One of my recent favorite things to do is play around with recipes to see if I can completely remove a common ingredient. In this case, I wanted to see if I could make fluffy pancakes sans grains. Spoiler alert: It totally worked!
These 1-bowl pancakes are made with 8 ingredients you likely have on hand right now, and require just 20 minutes start to finish. Let’s do this!
The base for this recipe starts with melted dairy-free butter, nut butter, vanilla, and a bit of maple syrup. Next comes dairy-free milk and a couple of eggs.
The only “flour” required is almond! It’s light, fluffy, cake-like, and provides allows for a final product with a nice “crumb.”
Consider this a base recipe that’s very customizable.
Swirl in some puréed fruit — such as strawberry — for more flavor. Add chocolate chips for a bit of indulgence. Or add peanut butter and a little cacao powder for the ultimate peanut-butter chocolate pancake!
I must say, these pancakes cook up beautifully.
They’re easy to flip, get a gorgeous golden brown color, smell like “real deal” pancakes, and fluff up so nicely. I couldn’t wait to dig in!
We hope you LOVE these grain-free pancakes! They’re:
Fluffy
Golden brown
Quick & easy
Customizable
Perfectly sweet
& So delicious
For toppings, you could go any which way, but I opted for a little more dairy-free butter, raspberry compote, a little lemon juice, and maple syrup. Serve with a Creamy Matcha Latte, Perfect Cup of Coffee, or Golden Milk for the ultimate breakfast feast.
Love pancakes? Be sure to try our 5-Ingredient Banana Egg Pancakes, 1-Bowl Vegan Banana Oat Pancakes, Life-Changing Banana Walnut Pancakes, Vegan Carrot Coconut Pancakes, Toasted Coconut Pancakes, and Vegan GF Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pancakes.
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
1-Bowl Grain-Free Pancakes
Ingredients
PANCAKES
- 2 Tbsp melted vegan butter (we like Miyoko’s brand // or sub dairy butter or coconut oil // plus more for cooking + serving)
- 2 Tbsp nut butter (we like almond, peanut, cashew, and sunflower)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup (plus more to taste, or sub stevia to taste)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened dairy-free milk (we prefer almond or cashew)
- 2 large eggs* (preferably free-range organic, such as Vital Farms)
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 ¼ – 1 ½ cups almond flour* (plus more as needed)
FOR TOPPING optional
- Berry compote
- Nut butter
- Vegan butter
- Maple syrup
Instructions
- To a mixing bowl, add melted vegan butter, nut butter, vanilla extract, and maple syrup and whisk well to combine. Add dairy-free milk and eggs and whisk once more to combine.
- Add baking powder and whisk to combine. Then add almond flour, starting with the lesser amount and whisking to combine. You’re going for a cake batter texture — not too runny, but not too gloppy or thick (see photo). Add more almond flour until the right texture is achieved. If it gets too thick, thin with more dairy-free milk.
- Heat a skillet or pan over medium heat. Once hot, grease the surface with a little oil or your butter of choice. Wait 1 minute. Then add batter 1/4 cup at a time, giving your pancakes room to spread. They’re ready to flip when they puff up slightly, the edges are dry, and the surface appears shiny — about 3 minutes.
- Carefully flip and cook on the other side until golden brown and cooked all the way through — about 2 minutes. Continue until all batter is cooked (as recipe is written, ~10 pancakes).
- Serve immediately with desired toppings. We enjoyed with a bit of vegan butter, berry compote, and maple syrup. These would also go well with nut butter, honey, bananas, or another fruit of choice.
- Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 3-4 days, or in the freezer up to 1 month. To freeze, lay in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until firm, then transfer to a freezer-safe container. To reheat, either microwave or heat in a toaster or 350-degree F (176 C) oven until warm.
Video
Notes
*We haven’t tested this recipe with any flour except almond flour. We assume almond meal would work, but can’t guarantee the results. If subbing coconut flour, start with a lesser amount as it tends to be quite absorbent. If you try this, let us know how it goes in the comments.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with almond butter, almond milk, the lesser amount of almond flour, and without optional ingredients.
Elandri Mason says
Hi, we made these and I think 1tbsp of baking powder is not correct! Let us know!
Hi Elandri, we use a generous amount of baking powder to make these pancakes super fluffy! Confirming you used baking powder and not baking soda?
