If you prefer to buy your pancake mix and you don't want to waste your money (who does?), here’s my list of 8 of the best gluten free pancake mix brands to try.
Why I'm reviewing gluten free pancake mix brands
I used to resist the very idea of baking mixes entirely, but now I understand the importance of certainty and convenience. To satisfy my love of recipe-creation, I've even created a recipe for a DIY gluten free pancake mix.
But I do understand that many of you like to use gluten free pancake mixes. And when you do a Google search for “gluten free pancakes,” you may not be looking for a recipe. You may actually be looking for a pancake mix!
The first time I created a “best-of” review list, it was a list of 8 of the best gluten free packaged bread brands. When my son first went gluten free in late 2004, there were almost no gluten free packaged products at all to buy. I would have killed for a non-spongey loaf of gluten free bread that I didn't bake myself.
I'm thrilled at the variety of gluten free packaged products available to us today. It's a luxury to have so many brands to choose from, but unfortunately, they're simply not all worth your money.
My goal then was to save you money on packaged GF products, and it remains the same as the list of best-of product reviews has grown. You should buy only the best, but until you try them how do you know which brands are the best? That's where I come in!
These product reviews are not sponsored by any of the companies that make the products on the list, and I purchase everything myself with my own money—including some products that I don't ultimately recommend to you. That way, you know you can trust my reviews as truly unbiased.
If you've been with me for a while, though, you know that I am very careful with your affections and attention. I don't do many sponsored posts at all, and maintaining my integrity and remaining worthy of your trust is the most important thing.
There are a few affiliate links in this list, but the links are there for your convenience. Use the links, shop around, purchase through my link or purchase nothing at all. It's entirely up to you.
Who is this list for?
This list of 8 brands of gluten free pancake mix products is made up of products primarily available to U.S. residents. The best prices are almost always online, which is where I purchased everything. Some were purchased at Amazon.com, and most at Vitacost.com.
Hopefully, many of the brands I recommend in this list are available outside the U.S. If you've seen any of them in your part of the world, please share your source in the comments.
What is and isn't included?
I didn't include certain common brands in this list, including my favorite all purpose gluten free flour blend, Better Batter. I find that their pancake mix contains too much xanthan gum, so I don't recommend it.
In fact, when I build my own gluten free pancake mix, I don't ever use Better Batter as a base. I use my gum-free blend, instead, and then add a touch of xanthan gum to reduce that feathered edge that some pancake blends can produce in the finished pancake.
It's important to note that a pancake mix is not an all purpose flour blend. That includes my own DIY pancake mix.
A pancake mix always contains a chemical leavener (like baking soda or baking powder), often some salt, and sometimes xanthan gum. I do not recommend using any of these pancake mixes in any of my recipes that call for an all purpose gluten free flour blend.
I haven't tested each of these blends in my recipes that call for my own pancake mix. It's just not practical for me to do all of that testing, I'm afraid. But the most basic mixes on the list (Pamela's, Bob's Red Mill, King Arthur Flour, Cherrybrook Kitchen, Stonewall Kitchen and Krusteaz) should work in recipes like my Gluten Free Breakfast Casserole.
This time, I decided not to include prices that you should expect to pay for these products, as prices tend to vary so significantly. I don't think that that information adds enough value to continue to add it.
If you have additional food allergies and intolerances, be sure to pay particular attention to the list of ingredients that I've included. Many of the brands contain dairy. In addition, always check the ingredient list on the package before you buy it, as ingredients can change without notice.
The mixes are not listed in a strict best-to-worst or worst-to-best order. The first of the 8 I recommend is the overall best, but each of the others has its own strengths and weakenesses, which I explain as fully as possible.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I’m a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Feel free to shop around, though, as always.
King Arthur Flour Gluten Free Pancake Mix
I'm leading with King Arthur Flour gluten free pancake mix because everyone in my family agreed that it was the best of the bunch. Since I've never liked their all purpose gluten free flour (even though I really really want to, since it's so widely available), I was really very surprised.
Typically I find that King Arthur rice flour blends are gritty and contain way too much starch. This mix doesn't suffer from either of those limitations. Since the instructions call for having the batter sit for 10 minutes before you begin making pancakes, perhaps the rice flour softens just enough.
The pancakes weren't super puffy like my buttermilk pancakes, but they were very light and fluffy. The taste of the pancakes alone, without any added sugar, honey or maple syrup, was really excellent. I really like this blend!
Here are the other details:
- Ingredients: whole grain brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, rice flour, cane sugar, baking powder (baking soda, calcium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), natural flavors, salt, vitamin and mineral blend (calcium carbonate, niacinamide (vitamin B3), reduced iron, thiamin hydrochloride (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), xanthan gum.
