Oatmeal pancakes are an easy and wholesome breakfast you can make with a few pantry staples. Top the pancakes with maple syrup or a homemade apple compote.
For more healthy breakfast recipes, try our bircher muesli, oatmeal muffins, and easy oatmeal.
These oatmeal pancakes are one of our favorite cozy breakfast recipes, and they are perfect for a slow Sunday morning.
Louise and I have been fine-tuning the ingredients to make sure they’re easy, nourishing, and absolutely delicious.
We love that this recipe uses simple pantry staples like rolled oats, ripe banana, and your favorite plant milk. The pancakes are naturally sweet, soft, and satisfying; fully plant-based with zero compromise on flavor or texture.
These pancakes are rich in fiber and nutrients and give you sustained energy, ideal for a fulfilling start to your day.
Top them with a pat of vegan butter, warm maple syrup, and a handful of seasonal fruit. For an extra cozy twist, try them with our apple cinnamon compote.
And if you love hearty, comforting breakfasts, you might also enjoy our banana pancakes, chickpea flour pancakes, nutritious, and 100% plant-based.
Ingredients
- Rolled Oats: (old-fashioned oats) blended into flour. They add a nutty flavor and keep you full longer than regular flour. Substitute: Ready-made oat flour works too.
- Milk: Any milk works, dairy or plant-based. We like unsweetened soy milk mixed with water for extra light, fluffy pancakes.
- Banana: Acts as a natural egg replacer, binding the batter and adding sweetness. Use ripe bananas with brown spots for the best flavor and texture.
- Oil: Choose a neutral oil like olive or sunflower oil. Alternative: Melted butter works, but it makes the pancakes denser.
- Vanilla Extract (Optional): Adds a warm, aromatic note that pairs well with banana and oats.
- Baking powder: Helps lift the pancakes and make them fluffier. Oatmeal batter is heavier than all-purpose flour, so don’t expect the pancakes to rise as much.
- Optional Apple Compote: While the batter rests (15 minutes), make a quick compote: chopped apples, raisins, cinnamon, and water.
How to make oatmeal pancakes
Blend the rolled oats to turn them into oatmeal flour, then stir in the salt.
In a mixing bowl, mash the banana with a fork until it becomes puree. Add oil, vanilla extract, milk, and water, and mix till well combined.
Add the oat flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix with a fork. Cover and let rest in the fridge for 15 minutes (this step is critical, don’t skip it) to allow the oat flour to absorb the liquids.
Tip: at first, the batter might seem a little thin, but that’s ok because it’ll get thicker as it sits in the fridge.
Take the batter out of the fridge, add the baking powder, and give it a quick whisk.
Warm up a non-stick pan, skillet, or griddle. Add a few drops of oil and spread it with kitchen paper.
Cook the pancakes on the hot pan on medium-low heat for about 2 to 3 minutes on one side, then flip them with a spatula and cook for 2 minutes on the other side.
You can use a 1/4 US measuring cup to scoop the batter into the pan.
Tip: to keep the pancakes warm while cooking the whole batch, you can arrange them on a baking sheet and put them in a warm oven. A warm air fryer works too.
Serving suggestions
While the pancakes batter rests, you can make an apple compote to serve as a topping.
Add chopped apples, raisins, cinnamon, and water to a saucepan. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes or until the apples are soft.
Or serve oatmeal pancakes with:
- Butter and a drizzle of maple syrup.
- Fresh sliced fruits and berries
- Whipped cream and sliced banana
- Hazelnut spread, raspberries, and slivered almonds
Variations
- Add-ins: Stir in chopped nuts, blueberries, chocolate chips, or shredded coconut for added flavor and texture.
- No banana? Substitute with 3 tablespoons of applesauce or a flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water).
Storage
- Make-Ahead Batter: Mix a large batch of pancake batter and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for 3–4 days. Tip: The batter will thicken over time, just stir in a splash of milk before cooking.
- Refrigerator (cooked pancakes): Let pancakes cool, then store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet or microwave before serving.
- Freezer: Cool pancakes completely, place in a freezer-safe bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat from frozen in a toaster, oven, or microwave.
Questions
Yes, you can replace it with whole wheat flour, 1 cup or 130g. To make pancakes with all-purpose flour, check out our vegan pancakes recipe.
You can easily replace dairy milk with the plant milk of your choice. We prefer soy milk and almond milk for this preparation. However, oat milk and other types of plant milk work well too.
You can replace eggs with a ripe banana. Mesh it well with the wet ingredients, add the dry ingredients, and here you go. The banana will act as a binder, just like an egg.
Pancakes become fluffy for several reasons:
1) the raising agent; in this case, we use baking powder and add air.
2) letting the batter rest so that it has the time to bind together and will be able to grow when it cooks.
3) a hot pan, but a moderate heat. This will create a thin crust on the pancake that will trap the steam inside, making the pancake moist and fluffy.
The best way to make pancakes in advance is to prepare the batter, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 – 4 days, and make fresh pancakes with the ready-made batter when you need them.
