These Meyer lemon quinoa pancakes are a thick, fluffy, lemony and sweet gluten-free pancake packed with an extra protein boost from the quinoa.

*Post updated 1/21/2018 to include a video on how to make these Meyer Lemon Quinoa Pancakes. Scroll down to watch and enjoy these quinoa pancakes this weekend for breakfast!

I’ve made (and eaten) a lot of bad pancakes over the past 5 years.

You’d think pancakes would be something pretty basic; a hard meal to really screw up.

Well, not really.

The progression of my pancake concoctions over the last few years is a pretty good indicator of where I was/am on my health journey.

5 years ago, when I was first trying to lose the 20 pounds that crept up on me since college it was all about the calorie counting.

And so my pancakes were a multi-grain, out of the box, precisely measured proportions kind of thing.

They were usually pretty good as it’s kind of hard to screw up boxed pancake mix.

But, as I slowly transitioned away from calorie counting and focused more on nutrient dense food, things like chia seeds, ground flax, pumpkin and an assortment of flours (oat, almond flour, rice flour, coconut flour, gf baking mix, etc.) worked their way into my pancakes and let me tell you, there’s a lot that can go wrong when you’re experimenting outside the safety net of all-purpose flours and a normal egg.

Pancake recipes like these oatmeal pumpkin pancakes, apple spice pancakes, cinnamon pear pancakes, pomegranate chocolate chip pancakes and gingerbread pumpkin pancakes were all winners during this pancake phase though.

And I finally nailed a gluten-free and vegan pancake recipe with my St. Patrick’s Day green spinach pancakes. Woohoo!

I went through a “let’s try and leave as much dairy out as possible” phase and used chia and flax eggs for awhile, something that taught me there’s a reason they call a normal egg “The Incredible, Edible..”

Chia seeds are great for things like chia pudding (see pumpkin chocolate chia pudding, blueberry coconut chia pudding and strawberry guava chia pudding for good examples of that!) but can sometimes get dicey as an “egg” substitute.

Then there was the paleo obsession of 2012 which was like a double whammy; no dairy & no grains. A lot of bad, bad pancakes were eaten during that time.

Although, these pumpkin paleo pancakes that came out of that phase are still one of my favorites and one of the top 3 most popular posts on this site.

That brings us to now.

The paleo phase has subsided a bit, but having experimented with it for 30 days last year, I now know a lot more about how I react to grains, gluten and dairy.

I definitely don’t need to eliminate any of those things from my diet, but when it comes to meals that can be made gluten-free or grain free and still taste good, I sometimes opt for that route because I know the benefits it brings to my body now.

Why in all these 5 years I’d never had the thought before now to add some quinoa into pancakes is totally beyond me.

I’ve added protein powder up the wazoo. Oh, that was another phase I forgot about. High protein EVERYTHING!

Although that phase led to two of my favorite protein pancake recipes – perfect protein pancakes and these pumpkin protein pancakes.

Not bad, unless you go overboard and end up with chalky tasting baked goods which happened a few too many times in the pancake department for me to really do that much any more.

The quinoa gives these pancakes a nice protein boost and a fun texture.

The blend of flours is like the gluten-free stars aligned because these pancakes are the perfect balance of dense and fluffy.

I hate a thin pancake. These are the total opposite of that.

And then there’s the Meyer lemon. Oh, how I adore those little guys.

Why is it that we can get blueberries from Chile right now without pause but we can’t get Meyer lemons in the middle of the summer from wherever Meyer lemons grow that time of the year?!

Anyway, they’re a bit milder than your typical tart lemon which results in a perfect lemony, sweet pancake.

If you like lemon in your pancakes try this raspberry lemon Dutch baby – it’s a skillet pancake with puffy sides!

Or, try another citrus fruit with these orange basil ricotta pancakes (also gluten free!)

If the pancake roller-coaster had to end for me here with these Meyer lemon quinoa pancakes, I think I’d be ok with that.