- Here is the recipe that I used, based on the package label:
1 1/3 cups (212 grams by package label) pancake mix
1 large egg
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup milk
Whisk together eggs, butter or oil, and milk. Whisk in the mix. Allow the batter to sit for 10 minutes to thicken. Preheat griddle to 350°F/medium. Scoop 1/4 cup of batter onto lightly greased griddle.
Cook 1-2 minutes, until bubbles form on top and bottom is golden brown. Flip and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Serve hot.
Stonewall Kitchen Gluten Free Pancake Mix
My next favorite gluten free pancake mix is from Stonewall Kitchen (LINK). First and foremost, please be sure you're purchasing their “gluten free” pancake mix, based on the red gluten free stamp on the side.
And please note that the mix does not have a “certified gluten free” seal. If you're uncomfortable with this product because of the relative lack of “proof” of gluten free status, please don't purchase it.
All that being said, I decided to include this brand because it's just simply really, really good. In fact, if it weren't for the lack of certified gluten free status, it probably would have beat out King Arthur Flour's mix for first place.
The pancakes turned out incredibly tender, not gritty at all (my biggest pet peeve with anything containing rice flour), and not at all dense. I generally don't like most things that contain soy, since it tends to make baked goods tougher, but these pancakes are really quite perfect.
Here are the other details:
- Ingredients: rice flour, corn flour, soy flour, sugar, monocalcium phosphate anhydrous, baking soda, salt, cornstarch, vanilla, xanthan gum.
- Here is the recipe that I used, based on the package label:
2/3 cup + 2 tablespoons milk
1 large egg
1 cup (117 grams by package label) pancake mix
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Preheat griddle to 350°F. Whisk together milk and egg. Add pancake mix and melted butter. Mix until well combined and smooth. Pour batter onto griddle by 1/4 cupfuls. Cook until edges look dry, flip and cook additional 2 minutes (Makes approximately 5 to 6 plate size pancakes). - Cook's notes: I'm truly not sure what “plate-size pancakes” are, but 1 cup of the mix in the recipe as directed made 4 to 5 4-inch pancakes.
Pamela's Gluten Free + Whole Grain Baking & Pancake Mix
Over the years that I've been publishing recipes both here on the blog and in cookbooks, I've been asked many times whether Pamela's pancake & baking mix can be used in place of all purpose gluten free flour in my recipes. Some readers have even reported having some success doing just that.
My response is always the same: Pamela's baking mix is a pancake mix. It contains a blend of flours, and it contains chemical leaveners. Because of that fact, it is not an all purpose flour blend. I haven't tried Pamela's all purpose gluten free flour blend, though. I really should!
Since so many of you really love Pamela's baking mix so much, I wanted to include it here in this list of mixes to try. I have to be honest, though, and tell you that none of my 3 children liked the pancakes I made with Pamela's mix. They said that they were generally “tasteless” but the texture was “okay.”
I liked the pancakes quite a lot, personally. They definitely have more of a whole grain feel to them, and they're not super light and fluffy like King Arthur Flour and Stonewall Kitchen. But I like the taste and texture.
I also like how widely available Pamela's baking mix is. In fact, in nearly every single grocery store that has a natural foods section, you'll find a few bags of Pamela's mix.
It isn't gritty, it's reliably gluten free, and it makes pancakes that look and taste like, well, pancakes. This mix definitely has its place—just not as an all purpose gluten free flour! I stand by that recommendation. ?
Here are the other details:
- Ingredients: Brown rice flour, white rice flour, cultured buttermilk, almond meal (may appear as brown flecks), tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, potato starch, grainless & aluminum-free baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, potato starch, sodium bicarbonate), baking soda, sea salt, xanthan gum.
- Here is the recipe that I used, based on the package label:
1 cup (135 grams, by package label) pancake mix
1 tablespoon oil
1 large egg
2/3 cup water
Preheat griddle over medium-low (350°F) and lightly oil. Mix all ingredients together until there are no lumps. The batter should be pourable, but not too thin. Add more water or mix as needed. Pour 1/4 cup batter onto griddle for each pancake. Cook until bubbles start to form and edges start to dull. Flip once. When cooked through, remove and serve immediately. - Cook's notes: I found that the batter was simply too thin when I used a full 2/3 cup (5 1/3 fluid ounces) water. It was better with 4 1/2 ounces water, as the pancakes weren't quite as flat and had a lot less feathering on the edges.
Krusteaz Gluten Free Buttermilk Pancake Mix
I wanted to try Krusteaz's pancake mix for a similar reason to why I wanted to try Pamela's baking mix. Since their products tend to be available in wholesale warehouses like Costco, many of you have asked me if I like them.
