All the breakfast flavors you love in each bite! These Vegan "Bacon" Pancakes are moist, fluffy, salty, smoky, and sweet. They're also surprisingly high in protein thanks to the addition of soy curl bacon. Top with maple syrup for a forkful of breakfast deliciousness! Vegan and oil-free with a gluten-free option.
The story behind these pancakes is kind of silly. Any other fans of Frasier here? Remember the episode "Don Juan in Hell" where they're on vacation in Belize and Claire orders her pancakes with bacon crumbled right into the batter?
Frasier has been one of our favorite "sitcom therapy" shows for years. After I shared these Vegan Bacon Bits a couple of weeks ago, we happened to re-watch that episode with the bacon pancakes. So of course I had to make it happen. But my bacon pancakes are obviously vegan, and I figured why not make them oil-free and gluten-free, too.
Ingredients
This is a summary to give you a quick glance of the ingredients you'll need. Be sure to scroll down for the full recipe and instructions.
- Vegan Bacon Bits - you'll need about ¾ cup, chopped into even smaller pieces; I've only tested this recipe with my homemade bacon bits, but I'm sure store-bought vegan bacon or sausage crumbles will taste great, too.
- Flour - this pancake recipe is designed to work with regular all-purpose flour or a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend; the pancakes in the photos were made with King Arthur's gluten-free 1:1 flour. For a whole-grain option you could use this Oat Flour Pancake recipe and add bacon bits to it.
- Almond Flour - fat is important to the overall flavor and texture of pancakes. Since we're not using oil, butter, or coconut milk in this recipe, I added almond flour for richness and to help disrupt the binding of the other flour.
- Sugar - I used organic cane sugar; sweetness is VERY important in these pancakes to balance out the saltiness of the soy curl bacon.
- Baking Powder - use a full tablespoon for the fluffiest pancakes!
- Fine Sea Salt - you'll only need ¼ teaspoon because the bacon adds quite a bit of saltiness.
- Milk - I've only tested this recipe with unsweetened soy milk.
- Apple Cider Vinegar - this curdles the protein in the soy milk making a vegan "buttermilk" and helps with fluffiness.
- Vanilla Extract
- And lots of Maple Syrup for serving!
The gluten-free flour blend produced a thicker batter than the test batch with regular all-purpose.
If the batter becomes too thick as it sits feel free to add another tablespoon or two of soy milk as needed.
Batch Size and Storing
This makes about six 4 ½-inch pancakes, which is perfect for our two-person household, but you'll definitely want to scale up if cooking for a larger family.
You can also make extra pancakes and store leftovers in the refrigerator for several days, or freeze them for another day. Just allow the pancakes to cool completely, then place small pieces of parchment paper between each one. Store in an airtight container in the freezer until you're ready to thaw and reheat the pancakes.
Tips and Substitutions
As I mentioned in my Oat Flour Pancakes post, it gets tricky making substitutions in pancakes because it is a cake after all, and each ingredients is important and serves a purpose. With SO many different flours, milks, fats, and sweeteners to choose from, that leads to about a million-and-one different combinations. Okay, maybe not that many, but you get the point.
So while I would love to be able to tell you how to substitute whole-wheat flour or spelt or even a different flour for the almond flour, any change will affect the overall balance of wet to dry and the sweetness, texture, etc.
That doesn't mean substitutions won't work, but do so at your own risk. 😉 If you do try something else be sure to leave a comment below to let everyone know what you used and how your pancakes turned out!
For a whole-grain option try the Oat Flour Pancakes linked above and simply add the bacon bits to that batter. They'll taste fantastic with the slightly sweet maple syrup vibes of those WFPB pancakes.
Oh, and just a quick tip about serving these... don't skip the maple syrup! It's key to the overall balance of flavors and the super flavorful sweet-and-salty experience.
I love hearing from you! If you try the recipe be sure to leave a comment and a star rating below to let us know how your pancakes turned out.
More oil-free vegan breakfast recipes:
Lemon Blueberry Pancakes
Apple-Cranberry Baked Oatmeal
Apple-Cinnamon Oat Flour Scones
Oil-Free Banana Bread
Homemade Cultured Cashew Yogurt
Vegan Protein Cookies
Golden Milk Muffins
Millet Breakfast Bake With Berries
📖 Recipe
Vegan Bacon Pancakes (Oil-Free; GF Option)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour or a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend - I used King Arthur GF flour. See Notes for whole-grain option.
- ¼ cup almond flour
- 3 tablespoons organic cane sugar - Sweetness is important to balance the saltiness.
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup chopped homemade Vegan Bacon Bits - Can sub store-bought tempeh bacon or sausage crumbles if desired.
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, almond flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl combine the soy milk, vinegar, and vanilla.
- Pour the soy milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Use a large spoon to gently stir just until a lumpy batter forms. Careful not to overmix. Let stand for 2 to 3 minutes, then fold in the bacon bits.
- Preheat a non-stick skillet or electric griddle over medium heat. Flick a bit of water onto the preheated surface. If it beads up and dances, the pan is fully preheated. Pour ⅓ cup of batter per pancake onto the pan/griddle. Flip the pancakes when bubbles appear across the top and the undersides are golden. Cook for another 90 seconds, or so, or until golden on both sides. You may need to adjust the heat slightly during cooking to get it just right.
- Serve warm with plenty of maple syrup.
Notes
Whole-Grain Option
For a whole-grain option add the chopped soy curl bacon to these Oat Flour Pancakes or any other whole-grain pancake recipe.Storage
Pancakes are best enjoyed fresh, but leftovers will keep for up to 4 days. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Re-heat in the oven, skillet on stovetop, or briefly in the microwave. Pancakes also freeze well. Cool completely, place parchment paper between each pancake, and place in an airtight container. Thaw before reheating. Nutrition information is an estimate and based on ⅓ of the recipe, or approximately 2 pancakes.Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used. We calculate this information using the online calculator cronometer.com.
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