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Melt-in-your-mouth, easy, light and fluffy vegan pancakes made with just 6 ingredients.
Is there anything more mouth-watering than a stacked plate of pancakes on a Saturday morning? A little bit of melted butter on top, drizzled with maple syrup…mmmm.
But if it’s a dense, chewy pancake - not so appetizing. My favorite type of pancake is the kind that is so fluffy and airy, you barely have to chew. They just melt right in your mouth.
To make pancakes vegan, you just need to use your favorite non-dairy milk and melted vegan butter. Eggs are definitely not required to achieve fluffiness in a pancake.
Instead, we’ll be using a fair amount of baking powder. Baking powder is a leavening agent that creates bubbles in the batter, making for an airy pancake. While you are making the pancakes, you’ll notice that the batter in the bowl will get pretty puffy. You can give it a gentle stir but don’t stir it so vigorously that you get rid of all the bubbles.
This recipe also calls for vanilla which just takes them to the next level, flavor-wise. Seriously, don't skip that ingredient! It makes a huge difference - especially since this recipe is lower in sugar than most pancake recipes. I never really saw the point in adding a ton of sugar to pancake batter when we are going to be drowning them in maple syrup.
If you're looking for a gluten-free vegan pancake recipe, try this one made with oat flour!
Top Tips
- Use a really good non-stick skillet. I love my GreenLife ceramic skillets.
- If the batter is so thick that it globs out instead of pouring into the pan, add a little more vegan milk - a tablespoon or two.
- If you love a crispy pancake edge, add a teaspoon or two of vegan butter into the pan.
- Add-ins are welcome! About ½ cup of chocolate chips or fruit. I like using fresh fruit over frozen fruit - frozen fruit adds too much moisture to the pancake.
- Flip just once. This helps the pancakes stay fluffy and moist. Wait until the first side is perfectly golden brown, then flip. Note that the second side will take less time to brown.
- If you want more flavor in your pancake, try adding ingredients like cinnamon, nutmeg, or almond extract.
- You can make this recipe oil-free by leaving out the vegan butter and replacing it with additional non-dairy milk.
- If you cook in butter, it will start to get brown in the pan after cooking your second or third pancake. Wipe out the pan and replace with fresh butter.
- Don't overmix the batter - mix until the ingredients are just incorporated. Some clumps of flour are fine. Overmixed pancakes = chewy and flat pancakes.
- Got extras? You can freeze pancakes! Heat them up in the microwave or a toaster.
Video
Did I cover it all? Are you ready to make your new favorite sweet breakfast? Let's go!
Recipe
Fluffy Vegan Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup non-dairy milk - plain, unsweetened
- 2 tablespoon melted vegan butter
- 1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients (non-dairy milk, vegan butter, and vanilla extract) until just incorporated. Avoid overmixing. There should still be lumps of flour in the batter.
- Heat a non-stick pan to medium heat. Add a teaspoon or two of vegan butter into the pan if crispy edges are desired.
- Scoop about ¼ cup of batter into the pan for each pancake.
- Cook until the top of the pancake starts to bubble and the bottom is golden brown (about 3-4 minutes). Flip! Cook on that side until golden brown (about 1-2 minutes)
Notes
Nutrition
More Vegan Breakfast Recipes
Dana says
These were absolutely amazing. We’re newly vegan/plant based and our son has been asking for pancakes. I love to bake and cook and have tried at least 5 other recipes all of which were not good-dry, not fluffy, lacking flavor, etc. This one is a Winner! We did add a splash of maple syrup to the batter and it added a nice hint of sweetness (mostly because we eat them with fruit not syrup). Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Cynthia Bradford-Scott says
Is the calorie count 172 PER pancake? Just wondering...
Karissa says
Yes, per pancake.
Michelle says
Is the calorie intake per pancake or for all the whole recipe.
Thanks absolutely loved these pancakes so delicious I added some cocao powder.
Karissa says
Per pancake.
Eireanne says
Hands down the BEST pancake recipe I've ever made. My husband requests these every Saturday morning!
Faith says
I loved these pancakes! I used oat milk, and added one mashed up banana, some cinnamon and nutmeg. They came out great and I ate way too many!!
David Jacquemotte says
Loved these as pancakes. Any changes recommended if we want to make them into waffles (we have a waffle iron)?
kitty says
I didn't have any luck with these as pancakes but used a waffle iron and they came out much better! I think I incorrectly measured the flour due to laziness and they came out too watery which worked out perfect for waffles.
Hazycat says
Hi I am dairy free, egg free and gluten free and really miss pancakes. Like the look of this recipe though wondering if it works with gluten free flour?