I've never tried their all purpose gluten free flour blend, but I imagine I should. The Krusteaz gluten free pancake mix made pancakes that tasted good and had very good texture.
However, two of my three kids didn't care for the pancakes overall because they have a slightly bitter aftertaste. I find that products with an aftertaste or products that have a gritty rice flour blend (which I'm glad to report this mix does not) are best described as “good, for gluten free.”
Something being “good, for gluten free” bothers me so much, since we really should have moved past that by now. But I do still think the brand is worth a try since one of my kids enjoyed them. But only if you can find the mix for a really good price. Then, it's worth a go.
Here are the other details:
- Ingredients: rice flour, whole grain sorghum flour, sugar, brown rice flour (rice flour, stabilized rice bran with germ), soybean oil, dextrose, leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), food starch-modified, salt, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, buttermilk, natural flavors (contains milk derivatives). May contain eggs and soy.
- Here is the recipe that I used, based on the package label:
1 3/4 cup (263 grams by package label) mix
1 cup cold water
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
Heat griddle to 375°F (too high, reduced to 350°F). Lightly grease griddle. Whisk pancake mix, water, milk and eggs until smooth. The batter will be slightly lumpy. Do not over-mix. Pour slightly less than 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto griddle. Cook pancakes 1 1/2 minutes per side, or until golden brown, turning only once. - Cook's notes: The recipe was supposed to make 13 to 14 pancakes, but I found that it made 10 4-inch pancakes. The batter, when made as directed, was just too thick. I added more water slowly until it became at least thickly pourable.
FlapJacked Gluten Free Buttermilk Pancake Mix
FlapJacked products have adorable packaging, and I had been meaning to try one of their gluten free products for quite a while. These protein pancakes are made with whey protein isolate, which is a favorite gluten free baking ingredient of mine.
This is not a traditional pancake mix, though, like King Arthur Flour's mix or Pamela's for that matter. It's a protein pancake.
I do prefer my own protein pancakes recipe, by quite a lot. But since you don't have to add anything to this mix other than water, they're a quick and easy alternative to scratch baking.
The pancakes are very puffy, and they're not what I would call light and fluffy. But they have good taste, and each serving of about 3 pancakes has 20 grams of protein. And I really love protein-packed breakfast recipes, like my chewy protein cookies and peanut butter protein cookies.
Here are the other details:
- Ingredients: gluten free oat flour, buttermilk (milk), whey protein isolate (whey protein isolate, soy lecithin), pea protein, organic coconut flour, natural flavor, baking soda, baking powder, salt, xanthan gum, stevia extract.
- Here is the recipe that I used, based on the package label:
Whisk 1/2 cup (53 grams by package label) pancake mix with 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (+ 1 more tablespoon for thinner batter/pancakes) water. Let sit for 3 minutes while the griddle warms up. The batter thickens as it sits. Heat griddle to low heat (295°F). Pour batter into 3 4-inch pancakes on lightly greased, pre-heated griddle. Cook until no more bubbles are forming in the center and edges look dry (3 minutes). (I cooked for less time because it was a hotter griddle). Flip and cook until golden brown. - Cook's notes: I heated my griddle to about 350°F because the intensely blond pancakes that they apparently intend for you to make were unappetizing to me.
Bob's Red Mill gluten free pancake mix
When you write to me and ask if you can use Bob's Red Mill flour blends in my gluten free baking recipes, I'm always so sorry to say that I don't recommend you do it.
Typically, Bob's Red Mill products use a gritty rice flour and are of very inconsistent quality. Since Bob's Red Mill products are very well-priced, reliably gluten free and are available nearly everywhere, I so wish they would improve their rice flour.
I decided to give the Bob's Red Mill gluten free pancake mix a try anyway. The blend doesn't have white rice flour in it (only brown rice flour and sweet white rice flour). Since pancake batter can sit before being cooked, I was hopeful that there wouldn't be any grittiness.
I'm happy to report that I did not detect any grittiness. The pancakes had great flavor and taste. Unfortunately, they really could use some more leavening, as even with 2 eggs for 1 1/2 cups of the mix, they just were rather flat.
To keep this product review fair and true, I never tinker with the mixes. I may provide notes about how much liquid I think should be added, though, but that's it.
I really did have to restrain myself from adding some more baking powder to see if these pancakes were thicker as a result, though. Cutting back on the liquid might help, too, but I didn't see any feathered edges like I normally would when pancakes have too much moisture. It might even be that they need a touch more xanthan gum. I'm just not sure.
Here are the other details:
- Ingredients: gluten free flour blend (sweet white rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, sweet white sorghum flour, tapioca flour, xanthan gum), sugar, baking powder (monocalcium phosphate, baking soda, cornstarch), salt.