Mary Pleuss says
This was easy and amazing. My grain free gkids are Coming for Christmas and I made two batches but doubled the maple syrup instead of the nut butter. Excellent! Thanks for making breakfast easy. They’re in the freezer ready to go
Amazing! Thank you for the lovely review, Mary. We hope your grandkids love the pancakes! xo
Susan Paternoster says
These are excellent. Light and fluffy. I made them with my homemade peanut butter yet you couldn’t taste any peanut butter in there. I used agave inside the pancake only because I only had just a little bit of maple syrup left. Threw in some blueberries and they were wonderful! Excellent recipe.
Amazing! Thanks so much for sharing, Susan! xo
Atara Dahan says
I make this recipe with the following ingredients:
-peanut butter
-honey
-water
-eggs
-baking soda+lemon juice
-almond flour
-choc chips or little pieces of apple
do you think they would freeze well?
In general, is there a way to know if a food would freeze well or not? What makes a food not freezable?
Hi Atara, they should freeze well! Most things can be frozen, it’s just a question of what it might be like once defrosted. Some foods are just as good after freezing and defrosting, while others do not maintain a good taste or texture. Hope this helps!
Atara Dahan says
Used dairy butter instead of vegan and coconut sugar instead of maple syrup. Also mixed in a bit of coconut flour because I didn’t have enough almond flour.
Used butter to oil the pan.
The cold milk and eggs made the butter mixture harden up so when I tried to whisk them together the butter mixture just floated around the milk and eggs in chunks.
Mixed as well as I could and made them. Came out fine. Tasted too much like butter, I think it was because of the lack of other flavors.
Hope for a better result next time
Hi Atara, for next time, we’d suggest letting your milk and eggs come to room temperature for a bit to prevent the butter from hardening.
Becky says
I’ve made these multiple times and they’re always great! They’re much better than the grain free pancake mixes I’ve tried! I usually add blueberries and chocolate chips for my daughter :)
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoy the recipe, Becky! Your additions sound amazing too! xo
emily says
I made this for the first time using the aquafaba & it came out delicious. Used the 1/3 cup as recommended & they are a great texture & consistancy! Love your recipes
Aw, thank you for your kind words and lovely review, Emily! We’re so glad you enjoy them! xo
Kelsey says
Love this recipe! Regularly make these as a treat after a long run. Have been grain-free for some time and this is by far the best recipe I’ve found (even compared to box mixes). Usually add blueberries, which helps give the pancakes a tad more moisture.
Woohoo! So glad to hear this is a staple recipe for you, Kelsey. Thanks so much for the great review!
Katie says
After seeing this recipe I REALLY wanted to make pancakes but I was short on eggs, so I subbed a few Tablespoons of chia seeds (ground fine in a coffee grinder) for the eggs. I soaked the ground seeds in hot water for a few minutes before making the batter. Also added a leftover roasted & mashed yam to the batter, cooked in a cast iron skillet with just a thin sheen of coconut oil. A little maple syrup on top. Pancake Bliss! Thanks for the super simple and tasty recipe!
Great! Thanks so much for sharing, Katie! xo
Brook says
I’ve been doing keto for 2 years. And this is the best recipe ever! Better than any bag mix too! I halfed the recipe and it worked perfectly makes 3 -4 pancakes when halfed. You can’t tell the difference almost between this and regular pancake. Texture and taste is amazing! Thank you!
We’re so glad you enjoy it, Brook! Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Erin says
Do you think the batter could be made the night before and survive ok in the fridge? You know, for those early mornings when you want something special but also have a lot to do.
We think so! But you may need to add a little more dairy-free milk to thin. Let us know if you try it!
Julia says
These look AMAZING. Can’t wait to try. Can you make these with coconut flour instead of almond?
Hi Julia, we haven’t tried it! If subbing coconut flour, start with a lesser amount as it tends to be quite absorbent. If you try this, let us know how it goes in the comments.
Barbara says
Hi! I used both almond meal and almond flour (1 cup meal and 1-4 cup flour) and they turned out great!!! Thanks for this amazing recipe
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Barbara. We are so glad you enjoyed them! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! Xo
Lindsey says
Absolutely loved it! I recently decided to try a low carb diet and was craving pancakes- this was a perfect match. I used strawberries and walnuts as the toppings and it was amazing! My family devoured them within five minutes. I definitely will make it again! Thanks!!
We’re so glad you and your family enjoyed them! Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Linda says
I wonder if pb fit would work instead of regular nut butter?
Perhaps? Let us know if you try!
laura says
Will this recipe work without any nutbutter?
Has anyone tried that?
I’m very much looking forward to trying this recipe if I can skip the nut butter. Thanks!
Hi Laura, that might work, but we would recommend replacing it with avocado oil or coconut oil. Let us know if you try it!
Doug says
Hated it, sorry!
