How to make the best fluffy vegan pancakes, with just a few simple ingredients and endless flavor possibilities!
Easy healthy vegan pancakes
If you like soft and fluffy diner style pancakes, this is the pancake recipe to try.
It yields super thick and buttery pancakes, with no flax seeds, no Bisquick or expensive commercial egg replacer, and no unusual ingredients required.
In fact, you might already have everything in your kitchen pantry needed to make these pancakes right now!
Also be sure to try this Vegan French Toast
The trick to pancakes without eggs
The simple secret to making pancakes with no eggs whatsoever? Just add a little vinegar to your pancake batter.
Seriously, that is all you need, with no applesauce or flax eggs required.
Vinegar will react with the baking soda, making the pancake batter bubble up and causing the pancakes to rise as they cook.
Even if you are not a vegan or vegetarian, this is a fantastic plant based recipe to keep on hand for any time you may run out of eggs or buttermilk in the fridge.
If you have ever tried a vegan pancake recipe that turned out flat, gummy, or disappointingly unlike the soft and fluffy homemade pancakes you remember from your childhood, this recipe will completely change your idea of vegan pancakes.
Because they are made with simple basic ingredients, non vegans love these homemade breakfast pancakes too.
They taste like regular pancakes because they are regular pancakes. It is like having vegan IHOP pancakes right in your kitchen!
Vegans also love Vegan Brownies or Vegan Cheesecake
Five vegan pancake recipes
Chocolate Chip Pancakes: Add a handful of mini size or regular dairy free chocolate chips to the batter before stirring. Obviously I am partial to this flavor.
Strawberry Shortcake: Top your finished pancakes with Coconut Whipped Cream and strawberry jam. It tastes like eating homemade strawberry shortcake for breakfast!
Vegan Blueberry Pancakes: Press a few fresh berries into each pancake right after they go on the skillet. Top with pure maple syrup or powdered sugar if desired.
Use up leftover blueberries in these Healthy Blueberry Muffins.
Vegan Banana Pancakes: Replace half a cup of the milk in the recipe below with ripe mashed banana. Add a pinch of ground cinnamon along with the dry ingredients.
Pumpkin Pie Pancakes: Swap out half a cup of the milk with pumpkin puree, and add a fourth teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of pumpkin pie spice.
And of course there’s always the classic pancake toppings: maple syrup and butter. Use your favorite vegan butter, or spread on some Coconut Butter or peanut butter.
Step by step recipe video
Above – watch the vegan pancake recipe video
Ingredients for fluffy vegan pancakes
If you have flour, baking soda, vinegar, salt, and baking powder, you already own everything you need to make this easy pancake recipe.
Choose spelt flour, white flour, oat flour, or some brands of all purpose gluten free flour. I’ve not tried making the recipe with buckwheat or whole wheat flour yet and do not recommend using coconut flour.
I also have not tried substituting almond flour or almond meal for flourless pancakes. However there is a low carb and keto pancake recipe included in the recipe box below, for those who want keto vegan pancakes.
Stir in the optional rolled oats to make vegan oatmeal pancakes. Or go with oat flour or gluten free all purpose to create gluten free pancakes.
Please be sure to report back if you experiment with other flours.
The recipe works with almost any milk of choice, such as almond milk, oat milk, soy milk, or coconut milk. Or you can use water instead.
If you want savory or sugar free pancakes, feel free to omit the sugar.
For a healthy breakfast that tastes like a decadent dessert, try topping the egg free pancakes with a scoop of nondairy Banana Ice Cream or Coconut Ice Cream.
How to make the best vegan pancakes
Combine all of the dry ingredients in one bowl, and stir well.
Mix in the liquid ingredients to achieve a thick pancake batter. For best results, be sure not to overmix.
If you want extra fluffy pancakes, let the batter sit for about ten to fifteen minutes to thicken. For those in a rush, this step is not required.
Depending on the flour you use, more liquid may be needed. Slowly add more dairy free milk or water until your desired pancake batter thickness is reached.
