This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
These gluten free vegan pancakes are super fluffy eggless pancakes made in one bowl, in just minutes. Even if you're a vegan, you can still enjoy pancakes!
Why this recipe works
The proportions of binders, moisture and fat in great gluten free recipes are different than in conventional, gluten-containing recipes. That's why you need recipes that are designed to be gluten free from the start. The same is true for vegan recipes, especially when you're talking about replacing eggs.
Rather than using an egg replacer like chia eggs, flax eggs or Bob's Red Mill egg replacer, this recipe was built to be egg-free. And like our dairy free mac and cheese recipe, it's dairy free from the beginning.
Smooth applesauce adds much of the moisture that eggs usually would provide, and a bit of their structure. Xanthan gum provides more of the structure that helps the pancakes hold their rise as they cool, which would normally be the job of egg whites.
A bit of block-style vegan butter adds a buttery taste, and if you choose a brand like Miyoko's that has cashew butter, it helps the pancakes brown as they lightly fry on a lightly greased skillet. Baking soda also helps the pancakes brown.
How to make gluten free vegan pancakes
The full ingredient amounts and instructions are in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of the steps:
Combine dry ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, place the flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar and whisk to combine well. This prevents any bitter pockets of leavener or gummy clumps of xanthan gum, and prevents you from overmixing after adding the liquids which can result in a batter that's too thick to pour.
Add wet ingredients
Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients to make mixing in the liquids quick and easy. Add the nondairy milk, applesauce, vanilla and melted vegan butter, and whisk just until smooth. Avoid overmixing which could make the batter too thick to pour.
Portion the batter
On a lightly greased skillet warmed over medium heat, add portions of batter of about 1/4-cup each and spread them each into a round about 1/4-inch thick. The batter is not runny enough to spread out properly on its own.
Cook on both sides
Let the pancakes cook until bubbles begin to break through the surface, the top edges are beginning to set, and the underside is golden brown (about 2 minutes) before flipping. If you flip them too soon, you'll get a “foot” on the bottom of the pancakes. Press down gently on the top after you flip the pancakes so the edges touch the skillet. Finish with the rest of the batter.
Ingredient substitutions
Since these pancakes are vegan and gluten free, they're already dairy free and egg free. Here are some suggestions for replacing some of the other ingredients, if that's important:
Applesauce
If you cannot use applesauce, you can successfully replace the applesauce with an equal amount, by weight, of finely mashed banana (about 1/2 a medium banana). They did taste faintly of banana, and I generally think that only gluten free banana pancakes should taste like banana. But the pancakes are still light and fluffy.
Flour blend/xanthan gum
Even though we're adding some xanthan gum to a simple 3-ingredient blend, this recipe doesn't work well with Better Batter, which already contains a relatively significant amount of xanthan gum. It made them strangely gummy and more fragile. However, you should be able to make the recipe with Nicole's Best multipurpose flour with the listed amount of added xanthan gum, or Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free flour (blue bag), which has much less xanthan gum (and then I'd omit the gum entirely).
Rice flour
This recipe will not work without rice flour. If you're not vegan, but need gluten free dairy free pancakes, try my recipe for paleo pancakes made with almond flour or my coconut flour pancakes.
Non-vegan alternative
If you're not vegan, try my classic gluten free pancake recipe!
Gluten Free Vegan Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (175 g) basic gum free gluten free flour
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons (24 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) unsweetened nondairy milk, at room temperature (my favorite is unsweetened almond milk)
- ¼ cup (64 g) smooth applesauce
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) block-style vegan butter, melted and cooled (like Melt, Trader Joe's, or Miyoko's brands)
- Sliced bananas and maple syrup for serving (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, place the flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar, and whisk to combine well.
- Add the milk, applesauce, vanilla, and melted vegan butter, and mix to combine well. The mixture should be thick but smooth.
- Heat a griddle or nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Grease it lightly, and pour or spoon portions of about ¼ cup of batter onto the hot griddle.
- Spread each into a round about 1/4-inch thick. Allow the pancakes to cook until large bubbles begin to break through the top of the batter in each pancake and the edges are set (about 2 minutes).
- With a wide, flat spatula, carefully flip over each pancake, and continue to cook until set (about another 30 seconds).
- Remove from the skillet, and repeat with the remaining batter.
- The cooked pancakes can be kept warm in a single layer on a lined baking sheet in a 200°F before serving, then topped with sliced bananas and maple syrup before serving warm.
- They can also be cooled completely, stacked, wrapped tightly and frozen until ready to use. Defrost in a warm toaster oven before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Nicole!
Firstly- thank you for all your amazing recipes! I’ve yet to find one that doesn’t work, or that tastes less than delicious. You’re an angel!
Please may I ask- can I make this pancake mix ahead of time like with the gluten free pancakes? I would love to gift a batch to a friend who is vegan, for her to make at her leisure. Would it be shelf stable like the other blend? I assume it should be as the dry ingredients are the same for the most part.
Thank you!
Hi, Priya, thank you for the kind words! For a pancake dry mix, I recommend this gluten free pancakes recipe, which has all those details.
I spray a 9×9 dish and bake this recipe at 350 for 25 minutes and it’s the perfect grab and go breakfast! No syrup necessary!
Good to know, Erin. Thanks for sharing that!
This pancake recipe tasted very good and I was delighted that it was cooked all the way through the pancake. (This wasn’t happening with a different recipe I have been using.) Yours is my new favorite!
Hi, Nancy, so glad you enjoyed the pancakes! Thanks for sharing your experience.
I was so excited to find this recipe to try for our Sunday morning pancakes. I’m fructose intolerant and my daughter has an egg allergy, so I made these with banana instead of apple (no one could taste the banana in them) and with regular milk and butter, but used refined coconut oil for the pan, and they turned out beautifully! What a treat!
We can’t have rice so according to another blogger I subbed for cassava flour. Everything else I kept the same but they are so gummy:( any other flour sub??
April, cassava flour is definitely not a substitute for any other flour or flour blend, as it seems you found out the hard way! I’m afraid that wasn’t very good advice you got. :( I recommend you take a look at my Paleo recipes and my flourless baking recipes, as all of my other recipes that call for a rice-based flour blend (which is most of my other recipes) cannot be made without rice at all.
Made these this morning and wow. They are light, fluffy and very tasty. Thanks Nicole
Awesome, Ken! Thanks for letting us know. So glad you enjoyed them.
Hi Nicole, My copy of classic snacks arrived yesterday i can’t wait to get started, coming from the UK these snacks are things we’ve heard on American TV Shows for years now we can try them!!
That’s awesome, Irene! And be sure to check out the recipe for Digestives. That’s one you should already know quite well, and they are soooooo good! I love that book, but I’m afraid I realized long after it was already published that the index isn’t as useful as it could be since all of the snacks are indexed by their trade names. So if you don’t know the trade name, you’re better off just paging through the particular chapter. Other than that, I love that book and am using it myself today to make Little Debbie-style brownies to bring to a dinner party. :)
I thought I had all your books. How did I miss this one??? Ordering it now! I’ll have to search Amazon to see what else I may have missed.
Haha Linda, for some reason, Gluten Free Classic Snacks (although I think it’s an amazing book) just never took off like the others! Here’s a little bit about each of my cookbooks: https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-cookbooks/
I just wanted to say thank you for the recipes and for putting all the substitutions in now – I really love that!!. We have multiple allergies in our home and you have my things so much easier for me by giving the substitutions. I really appreciate it. My family loves your recipes!!
That’s so great, Kim! I’m thrilled the suggestions have been useful. :)