surely hold up to a syrup but it doesn't need it. I could just eat it by itself or with a little butter and maple flavored whipped cream. It does have the most questionable ingredients with soluble corn fiber, inulin and natural flavors which some people have issues with or just try to avoid if doing strict keto. They have the same net carb count as my pancake at one gram per pancake. It is also the most expensive at $2.58 for 6 pancakes with the mix plus ingredients you need to add. This pancake mix on Amazon costs $9.99.

Other information I came away with in this little experiment was, you need to cook keto pancake mixes longer than you think. Many of the pancakes weren't cooked all the way threw even though I thought they were. Some of them still have a wet texture even when they are cooked all the way threw. Mine cook fast and are not mushy or wet at all inside. And you don't want to let any of the mixes sit too long because they become harder to work with. But in conclusion if you don't want to make you own pancakes at home, we have some decent options on the market now a days, which is pretty nice!!! Enjoy your pancakes!!!!