Fluffy vegan pancakes are super easy to make and only need 5 ingredients! You don’t need any weird sounding ingredients, plus these fluffy vegan pancakes are made without bananas and are oil-free too. Based on an American style pancake (AKA hot cake or griddle cake) that’s perfect for breakfast, Shrove Tuesday or even as a treat. And if you love these sweet pancakes, you may also like vegan savoury pancakes too.
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🌟 Why this recipe works
Just 5 ingredients – you’ll need just 5 simple ingredients to make the most fluffy vegan pancakes ever. However, you may also like to add some toppings! So, to recap, just 5 simple ingredients that you most likely already have in the cupboard, and no weird ingredients are needed!
So fluffy – as these are American style pancakes, they are really fluffy. Like, the fluffiest vegan pancakes ever. They rise to about 1 cm thick when cooking – that’s down to the baking powder. So don’t be tempted to miss that key ingredient out. By the way, a similar batter can also be used to make vegan waffles.
Easy – we might’ve mentioned above that these are super easy to make. You’ll just need some flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and almond milk. Plus a bowl and a whisk – no blender or anything like that. Nothing complicated about it!
Oil-free – a lot of people want their vegan pancakes to be oil-free. We found there is no need for oil when making fluffy vegan pancakes, so we don’t use any. As long as your pan is non-stick, you don’t need any oil when cooking the pancakes either.
Banana free – so many vegan baking recipes call for banana as an egg replacer. But guess what, when you add banana whatever you’re making becomes banana flavoured! We found that these vegan pancakes don’t need a banana to act as a binder. The almond milk brings the batter together well, and the baking powder allows them to rise. So no need for these fluffy vegan pancakes to taste like banana pancakes! However, if you would like bananas in your pancakes, try these 3 ingredients pancakes.
📋 Ingredient Notes
Plain flour – to keep it simple, you need plain flour (or all-purpose flour for our global readers). It doesn’t contain baking powder like self-raising flour, so this gives us more control over the baking powder and therefore how much the pancakes will rise.
Brown sugar – to add a little sweetness, we use brown sugar. You could alternatively use coconut sugar, agave syrup or maple syrup for sweetness.
Baking Powder – we may have mentioned it already but you definitely need to use baking powder to ensure that the pancakes turn out fluffy! The recipe needs the full tablespoon for it to work properly. It doesn’t affect the taste – the pancakes will not be bitter. If you don’t use the baking powder, or don’t use enough, the pancakes will be thin and round rather than thick and round!
Almond milk – we use almond milk in this recipe, we particularly like making fluffy almond milk pancakes! We think almond milk works best, but other plant milks work just as well. Try oat or soy milk for a variation.
Salt – it may sound strange but just like when adding a pinch of salt to a chocolatey dessert, adding a teensy bit of salt to the pancake batter helps to balance out the flavour.
Check out the recipe card at the bottom of this article for exact measurements to make these vegan fluffy pancakes.
🔪 Step-by-step Instructions
This is a step-by-step overview with photos for this fluffy vegan pancakes recipe. The full recipe, along with measurements and detailed instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
1. Put all of the dry ingredients for the pancakes in a mixing bowl. Using a whisk combine them, leaving a hole in the middle.
2. Gently pour the almond milk into the middle of the dry ingredients, where the gap is. Whisk together, working from the inside of the well out, until just combined, it should look like a thick batter.
3. Place a medium frying pan over a medium heat and wait for it to get up to temperature. You can either dry fry the vegan fluffy pancakes or use an oil spray if you don’t have a non-stick pan.
4. Pour ¼ cup of the batter into the pan. After a couple of minutes it should start to form little bubbles on top of the batter – this is a good sign.
5. Flip the pancake over using a spatula and cook for another minute (roughly – this could change depending on your pan and hob so keep a close eye). Cook until the pancake is a lovely golden brown on both sides. This is also when it will rise the most.
Remove the first pancake from the pan and repeat this process until all the batter is used. This batter will make 6 pancakes.
Top tip: while cooking the remaining pancakes, you can add the cooked ones to a tray in the oven on gas mark 2/150c to keep warm. Just make sure to put a sheet of parchment paper in between each pancake so they don't stick together.
