Picture this: It’s morning. Your family is still asleep and you have the kitchen, a pot of coffee, and a good book to yourself.
Your in-laws are here for the holidays, or maybe friends from out of town. You want to impress them! But God forbid they see you pull out a box mix of pancakes (even though we all do in a pinch).
I have just the solution.
These homemade, simple, whole grain vegan pancakes are just what you and your family need.
Good news! They come together in 20 minutes, 1 bowl, completely from scratch! You will be the breakfast hero after all.
These pancakes are wholesome thanks to a mix of rolled oats, whole wheat flour, and spelt flour!
Spelt flour is new to my kitchen but has been around for centuries. It’s an ancient grain that has a slightly nutty, sweet flavor. It’s also easy to digest and higher in protein than whole wheat flour, making it ideal for these pancakes as well as many other baked goods where traditional flours are used.
These cakes are also naturally sweetened with maple syrup, and olive oil keeps them both moist and heart healthy. Hello healthy breakfast.
Beyond being healthy, they also taste amazing! They’re:
Fluffy
Wholesome
Tender
Slightly nutty
Perfectly sweet
Hearty
Satisfying
Simple
Fast
& Perfect for the whole family
I figured for the holidays when heavy meals are on the horizon, it’s great to start out the day with something filling but nutritious. A couple of these along with a green smoothie would certainly do the trick!
If you make these pancakes, be sure to let us know! Leave a comment or take a picture and tag it #minimalistbaker on Instagram so we can see. We love seeing our creations in your kitchens.
Or, Pin it to save for later! I personally love keeping a pancake board for when the mood strikes (you know, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and most Saturdays). Cheers!
Easy Whole Grain Vegan Pancakes
Ingredients
PANCAKES
- 1 Tbsp flaxseed meal (to make flax egg)
- 2 ½ Tbsp water (to make flax egg)
- 1 Tbsp olive, avocado, or melted coconut oil
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 heaping cup unsweetened plain almond milk (or sub other non-dairy milk with varied results)
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup spelt flour*
- 2 Tbsp rolled oats and/or roughly chopped nuts or seeds
ADD-INS/TOPPINGS (optional)
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and/or pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 cup blueberries, strawberries or other fruit of choice (fresh or frozen)
- 3 Tbsp dairy-free chocolate chips
- 3 Tbsp chopped nuts (raw or roasted)
- 1/4 cup Berry Compote
Instructions
- To a large mixing bowl, add flaxseed meal and water and let set for a minute or two. Then add oil, maple syrup, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine. Add almond milk and whisk again until well combined.
- Next add oats, whole wheat flour, and spelt flour and stir until just combined, being careful not to over mix. Let batter rest for 10 minutes while you preheat your cooking surface.
- Preheat electric griddle to medium heat (or about 325 degrees F / 162 C), or a large skillet on the stove stop. You want the surface to be hot but not screaming hot – oil shouldn’t smoke when it makes contact with the surface.
- Lightly grease your griddle with oil of choice and pour 1/4 cup measurements of the batter onto the griddle. There should be 6 pancakes (adjust if altering default number of servings). (If your batter looks too thick, thin it with a little more almond milk.) Flip when bubbles appear in the middle and the edges turn slightly dry, being careful not to burn.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes more on the other side and then top with vegan butter or peanut butter and a drizzle of maple syrup, or whatever else you please. Compote would also be delicious.
- Will reheat well the next day in the microwave. Otherwise, freeze cooked pancakes in a single layer on a baking sheet and package in a freezer-safe container or plastic bag. Reheat in the toaster, oven (at 350 F / 176 C), or microwave (for 30 seconds – 1 minute).
Notes
*TIP: To make sure you have your sweetness/ flavor right, do a mini test pancake before the big batch. Just cook 1 Tablespoon-sized pancake, sample, and then adjust as needed!
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with olive oil, fortified almond milk, and without optional ingredients.
Grace says
I made this recipe twice now! Both times I used all-purpose white flour instead of spelt, because it’s what I had in the pantry. But they came out perfectly. The second time I even doubled the batch, and it still worked out great. Even with such little sugar in the batter, they are still deliciously sweet and have a great nutty flavor (probably the almond milk I used accentuated the nuttiness). I’ll definitely come back to this recipe again and again, thanks!
