Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Pancake and Waffle Mix Review

Here is another seasonal item that seems to come into Trader Joe’s almost every year and this year is no exception. I have never really tried this before since I don’t eat a lot of pancakes, or I should say our family hasn’t. Well, things changed and I have two little boys who love pancakes now and we eat a ton of the regular Trader Joe’s Multigrain Baking and Pancake mix. I think it makes some of the best pancakes out there!

This Trader Joe’s Product has been around a loooong time. Just like clockwork, it shows up on the store shelves with all the other pumpkin products in early September. I hope they keep it that way! 

When I first opened the box, I could smell the pumpkin pie spices in the mix and I loved those flavors. I love pumpkin pie! It was a pretty standard setup for making pancakes, add eggs, water and butter to the mix and mix it up until smooth. The neat thing about this mix is that it has a distinctive orange color to the pancakes. You can see it in the pan in the picture to the left. I checked the ingredient list and it does contain dried pumpkin!

COOKING DIRECTIONS FOR PANCAKES

Make approximately 6-8 (5″) pancakes
You will need:
1 Cup Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Pancake mix 2 Tablespoons Melted Butter (1/4 stick) 3/4 Cup Milk 1 Egg, lightly beaten
1. Preheat griddle to 350°F (medium heat). 2. Place 1 cup of pancake mix into a large mixing bowl. 3. In a separate bowl, combine the egg, milk and melted butter and stir into the dry ingredients until the large lumps disappear. Do not over-mix. If the batter thickens while it stands, add a little more milk. 4. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter on hot, greased griddle. Pancakes are ready to turn when bubbles form and break and the edges seem cooked. Turn and brown lightly on the reverse side.
For entire box, you will need: Makes approximately 24-32 (5″) pancakes
1 Box Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Pancake mix 8 Tablespoons Melted Butter (one stick) 3 Cups Milk 4 Eggs, lightly beaten
1. Preheat griddle to 350°F (medium heat). 2. Place entire contents of pancake mix into a large mixing bowl. 3. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, milk and melted butter and stir into the dry ingredients until the large lumps disappear. Do not over mix. If batter thickens while it stands, add a little more milk. 4. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter on hot, greased griddle. Pancakes are ready to turn when bubbles form and break and the edges seem cooked. Turn and brown lightly on the reverse side.

COOKING DIRECTIONS FOR WAFFLES

Makes 4 (4″) waffles
You will need:
1 Cup Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Pancake mix 2 Tablespoons Melted Butter (1/4 stick) 3/4 Cup Water 1 Egg, lightly beaten
1. Preheat waffle iron (following manufacturer’s instructions for your waffle iron). 2. Place 1 cup of pancake mix into a large mixing bowl. 3. In a separate bowl, combine the egg, water and melted butter and stir into the dry ingredients until the large lumps disappear. Do not over mix. If batter thickens while it stands, add a little more water. 4. Ladle onto hot waffle iron and remove when golden brown.

I’m not used to this thinner batter compared to the multigrain which is pretty thick, but it reminds me of regular buttermilk pancakes. One thing I noticed was that they cook much quicker than the multigrain and I burned the first one out of the pan, so keep an eye on the temperature.

Once I finished a few I sat down with the kids and ate them. The younger son said they tasted like @#$#% and refused to eat them (I had to make him a fried egg!) the older son wolfed his down!

I really liked the texture and the flavor. It tastes like pumpkin pie and almost has the same texture. I used Organic Trader Joe’s Grade B Maple Syrup on them and it was a great match. The darker grade of syrup with more flavor to stand up to pumpkin pie spices

I didn’t think the spices were too strong and thought they hit the mix just right.  I don’t know if I will buy these again since I need to keep both kids happy, but if it was up to me I would eat these all the time, all year long!

I really liked these pancakes. Trader Joe’s always tries to bring something different to the table (so to speak) and I rate these 8 Bells!

INGREDIENTS

ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), SUGAR, DEHYDRATED CANE JUICE (EVAPORATED CANE JUICE, EVAPORATED CANE MOLASSES), BAKING POWDER (SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, SODIUM BICARBONATE, CORN STARCH, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE), CORNSTARCH, DEHYDRATED PUMPKIN FLAKES (PUMPKIN, MALTODEXTRIN, CORN FLOUR, CORN STARCH, SOY LECITHIN), DEHYDRATED GROUND PUMPKIN, SALT, BUTTERMILK POWDER (BUTTERMILK, BUTTERMILK SOLIDS), NATURAL VANILLA FLAVOR, GROUND CINNAMON, NATURAL PUMPKIN SPICE FLAVOR, GROUND GINGER, GROUND ALLSPICE, GROUND NUTMEG, BETA CAROTENE (BETA CAROTENE, MALTODEXTRIN) (COLOR]).