Vegan pancakes - Recipe for fluffy & tall pancakes

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Soft, tall, fluffy, and easy to make, these vegan pancakes are the best pancakes you'll ever have.

After many rounds of testing, we are happy to share with you all our tips to make the best homemade vegan pancakes ever.

Jump to:

• What are vegan pancakes?
• Ingredients and substitutions
• How to make vegan pancakes?
• Trouble shooting flat pancakes
• Common mistakes
• FAQ
• Storage
• Variations
• Recipe

What are vegan pancakes?

Pancakes are one of the most popular foods in the world and most countries have their own variations of this dish.

In this blog post, we are talking about American Pancakes, also known as hotcakes, griddlecakes, or flapjacks.

American pancakes are flat and round cakes, made from a mixture of starch-based batter that might be mixed with eggs, milk, and butter, and then cooked on a pan or griddle.

Our vegan pancakes are basically the same thing, but we are without eggs, butter, and dairy milk.

But don't fret, these vegan pancakes are light, soft, and delicious like no other pancake!

Ingredients and substitutions

• Flour: in our base recipe for vegan pancakes we use all purpose flour. You can replace AP flour with other types of flour like whole wheat, spelt, oat flour, and even a gluten-free flour mix.
  
• Sugar: we add just a little to give it a touch of sweetness.
  
• Salt: just a pinch.
  
• Baking powder: we use baking powder as raising agent. It makes the pancakes light and fluffy.
  
• Plant Milk: we prefer oat milk or almond milk for this recipe. Soy milk or other types of plant milks work too.
  
• Water: it's very important to add water to make the pancakes super light. If you were to add just plant milk, your pancakes would turn out a little heavier and chewier, and we don't want that.
  
• Aromas: optional, we like to add either vanilla extract or cinnamon, depending on the topping we use. If you use classic 100% maple syrup and vegan butter as a topping then go for vanilla.

Note: We serve our pancakes with vegan butter and 100% pure maple syrup on top.

How to make vegan pancakes?

Equipment

• Bowl
• Whisk
• Non-stick pan
• Spatula or turner to turn the pancakes

To a bowl, add flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Mix with a whisk.

To the same bowl, add water, your plant milk of choice, and your aroma of choice, we go for vanilla extract in this case.

Mix with the whisk gently, just until all the ingredients are incorporated. Some small lumps are fine and do not overmix.

Tip: Overmixing flour and water will develop the gluten network which will make your pancakes heavy and rubbery. If you want light and fluffy pancakes don't overmix the batter.

Let the batter rest for 5 minutes, then heat up a non-stick pan. We like to drizzle the pan with a few drops of vegetable oil, then spread the oil with a piece of kitchen paper. This is enough to make sure the pancakes won't stick.

If you want to fry the pancakes in more oil or butter, that's up to you, but we don't think it's necessary.

Cook the pancakes on the hot pan on low heat for about 1.5 - 2 minutes on one side, and about 1 minute on the other.

When the pancakes start to look dry on the edge and are golden brown on the bottom, turn them gently with a spatula.

Tip: pancakes should be cooked on a hot pan but on low heat, to prevent them from burning outside and being still wet on the inside.

Tip: You can make pancakes as large or as small as you desire. I like to scoop the pancake batter into the pan with my ¼ cup measuring cup (that is about 45 to 55 grams of batter per pancake).

When golden brown on both sides your pancakes should be ready.

Serve with a piece of vegan butter and a generous amount of 100% maple syrup. They are also delicious with some fresh berries.

Trouble shooting flat pancakes

Making pancakes is more an art than a science, and no matter how precise you are with your measurements, sometimes your pancakes won't turn out as beautiful and fluffy as you imagined them.

The secret to making beautiful vegan pancakes lies in the thickness of the batter.

Just one extra tablespoon of flour can make all the difference in the world when it comes to tall and fluffy pancakes.

Let's start by saying that flatter pancakes are as delicious as taller ones, however with all foods the eye plays its part, and so if you want to make Instagram-worthy pancakes you've got to get the batter to the right consistency.

Why? When exposed to the heat, the baking powder creates air that helps the pancake rise. If the batter is too thin it won't be able to keep the air trapped in, and the pancake won't rise much.

Observe your pancake before turning it: your pancakes should make some small bubbles that pop and leave a tiny hole behind.

Some small bubbles are good, however, if your pancake makes too many small bubbles, then the batter is probably a little too thin, and when you turn it, the pancake won't rise much.

