These healthy oat flour pancakes will keep you full and happy all morning! They're soft and fluffy, lightly sweetened with maple syrup, and made with just 5 ingredients. No eggs or dairy needed! Oat flour pancakes are also free from gluten, soy, nuts and refined sugar.
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Why You'll Love Oat Flour Pancakes
If you're anything like me, you love the TASTE of pancakes but not necessarily how you feel after you eat them.
These oat flour pancakes are the best of all worlds! Whole-grain oat flour provides fiber and a soft-yet-hearty texture that makes these so much more satisfying than traditional pancakes made with refined flour.
And since oat flour has a nice neutral flavor AND is gluten-free, it's a great alternative to other whole-grain flours like whole wheat.
For most of my life I wasn't a big fan of pancakes (although that has changed recently with this vegan pancakes recipe). I think there are a few reasons, but basically, it comes down to growing up in a very healthy-eating household.
When Mom did make pancakes they were of the whole-wheat variety, and my young taste buds weren't impressed! And if we went out for Sunday brunch (anyone remember the Shoney's breakfast bar?), I always went straight for the savory options like biscuits and gravy and cheesy scrambled eggs.
And once I grew up and started paying more attention to nutrition and the way different foods make me feel, I realized my body doesn't like starting the day with a big pile of bread. I mean, for me, traditional pancakes are pretty much a blood sugar nightmare.
But my husband is a huge pancake fan, so I really wanted to create an easy, healthy, delicious pancake recipe that both of us would enjoy. Oats to the rescue once again!
Another thing I love about this recipe is that naturally creamy "lite" coconut milk adds just enough fat to make these pancakes more satisfying, super moist, naturally sweet, and totally irresistible. No butter, eggs, or oil needed!
Ingredients and Substitutions
I love recipes that are simple and straightforward, and I know most of you do, too. So you're in luck because vegan pancakes don't get much easier than this! Here's what you'll need:
- fine oat flour - I like to blend rolled oats in my Vitamix, but you can also use store-bought oat flour (look for certified gluten-free oats, if needed).
- baking powder - for leavening
- lite canned coconut milk - the creaminess and higher fat content, as compared to other non-dairy milks, is what makes the pancakes so moist and delicious.
- maple syrup - adds flavor, sweetness and moisture to the pancake batter
- vanilla extract
See the recipe card below for amounts and full instructions.
And that's it. So simple and sooooo good.
The vanilla really shines through even though we're using coconut milk.
Recipe Yield
This recipe makes eight 4 ½-inch pancakes.
Since pancakes are best enjoyed fresh, if you're cooking for just yourself (or two light eaters), you can easily scale the recipe down by half. Or go ahead with the full batch if you're feeling extra hungry!
How to Store
Store oat flour pancakes in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze them for later. When I have time I like to make an extra large batch and freeze half for another day.
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Pancake Cooking Tips
If you don't make pancakes very often, it can take a couple of tries to really get the hang of it. That's totally normal!
There's a bit of an art to getting the heat just right. Plus, as you try different pancake recipes, with different types of flour and fat/sugar content, it can throw off everything you think you know. So use patience and don't give up.
For the oat flour pancakes, here's what you're looking for:
- The edges should look set and there should be bubbles across the entire surface of the pancake before you flip it. See photo above. This may take a few minutes.
- If the heat is too high, the outside of the pancake will brown before the middle is done. And if the heat is too low, well, you won't really get a lovely golden exterior without overcooking them.
- It's okay to adjust the heat once you see how the first "test" pancake cooks. But also, try not to constantly change the heat throughout the whole cooking process. The idea is to dial it in.
Substitutions
As mentioned above regarding coconut milk, I recommend trying the recipe exactly as written. There are about a million-and-one ways to make pancakes, and no shortage of recipes on the internet. So if you don't have oats (or oat flour) or light coconut milk, it may be best to find a different recipe for now.
In recipes like this that contain so few ingredients, it gets more difficult to make successful substitutions. I'm not saying they won't work with a different milk or flour or sweetener, but they WILL be different than intended.
Now that I've finally fallen in love with pancakes, I'm sure I'll be sharing many more recipes soon, with a wide variety of flours, milks, and additions.
Honestly, I wasn't sure I'd ever get excited about pancakes, and I'm so glad it finally happened!
MORE PANCAKES: Try these healthy Spinach Pancakes, Lemon Blueberry Pancakes, and irresistible Pistachio Pancakes!
