Whip up these Whole Grain Pancake Muffins in minutes for a healthy breakfast at home or on the go. Pack them in your kid's lunch boxes for an extra special mid-day meal surprise.
FINALLY! A whole grain pancake/waffle mix on the shelf at your everyday grocery store. I first saw Kodiak Cakes on Shark Tank and I've been a huge fan ever since. Kodiak Cakes is sponsoring this post and I am so excited to introduce you to an Instant Pot spin on their Flapjack and Waffle Mixes.
My kids went CRAZY over these pancake muffins! CA-RAY-Z! A pancake turned into a handheld spongy muffin? Their little minds were blown.
Just wait until they discover these bites in their lunch boxes with a small cup of Instant Pot Healthy – ish Chocolate Syrup. I'll be in the running for Best Mom Ever, for sure.
WHY YOU WILL LOVE INSTANT POT WHOLE GRAIN PANCAKE MUFFINS
- Kodiak Cakes has a huge variety of flavors and products in their Flapjack and Waffle Mix line, all of them sporting 100% whole grains and lots of protein. To name a few: Buttermilk, Dark Chocolate, Cinnamon Oat, Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, and Pumpkin Flax
- Two ingredients: Kodiak Mix and water. That's it, you're done
- Cute Factor times 100
- I dip, you dip, we dip! Sweet Cashew Cream, Chocolate Syrup, Honey Syrup, or Triple Berry Chia Jam. I'm seeing major potential in the baby/bridal shower category here.
HOW TO MAKE AN EASY, HEALTHY BREAKFAST
- Dry mix + water; whisk
- Use an ice cream scoop to divide batter into your two silicone trays
- Place narrow canning lids on the bottom tray
- Stack top tray on top of the lids
- Cook em' up in the Instant Pot
- Cool a bit, dive in!
Did I mention they have several different flavors? I can't be stopped . . .
TIPS FOR MAKING KODIAK PANCAKE MUFFINS
- Amp up the protein even more by using milk instead of water or adding an egg. All of those directions are included on the box.
- Add blueberries, chopped apples, raisins . . . the options are endless! I'm looking at you Dark Chocolate. Walnut addition happening very soon!
- Make up several batches all at once and store in the refrigerator for 3 days or freeze for a month. Thirty seconds in the microwave and you'll be in business.
I am so excited for you all to give these a try! One of my favorite things about running this here blog is telling you about my favorite products, and Kodiak Cakes is a dream come true for this busy mama. They've made feeding my family whole grains so simple and I am very grateful for such a courageous movement.
FYI: My favorite flavor was the classic buttermilk, my husband's was the Cinamon Oat, and my kids unanimously voted for Dark Chocolate – surprise, surprise.
Enjoy!
Tools/Ingredients used to make Instant Pot Whole Grain Pancake Muffins
- Instant Pot
- Kodiak Flapjack and Waffle Mix
- Popfex Silicone Trays
- Meal Prep Food Storage Containers (to take them on the go)
*This post contains affiliate links. Thank you!
Other Favorite Healthy Breakfasts
- Sweet Cashew Cream – Best dip ever for these Pancake Muffins!
- Beebo Bites AKA Oatmeal Power Bites
- Perfect Pressure Cooker Oats
- Banana Custard Steel Cut Oats
- Denver Style “Sous Vide” Eggs
Instant Pot Whole Grain Pancake Muffins
Fluffy Pancake bites that are dipable, packable, and freezeable. Eat them fresh or make them ahead of time for an easy breakfast or addition to a healthy packed lunch.
- Prep Time: 1 minute
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 14 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 cups Kodiak Flapjack and Waffle Mix (any flavor)
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups water (amount of water will vary depending on which Kodiak mix you use. See box directions for amount)
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine Kodiak Flapjack and Waffle Mix and water (per box directions).
- Generously spray the 2 silicone molds with non-stick spray. Using an ice cream scoop (that measures about 1/4 cup), divide all of the batter into the molds.
- Stack one of the filled molds on top of a trivet. Place 2 – 4 narrow mason jar lids on top followed by the second silicone mold.
- Pour 1 cup water into the pressure cooker pot and place the trivet and filled silicone molds inside.
- Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position. Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes. When cooking is complete, use a natural release for 5 minutes and then release any remaining pressure.
- Let the pancake bites cool if needed for handling. Using a butter knife or spoon, scrape around each pancake bite to release it, then turn them over on to a cooling rack or plate.
- Enjoy warm, as is, or with a side of syrup, jam, or honey for dipping. These are also perfect for on-the-go and lunch boxes.
- Store extras in the refrigerator. Delicious chilled or reheated. They freeze beautifully as well.
Notes
- Eat right after they're cooked for the fluffiest texture. They become more dense as they cool
- Pancake Muffins can be eaten hot or cold with butter or your favorite dip. Just think of what you typically like with your pancakes!
- To freeze: place in a freezer safe bag, squeeze the air out, then place in the freezer for 1 – 2 months.