More breakfast ideas
- Oatmeal
- Vegan crepes
- Easy vegan french toast
- 5-minute tofu scramble
- Cinnamon rolls
- Blueberry muffins
- Vegan donuts
- Zucchini bread
If you tried these Oatmeal pancakes or any other recipe on our blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it goes in the comments. We love hearing from you!
Oatmeal Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 ripe banana
- ½ cup milk any
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil canola oil, or coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- Blend the rolled oats to turn them into oatmeal flour, then stir in the salt.In a mixing bowl, mash the banana with a fork until it becomes puree. Add oil, vanilla extract, milk, and water, and mix till well combined.Add the oat flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix with a fork. Cover and let rest in the fridge for 15 minutes (this step is critical, don't skip it) to allow the oat flour to absorb the liquids.
- Take the batter out of the fridge, add the baking powder, and give it a quick whisk.Warm up a non-stick pan, skillet, or griddle. Add a few drops of oil and spread it with kitchen paper.Cook the pancakes on the hot pan on medium-low heat for about 2 to 3 minutes on one side until you see bubbles on the surface, then flip them with a spatula and cook for 2 minutes on the other side.You can use a ¼ US measuring cup to scoop the batter into the pan.
- Serve oatmeal pancakes with butter and a drizzle of maple syrup.
Video
Notes
- Make-ahead batter: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–4 days. Stir in a splash of milk before cooking, as it thickens over time.
- Fridge (cooked): Keep cooled pancakes in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in a pan or microwave.
- Freezer: Freeze fully cooled pancakes in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Reheat straight from frozen in a toaster, oven, or microwave.
- Rolled Oats: Swap with ready-made oat flour (same weight). Avoid instant oats, as they’ll make the batter too mushy.
- Banana: Replace with 3 tablespoons of unsweetened applesauce or a flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water).
- Plant Milk: Use any milk you like—soy, almond, oat, rice, or cashew all work well.
- Oil: Substitute with melted vegan butter, regular butter (if not vegan), or applesauce for oil-free pancakes (they’ll be softer and less crispy).
- Vanilla Extract: Optional—omit or replace with almond extract or a pinch of cinnamon for a flavor twist.
Nutrition
Hi! We are Nico & Louise
We’re here to share delicious, easy, and healthy plant-based recipes (vegetarian & vegan) 🌿✨.
Welcome to our blog, we are glad you are here.
This is the recipe I have been looking for……..Now I can have banana bread inn a pancake and don’t have to run the oven in the Texas 100F heat.
Another absolute success! We loved these pancakes and they’re so satisfying and healthy (the amount of oil is really minimal and I think a light EVOO would do the job too). Personally I like them better than the regular ones because I find the taste and texture more wholesome. Can’t wait to make them again and again. Thank you both so much!!!
Hi Marina,
So happy to hear these were a hit! I love your note about the minimal oil — and using light EVOO is a great idea. Your comment about taste and texture being more wholesome is exactly what we were going for. Thank you!
All the best,
Louise
My husband who usually eats gluten & dairy loved these! Said they were the best pancakes he ever had. Perhaps because I made them into a heart for Valentine’s Day lol
Beth that is the cutest think ever!! I wish I could have seen your heart-shaped creation, what a lucky guy he is ❤️
Happy Valentine’s Day to both of you. All the best, Louise
I made these pancakes as an experiment for a friend who was not eating flour. To both our delight, the pancakes were delicious and full of flavor. I did not include the topping for lack of time, but I will try that next time. The only reason w didn’t give it a perfect 5 is the pancakes were a bit thin for my liking. However that could have been operator error!
These pancakes are SO GOOD. My recipe made around six small pancakes, and the apples and raisins were perfect. I added just a little bit of ground flax to give the cakes a bit of a grainy texture, but that is my own preference. I will be making these a regular staple in my cookbook. Thank you!
Fantastic, AJ!! So happy that you enjoyed them.
Thanks so much for your feedback and for taking the time to comment 🎉
I really love this recipe. I am on a vegan diet without sugar or ultra processed food and I am looking for simple and nutritious recipes. I love this recipe, the pancakes are delicious, light and easy to make. Personally I prefer to put a bit more plant based milk so the composition is more watery.
Hi Lavinia,
I’m very happy to hear that you enjoyed these pancakes 🎉 Great tip on adding extra liquid to the batter!
Thank you for your comment. Kindest,
Louise
Wonderful recipe !! My new weekend breakfast go to … thank you for the wonderful and easy recipes 🙂
Fantastic, Valentina. I’m so happy you liked the oatmeal pancakes.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!
Kindest,
Louise
Great recipe, works perfectly every time!
That’s wonderful, Nancy!
I’m super happy you liked it – thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!
All the best,
Louise
These were great. I ate them plain, no syrup or compote. I didn’t have any banana on hand, so I subbed some Unsweetened applesauce. I also added some cinnamon & pumpkin pie spice. Everyone loved them and my kids are currently asking me to whip up some more. Thanks for the recipe!!
Hi there, that sounds like an amazing variation, I have to try the cinnamon and pumpkin spice addition. I am super happy that your family liked the pancakes too, that’s such a compliment! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Cheers, Louise
Super easy and yummy recipe!
My go to recipe 💜
Yubeee, I am so happy you like the pancakes! Thanks for making our recipes!! Cheers, Nico