We’re so glad you enjoy it, Grace! Thanks so much for the lovely review. xo
Yvonne Lamphier says
I made this recipe using 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup of spelt, because this is all the spelt flour I had. It turned out delicious! My husband said these were the best pancakes that I have made yet. Thanks so much!!
Amazing! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Yvonne!
Joseph Waller says
Chef Dana you did it again!
Beautiful texture on these pancakes.. considering no processed ingredients
(ie: just egg, replacer etc)
whole grain high fiber high nutrition..! I am thoroughly enjoying my breakfast as I write ..
These pancakes really absorbed my maple syrup and Miyokos butter so well with a soft yet crumbly texture, gorgeous golden brown in my cast iron griddle !
Couple adjustments .. I did 3/4 whole wheat (bobs red mill pastry)
1/4 organic white (unbleached of course)
** somewhat close to spelt** finer of course
I didn’t have oats so I use a coarse grain kamut flour (also bobs red mill)
Everything else was exact as chef Dana’s recipe!
Thanks again for helping me enjoy my breakfast .. your constant efforts are impressive and appreciated :) :) :)
Many years I have working with similar recipes as chef Dana and minimalist baker has become my ‘go to’ for recipes and references over many years of successful co-creations !
Aw, this is so lovely to hear, Joseph! Thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing your experience! xo
Sherry says
How did you make them gluten free?
Hi Sherry, we’d suggest this recipe for a gluten-free version. Hope that helps!
Rebecca says
Hi! Any chance that if this recipe would work if I premade the batter for a camping trip? (ie. 2 days in advance before I would actually get around to making them?)
We haven’t tried doing that, but it might work! Let us know if you give it a try!
Kara Williams says
I just made these and they were honestly the best pancakes I think I’ve ever made. I did find the batter to be initially very thin so I added maybe 3 TBSPs more whole wheat flour. I also did add the oats, chocolate chips, and chopped walnuts. And I used the flax meal egg and olive oil. The pancakes cooked beautifully and they were so flavorful, hearty without being heavy. I’m excited to see how they freeze and reheat. I will definitely consider this my go-to pancake recipe from now on! Thank you!!!
Woohoo! We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Kara. Thank you for sharing! xo
Nicole says
LOVE! My hubby loved these. So hard to find a healthy pancake recipe. Every time I make a healthy one they don’t flip nicely and the texture is strange. This recipe is PERFECT! Five stars this will be my go to pancake recipe from now on! Thanks so much!
Yay! We’re so glad to hear this recipe is a winner for you! Thank you for the lovely review, Nicole! xo
Sasha says
This recipe was so good! I’m not a big pancake person but my partner is so I thought I’d give this a try and I ended up loving it. I love how the oats and flax meal give them some texture.
I didn’t have whole wheat flour but I had white, almond, and oat. I ended up doing 1/2 cup white flour, 1/4 almond, and 1/4 oat and it worked very well! I also added a few flax seeds for texture and loved it. I did have to set the stovetop to hotter than medium–around medium-high (I have an electric stove and used a cast iron skillet).
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Sasha! Thank you for sharing your experience!
LeaLea says
Delicious pancakes, I was looking for a wholesome pancake recipe and lo and behold this is it. The only thing I did differently was to substitute 1/4 cup of corn meal for some of the spelt flour. Thanks so much for the recipe.😊
Ooo – nice! Thanks for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, LeaLea!
Rachel Beauregard says
Where does all the sodium come from in this recipe?
Hi Rachel, primarily from the baking powder, but a little is also from the almond milk and pinch of salt. Hope that’s helpful!
Michael Fraiman says
Bland, hard and not worth the effort.
We’re so sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy them, Michael. Did you make any modifications? Did you add any toppings for flavor?
Veronica says
These were delicious! So good with 1/2 tsp cinnamon, next time I’ll add a little more for a stronger flavour
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Veronica! xo
paige says
Hello! Would a chia egg work in this recipe? It looks great!
That should work well! Let us know if you try it!
Carey says
I made these and while they were tasty, I had issues with cooking! I used 1% milk since I was out of almond milk! I’m also cooking them on a cast iron skillet (which I’m still new to and it’s taking quite some time to get used to!) would the milk have made them stick to the pan more?