6. Serve with your favourite toppings! We suggest topping with vegan yoghurt, fresh strawberries and peanut butter for a lush combination. For a simple option, serve with maple syrup, or one of these maple syrup alternatives.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
Rising – I know I mentioned it above, but it’s really important to use the full amount of baking powder in these fluffy vegan pancakes! It’s what ensures they rise the full amount, and creates irresistible and outrageously fluffy American style pancakes.
Don’t over-mix – the batter doesn’t need to be overly smooth, just a rough mix until it looks like a thick batter. It doesn’t need to be overworked.
Bubbles on top – you’ll know the fluffy vegan pancakes are coming along well when small bubbles on the top of the batter start to form. This is also a sign that they are cooking and almost ready to be flipped.
Non-stick frying pan – a non-stick frying pan will be ideal for this recipe. It means you don’t need oil or oil spray, and will prevent the pancakes from sticking to the pan.
Variations – there are so many variations when it comes to vegan pancakes! Try adding half a cup of blueberries or strawberries to the batter, trying adding half a cup of chocolate chips or even try cinnamon and nutmeg in the batter to create an autumnal or Holiday themed pancake.
Storage and freezing – these pancakes can be made ahead of time and kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. Make sure they are in an airtight container, and separate each pancake with a piece of parchment paper. To reheat, bake in the oven for around 15 minutes.
Gluten Free option – make these pancakes gluten free by subbing in a gluten free plain flour for the plain flour.
💭 FAQs
Baking powder makes vegan pancakes fluffy! There’s no way around it. 1 tablespoon is needed to make them into the fluffiest vegan pancakes ever.
You don’t need bananas to make vegan pancakes! Just like making a vegan Victoria sponge or cupcakes you don’t need to use a banana as a binder. Instead, almond milk, flour and baking powder are used to make sure they rise and become fluffy.
When freezing, make sure the pancakes either have something in between them so they don’t stick to each other. Keep pancakes from sticking together in the frying pan (or griddle) by cooking just one at a time. In addition, keep pancakes from sticking to the pan by keeping the heat on medium and using a non-stick pan. If you don’t have a non-stick pan, use oil spray, a small splash of oil or vegan buttery spread.
Not enough baking powder!
🥞 Serving suggestions
There are so many options when it comes to serving vegan pancakes! Try these:
- Vegan Bacon
- Tofu Scramble
- Vegan Fried Chicken
- Blueberry compote
- Strawberries, vegan yoghurt and peanut butter
- Maple syrup
- Vegan Butter
🥣 More recipes to try
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📖 Recipe
Fluffy Vegan Pancakes
Ingredients
For the pancakes:
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 cup almond milk
Instructions
- Put all of the dry ingredients for the pancakes in a mixing bowl. Using a whisk combine them, leaving a hole in the middle.1 cup plain flour, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon baking powder
- Gently pour the almond milk into the middle of the dry ingredients, where the gap is. Whisk together, working from the inside of the well out, until just combined, it should look like a thick batter.1 cup almond milk
- Place a medium frying pan over a medium heat and wait for it to get up to temperature. You can either dry fry the vegan fluffy pancakes or use an oil spray if you don’t have a non-stick pan.
- Pour ¼ cup of the batter into the pan. After a couple of minutes it should start to form little bubbles on top of the batter.
- Flip the pancake over using a spatula and cook for another minute (roughly – this could change depending on your pan and hob so keep a close eye). Cook until the pancake is a lovely golden brown on both sides. This is also when it will rise the most.
- Remove the first pancake from the pan and repeat this process until all the batter is used up. This batter will make 6 pancakes.
- While cooking the remaining pancakes, you can add the cooked ones to a tray in the oven on gas mark 2/150c to keep warm. Just make sure to put a sheet of parchment paper in between each pancake so they don't stick together.
- Serve with your favourite toppings! We suggest topping with vegan yoghurt, fresh strawberries and peanut butter for a lush combination.
Notes
- Make sure to use the full amount of baking powder.
- Double or triple the recipe for as many pancakes as you want to make. The recipe makes 6, and we suggest 3 pancakes per serving.
- Use a non-stick frying pan (or pancake pan) for best results without oil.
- Instead of almond milk, you can use oat or soya.
- Freeze for upto 3 months but make sure there is parchment paper in between each pancake so that they don’t stick together.
- Nutritional information is worked out per pancake.
Daisy
This is my go to vegan pancake recipe! (I almost know it off by heart now - hehe)