Recipe

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These coconut milk pancakes have everything you love from the classic recipe: golden exteriors, defined edges, and a fluffy texture!

I love the rich and delicious flavor canned coconut milk gives these pancakes and below, I share my recipe and all my tips so your breakfast stack turns out delish!

large stack of pancakes topped with sliced strawberries, sliced bananas and blueberries

Easy Pancakes with Coconut Milk

Canned coconut milk is the perfect liquid for making pancake batter dairy-free. I love the taste, and it’s one of my go-to options when I make paleo pancakes.

The trick to making the pancakes fluffy is using baking powder, which you can make without cornstarch with this recipe.

Use the recipe below to make your weekend breakfast delicious or serve up a quick breakfast for dinner your family will love!

Ingredients

If you’ve had some coconut milk pancake fails or tend to make swaps for dietary restrictions, check this list of ingredients and the substitutions I’ve tested already:

Flour: all-purpose flour is the foundation of this recipe. It can be swapped with a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour.
Baking Powder: helps your pancakes rise when exposed to heat. It’s what makes your pancakes fluffy although it’s possible to make baking powder without cornstarch with this recipe.
Salt: to enhance the flavor of the other ingredients.
Sugar: just enough to make these pancakes lightly sweet, which can be omitted or swapped with maple syrup.
Coconut milk: this recipe uses canned coconut milk, both regular and light have worked.
Egg: to bind the ingredients and help the pancakes hold together. This is not an eggless pancake recipe, but you can use one of these egg substitutes for pancakes although some might change the taste a little.
Coconut oil (optional): I typically add melted butter for a rich buttery flavor and the fat adds moisture to the recipe. You can also use ghee.

How to Make Pancakes with Coconut Milk

I’ve made these coconut milk pancakes many times and I’ve found that there are some helpful tips in the steps that ensure the middles get cooked and turn out fluffy. They are:

Measure and mix
Measure the dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix them well so the baking powder is distributed evenly. Then, measure the wet ingredients and add them in the middle of the bowl. Whisk the egg first to break it up and then combine, without overmixing, a common mistake that yields chewy pancakes.
Cook on the first side
Start with a hot surface and once it’s hot, grease it well. Immediately pour the pancake batter onto the hot surface, spreading it with a spoon so it’s not overly thick.
Flip
You’ll know it’s time to flip the pancakes when the edges are defined and bubbles form throughout. This is the time to check your heat. If they look too brown, reduce it to medium. Flip with a spatula and cook the other side one more minute.
Serve
Continue cooking the rest of the pancakes while keeping the first batch warm or serve immediately with your favorite pancake syrups or toppings.

How to Avoid Common Mistakes

Coconut milk pancakes have a thicker consistency than, say, rice flour pancakes but are similar to pancakes made with oat milk. Other tips that will ensure great results include:

Are they burnt or is it the oil?
When you grease the pan before it’s hot, the oil can turn brown, especially if you use cooking spray which will often burn and make your pancakes look burnt.

Burnt bottoms
If the pancake bottoms are dark but the batter at the top is still runny, your heat is too hot. Reduce the heat to medium so the bottoms don’t burn and the batter has time to cook through, showing bubbles at the top, before flipping it.

Undercooked middles
When you pour or scoop the batter on the hot surface use the back of a spoon or the scoop to spread it out a little. The middles take longer to cook, always, so this ensures even cooking.

The batter is too thick
This batter is on the thick side but should have an airy texture and nowhere near brownie batter.

Making them gluten-free
A too thick batter is a common issue when using full-fat canned coconut milk and gluten-free flour mixes (the ones meant to be swapped 1:1). To solve this, add 1-2 tablespoons of water to the batter and mix.

closeup of the fruit toppings on a stack of pancakes

Topping Coconut Milk Pancakes

Think of your stack of pancakes as the base for incredible pancake toppings like fresh fruit, cinnamon apple topping, nut butter, or Nutella, and syrups like strawberry syrup, blueberry syrup, or cinnamon syrup for pancakes!

Storing Leftovers

Uncooked batter can be refrigerated overnight but make sure to bring it to room temperature before cooking. Cooked pancakes can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days and frozenfor later. You’ll simply heat them, and enjoy!

Fluffy Coconut Milk Pancakes

large stack of pancakes topped with fruit

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 15

These coconut milk pancakes have everything you love from the classic recipe: golden exteriors, defined edges, and a fluffy texture!

5 from 19 votes

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Ingredients

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar, or maple syrup
1 can coconut milk, shaken*
1 egg
2 tablespoons coconut oil or ghee, melted

Instructions

Make the pancake batter:

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
Make a well in the middle and pour the coconut milk, egg, and oil or ghee. Break up the egg with a fork first, and then whisk the liquid and flour mixture to combine.

Cook the pancakes:

Heat a non-stick griddle or large pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, grease the hot surface. When using an electric griddle, heat it somewhere between 300 and 350F.
Immediately, pour ¼ cup of pancake batter onto the greased pan, using the back of the scoop or a spoon to spread it a little, so the middles cook through. Cook the pancakes for about 2 minutes, until the edges begin to look defined and bubbles form. Flip the pancakes over and cook for another minute on the other side.

Serve:

Keep the pancakes warm while you cook the remaining batter and serve topped with your favorite toppings and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Notes

A can of coconut milk is right under 14 ounces, which is equal to 1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon of liquid.
Use the right baking powder: Since pancake batter naturally has a mild, neutral flavor, it’s important to use aluminum-free baking powder. The metallic flavor will ruin the taste, especially in fluffy pancake recipes that call for 2 or more teaspoons. Trust me on this one.