Fluffy Cornmeal Pancakes (7 Ingredients!)

I make these all the time with the maple syrup, I substitute coconut oil for the butter and sometimes buckwheat flour instead of oat. I love to add blueberries and raspberries too!

Love your recipes but sorry to say this was not a winner :( tasted like Fritos with strong aftertaste of baking soda

I was a bit nervous to try these because of the mixed reviews but I usually find the recipes here super dependable so I went for it (pancakes only). Unfortunately I had all the usual problems that feature in the reviews – they were super crumbly, didn’t hold together and were really difficult to flip, and they had an edge of a nasty taste from so much baking powder that butter and maple syrup on top couldn’t quite cover up. My cornmeal is very fine and I definitely cooked the pancakes for long enough in a hot enough pan. I have a vague memory of trying this recipe in the past and the pancakes turning out ok so I’m either misremembering or this is a mystery!

This turned out well! Subbed Oat fiber ( 1/4 cup) and Almond Flour (1/4 cup) for the Oat flour. Added half a teaspoon of vanilla as others suggested. Not super fluffy, but it didn’t fall apart. Will try adding more baking powder on the next batch-Will try the topping the next time!

This recipe is the sole reason I purchase extra cranberries in season and freeze them. This recipe produces the lightest and fluffiest pancakes. The cranberry-orange compote takes them over the top! I use whole wheat flour and double the recipe. These are the perfect accompaniment to my cold, Ohio winter Sunday—complete with a cup of coffee and a book. Thank you for such an easy, delicious recipe.

brilliant.
the mrs is gluten and lactose intolerant, and what with the cost of living these days gluten free flour is an extortionate price. oat flour is still expensive, but the 2/3 cornflour is dirt cheap.

tried these as an alternative, and she loves them!

i left the batter on the side a minute or two too long and it thickened as the cornmeal did its thing, so i added a splash more milk and hit it with the whisk and they came out lovely.

crispy bacon and good maple syrup, and she has eaten that much she is currently taking a bit of a nap before we carry on with the day, which is a rarity.

overall, a hit.

might try the corn/oatflour blend in a few other recipes. i think it will do well as a general purpose flour replacement in our place.

I cut down the recipe so it was one serving and used sorghum flour since I did not have oat flour. The pancakes were fantastic! Miyoko’s butter worked wonderfully and I used soy milk. Will definitely make again!

These turned out delicious. I added an egg and a teaspoon of vinegar based on other’s suggestion. I also added a splash of vanilla extract and used regular butter. I didn’t have fine cornmeal or oat flour so I made them in a blender with medium cornmeal and rolled oats. I had no issues with crumbling. Thank you for this recipe, it’s a winner (even though I tweaked it slightly)!

I used blue cornmeal instead of yellow. Buckwheat flour instead of oat flour. And maple syrup instead of sugar and they came out delicious! My new favorite gluten free pancake recipe – I will be making again! Thank you!

Taste okay but extremely crumbly and fragile. I feel like they need an egg or other binder.

These taste just like cornbread, but unfortunately it ended up being more like corn crumbs rather than pancakes – they didn’t hold up at all even though I cooked them on a low heat :/ Otherwise the taste is great

I landed on this recipe when my kids asked for pancakes for breakfast and I had just run out of regular flour. I did, however, have cornmeal and oat flour so decided to give them a try. I didn’t start reading the reviews and the challenges people had had until I had already mixed the batter (because everything I have made from this site has knocked it out of the park!). I quickly added an egg and a tsp of vinegar. This worked. I think a flax egg would have worked too, but I was trying for a quick remedy. I used coconut oil spray and a non-stick pan and this worked fine for keeping them together. I also pressed in fresh blueberries as they were cooking. I’m not into super sweet things, but I might add a touch more maple syrup to the batter next time.

The flavor is absolutely delicious, but they crumbled when I flipped them (I even cooked them on medium low for a long while to help them firm up slowly) and they crumble a lot on the plate. I will try again with a flax egg. We tried them with wild blueberries and bananas, great flavor profile, but don’t attempt these if you have hungry kids because they took so long on the lower heat setting to try to prevent crumbling!

On the advice of other commenters I added a flax egg and 1 tsp vinegar. It was so good! No issues with texture whatever, crispy crunchy deliciousness 😊

I love this recipe! I cook up a big batch, freeze them and then heat them up in the toaster oven on the toast setting for a quick breakfast. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth so I haven’t made the compote yet, but the pancakes are tasty all on their own. Thanks for your great recipes!

1 T of baking powder does not weigh 3 grams. It’s more like 14 grams. This recipe worked great for me the first time I made it but then has failed every time I have made them after that. They are coming out flat and crumbly.

Didn’t like them. I made them twice. First time I put less liquid, so they ended up very thick and tasted like pan-fried grits. The second time, I used the full amount of liquid and they were a bit better, but still had very strong baking powder taste as another review stated. Besides, it didn’t make them fluffy, pancakes were still tough. Personally, if pancakes need a topping to improve their taste greatly, those aren’t pancakes I want to remake. I’ll stick with traditional wheat flour pancakes.