Karissa says
I haven't tested it with GF flour, but my recommendation would be to try it with a 1-to-1 flour (like Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour)
Laura says
Pretty good 🙂
Julie says
The flavor was good but they did not fluff up. The only thing I think could have happened was the heat was too high. We usually cook pancakes on a higher temp.
yeyu says
hi, anyone tried without vegan butter?
Karissa says
Go ahead and leave it out, but replace with 2 more tablespoons of vegan milk.
Stephanie Rollins says
This was the fourth or fifth vegan pancake recipe I've tried, and the first that my kids loved! They called them delicious, and kept asking if this counted as healthy because they thought they were so good. I'm really, really happy with this. Thanks for the recipe!
Lani says
I followed this recipe exactly (except I added a little cinnamon and a little maple syrup) and it came out great! It was very easy to make. Really fluffy mini pancakes. I was able to get seven pancakes out of the batter. Thank you!
Lani says
I just made these pancakes and they were perfect! I added a little maple syrup and a little cinnamon to the batter. Using 1/4 cup measure I was able to get 7 small pancakes. They don’t taste weird or “vegan.” All of my non-vegan family members enjoyed it too. Thank you!
Tessa says
This recipe didn’t turn out at all for me. I used GF flour that is a 1 for 1 sub for regular flour and oat milk. When I stored in the wet ingredients, it became so thick it stuck to my whisk. I have to add probably another full cup of water to make it less thick. Then they didn’t cook on the inside at all. I’ve made gf vegan before and not had this problem. Not sure what the issue is? Very frustrating.
Karissa says
The batter is suppose to be very thick, adding double the liquid is likely why they did not cook. Next time try adding just an additional 1/4 cup of milk.
Annie says
I had the same issue. It was thick, and I left the batter alone (not adding anything) and they didn’t cook on the inside at all. The outside was golden brown but inside was still batter. If when I let them cook more, they burned. Not very pleased.
Tiffanie W. says
These were really good! I followed the recipe to the letter and they were perfect.
KarenWiffen says
Gorgeous!!! Best recipe so far
Jonathan says
I followed the recipe exactly as it said. I added a bit of cinnamon since that’s what I like in my pancakes. When I was cooking them, the pancakes took forever to cook unlike any other pancakes I’ve ever made. The taste of these weren’t too well either. They were crisp and brittle.
Karissa says
Hey, Jonathan! I'm sorry to hear that. I'd love to help you troubleshoot. Sometimes if you let the batter set too long, it will lift due to the baking powder before you get a chance to put the batter in the pan, which could result in what you are experiencing.
Marianna says
I don’t know why my pancakes came out so bad! I followed the recipe exactly and always make vegan pancakes from scratch. They look like crumpets? like they have veins on both sides and super hard on the outside. Maybe I overmixed? My baking powder is not expired.
Carol says
We made these for breakfast - they were great. I added 3 tablespoons of sugar cos my kids like them sweet with vege butter on them. Very easy and cooked perfectly using soy milk.
Ivette V. says
Thank you so much for this recipe. I followed it and added chocolate flavored vegan protein mix and added more milk. They turned out great! Today I used gluten-free baking flour because I ran out of the all purpose flour from Trader Joe’s (it comes in a small pink bag) and they were very dense and chewy. I’m definitely going to stick to the all purpose flour I’ve been using!
Daisy says
Best vegan/dairy free recipe I’ve found. Haven’t had pancakes in months because it’s always such a struggle. Everyone enjoyed these. Thank you for sharing.
Ashley says
My pancakes are far from fluffy and brown. Maybe my baking powder is old? I also used almond milk.
Karissa says
Yes, if the baking powder is old it won't be as reactive. Almond milk is fine to use.
Skye says
I can't get the recipe to work. The pancakes stick to the pan sooo bad. I can't get the pancake to lift in one piece, it just crumbles. Is it because I use ricemilk?
They taste decent, but we just end up with pancake pieces.
Karissa says
Hey, Skye! I'd love to help you out. It could be the rice milk, I have never cooked or baked with that type of milk so I am not sure. What type of pan are you using?
Jana says
I didn't realize I had been settling for "just okay" pancakes until now. These were the best tasting pancakes I have ever had! My pancakes didn't fluff up like the ones in the picture and I followed the recipe exactly, but honestly they were so yummy I didn't care. This will be my go to recipe from now on.
Sydney says
These pancakes came out amazing! So little and fluffy, very easy to whip together quickly too!
Avis Nichole Johnson says
Hi, does the 6 servings go to one person? This is a question I have for a lot of recipes, they don't say how many 1 person can have. So is this recipe for 1 person to indulge or 6 people to have one 1 each?
Karissa says
It's up to you, what you are serving with it, etc. This recipe makes 6 pancakes. We typically have 2 pancakes each.