Gluten-Free Pancake Recipe

These gluten-free pancakes are light, tender, and fluffy – just like the classic kind you remember. They cook up golden brown every time and make an easy, crowd-pleasing breakfast that’s ready in minutes.

We start with a simple, shelf-stable gluten free Bisquick-style mix that you can make ahead and keep on hand. From there, you can adjust the texture for thicker or thinner pancakes, or even try the buttermilk pancakes variation for that classic diner-style flavor and extra height.

Key ingredients explained

A tall stack of gluten-free pancakes doesn't call for too many ingredients, which only makes each one more important. Here's a bit about the important role each one plays in successful pancakes:

• Gluten free flour – Use a high-quality gum-free blend for the best texture. You can make one from superfine rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch—or use Nicole's Best. You can also use Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free blend, which contains much less gum than most brands. Blends with too much xanthan gum, like Better Batter's classic blend and King Arthur Flour's Measure For Measure, can make the batter difficult to pour and the pancakes gummy.
• Xanthan gum (optional) – A tiny amount helps prevent flat pancakes and frilly edges, but you can leave it out.
• Baking powder & baking soda – These leaveners give pancakes their lift and golden color.
• Salt – Brightens all the other flavors.
• Granulated sugar – Adds a touch of sweetness and keeps the crumb soft.
• Milk – Any kind works to bring the mixture together and add moisture, but skip nonfat milk—fat helps keep the pancakes tender.
• Eggs – Provide structure to hold the pancakes together as they cool, and lightness to give them dimension.

Step by step visual directions

The full instructions are in the recipe card below, but these instructions explain the reason behind each step, with visuals to help you make them in your own kitchen:

1. Whisk the dry ingredients – In a large bowl, whisk together the flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and xanthan gum (if using). Whisk well the make sure that each ingredient is evenly distributed throughout the batter, with no clumping of leaveners to create uneven pancakes.

2. Mix the wet ingredients – In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the milk and egg to ensure that the egg is beaten thoroughly for a smooth batter.

3. Combine and mix – Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until smooth. The batter will thicken slightly as it rests, but it should settle and not continue to thicken as you pour, unlike if we had used a flour blend with too much xanthan gum.

4. Preheat your pan – Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet over medium heat and lightly grease it. You want the pancake batter to begin to cook right away on a hot pan, or it will either soak up the grease or stick to the surface.

5. Portion and cook – Scoop about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake to keep the pancakes uniform in size. Let cook until you see bubbles break through the top and the edges are cooked, or the batter will be too loose to flip.

6. Flip and finish – Flip the pancakes only when they're ready, and cook the second side until golden brown. Flip back and forth a few times, as necessary to ensure the pancake has tons of flavor from proper browning. Serve warm.

Gluten free buttermilk pancakes

For extra-fluffy pancakes, you can use real buttermilk instead of milk, but you'll have to make a few more adjustments to the ingredients. Here's a summary of those changes, and you can check the recipe card for full instructions:

• Instead of 1 1/4 cups milk, use 1 cup of real buttermilk (or a combination of half milk, half plain yogurt);
• Add 2 tablespoons melted butter for richness, tenderness and flavor. It also replaces a bit of the moisture;
• Use 2 eggs instead of 1, which will give the pancakes more structure to hold that taller rise.

One more tip for the buttermilk version is to pour the batter straight down—don’t spread it around—to help the pancakes rise tall and fluffy.

Expert tips

Avoid blends with too much xanthan gum

Most pre-mixed gluten free flour blends like Better Batter can contain too much gum, which makes the batter overly thick and the pancakes gummy. Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 has too little gum for most purposes, but here it's just right.

With higher concentrations of xanthan gum, the pancake batter would continue to thicken as it stands, and you'd have to work very quickly or continually whisk in more milk to the batter to keep it pourable.

Use just a touch of xanthan gum

Adding ¼ teaspoon to your gum-free blend creates a smooth, non-runny batter and pancakes that hold their shape without feathering at the edges. If you leave out the gum, you'll need less moisture. In the standard version, reduce the milk to by 1/4 cup to 1 cup (8 fluid ounces); in the buttermilk version, reduce liquid by 2 tablespoons to 7 fluid ounces.

Choose a nonstick pan

The ideal surface for creating evenly browned pancakes is a lightly greased nonstick pan. If your surface isn’t nonstick, you'll need more oil or butter, and the pancakes will fry instead of cooking evenly.

Ingredient substitutions

Dairy free – Replace cow’s milk with your favorite unsweetened, unflavored non-dairy milk from a carton (not canned). Unsweetened almond milk works especially well. For buttermilk, use half (4 fluid ounces) plain nondairy yogurt and half (4 fluid ounces) nondairy milk, by volume.

Egg free – Try a chia egg, “Just Egg” brand (refrigerated), or Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer. You'll need two egg equivalents for the buttermilk version.

FAQs

How to make a shelf-stable dry mix

The dry mix in this recipe makes 235 grams (about 1 ½ cups + 3 tablespoons by volume). Multiply it by 2, 3, or 4 to make a larger batch:

1. Whisk all dry ingredients together thoroughly in a large bowl.
2. Store in a sealed container in a cool, dry pantry for up to 3 months—or freeze for longer storage.

When you're ready to make pancakes, measure out 235 grams of the mix, add the wet ingredients for either version (standard or buttermilk), and cook as directed.

Mix-ins & topping ideas

• Miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips mixed in or sprinkled on top as the first side cooks
• Thinly sliced ripe bananas on top or just a few chopped ripe bananas mixed in gently; for gluten free banana pancakes with mashed banana in the batter, you need another recipe.
• Chopped fresh strawberries on top or mixed in gently
• Gluten free granola on top or mixed in to the batter
• My favorite: place pure maple syrup in a squeeze bottle, and swirl some on top while the first side is cooking