These were so easy and so yummy!
I only have medium ground corn meal and it worked just fine. I imagine they would be fluffier with a fine meal and I can’t wait to try it that way.

When I saw the picture of these pancakes I knew I had to try them and today I found out just how delicious they are! Lovely texture, pleasant corn taste. I had mine with maple syrup and oh are they more-ish.
Easy to make too. I found that the batter definitely works best when it’s kept thick, when I made the batter a bit thinner the pancakes needed to cook a bit longer to hold together. These will definitely become a staple. Thanks Dana!

Hi, I tried this recipe because the picture looked so delicious. I wondered how they were going to hold together without a binder. And, indeed they did not. I didn’t use as much milk as called for, and maybe that was the mistake, but after putting half of it in, it was so runny that i knew it would never be at the thickness in the picture. I made a couple and they just turned to crumbles when I tried to turn them, so I ended up putting an egg in the batter.

This is one of my go-to recipes, and fool-proof. SO delicious, fluffy, and EASY–you can’t beat the texture and taste of these pancakes. The sauce is not necessary, but really wonderful.
As I am now an oil-free vegan, I skip the plant butter. You can sub applesauce, or just skip it. You can also skip the blender; fork stirred still works well. If you are feeling REALLY lazy, you can sub old-fashioned rolled oats for the oat flour. The texture and taste seem fool-proof.
You can make them sweeter for breakfast pancakes, or less sweet, and serve with black beans made especially delicious with a mirepoix. That’s how I first had cornmeal pancakes 20 years ago, at Red River Café in Austin, Texas. Fabulous.
Dana, your recipes continue to rock. You test them enough, I guess. ALWAYS delicious.
By the way, as a no-fat vegan–I heat a non-stick pan until water droplets dance, then spray with cooking spray, and wipe dry with a paper towel–then proceed. It works well with these.

It held together with the combination of oats/corn flour. The texture was a bit crumbly/tender. I omitted the sugar & oil, added 2 dates for sweetness and cooked in a non-stick fry pan. No issues.
Do watch the pancakes! They brown quickly.

No compote and I doubled the pancake recipe which meant 2 TABLESPOONS baking powder, and so all I could taste in the finished product was the bitter aftertaste of the baking powder. Sorry, but this is not a keeper for me.

These were the perfect Sunday breakfast for me and my partner! I just made the pancakes (no compote), used regular whole wheat flour instead of the oat flour, and used soy milk instead of almond. I also skipped greasing the pan and it worked completely fine, no issues with the pancakes sticking (but it was a fairly high quality nonstick skillet). Thanks, will definitely make again!

I made the pancake only (no compote) and thought the recipe was great! I used vanilla oat milk and an all purpose gf flour. Added some coconut flakes as well!

Unfortunately these fell apart in pan and seemed dry- looked good but tasted not good.

I love this pancake recipe. I’ve made them exactly as written, as well as with many combinations of milk or milk alternative, whole wheat flour, ap flour, and coconut oil. I’ve made them vegan and not-at-all vegan. They are wonderful! A solid recipe that can handle lots of tinkering, if you’re like me and wish to tinker and play.
This morning I threw in a handful of blueberries from my yard, and topped with blueberry freezer jam. Deeeeelicious!

These were easy to make and delicious with a great crunchy outer shell!

amendments: I made the milk buttermilk by adding a tsp ac vinegar, and threw a little vanilla extract in, too. If you are looking for a Great vegan johnny cake look no further! I’ve made dozens of cornmeal pancakes (anyone watch the Sopranos?) and this recipe is the most solid, delish, and reliable. I bet they’d be great with some fresh corn and blueberries too. Way to go, MB!!

These pancakes were so tasty and will become an addition to my morning recipes!
I read in the comments people had issues with them falling apart so I added 1 flax egg to the mix and did a half oil half applesauce substitution (instead of 2tbs of oil). They came out perfect. Definitely make sure your pan is well oiled and let them completely cook before flipping them or else they WILL crumble. Topped mine with some vegan greek unsweetened yogurt, apples, and a bit of granola for crunch.

I left out the oil and added a banana and an egg, so they weren’t really the same pancakes, but they were lovely.

This recipe wins!!! I am truly grateful for making this “smart” whereby the ingredients adjusts depending on my serving size! :) Thank you for making my life easy!
ps… cornmeal pancakes were a huge success too!

We‘ve tried this recipe a couple of times and were disappointed. Because the cornmeal isn’t cooked, other than what little it’s cooked on the griddle, the pancakes are gritty,P and because there’s no real binder, such as gluten or eggs (I realize that gluten or eggs would negate the GF and vegan attributes of the recipe), the pancakes tend to fall apart very easily.
They were easy to make and tasted good, but the grittiness is a deal-killer. We didn’t try the compote, so can’t speak to that.