Grease a nonstick skillet or pancake griddle, and turn on the heat to medium.
You can test to see if the pan is hot by adding a drop of water. If the water sizzles, the pan is ready and you can start cooking your pancakes.
Drop small ladles of batter onto the skillet, and gently press down. Smaller pancakes will cook more evenly and avoid burnt edges with undercooked middles.
If adding fresh berries, chopped or sliced banana, or chocolate chips, sprinkle or press them into the pancakes at this time.
Flip the pancakes with a spatula when the edges begin to look dry. Cook for an additional minute or two before removing from the griddle.
Re-grease the skillet after each set of pancakes to they will not stick to the pan.
Note: You can also turn the pancakes into Vegan Waffles.
Dairy free pancake storage tips
To save time in the morning, you can make up the batter the night before if you wish. Refrigerate the batter in a covered bowl until ready to use.
If there are any leftover vegan pancakes, let them cool.
Then stack the pancakes in an airtight lidded container with a layer of wax paper or parchment paper between each pancake.
Leftovers should keep in the refrigerator for around three to four days.
Or freeze the pancakes for up to two months, once again with parchment or wax paper in between each layer to prevent the pancakes from sticking to each other.
Vegan Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour (or try these Keto Pancakes)
- 6 tbsp rolled oats or 1/4 cup additional flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- scant 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup milk of choice or water (or more as needed)
- 2 tsp white vinegar or cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp oil or nut butter, or omit for fat-free
- 2 tbsp sugar or sweetener of choice (can omit for savory)
Instructions
- The recipe works with spelt, white, gluten free all purpose, or oat flour. Feel free to experiment with other flours, and be sure to report back with results if you do!To make vegan pancakes, stir dry ingredients in a bowl, then stir in remaining ingredients. For extra fluffy pancakes, let the batter sit 10 minutes to thicken. Or if thinner pancakes are desired, you can skip that step and add more liquid to thin out the batter. Some flours will need more water than others, so add more until you achieve a pancake batter. (If you accidentally add too much liquid and the batter gets too thin, cook them anyway and they become crepes!) Grease a nonstick skillet well and heat on medium. When the pan is hot (test by adding a drop of water – the pan is ready if it sizzles), drop small ladles of batter and press down. Don’t make the pancakes too big, or they’ll be done on the edges before the centers cook. If desired, press a few berries or banana slices into each pancake, or sprinkle on some chocolate chips. Using a spatula, flip when edges begin to look dry. Let them cook for an additional minute or so before removing from the heat. Re-grease the skillet after each set of pancakes, to prevent sticking. To save time in the morning, you can make up the batter the night before if you wish and refrigerate in a covered bowl. Or leftover pancakes can be frozen to thaw and enjoy at another time.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
Healthy Vegan Breakfast Recipes
Vegan Breakfast Recipes – Over 50 New Recipes
Thank you for doing another pancake recipe! Your pancake recipes are the best and I look forward to trying this one. You mentioned that there’s an almond flour pancake recipe in the Hello Breakfast eBook. I have the eBook and don’t remember seeing the recipe there. Would you be able to send it to me?
Oh absolutely, you should definitely have that. Sending now!
Jason (media relations)
Got them. Thanks!
Oh I love these! Thank you so much. I am going to make them for breakfast tomorrow morning.
Oh these do look SO fluffy! I have a pancake eating family so this is perfect – thank you:)
I have been craving fluffy pancakes lately and these have met that craving!
Being in lockdwn it’s harder to find a place that serves pancakes and these were perfect!
When I made the batter originally it was way too thick and would have been more of the consistency of bread dough.
I added more milk until I got the consistency I wanted.
I used regular white all purpose flour, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, and then added some vanilla.
I waited a few minutes after mixing because I wanted extra fluffy pancakes.
Oh my word! Delish and so fluffy!
Thank you for a great recipe!