Sorry to hear it didn’t turn out for you, Doug! Would you mind sharing what you disliked? We would love to help troubleshoot the issue, if possible.
Roxanne says
Hey Dana!
If I wanted to make them vegan can I sub eggs for a flax egg?
Thank you!
To keep these vegan, you can try subbing 1/3 cup (80 ml) whipped aquafaba in place of the eggs, but we haven’t tested it this way and can’t guarantee the results. Instead, we recommend trying this egg-free pancake recipe for better results.
Jenny says
I’ve made these twice now, and they are a BLESSING to me! I’ve been on a paleo/gluten-free diet for the last 9 months, and while it’s been really hard, I have enjoyed these pancakes immensely! The one complaint I had about mine is that the batter was really thick with the amounts called for in the recipe; however, I know this is a problem easily solved by adding more.
Thanks for a winner!
Thanks for sharing your experience, Jenny! We’re so glad you enjoy them! This batter is intended to be thicker as we find it helps the texture. But we’re glad you were able to modify to your preference!
Amy McFarling says
I have made the 1-bowl grain free pancakes twice now – both delicious/excellent/easy. I have a food intolerance to vanilla, corn and dairy, so I substituted almond extract and lemon extract (individually) – both yummy but perhaps lemon extract is my favorite? I substituted baking soda/cream of tarter combo for the baking powder (contains corn starch), and I use melted coconut oil. All worked perfectly. This is now my go-to weekend breakfast for when I have the time to indulge. Thanks MB!
Love the creative modifications, Amy! Thanks so much for sharing! We are so glad you enjoy this recipe. Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! Xo
AN says
Hi Dana
I am a huge fan of your recipes and make them very often. This one however didn’t quite work for me. I did however add honey since I ran out of maple syrup. Could this be the reason. The taste was a little bland and they were very crumbly/brittle. I look forward to your response. Thanks!
Hi An! I’m not exactly sure what went wrong here. I will say I haven’t tested these with honey, but that shouldn’t be the issue. If they were crumbly I’d say the batter was likely a bit too dry? And if bland, perhaps you prefer a bit more sweetness / vanilla in the batter?
Annaliese says
These were tasty but a bit fragile. I used extra fine Bob’s Red Mill almond flour (from making macaron). Subbed in 4 TB pumpkin purée for the melted butter and nut butter, but made as directed otherwise. Smaller cakes made at a medium heat seemed to work best! These were my first try at a grain-free pancake-would make again.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Annaliese! These are on the more fragile side, but it could be that the pumpkin purée contributed to them being more fragile. Let us know if you do some more experimenting!
Lola says
Oh, you’ve done it again! I still have not found a good low carb pancake recipe (and this one is vegan!) but I have a good feeling about this one!! PS: a big chunk of my meal plan now consists of dishes from this web site :))
xo! Hope you love them!
j.frank says
@lola this one isn’t vegan though…
Sue Murray says
I gave this recipe a 5 star rating because I love all of their recipes!!! That said, I tried this with flax egg’s and I wouldn’t recommend it. Some recipes need to be made exactly how they are written. Thanks Dana for all of your recipes!!
Thanks for sharing your experience, Sue! For an egg-free option, aquafaba would be the next best alternative.
Isabel says
If I make these with the dairy versions of the alterntives (butter, milk), will the pancakes still turn out okay? Are there characteristics of dairy that would inhibit the recipe? Thanks!
Hi Isabel, we haven’t tried that, but we think it would work. Let us know if you give it a try!
Karen says
I just made them with butter and heavy cream. They were absolutely great!
Kelli H says
Very good! I hadn’t made pancakes in a while because I kept having flops but these worked great. Super easy! I’ll be making them again.
So glad you enjoyed them, Kelli! Thanks for sharing!
Cheryl M Shockley says
Made these as written, using butter flavor coconut oil, and almond coconut butter. I love them, and my discriminating (picky, lol) bro in law thought they were very good. These are filling, so plenty for a family! I cooked a lil lower temp on an electric griddle, and they are perfect!!! Thinking the addition of SF chocolate chips and some nuts, your possibilities are nearly endless!!! Berries, etc! Thank u for giving me a Keto friendly grain free pancake! THESE are now a staple in my home!
So glad you enjoy this pancake recipe, Cheryl! Thanks for sharing! xo
Bridget says
Made them twice now. So good and nice to not feel bloated like I usually do with white flour pancakes. You always have the best recipes!
Danielle says
I’ll be making this again and again! Love the texture and flavor (nut butter FTW!). My daughter like bananas so I added a few sliced pieces to the pancakes in the skillet before flipping. A great recipe to make up over a weekend and freeze for busy school mornings. Thanks, Dana!
