Recipe: Vegan "McGriddles" Breakfast Sandwiches

I don't know if I have ever had a McGriddles sandwich, but I do remember reading a lot about how terrible they supposedly were for you, well before I was vegan.

As regular readers here know, I am currently in the process of trying to use stuff up in my pantry, and not replacing stuff that doesn't get regular use. So there was a partially-used package of pancake mix needing to be eaten, and somehow or other, I got the idea to make it into a breakfast sandwich.

Hey, wait, though, I thought. Isn't that already a thing? 

Yes. It's a thing.

But you don't just make pancakes for a McGriddles sandwich, apparently, because the pancakes they use at McDonald's are already infused with maple.

Turns out, that wasn't hard to do and it was delicious. And more authentic, too, because when I was reading the ingredients at the McDonald's website, it looks like they use brown sugar and regular white cane sugar for the "maple" flavor.

So here I have a recipe for you. I hope you like it. Although I'm making a basic vegan sausage and egg sandwich, you can also add vegan cheese or swap in some bacon or do whatever else you want to do to make your breakfast sandwich.

These little pancakes are likely to be my go-to substitute for things like English muffins and bagels now, at least until I make it through my pancake mix.

Vegan McGriddles
Serves 4

1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring (optional, but it intensifies the maple experience)
3/4 cup pancake mix
Coconut oil
Breakfast sandwich fillings (I used folded JUST Egg and a vegan breakfast sausage patty, but feel free to use vegan bacon, cheese, and whatever else appeals to you here!)

Whisk water, maple syrup, and maple extract in a mixing bowl. Add pancake mix and whisk just until mixed. If the batter is too thin, add a bit more pancake mix; if too thick, add more water. You want it thin enough to spread out a little but thick enough to stay in your pancake rings. 

Add a little coconut oil to a preheated nonstick skillet set over medium heat. Use coconut oil to grease a pancake ring and set that in your nonstick skillet, if you have one (if not, you can just eyeball your circles). Using a cookie scoop, drop about 2-3 tablespoons of batter inside the preheated skillet with the pancake ring. Gently spread the pancake batter so it reaches the edge of the ring.

Cook until bubbles appear and pop in the center of the pancake and the bottom is golden brown. Gently remove the pancake ring and flip the pancake. Cook until golden on the other side, then remove to a plate. You can set the plate in a low oven if you need to in order to keep them all warm while you work.

Repeat until all your pancakes are cooked. You should end up with 8 pancakes.

Make sandwiches out of your little pancakes and serve.