I also found that the batter was way too thick with only 1/2 cup of milk. (are you sure that is right??? I consulted other recipe books that I have, and they have at least as much liquid as flour…) I added more liquid – a mixture of milk and water – and got a somewhat pourable consistency. (with only 1/2 cup of milk, the batter was more like bread dough)
They were delicious! I will have to try adding vanilla next time. We used a gluten-free flour mix, and they came out yummy!
Hmm, was it possibly the gf flour that needed more water? I think the amount of liquid just depends greatly on the type of flour being used as well as how thick you prefer your pancakes. Katie erred on the side of thicker batter so that no matter what flour is used, adding the 1/2 cup won’t make it too thin, because it’s harder to take liquid away. I think spelt flour would be one of the flours where the 1/2 cup wouldn’t need any extra.
Jason (media relations)
Thanks. I’ve been having the same problem.
I have used regular flour and had the exact same issue, the batter was one clump. I added freely as much as was needed for a pancake batter texture and they were amazing!!!
I agree! These are lovely but need way more liquid even with plain flour. I think the recipe needs altering a bit!
Thank you for making them! It’s lower-gluten flours like spelt that use less liquid, so just add more as needed depending on the flour you’re using 🙂
Just chiming in on the GF flour mix…everything comes out like bread dough if using a regular recipe. You need to play around with that flour. Just an FYI
I had the same issue! Needed to probably triple the amount of milk to get a batter type consistency. Was no problem still tasted amazing in the end! I used all purpose flour.
Hi, how can I make carrots cake pancakes with this recipe? I believe that you can because your carrots cake is AMAZING.
Just add a handful of finely shredded carrot and a pinch (maybe 1/8 tsp or a little more) of cinnamon to the batter!
We made these for Mother’s Day. The batter was thicker than my usual recipe but I pressed some blueberries on top to help spread them out in the pan. I cooked them in a little safflower oil and they came out great. Very fluffy. Topped with Miyoko’s butter and maple syrup!
They were actually giving me cake donut vibes! I’m a little obsessed with making baked vegan donuts ( love your recipe) but I might try piping this batter in a donut shape and frying like a pancake. Not so much oil required like frying regular donuts. Maybe a delicious donut hybrid!
Thanks for the recipe!
Does anyone else always taste the vinegar in these recipes even after they cook? I love this blog but I’ve had to come to terms with flat pancakes or using eggs unless someone has a suggestion. Thanks.
I’m not fond of the taste of vinegar either. Have you tried lemon juice instead? That also supplies the necessary acid and has a much more pleasant flavour.
This is similar to a pancake recipe I devised while out of the country with limited ingredients — no crazy business! I doubled the recipe, added a bit of water (and chocolate chips), and it made 3 Belgian waffles. Yum!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve been looking for a healthy pancake recipe 🙂
When I made it, it did come out like biscuits, which was good because it went great with strawberries 🙂 I made the pancakes a second time with a cup milk per others suggestion (thank you!) and they turned out wonderfully, like in the photos 😀
Just curious, with the nutrition facts, is that made with milk or with water? Have a terrific day!
Looks like it’s calculated with water. I tried them both ways and honestly they taste the same with milk or water so I will use water from now on (and I will definitely be making these again!)
I turned these into waffles. With gluten free flour, I needed an extra 1/4 cup oat milk, and I used cashew butter. Absolutely delicious! I might add some vanilla and almond extract next time, just to play around with flavors. Thanks, Katie!
These are magic?
Yes because they are soft and insanely fluffy and fat without eggs.
I just realized there is no nutrition information for this recipe. I assume none of your recipes have this. I track my calories and macros so this is also disappointing
Dude there’s literally a nutrition fact link right under the ingredients in every one of her recipes, and if you added more flour then of course they came out gummy! It says to add more water (which works because I just did it and it was fine) not flour
I used chocolate protein powder instead of sweetener and used a combo of oat and white flours. They weren’t bad. Definitely not the best pancakes I’ve ever had, but pretty good for healthy-ish vegan pancakes.
Very good! Soft and tasty! I have a child with milk and egg allergies, so I decided to try these. Very good! Very happy! Will make these again.
Thank you so much for making them 🙂