Serving Suggestions
Serve warm with maple syrup and your favorite pancake toppings like:
- fresh berries and jam
- almond milk yogurt or cashew yogurt
- vegan cottage cheese or a schmear of cream cheese
- chopped nuts or nut/seed butter
- vegan whipped cream!
Top Tip
It's normal for pancake batter to thicken as it rests. But if it becomes too thick, the pancakes won't spread properly, making it difficult for them to cook through.
The oat flour batter should look thick and fluffy but still pourable. If it looks too thick, simply whisk in a small splash of milk.
I hope you enjoy these vegan oat flour pancakes as much as we do. If you try the recipe be sure to leave a comment below to let us know!
Recipe Video
Tap to play the video and to see how oat flour pancakes are made.
Recipe
Vegan Oat Flour Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups oat flour (180 grams) - See Notes; make your own by blending rolled oats until fine.
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ⅓ cups canned lite coconut milk - Shake can before opening. Sub cashew, oat, or soy milk if necessary.
- ¼ cup maple syrup - Plus more for serving.
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl whisk together the oat flour, salt, and baking powder.
- In a small bowl combine the coconut milk, maple syrup, and vanilla. The maple syrup is heavy and will sink to the bottom, so vigorously stir the mixture and immediately pour it into the dry ingredients. Whisk just until there's no visible dry flour. Let stand 5 minutes.
- Preheat a non-stick skillet or electric griddle over medium heat.
- Tip: it's normal for pancake batter to thicken as it sits. If it becomes too thick and doesn't look pourable, simply whisk in a splash of coconut milk.
- Once the cooking surface is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles, pour a scant ⅓ cup of batter onto the pan/griddle. Personally, I like to cook oat flour pancakes at a slightly lower temperature than all-purpose flour pancakes. You may need to adjust the heat slightly during cooking to get it just right. Flip pancakes when bubbles appear across the top and the underside is golden. Cook until the 2nd side is golden and the center is done.
- Serve warm with maple syrup and any other toppings you enjoy, such as vegan butter, yogurt, fresh berries, or nut/seed butter.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and ingredients used.
angelagagauf says
The recipe worked! Ta da! 🙂 I made it with soy milk which is always my choice because it has the most nutrients of all the plant milks. Next time I will make the pancakes with 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup because they were too sweet for me. However, I'm thrilled that I can make my own healthy pancakes. I'm curious...is it necessary to add maple syrup to make this recipe work?
Lori Rasmussen says
Glad you like the recipe, Angela! I haven't tried it without any sweetener at all, so I'm not sure about texture, but flavor-wise it would be plain. You could always experiment with spices for some variety and flavor.
Rosie says
Came out perfect and delicious!
LaTaya says
My family loved these pancakes. We only use stainless steel so I used oil for cooking them so they wouldn't stick. They came out great!
Lori Rasmussen says
So glad to hear that, LaTaya, and thanks for the feedback!
Jo says
DELICIOUS plain! We rolled up a few fresh blueberries in the flexible pancakes to make an easily eaten tube. Followed that with a small bit of maple syrup drizzled into the top of the tube to run down in. Thought we were eating dessert!! Grandkids will LOVE.
Nikki says
I tried this recipe twice, the first time was quite a fiasco, for a few reasons, I think, which are, I tired to cook this in my cast iron skillet, big mistake, definitely use a 'non stick pan' I'm not a fan of using them but sometimes it makes all the difference between a successful recipe or not! Also, make sure the pan is super hot, and before flipping, wait until the top is has bubbles but is also dry looking, almost as if it looks cooked, then flip, otherwise, I found my to just crumble apart, I used Oat Milk and threw everything in the blender with my oats, as I didn't have Oat Flour, and they turned out great, lovey texture unlike my first bath, where I just made oat flour in the blender then hand mixed as directed, throwing everything in the blender creates a nice smooth batter, seems to cook better, I will be making these again, maybe adding some cinnamon or other spices to give it a bit of extra flavor!
Lesley says
Wow. This recipe surprised me. Pancakes were fantastic and held together very well! The flavor was really yummy too. I also made a slightly thicker batch, removed the vanilla & maple syrup and instead used a tablespoon of honey & made English muffins, cooked the same way! They as came out very well. This oat flour/coconut milk combo has me wanting to make donuts, pizza crust… seems like this is my key to gluten free vegan dough!
Sanne says
Came out really well. Halved the quantity as I made them for my kids. Swapped coconut milk for regular milk (didn't need it to be vegan). They didn't even know it was oat flour. Winner!