I’ve been laying low since I got home after a month of being away. Hibernating, if you will. Reveling in the quiet and making coffee without worrying about waking someone. Making pancakes over and over. Spending lots of quality time with my dog Cookie, the pancake thief. It’s been lovely. My pancake endeavors have paid off, too. I realized the other day that I don’t have a basic pancake recipe on the blog, so here we are. Meet my new favorite pancake recipe. It’s easy, healthy and vegan, to boot!
How to Make the Best Vegan Pancakes
Basically, I reduced my gingerbread pancake recipe to its most essential formula, then I traded almond milk for cow’s milk and olive oil (or coconut oil) for the butter. I was concerned that I’d be able to taste olive oil in the finished product, but I really can’t! Coconut oil works just as well, but it solidifies on contact with cold ingredients, so olive oil is just the easier choice. I tried a “buttermilk” version as well, with almond milk combined with a tablespoon of vinegar and lesser amounts of baking soda and baking powder. Even with the vinegar to react with the baking soda, the pancakes tasted terribly bitter. I’m still mystified. I scratched the buttermilk idea and carried on with one tablespoon baking powder as the leavener, which works great. Then I tried omitted the eggs completely, surprisingly without any ill effects. Just to be sure, I tried a version with flaxseed to make up for the egg, but it didn’t make any difference. The batter gets nice and bubbly thanks to the baking powder, then it fluffs up on contact with the hot cooking surface like flatbreads typically do. Without that eggy flavor, the remaining ingredients get to shine through. As such, this vegan pancake recipe produces remarkably delicious pancakes.
Whole Wheat Flour Tips
Bob’s Red Mill sent me their organic whole wheat flour, which imparts a lovely, lightly nutty flavor. Bonus? Since it’s higher in fiber and protein than all-purpose flour, these pancakes are more likely to stick with you until lunch. Speaking of whole wheat flour, if yours tastes bitter, your flour has gone bad! Whole wheat flour is not inherently bitter, but because it contains all of the good-for-you natural oils present in wheat, it can go bad more quickly than processed flours. For best longevity, buy quality flour and store it in an air-tight container in a cool, dark place, like the refrigerator or a cabinet.
I’ll quit rambling on about my beloved whole grain flours. Please let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments! If you love this recipe, be sure to check out the two pancake recipes in my cookbook, which both have vegan options. Looking for more vegan breakfast recipes? Here are a few of my favorites:
The Very Best Granola Vegan Banana Nut Scones Homemade Bircher Muesli My Favorite Chia Seed Pudding Apple Steel-Cut Oatmeal
Watch How to Make Vegan Pancakes
This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill and I received compensation for my participation. Opinions are my own, always. *Flour options: All-purpose flour should also work fine here. *Make it gluten-free: Readers report that Bob’s Red Mill’s gluten-free all-purpose flour works great. Leftover pancakes? Pancakes make great leftovers! Store them in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze them for months. To warm, wrap a short stack of pancakes loosely in a paper towel and gently reheat in the microwave until warmed through, flipping and re-wrapping the stack halfway through. Make-ahead option? I don’t recommend mixing pancake batter and storing it in the refrigerator overnight. You will have better luck mixing the dry ingredients separately from the wet ingredients, as directed in step 1, then storing those two components separately (store the wet mixture in the fridge). When you’re ready to make pancakes, begin with step 2. This technique will work better if you use olive oil, since coconut oil solidifies when chilled.