- To pack in lunch boxes: Put muffin in lunch box frozen and it will thaw out by lunch, all while keeping the lunch box cold
- To reheat a frozen pancake muffin simply place it in the microwave for 30 seconds
Keywords: Instant Pot breakfast, pancakes, kids lunch box
Yum! Super easy to make and my kids love them. Win win!
★★★★★
I purchased the sample pk from Amazon and am going to try them. I only have 1 mold. On the package the flapjack instructions call for 1 cup of mix + 3/4 cup of water. Is this what you did (except for doubling)? I also noticed there are actually muffin directions which call for additional brown sugar and 2 mashed bananas. Did you use the muffin directions or flapjack directions?
If I do 1 mold, should I do 7 minutes and 5 NPR? One of your comments said they did do 1 mold and the 5 min and 5 NPR worked perfectly. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Marilyn, yes, just use the flapjack instructions. Each box differs a bit on how much liquid it adds, so just follow what the box says. I haven’t tried 1 mold at a time, but I think the 5 min would work perfectly!
I just made these but with a different brand of mix. Can’t get Kodiak here for a reasonable price, but Amazon.ca had one that sounded similar. Worked great, though I did wonder if it would, since the ‘batter’ was very runny, more like coloured liquid than a batter.
One thing I do want to mention, all recipes I have found that use these ‘tins’ call for spraying with cooking spray. I was getting a bit tired of the greasiness that ended up on the outside and never seemed to be absorbed into the food. Then I thought, are these silicone things not supposed to be non-stick??? So with this recipe I decided to test doing without the spray, and it worked just fine. I let them cool a bit on a rack until I could hold them without needing gloves, and the muffins fell out just like that when turned upside down. And no more greasiness.
Marianne, Thanks for the tip! I will be trying this more often because, I agree, it oftentimes is a bit greasy on the outside of the muffin.
These are awful. I have made *four* batches trying to get them right. With and without egg, with and without fruit. They collapse as soon as they come out of the heat, and are just tiny wet tacky balls of goo. Blech, total fail!
★
Hi! Anxious to try these any recommendations on only using one mold for the amount of time? Thank you!
Brittany, I haven’t tried just one mold at a time myself, but others have told me it needed about 2 more minutes of cook time.
Have you tried using the muffin mix or would I do anything differently if I have the muffin mix? Thank you!!
Katelyn, I haven’t tried it with the muffin mix, but I think it would likely work great. Let me know if you try it!
How do you keep them from getting water in them? I had to tilt to strain out some water. They were good and moist though.
Tamera, The little bit of condensation that gets on them doesn’t seem to affect them so I don’t stress it. I tilt and drain the moisture in-between the muffins the same as you mentioned 🙂
Just tried these. I was a little worried after reading the comments. I did one tray, one cup mix, one cup water and a few mini chocolate chips. Seven minutes cooking and 5 minutes north. They are great. Thanks for sharing this. So easy!!!
Lol autocorrect. Npr not north
Barb, I’m glad you loved them! My kids cheer when they see these 🙂
I am so excited that I found you on Pintrest. I clicked on your link for the silicone trays and can’t wait for them to arrive. I can’t wait to try these pancake/muffins.
Thanks,
Gina
Gina, I’m excited to have you here 🙂 . I love the silicone molds. Be sure and try the Oatmeal Muffins and Poached eggs in them too!
Just made these this morning. I used the Kodiak Dark Chocolate mix and only made one tray, using 1 c. mix and 1 c. water. I cooked them for 5 minutes, and they came out perfect. They did look really wet on top when I first opened the pot, but after just a minute or two with the lid off, they were just fine. Can’t wait for my kids to wake up and try them.
Denise, that’s been my experience as well with the pancake muffins and the Beebo Bites. Such is the nature of the pressure cooker, no evaporation! Pack them in their lunch boxes too, my kids love that with a side of yogurt dip.
Hi Marci, I also tried these with only one mold. They, like others’ , came out wet and also didn’t look cooked inside. I ended up putting them into my oven (back in the molds) for a bit. They still don’t look done, but my kids say they taste just like pancakes, ha!
I did use an egg and milk (basically, the recipe on my box of Giant brand “Limoncello inspired Blueberry Pancake Mix”and added some extra milk instead of the unsalted butter they recommended) instead of just water.
I’d be interested to see a photo of the inside of your bites, if you get the chance.
Deborah, they do appear moist when they come out because of the steamy environment, but not in an uncooked, batter on your fingers, spilling out of the molds, kind of way. Within a few minutes, they appear dry. Were the centers of them uncooked? Is that why you had to cook them longer? Was this a different brand of pancake mix?
Marci, I just bought the Kodiak mix and wondered about adding a small amount of jelly in center before cooking? These are something I would like to make for my husband to take to work for breakfast (trying to get him out of the habit of fast food)
Laurie, these are so perfect for on the go. I haven’t tried filling these, but I do it all the time to the Beebo Bites and it works great, so I suspect it would be delicious. Let me know how it turns out please!!