If this is the case, all you need to do is add 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour to make the batter a little thicker. Mix the flour in gently, without overmixing. It should take you 5 seconds.

But remember, you don't want to make a too-thick batter, or else your vegan pancakes will end up being too bready and chewy. You still want a relatively thin and light batter.

Common mistakes

Overmixing

This is especially important if you work with all-purpose flour (whole wheat flour suffers less from overmixing).

By overmixing the flour you'll start developing the gluten network in the batter, making it more doughy. An overmixed batter will produce rubber-like pancakes that are less fluffy and airy.

Trying to get rid of all lumps

This will inevitably lead to overmixing, which is bad. so give it a quick mix, some small lumps are fine.

Too thin or too thick batter

See the troubleshooting paragraph above. In general, if the batter is too thin your pancakes won't grow as much. If the batter is too thick, they'll turn out heavy and bready. It takes a bit of practice finding the right batter consistency, our measurements are a good starting point.

Pan too hot

Pancakes should be cooked on a hot pan but over low heat or low flame. If the heat is too hot, the pancake will burn on the outside and it will still be raw, wet, on the inside.

Not cleaning the pan

We find that cleaning the pan with a piece of kitchen paper and applying a few drops of oil every second pancake helps make beautiful golden brown pancakes.

Flipping vs turning

I think it's best to gently turn the pancakes instead of flipping them, they'll grow taller this way.

Hesitating the turn

Once your pancake is on the spatula, lift it up slightly, then swiftly turn your wrist towards the left (if you are right-handed) and your pancake will fall perfectly on the pan, hopefully without smearing it.

Flipping when you see bubbles

While most of the internet will tell you to flip pancakes when it bubbles on top, that's way too early. You actually need to wait for about 1 minute past that, most of the bubbles should pop, and the pancakes should be golden brown on the bottom.

FAQ

Storage

First, allow your pancakes to cool at room temperature. Then store them in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze them for up to 2 months.

If you store them in the refrigerator, you can stack them on top of each other, put them in a bowl and cover them with a plate. Reheat in the microwave for just a minute.

If you freeze them they might stick to each other, so you either freeze small batches, or you put a piece of parchment paper in between each pancake so they won't stick with each other. Thaw and reheat in the microwave.

Variations

Whole wheat pancakes without added sugar

Whole wheat pancakes are easy to make and are really delicious and wholesome. You could literally have them every day for breakfast as there's no added sugar, no added fat, and plenty of dietary fiber.

Ingredients, quantities, and instructions are almost the same as in our basic vegan pancakes recipe. All you need to do is:

• Substitute whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour in the same quantities as written in our recipe.
  
• Substitute 1.5 overripe medium bananas, mashed till they look like baby food, for the sugar.
  
• In a bowl, mix the mashed banana with milk and water, then add the liquid to the bowl with the dry ingredients.

If you want to serve them with an apple compote on top, like you see in the picture, then:

• Chop up 2 apples in small dice, skin on, and add them to a pot.
• Add 1 cup of water, 2 tablespoons of raisins, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
• Cook over medium heat while you prepare the pancakes. The apples are ready when they are soft but not mushy (about 20 minutes).
• Serve the pancakes with the apple compote, and optional with chopped walnuts and a drizzle of 100% pure maple syrup.

Vegan banana pancakes

Banana pancakes are our favourite pancakes in the world because they are without added sugar but still sweet and incredibly moist and fluffy.

To make them follow the same recipe as for our basic vegan pancake. All you need to do is:

• Substitute 1.5 overripe mashe bananas for the suagar.
• In a bowl, mash the overripe bananas with a fork till they look like baby food, then add milk and water and whisk together.
• Add the liquid to the bowl with the dry ingredients, quick mix, and the batter is ready.
  
• Whilst the pancake is cooking, we like to add some blueberries in it before turning the pancake. They taste and look delicious.
• Serve with banana pieces, blueberries and a drizzle of 100% pure maple syrup.

Oatmeal pancakes

Oatmeal pancakes are a healthy and wholesome breakfast dish. We make them with rolled oats that we blend in a blender, turning them into oats flour.

Here's the recipe for our vegan oatmeal pancakes.

Recipe

If you liked this recipe, you might also like:

• Vegan apple cake
• Coffee cake filled with coffee custard
• Easy vegan chocolate cake
• Italian wine cookies
• Vegan coffee cake
• Easy chocolate brownie cake

Did you try this recipe at home? Let us know in the comments below 🙂

Buon appetito!