Great recipe. I used cow’s milk though, so not vegan. However, they still turned out awesome!

THE BEST GLUTEN FREE, FAT FREE VEGAN if you sub applesauce for oil. PERFECT pancakes. It might be a texture thing. Fluffy and tender, with a very faint sweetness, these are the most satisfying I have found after years of trying GF, FF vegan pancake recipes.
The cranberry sauce is amazing, and can be made with canned cranberries with a little orange juice and water. But these pancakes are really versatile, and are equally delicious with a savory bean dish, and, if you do oil, are also wonderful with a little feta or vegan cheese.
Again, a winner Dana.

I used masa harina (corn flour) and avocado oil. So easy. Made the perfect accompaniment to some leftover soyrizo and salsa! I’ll definitely make again. May experiment w less baking powder next time to make it flatter/more like a tortilla. Maybe.

Great texture, light fluffy and great taste.

I did find the recipe to be a little bit crumbly, but I expected that since we’re not using an egg or gluten to hold it together. with a little experimentation, lower heat cooked longer made a better product. If you try to flip it too early it will fall apart.

I had much better success with this as a waffle because it hardens the outside and helps it hold together better. I also backed off the amount of leavener to 1 teaspoon instead of a full tablespoon, it was just too much and I can taste it.

The batter was so thin that I knew it would fall apart so I mashed 1 ripe banana and added an egg. They cooked up nicely but had no flavor. Next time i will grate lemon peel or add cinnamon and nutmeg.

Made these this morning turned out perfect, I only had coarse polenta and just used normal flour with vegetable oil, I was so hungry forgot to blend the whole thing hahaha!
I was worried that my stainless steel pan would make them stick…but wa..la they did not stick to the pan (phew!) love them and would them again, off to the shops to buy more ingredients.

Thanks heaps ?

Great, easy and good looking (important for todlers) recipe. Just followed the instructions and came out perfect.
Thank you!

I loved that corn taste and wow, the pancakes are so filling + healthy! What an amazing breakfast idea! It become my special weekend’s dish! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

These are sooo good and so easy to make! Can’t believe they are gluten and dairy-free! Made them twice. I used olive oil and coconut milk the first time because that’s what I had at hand and they worked just great! Thanks for sharing!

These literally fall apart every single time I try to make them. Haven’t tried in a year or so and went back just now and it’s a nightmare to try and make. :(

Not a fan, my local cafe makes an amazing cornmeal pancake and this did not even come close!

Just wonderful!! I used tahini in place of the vegan butter since that is all I had. THANK YOU !!!

I’ve made these a few times now and they’re becoming a staple breakfast in my kitchen. ? I usually do the grapeseed oil option and gluten flour, modifying nothing except using whatever nondairy milk I have on hand. Today I used molasses instead of sugar bc I’m out of sugar and yum! Will be making again.

Great basic recipe, I’ve made it nearly as written (subbed coconut milk for almond because that’s what I had) and it worked great.

My go to now, since I’m not vegan, is to make them with an egg, and reduce the milk by the volume of the egg. The pancake behaves the same, but I feel full longer with the added protein.

Made these & adored them! They weren’t too sweet (nor too savory), but perfectly balanced in flavor & had a little bit of a crumb reminiscent of corn bread. Yum!

Not sure why a couple of others had trouble. I had none. I followed the recipe exactly as stated using the non-GF option of whole wheat pastry flour & the full amount of baking powder. (I only had stone ground corn meal so pulsed that through my food processor to turn it into the fine corn meal you noted in the ingredients.) Thanks for another winning plantbased recipe!

Just made these wonderful fluffy pancakes. I follow the McDougall Diet, so I substituted 2 tbsp of unsweetened applesauce for the oil and 1/2 the almond milk with water. They turned out great! My husband loved them. I am adding this recipe to my favorites. ❤️ Thank you.

These are great! My husband and I both enjoyed them. The only comment is that it didn’t quite make enough for 2 people. Most pancake/waffle recipes make enough for 1.5 people and I just don’t know why they do that.

Just made the pancake batter, sub the sugar for a banana, tossed in s but of ground flax and made them in the waffle iron. They turned out delicious, a bit crunchy and soft at the same time. Definitely have a corn meal texture. I found they fell apart a bit with lots of toppings ( yogurt, ground nuts and warmed blueberries).
I recommend giving these a try for something a little different for the ordinary!

These have become a staple in our house! I make them for dinner and serve with a big bowl of vegan chili. My kids (ages 3 and 5) love them. Yum!

Thank you for this recipe!!! For years I have been trying to duplicate my grandmother’s corn pancake recipe and I would fail everytime. I changed my diet to vegan and gave up trying to taste my grandmother’s recipes forever. That was until today! Oh my goodness!! It taste just like her recipe. Nice and fluffy. Kinda melts in your mouth. I followed the recipe but added a little more shakes of corn meal, flour and sugar. Awesomeness, thank you for allowing me to relive a great memory.