Marci – do you have any recommendations on what I could use to stack my molds aside from mason rings? I can’t find rings that fit around my molds just right. And I’d prefer not to buy new molds
Hmmmm…I think I tried crunching up some foil one time which kind of worked. Two trivets of different heights could also work.
So I tried making these again with a different flavor and had the same results. I am wondering if it could be the molds? Also i can’t get the smell of the oats and cinnamon out of them. Do the ones you use keep the smell? I am tempted to try a different brand of egg bite molds
Ines, my molds don’t seem to hold on to the smell like others report. Even after doing eggs with peppers and onions I don’t smell anything. My molds are more sturdy and have deeper pockets than others I’ve ordered which is why I tell people they are my favorite.
Thank you I plan to try the ones you recommend in here
I tried 5 minutes with 2, and they were uncooked in the middle. Top mold was finished on the stovetop griddle. I put the second mold back in for 3 additional minutes, 4 minutes npr, then qr. Better, but not fluffy. Chocolate chip mix (2c) with 2 cups of milk (box is 1c mix to 1c liquid). I think I will try 9 or 10 minutes next time.
Andrea, How strange. I’ve made the chocolate chip ones several times and they haven’t been even close to underdone. Are you using the Kodiak mixes?
Absolutely. I do, however, have the 6 in 1 IP (no cake function), so I wonder if that makes a difference?
Andrea, that shouldn’t make a difference. I never use the cake function button, just always manual/pressure cook. 1 tray cooks slower than 2, so that could be part of it if you did that.
I had the same issue but used a different kinds(oats and cinnamon). Even with putting it back in the instanpot to cook longer it didn’t taste right
Has anyone tried successfully with 1 mold? I’m not sure how long to cook
Ines, I haven’t yet, but I would add 2 minutes. I suspect it may take a bit longer to cook with less direct surrounding heat
I tries to make these last night and not sure what I did wrong but they didn’t come out good. I now have 2 molds so used both. When i bit into it the middle tasted like it was not cooked and doughy. I wonder if i didn’t mix it right. (i did oats and cinnamon). I put it back in for another 5 mins but still tastes weird. Maybe I didn’t mix it well?
INES, I wish I could join you in your kitchen! I’m not sure why it’s not working. The oats and cinnamon are my kid’s favorite flavor right now so I’ve done it several times and haven’t had issues.
So I tried making these again with a different flavor and had the same results. I am wondering if it could be the molds? Also i can’t get the smell of the oats and cinnamon out of them. Do the ones you use keep the smell? I am tempted to try a different brand of egg bite molds
Curious about making these without an Instapot! Any ideas?
Marcie, I think they’d do great in the oven. Maybe 350 degrees, 10-15 minutes – ish? Love your name by the way ;). People have been trying to add an e to the end of my name my entire life, haha!
I just made these (doing a trial run before my kids’ school starts Monday) and unfortunately they didn’t turn out right. They’re very dense and wet. I followed the instructions, except I only used one mold and did one batch. Did I need to cover the silicone molds with aluminum foil? Or did I miss something else? Thanks!
I had the same outcome and only did one batch also. I’m wondering if they don’t need to be cooked the whole 5 minutes for half the recipe. I’m going to try again today and not cook then as long. I’ll let you know.
Cydney, Do you mean they need to be cooked longer for 1 tray? I thought Cari was saying hers were too wet. What was your experience?
I am new to the instant pot. I thought with less muffins you’d cook them for less time, but that didn’t work either. I am trying again and cooking them longer this time. They have been wet on top right when I take them out but it soaks right in, they don’t stay wet.
I did 8 minutes and they are still a little dense. I think 10 minutes would make them perfect.
I want to try these as well but I too only have one mold. How would I make these using one mold?
Dawn, I’ve only ever done 2 trays at a time. I’m guessing you may have to add a few minutes if you’re only doing 1. I’ll have to try it out. I’ll let you know when I do!
Cari, I don’t ever cover them. I think it can depend on the mix you use. Did you use Kodiak or a different brand? I haven’t tried only doing 1 tray, but I’m guessing you’ll need an extra few minutes because there will be less surrounding heat. I’ll let you know if I try that!
Based on everyone’s comments, I’ll try 10 minutes. Cross your fingers! I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Marci, I did use the Kodak brand and followed the instructions.
Thanks!
Cari, yes please, let me know how it goes! Thanks for experimenting 🙂
I really increase the protein in these delicious pancakes I replace the water with liquid egg whites!
Kim, what a great idea! I’m going to try this!
Hi Marci,
These look amazing and I love all your add-ins! I can’t see the label on the box, but am wondering if that mix contains gluten? If they do, do they have a gluten-free variety?
Karen, I just took another look through their products and it doesn’t look like they have a gluten-free mix. I wouldn’t be surprised if they make one someday though. They are constantly coming out with new stuff.
Thank you so much for checking on that for me. I bet they will come out with gf soon too!
They do have a gluten free mix. We use it all the time for pancakes. It is hard to find in the store, but Amazon usually has it available.
Wow! Thanks, I didn’t know that!