Gluten Free Pancakes 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, all you add is milk and an egg for classic pancakes any time!

Key ingredients explained

Pancakes don'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 a successful result:

• Gluten free flour – Use a well-balanced gum-free blend for the best texture. You can make our gum-free gluten free blend from superfine rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch—or use Nicole's Best, which doesn't contain any gums. Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free blend, which contains much less gum than most brands, also works reasonably well. Blends with too much xanthan gum, like Better Batter's classic blend, 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.
• Egg – Provides 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.

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. Xanthan gum absorbs a lot of moisture, so if you leave it out, reduce the milk to by 1/4 cup to 1 cup (8 fluid ounces).

Choose a nonstick surface

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

For taller pancakes

For extra-fluffy pancakes, use real buttermilk instead of milk, another egg, and some melted butter in the batter. For full ingredient amounts and instructions, please see our gluten free buttermilk pancakes recipe.

Ingredient substitutions

Dairy free – Replace cow’s milk with your favorite unsweetened, unflavored non-dairy milk, but be sure it has a similar consistency to cow's milk. Unsweetened coconut milk in the carton works especially well.

Egg free – Try a chia egg, “Just Egg” brand (refrigerated), or Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer.

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, and cook as directed.

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