- Here is the recipe that I used, based on the package label:
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups (168 grams by package label) gluten free pancake mix
Preheat skillet to medium-high heat. In a bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, and melted butter or oil. Add pancake mix and whisk until smooth. For each pancake, pour 1/4 cup batter onto hot skillet. Cook until the top is bubbly, about 3 minutes. Adjust the temperature as needed. Flip and cook 2 minutes more. Serve immediately or hold in a warm (200°F) oven until ready to serve. Makes 8 pancakes.
Cherrybrook Kitchen gluten free pancake and waffle mix
Cherrybrook Kitchen gluten free pancake mix is a true dark horse candidate for gluten free pancake mix of the year—if there were such a thing, of course. Color me surprised!
I have seen the Cherrybrook Kitchen brand of gluten free, allergy-friendly mixes in many grocery stores and in every natural foods store. I scoffed! Too many allergies being catered to often means taste and texture are completely sacrificed.
These pancakes are truly light and fluffy, and have a great tender mouth feel and texture. They don't, I'm afraid, have a ton of taste on their own, but the texture is so spot-on (especially without eggs!) that you can forgive them.
Keep in mind, though, that the batter was very thick. That meant that it was difficult to shape the pancakes into lovely rounds. Perhaps thinning the batter with a bit more water or milk would help, but it also might hurt the texture.
Here are the other details:
- Ingredients: white rice flour, cane sugar, potato starch, non-alluminated baking powder, tapioca starch, all-natural vanilla flour, sea salt, xanthan gum.
- Here is the recipe that I used, based on the package label:
1 cup (168 grams by package label) pancake mix
3/4 cup (rice) milk
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Stir nondairy milk, vegetable oil and pancake mix in a bowl until just combined, then let stand for 5 minutes. Heat a nonstick pan or griddle over medium-low heat. Coat the surface with cooking spray or brush with vegetable oil. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto pan and cook until undersides are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Note: Pancakes will not bubble to indicate doneness, but are ready to flip when they become dry around the edges. Flip pancakes and cook 2 minutes or until cooked through. - Cook's notes: In my experience, these pancakes did, in fact, bubble during cooking, like pancakes do. This half-recipe above makes 7 pancakes.
Birch Benders Paleo Just-add-water pancake and waffle mix
Birch Benders Paleo pancake mix is the one mix in this list of 8 that I intend to do 2 exciting (to me!) things with. I intend to buy it again (I never buy mixes unless I'm testing them; I already bake too much!). And I would like to try to recreate it at home.
I do already have a recipe for almond flour Paleo pancakes here on the blog. I also have one for coconut flour pancakes that are truly light and fluffy (read the comments to that post and you'll see what I mean).
But I don't have a recipe for Paleo pancakes that uses cassava starch. I've experimented a bit with Otto's Cassava Flour, but I haven't fallen totally in love. And since it's a starch, it's not like it's all that nutritious on its own.
But the pancakes I made with this Birch Benders Paleo pancake mix just taste so good in every way. They're very moist, and tender and just sweet enough without any toppings (love you, monk fruit!).
They're not very thick and fluffy, but they still manage to be super light. And perhaps my favorite part? You only have to add water to them to make pancakes.
There's no need to mess with melting butter or getting eggs to room temperature. If you have the mix, some water, a skillet, and even a large measuring cup and whisk, you can have pancakes in minutes. I'm so excited about this one!
Here are the other details:
- Ingredients: cassava starch, organic coconut flour, almond flour, eggs, leavening (monocalcium phosphate, sodium bicarbonate), salt, monk fruit, spice.
- Here is the recipe I used, based on the package label:
80 grams mix (says 3/4 cup but has no weight measurements) + 2/3 cup water
Mix together the mix and water. The batter will be thin at first. Let it sit for a few minutes to thicken. Cook over medium heat on a lightly greased skillet, flip once and serve when golden brown. - Cook's notes: This recipe made 4 4-inch pancakes, plus one little baby one with the remaining batter.
Barb says
I have a question , i see that you use xanath gum can use guar gum in place? What is the difference besides price?
Nicole Hunn says
Honestly, Barb, I don’t have a ton of experience with guar gum, but it supposedly can be used in place of xanthan gum in the same amount with similar results. Xanthan gum is supposed to be better in baked goods (or really in something that is being cooked somehow), and guar gum in cold food, like ice cream. I hope that’s helpful!
Elaine says
I have a wheat allergy and am unable to use xanthan gum so my choices for prepared mixes are rather limited. I like Namaste Waffle and Pancake Mix because it is xanthan gum free and very tasty. When I lived in Florida it was available at Publix supermarkets and here in New Mexico, I have found it at Sprouts. Even wheat lovers have commented on how good they are.