Melissa says
These pancakes are exactly what I was looking for! I badly need to go grocery shopping so I wasn’t sure that I could make pancakes with what I had on hand. I found your recipe and my kids and I loved them! I substituted vanilla plant protein blended with water for the milk and it was perfect. Thank you for a great recipe!
Great – thanks, Melissa!
Diane says
I just made these and they were very good. I would say this is the best non-grain pancake I have made to date. My husband seemed to enjoy them as well (he is a fussy one). I served them with homemade cherry compote and maple syrup. And lots of grass-fed butter!!!
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Diane. We are so glad you enjoyed these! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo
Sarah Brasher says
I made these tonight for my kids and used oat flour since I was out of almond flour and my son didnt want the PB. But they still turned out great! Will be making these again.
So glad to hear it, Sarah! Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Amanda says
These were hands down the BEST grain free pancakes I’ve ever had! I subbed coconut flour (~1/2 cup) and coconut oil in place of the almond flour and dairy-free butter. Then I mixed in banana purée and chocolate chips. I also used banana almond milk to punch up the banana flavor. They were fantastic! My only real complaint was they were really crumbly so I had a hard time keeping them together when they were hot off the waffle press. I just popped them in the fridge and they stayed together much better once they were chilled. I literally ate these for breakfast all week long without anything else on them. I never do that! Even my hubby was like “these are really good!” Definitely a winner right here. Thank you.
How great! Thanks for sharing, Amanda!
Monica Bengtson says
These worked! Thank you for the recipe. I made it as stated, Almond flour amount turned out to be 1 1/4 plus 2 tablespoons. They came out like the picture. They tasted great. Yes, you could tell they weren’t real flour pancakes, but that’s Okay. When you are in a grain free time, recipes like this will help you maintain your goals while enjoying your favorite meals.
Whoop! Thanks for sharing!!
Heather says
Delicious! I love the flavor of the nut butter in these pancakes! Will definitely make these again.
Faith says
This was my first time making something completely from almond flour so I didn’t know what to expect. I followed the recipe exactly (rare for me-lol!) other than a shake of nutmeg added. They were fluffier than I thought they’d be, but very filling. I did miss the springy or chewiness of regular/gluten free pancake mix. These were very tender and were a little difficult to flip, but not as frustrating as the coconut flour pancakes I tried once. (never again) They just required a slow and gentle approach. I’ll probably try them again, but perhaps next time I’ll do half almond flour and half g.f. flour blend. Thanks for sharing the recipe with us! I appreciate the reduced carbs in almond flour so I’m eager to try new recipes that use it.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
eileen percival says
so bummed to see eggs in this recipe.
flaxseed and vegan egg powders work just as well without the exploitation and suffering.
I will not be visiting your site for recipes anymore, I have loved all your vegan recipes thus far,
you have a real talent for photography and food, I hope you find your way back to compassion and empathy for the voiceless soon. Thank you.
Leanne says
I was also surprised to see eggs..? are you no longer doing vegan recipes anymore Dana? :(
We are sharing both vegan and non-vegan recipes moving forward.
Sarah says
Thanks for saying this; it really needs to be said. There’s tons of vegan bloggers out there making pancakes and hundreds of delicious foods without harming innocent animals. Idk why minimalist baker decided to start integrating cruelty into their recipes again, but it’s really sad to see because I know this blog (when it was vegan) influenced a lot of people to see the harm in their ways.
Reneé says
Hi! Please be kind, regardless of your preference. Everyone may not be able to go completely vegan for reasons we are unable to understand. If you follow a strict vegan plan, kudos to you. Let’s respect the wishes of others and choose inclusivity, please. Thank you! Happy Holidays!
Maiteeny says
Is this a batter that could be made ahead and stored in the fridge overnight?
Yes! I think so. Up to a few days!
Amy B says
So incredibly delicious! I added a topping of blueberries and bananas and they were so good. This is definitely gonna be a staple in my house.
Lovely – thanks for sharing Amy!
Nechama says
I’m so happy that these turned out just like the picture, which doesn’t often happen with online recipes. And they were very delicious. That was a great idea to add the almond butter. I used natural almond butter which kept the pcakes the same color as the almond flour, and also added natural sweetness without sugar. Thank you for a great idea.
Great! Thanks, Nechama!
Jen says
I didn’t have enough almond flour when I went to make these so I subbed 1/4 + 1 tbsp of cocount flour and 2/3 C of almond flour. The consistency and taste was really great!
