Birthdays are a big deal in our house. The kids get to choose a special breakfast, dinner, and dessert on their big day. Pancakes have always topped the list of breakfast requests. I made them so often I had the GF Bisquick recipe practically memorized! Then Izzy came along. Suddenly I needed to figure out how to make vegan pancakes. Eek! So began my LONG journey to perfect vegan pancakes. Now I’m here to spare you guys all the trouble of figuring it out on your own. Keep reading to get my fabulous recipe for vegan pancakes that are also gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and tasty!
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The Trials and Tribulations of Vegan Pancakes
I mean it when I say it was quite the journey to get these pancakes right. My poor family had to endure some less than tasty attempts before we finally found a winner! There were flops like:
- The spongey blobs that came from trying to use whipped aquafaba in pancakes
- The gooey, mushy pancakes from trying to just use flax eggs
- The bitter hockey pucks that resulted from trying to use only commercial egg replacer
Y’all, there were so many failed attempts and gracious comments from my family. They would say nice things (okay, more like diplomatic things) but then would stop at one pancake. Nobody in my house normally eats one pancake, so their real opinions were pretty obvious! Then, I found inspiration in the most unlikely of places. Pioneer Woman!
Inspiration Strikes
I’m not saying Pioneer Woman is an unlikely source because she’s a bad cook. She’s fantastic! Her recipes aren’t exactly allergy-friendly, though. Most of them contain at least 2-3 of the top 8 allergens. Dairy is in nearly everything she makes. Then one day I was watching her show (as I faithfully do each week) and saw that her Mason Jar Pancake Mix recipe had no eggs. I was so shocked that I rewound it and watched again. Oops. Showed my age there. Raise your hand if you know what ‘rewind’ means. Anyway, I knew in that moment that I was onto something good!
[Tweet “Make these #veganpancakes that are #glutenfree #refinedsugarfree and tasty! It’s my take on a recipe form @pioneerwoman”]
From Inspiration to Invention
Pioneer Woman’s recipe was a great inspiration, but I knew it was going to need a lot of modification to make it work.
- Pancakes need to be more than egg-less to be vegan. The original recipe called for powdered milk. You can’t make vegan pancakes with that, but I’ve recently found coconut milk powder.
- In addition to being gluten-free pancakes, these needed to be free from rice flour and almond flour to be safe for Izzy. That meant some tinkering to get just the right ratio of various flours and starches. If you’re looking for something a bit healthier than the standard white rice flour mixes, the one is for you!
- Speaking of healthier, remember what I said about birthdays? The kids are going to get plenty of sugar at dessert. They don’t need it for breakfast! So, I switched things up to make these vegan pancakes free from refined sugar, too. This maple sugar is the best option. You get the maple flavor that’s perfect for pancakes without the batter getting too wet from added syrup. It also makes these perfect for co-op and school days when you don’t want your kids jacked up on sugar!
Double-Duty Breakfast
Double-duty breakfast are the best thing since sliced bread! I’m not kidding. They’re the perfect tool for moms. Make a double batch of these on a relaxed Saturday morning and put half in the freezer a busy day. Then just pop them on a tray in a 300*F oven for a few minutes until they’re warm. They can heat up while you finish getting ready for the day!
Make Vegan Pancakes Today
Do you want to get back to pancake Saturdays and breakfast for dinner? Then go get your ingredients together and make some vegan pancakes today!
Don’t forget to join my new Fearless Gluten-Free Living group on Facebook. There you can get support from other people living a GF life and get first access to my newest recipes! Be sure to answer the questions so I can get you added! Now scroll down to get the pancake recipe for yourself!
Save RecipeIngredients
- ½ cup sorghum flour
- ½ cup millet flour
- 1/3 cup corn starch
- 1/3 cup potato starch
- 1/3 cup tapioca starch
- ¼ cup powdered coconut milk
- 1 ½ tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp xanthan gum
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1/3 cup maple sugar
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup canned coconut milk
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Sift the flours, starches, powdered coconut milk, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and xanthan gum into a large bowl. Don’t skip this. Sifting (especially the powdered coconut milk) is essential for avoiding lumpy pancakes!
- Whisk the salt and maple sugar into the dry ingredients.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the liquid ingredients.
- Preheat your griddle to medium heat (about 325*F).
- Whisk the liquid ingredients into the dry until fully incorporated, allow to sit while your griddle finishes heating, then whisk once or twice more before cooking.
- Pour pancake batter on your griddle, spacing about 2 inches apart. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes until there are bubbles and the edges look set. Flip and cook for about 2 minutes more. Move to a wire cooling rack while you cook the rest. The rack will prevent them from getting soggy.
- The exact time will depend on the size of your pancakes, so just keep a close eye to tell when they are done.
