Easy Whole Wheat Vegan Pancakes or Waffles
Alisa Fleming ~ So you didn’t order that dairy-free box of chocolates in time, and aren’t willing to pay an arm and a leg for over-inflated flower prices. But, what about a more thoughtful and affordable gesture like breakfast in bed? Any mom or loved one will be delighted by a stack of these fluffy yet wholesome and guilt-free whole wheat vegan pancakes … and you will be thrilled with how easy AND cheap they are to make!
When I make this recipe into vegan waffles, I typically adorn them with homemade nut butter, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a light drizzle of honey.
But for vegan pancakes, some maple syrup is always in order. To keep it on the healthy side, I usually add sauteed apples, cinnamon, and finish off the stack with a generous sprinkle of freshly ground flaxseeds. I’ve included instructions for Alisa’s Vegan Pancakes Topping (pretty nutritious) and Tony’s Vegan Pancakes Topping (just a wee more indulgent) in the notes of my whole wheat vegan pancakes recipe below.
Don’t be shy with th baking powder; it may look like a lot, but pancakes typically call for more baking powder than your average baked good since they must rise very quickly. Take away the eggs, and they need even a bit more.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (can sub all-purpose flour for all or part of the flour if desired, but they won’t be whole wheat then!)
- 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder (Note: I made these pancakes at high altitude (6500ft), where everything gets a little extra “lift.” If you are at 3000 ft to sea level, I recommend increasing the baking powder to 1-1/2 Tablespoons. Yes, it may seem like a bit, but it helps to replace the lift that usually comes from eggs!)
- 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1/8 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Sweetener (I used Palm Sugar, but you can use Sucanat, Brown Sugar, Maple Syrup, etc.)
- 1 to 1-1/4 Cups Milk Alternative, room temperature if using coconut oil (I used Unsweetened Coconut Milk Beverage)
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons Oil (I used melted coconut oil, but extra-light olive oil, grapeseed oil, or your favorite baking oil will do)
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt, and set aside.
- In a measuring cup, combine the sweetener, 1 cup of the milk alternative, and the oil. Whisk in the reserved flour mixture.
- If the batter is too thick or becomes too thick as it sits, add up to 1/4 cup of additional milk alternative (I live at high altitude, where things rise more, so I used the full 1 and 1/4 cups for the pancakes, but you may not need that much). Keep in mind that egg-free pancake batter works better when it is a little thicker than egg-containing pancake batter.
- Prepare your skillet with some cooking spray, and preheat it over medium heat.
- Pour the batter into the skillet to create your desired size of pancakes (I make dollar-sized ones because I am so bad at flipping the bigger ones!). Cook over medium heat, reduce heat to medium-low if the skillet gets too hot (I have this problem with our electric stove).
- The pancakes will bubble as soon as the batter hits the pan, ignore those bubbles. The batter will smooth out after 30 seconds. Wait until you see bubbles break at the surface again, then flip. Cook for about about 1 minute on the other side. Remove from the pan, and pour in the next batch of batter.
- Repeat until all the batter is used up, and you have a few plates of scrumptious pancakes!
- Top as desired (see my notes below for suggestions).
Notes
Alisa’s Pancake Topping: I sauté 1 small, chopped apple in 1 teaspoon of earth balanace dairy-free / soy-free margarine or coconut oil, and add 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (could use just 1/8 teasapoon if desired). I kept half of this apple mixture for myself, and added just 1 teaspoon of maple syrup for a sweet and moist touch. I placed the apples on my pancake stack, and sprinkled it all with some ground flaxseed.
Tony’s Pancake Topping: To the other half of the cooked apples, I add 1-1/2 Tablespoons maple syrup and 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed. It was still a nice pourable maple syrupy topping with big, soft apple chunks. The flax goes pretty well un-noticed by my husband.
For Waffles: Everything is the same, but I use only 1 cup of milk alternative, even at high altitude. The thicker batter works better on waffle irons. Simply prepare the batter and follow the directions for your waffle iron. They freeze and re-toast beautifully!
This recipe is Vegan, Vegetarian, Dairy free, Egg free, Nut free, Peanut free, Soy free, Low sugar, and Low fat.
http://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/whole-wheat-vegan-pancakes-waffles
Tagged Easter, egg--free, low fat, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, Valentine's Day, vegan, vegetarian
12 Comments
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meitalAugust 9, 2012 at 11:09 am
That looks great:) I guess vegan pancakes are gaining popularity because I’ve just seen another recipe for vegan pancakes (that takes 5 minutes).
TinkanySeptember 9, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Tried these out with a slight variation. I doubled the recipe and used 1 1/2 c. Whole wheat flour, 1/2 c. Almond flour, a can of coconut milk (13.5 oz), 1 tsp vanilla and cinnamon, 2 tbsp each – baking powder, brown sugar and canola oil. I used 1/4 c batter for each pancake. Made 14 total.
Had my vegan friends over and with 4 adults and one toddler they were totally gobbled up. As good as any pancakes with eggs and dairy!
TobiusSeptember 26, 2012 at 8:43 am
Wahoo, thanks for this great recipe, I was missing my pancakes because of allergies, and now I can have them again
I just made these 20 minutes ago, and they turned out great, everyone ate them and asked if there was more..They had no idea there was no butter, milk and eggs, my little secret
Alisa FlemingSeptember 26, 2012 at 9:15 amAuthor
That’s awesome! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much!
AngieNovember 29, 2012 at 10:40 pm
Thanks for the great recipe and helpful tips and comments too!! I’ve been trying out various vegan pancake recipes with whole spelt flour instead of whole wheat (due to a wheat sensitivity) and this is the only one I plan to make again! I’m at sea level and used the suggested bkg pwd increase to 1 1/2 Tbsp, and only 3/4 cup of almond milk and they turned out fabulous!
Alisa FlemingDecember 1, 2012 at 12:09 pmAuthor
Angie, I’m so glad it worked well with spelt flour, too, and appreciate your notes on adapting!
DFebruary 12, 2013 at 8:09 pm
Delish!!! Made the pancakes and next weekend the waffle iron! Thanks!!
Alisa FlemingFebruary 12, 2013 at 9:11 pmAuthor
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed them as waffles, too
GinaApril 22, 2013 at 1:06 pm
Made these today and they were delicious! I didn’t wanna put any kind of syrup on them!
Alisa FlemingApril 22, 2013 at 2:44 pmAuthor
Glad you liked them Gina! Sometimes I just slather them with nut butter
SarahMay 10, 2013 at 8:45 am
This was very yummy! I used almond milk and added dried cranberries and sliced raw almonds for a deliciously sweet and nutty breakfast. Thanks for the recipe- this will definitely be added to my go-to recipe box.
Alisa FlemingMay 11, 2013 at 6:35 amAuthor
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed Sarah!