Hi Carey, we wouldn’t think so, but it’s possible. Did you make any other modifications? If not, we wonder if the cast iron skillet needs more seasoning. You can learn more about that here.
Juliana says
So easy and so good! Made some adaptations, and still tastes amazing!
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Juliana!
Linder says
I’ve been making these with a 1/4 cup buckwheat in place of the whole wheat flour for extra fiber. Very fluffy and tasty.
I eat eggs occasionally, but always opt for the flax egg when I can since it’s inexpensive and you really can’t tell the difference. They freeze well and make for a easy, cheap and filling meal. So good!
Linder says
I also grind my own flaxseed and keep it in the freezer along with my assortment of flour since they can go rancid really quickly. I wish I had known that the first time I made flaxseed meal!
Ah yes! We keep it in the fridge, but the freezer is good too!
We’re so glad you enjoy these, Linder! Thanks so much for sharing!
Cristal says
Delicious healthy pancakes! I love them, made them this morning and topped them with raspberries, kiwi, peaches and greek yogurt! they were delicious!!!
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Cristal! Thanks so much for sharing!
Sarah says
Can a banana be used in place of the flax egg?
Hmm, we think that might make them undercooked in the center. But let us know if you try it!
Laurie says
Made these gluten free for breakfast this am. Delicious! Thanks Dana :-)
Alex says
Unbelievably healthy and hearty pancakes. I absolutely didn’t want to run to the grocery store so ended up subbing psyllium husk egg for the flax egg, and rye flour for spelt flour. Turned out great.My 1 year old gobbled them up too which was a huge positive! I have never had a recipe turn out poorly from this blog ?.
Aw, thanks so much for sharing, Alex! We’re so glad you both 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
Tara says
I made these and they taste delicious, probably the best and healthiest vegan pancakes I’ve ever eaten. The only thing is, the calories per serving don’t add up. 3/4 cup spelt and 1/4 cup wholewheat flour already contain 432 calories, so it doesn’t make sense. I’d say they are at about 300 calories per serving which is still good, but the calories stated are misleading.
Hi Tara, thanks for letting us know! We’ll take another look at the nutrition info and see if changes need to be made.
Cristal says
I logged in all the calories in my net diary app and it was pretty accurate, remember a serving is only two pancakes = approx 200 cals. I made 8 pancakes total.
Tara says
Yes that totally makes sense, however before I pointed out the flaw, they were 3-cake servings which didn’t make sense to add to 200cals . Now they are 2-cake servings so the calculations add up
Anna Maria says
Delicious and surprisingly filling. I had it with homemade sunflower butter (your recipe) berry Compote and dark chocolate shavings on top. It’s easy to make and you can freeze the batter if you don’t need to use it all. Lovely!
Susan says
Wow! These were simply delicious. They were fluffy and pretty substantial. Ate them with strawberries on top. Yum!
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Susan! Thanks for sharing!
Maria says
Lovely pancakes!
Followed the recipe exactly and they turned out very tasteful.
They also freeze very well.
Thank you for the recipe!
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Maria! xo
Taya says
These pancakes were amazing! Easy to make, fluffy, and delicious. I’m a big fan of your banana pancake recipes but today I wanted to go for a more traditional flavour. I used cashew milk instead of almond milk and I wanted them gluten free so I used 1/4 cup of oat flour and 3/4 gluten free flour. It turned out perfect! When I added the flours in, the batter looked quite runny but I let it rest for 10 minutes and it was the perfect consistency.
I will definitely be making these again, thanks!!
Robyn Tobias says
This is definitely and definitively the best pancake recipe I have ever made. They rise well,taste good and are so easy. No spelt flour this time so made oat flour -excellent results. I never add the oil. They freeze well and reheat well too Can’t recommend enough !
Whoop! So glad you enjoy it, Robyn! Thanks for sharing!
Jordan says
This is my go to pancake recipe for a healthy breakfast! I love adding chocolate Vega protein powder into the mix and serving them with peanut butter. I also top that with sliced banana or frozen mixed berries that have been heated up for a few seconds to mimic a jelly of sorts without the added sugar (:
Yum! Thanks for sharing, Jordan!