Gluten Free Pancake in a Mug Recipe for a Fun Jar Gift

Since this month’s focus is on plastic-free presents, I’ve been working on some ‘meals in a jar’ recipes that I can use for gifts. I accidentally came up with this ‘pancake in a mug’ recipe while I was working on a ‘cake in a mug’ mix. It’s still a bit of an experiment. I’ve been enjoying it but I’m still getting feedback on it.

The method behind the pancake madness

Why did I make a pancake-in-a-mug instead of a cake-in-a-mug recipe? Well, when I did my plastic-free bread challenge, I realized that the gluten-free flour blends all come in plastic bags. And in some cases these plastic GF flour bags weighed almost the same as the plastic counterparts I was trying to replace. Hence, defeating the purpose of reducing plastic by baking from scratch. However, I did figure out a solution! The bulk GF flours at the bulk food store come in paper bags, which are much more recyclable. Yay! Except, they didn’t carry a 1-1 GF flour blend, just the individual GF flours. But I did find a GF pancake mix at one of the bulk food stores.

Pancake in a mug vs. Cake

So, I’ve been cutting down on plastic by using the gluten-free pancake flour mix from the bulk food store. While I’m very glad I found the pancake mix, it does require a bit of adjustment to my regular baked good recipes. So, when I made a ‘cake in a mug’ recipe, I was using the pancake mix. The resulting mug cake was good… it just tasted more like a pancake. So I figured, “why not?” And created a ‘pancake in a mug’ recipe instead.

What you will need for the Pancake in a mug recipe

• Pint size mason jar
• Lid for the mason jar
• Large mug
• Spoon
• Microwave

Ingredients

• 1 cup – Gluten-free pancake mix
• 2 Tbsp – Powdered butter*
• 2 tsp – Baking Powder
• 1/4 cup – Coconut sugar or brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp – salt
• 1/3 cup freeze-dried blueberries* or 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • I get my powdered butter and FD blueberries from Thrive Life*. You can also use the dehydrated blueberries it’s just that FD blueberries re-absorb liquids much faster.

Instructions for making the Jar

• Mix all the ingredients, except the FD blueberries or chocolate chips, in the jar.
• Add the FD blueberries or chocolate chips.
• Cover with lid and decorative fabric and/or ribbon
• Print and attach the Pancake in a Mug instructions below

Instructions for making a Pancake in a Mug

• Mix the layers of the jar together.
• In a large mug, add 1/3 cup of jar contents.
• Add 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp of milk or nondairy substitute and mix well.
• Optional – Let it sit a minute or 2 to let the FD blueberries rehydrate.
• Cook in microwave for 90 seconds (I find this varies a little with the size of the mug).

I’ve really been enjoying this ‘pancake in a mug’ recipe, especially for breakfast! But I’m curious what other people will think of it because the texture is more chewy and not quite like a light fluffy pancake. So, if you are considering making this as a gift for others, definitely test the recipe first to see if it’s something you think they would like. Also, the fact that this is a gluten-free recipe might impact the overall result. I haven’t tried it with regular flour, so if you do make it with regular pancake mix, I would love to know what the results were like!