Thanks for sharing, Jen! We are so glad you enjoyed them! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo
Stacey says
Made these this morning and they were so delicious! Everyone devoured them. I made them with what I had in the house but can’t wait to make with blueberries or a blueberry compote! Thanks for my new favorite recipe!
Lovely – thank you for sharing Stacey!
Nury says
Is there a reason why mine would be so bitter (to the point that they’re inedible)? I followed the recipe exactly and used cashew butter and oat milk for nut butter and dairy-free milk respectively. I tried to add more vanilla in an effort to salvage them but to no avail.. :'(
I’d say taste all of the ingredients separately and see which one is suspect! Otherwise I have no idea!
Nury says
I think it’s the oat milk that I used. It tastes fine on its own but the same bitter taste comes across when I have it with cereal. This is so weird….
Zoe says
Did you use baking soda instead of baking powder by accident? I’ve done that before and its a very unpleasant surprise.
Donna says
Just finished having these for lunch. I added 1 tablespoon of cacao and 1 tablespoon of cacao nibs just for fun. The first batch spread too much as I had too much butter on my grill. Second batch was perfect. I used a ceramic pancake griddle.
Thanks for the recipe!
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Donna!
Sharon says
Just tried this recipe and used half cup of coconut flour, which was plenty for the rest of the liquid ingredients. I made one pancake from this mixture and it tasted good but fairly crumbly, as most coconut flour baked goods ago. I decided to add a little bit more almond milk and another egg to the batter and about a third a cup of whole wheat flour to finish off the batch. Although no longer grain free, still feels like a more wholesome take on my regular pancakes! Like the recipe and how fluffy the pancakes are.
Lovely – thanks for sharing your experience, Sharon!
Emily says
Delicious! We just tried these with almond meal and coconut milk and they turned out great. The almond meal gave them a hearty, but not dense, texture.
Lovely! Next time would you mind adding a rating to your review? It’s super helpful to us and other readers. xo!
Granny Val says
I haven’t made this yet but, I have a question about what people mean by coconut “milk” since it ranges a gamut from full fat canned milk I use in mostly Indian cooking to the water + some kind of coconut ingredient which barely has a coconut flavor.
Right – in this instance we would suggest light coconut milk or coconut milk from a carton, which is lower in fat than something like coconut cream or full fat coconut milk.
Anna says
I made these and they were delicious and hardy! Surprised to see eggs on your blog. I used a 4in pancake mold which looked to be the same size as your pancakes but the batter was only enough to made 6 pancakes.
Thanks for sharing, Anna! Glad you enjoyed these. We aren’t an exclusively vegan blog and began share egg and meat recipes again this year.
Fanny says
I’ve taste this recipe with wheat flour, it’s delicious !
Thanks you !
Great! Thanks for sharing.
Snowy says
Great recipe. 1st time I made it. Added chocolate morsels and frozen blueberries along with 2 Tbs of pure canned pumpkin. My wife tried her’s w maple syrup and I had mine w honey. Used 1 ½ cups almond flour and used coconut milk… added more to get consistency wanted.
Thanks for sharing!!
Michelle F says
This recipe was just what I wanted, super quick and I had all the ingredients on hand. I didn’t modify anything. Our teens didn’t even wait for them to cool, as soon as they came out of the pan, they all disappeared.
Lovely – thanks for sharing, Michelle!
Margaret says
We added bananas and dark chocolate chips and it was delicious!
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Margaret!
Falynn says
Thanks for using eggs. We eat primarily vegan except for our eggs we get from our chickens. Its nice to have a recipe where I don’t have to backwards sub a flax egg for a real egg. LOL. Looking forward to making these with my family soon. :)
Hope you love these!
Iris says
I LOVE THIS !!!??
I will be trying this soon.
I love your other pancake recipes.
Not sure if you you’ve done it but..
How about grain-free cookies?
I’m looking forward to more non-vegan recipes ?
xoxo!
Mary Pleuss says
I am going grain free due to visiting grandkids allergies so appreciate your non vegan inclusion as they’re so limited in what they can have! I’ll rate this when I make it!
Hillary says
Can you use flax seed egg or chia seed eggs in the recipe for substitute for real eggs?
I haven’t tried that with this recipe, but if you do let us know!
Pavlina says
I’ve used aquafaba and it worked really well :) Also added some baby spinach leaves to sneak in some veg and they were delicious!
Smart! Thanks for sharing, Pavlina!
Elise says
How much flour did you end up using?
Kelly says
I would like to know how to make this vegan so I can make them for my daughter when she comes to visit. (She does most of her own cooking when she visits as we aren’t vegetarian or vegan)
I would recommend this recipe instead!