Fluffy, light, and airy are not words most people associate with paleo pancakes, and I can’t blame them. There are too many paleo pancake recipes that yield thin, dark, eggy discs that pushes us to give up on enjoying the fluffy hotcakes we love so much.
But thanks to these cassava flour pancakes, your breakfast world is about to be flipped. Literally. Watch how easy it is to make Paleo Pancakes in this quick video
After a few years of eating almond flour paleo pancakes, I decided that what I really missed was the airy and fluff regular flour could bring to a recipe.
I had read about cassava flour proidign the “fluff” I was missing with my grain free recipes and I decided to take on the testing.
Which Cassava Flour Works Best for Pancakes?
Not all cassava flours are created equal. I tested many that with the measurements in my recipe yielded a thick, unusable batter; while others a gummy texture. Update: if you read the comments this happens to others too.
I created this recipe using Bob’s Red Mill Cassava Flour. The consistent texture of the flour package after package yielded the pancakes you see photographed here. It is the cassava flour I recommend for this recipe.
I’ve also successfully made these pancakes using Otto’s Naturals Cassava flour. The results were also fluffy and delicious pancakes without having to modify the recipe.
How to Make Fluffy Paleo Pancakes
The one food my family can’t go without? Pancakes. After years of experience, I’m will openly admit I am a pancake snob and positive I could make them blindfolded!
But when you’re grain-free or doing a round of Family Kickstart, fluffy and thick pancakes aren’t always possible until now… with the help of cassava flour!
I’ve tested all sorts of grain-free flours for pancakes and have had success, but nothing compares to cassava flour! It yields perfectly light, fluffy hotcakes that remind me so much of my Classic Fluffy Pancakes, I’ll go ahead and say they could be twins!
What is Cassava Flour
Cassava flour is made from the yucca plant, a starchy root vegetable common to South America and Africa. The flour has a very fine texture, mild flavor and it’s easy to use, making it one of the closest replacements for white flour.
Because of the startchiness content, different milling processes by different brands can yield a different product quality/texture; and therefore, affecting the batter.
While I often use both almond and coconut flour, neither compare to the amazing results I get when using cassava flour in muffins, biscuits, and pancakes.
It’s also a breath of fresh air for anyone with a nut allergy since most gluten-free flours are made with nuts. Yikes!
Is Cassava Flour Paleo?
Since it’s made from a starchy root vegetable, cassava flour is 100% paleo! This is good news, especially if you’ve been without all your favorite breakfast foods for a while.
I’ve got a whole list of the best paleo breakfast recipes if you’re searching for more ideas after these epic pancakes.
Benefits of Cassava
Non-allergenic
Cassava flour is very allergy friendly! It contains no gluten, nuts, dairy, or refined grains. This takes a little pressure off if you have to bake or cook for large groups.
High in carbohydrates
With only 120 calories per ¼ cup serving it is a great source of energy and free of all refined carbohydrates. It’s a much better alternative to white and whole wheat flours.
Easy replacement
In the grain free and paleo world baking is a risky game but this isn’t so with cassava flour. You don’t need a crazy amount of eggs or any weird combination of things, it works just like regular flour. Just swap it 1:1 with all purpose flour in your favorite baked good recipes.
How to Make these Paleo Pancakes Egg-Free
This recipe for paleo pancakes requires 2 eggs and therefore, it is suitable to substitute the eggs with an egg replacer -my maximum replacer suggestion is always 2 eggs.
I have made these paleo panckes egg-free numerous times using a “flax” egg where you mix 1 tablespoon flax meal with 3 tablespoons warm water, mix and allow the flax to form a gel-like mixture. This will “bind” the pancake ingredients and replace one egg.
For this recipe, you’ll need to make 2 egg replacers: 2 tablespoons of flax meal + 6 tablespoons warm warer. Mix, wait 5 to 10 minutes, and mix into batter.
I have also used a commercial egg replacer. Replacer to water ratios varies by brand so check the packaging accordingly. With a commercial egg replacer, I only suggest substituting up to 2 traditional eggs.
Read this post about Eggless Pancakes and Egg Substitutions.
Can You Freeze Paleo Pancakes?
Just like regular pancakes, these paleo pancakes can be prepared and frozen ahead of time when you need breakfast on the table, fast.
To freeze pancakes you’re going to want to double (or triple) the batch, allow the extra’s to cool down while you eat a stack, then place them in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Can you Make this Pancake Batter Ahead of Time?
You can make paleo pancake batter a day or two ahead of when you need it. Simply follow the recipe, refrigerate the pancake batter covered, and take it out for ten minutes to warm up to room temperature before using it.
Cassava pancake batter out of the fridge will be cold and too thick to cook up great pancakes. Depending on the cassava flour you use, you might need to add a tablespoon of water to the room temperature batter to give it the consistency needed.
How to Keep Leftover Paleo Pancake Batter
You can refrigerate leftover cassava flour pancake batter for up to two days. Just like making it ahead of time, the batter in the fridge will thicken so you need to let it warm up to room temperature on the counter before you use it.
If it’s too thick, add a tablespoon of water to reconstitute it to the original texture of day one.
How to Top Cassava Flour Pancakes
You can top with berries, sliced bananas, peanut butter, chocolate chips, syrup, strawberry chia seed jelly, or whipped cream. It’s all up to you! Hey, if you’re feeling extra go ahead and toss those berries or chocolate chips in the batter. Just like old times.
I like serving it as a DIY pancake bar for a weekend breakfast or easy dinner. Everyone builds their own stack and wherever breakfast foods are involved, I’m game!
Paleo Cassava Flour Pancakes
Everything you love about classic pancakes, made better. No gluten or grains, full of fluff.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 10 pancakes 1x
- Category: Breakfast
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Cassava flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ cups milk, dairy or dairy-free
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons butter or melted coconut oil
- Maple syrup for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl, sift cassava flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add milk, eggs, and melted butter and mix until there are no visible lumps. Let mixture sit for 5 minutes.
- In a large griddle over medium heat, melt some butter or oil. Pour ¼ cup of batter and once it starts to bubble, flip and cook an additional minute on the other side.
- Repeat process with remaining batter and serve.
Notes
The two cassava flour brands I recommend for this recipe are Bob’s Red Mill and Otto’s Naturals.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 pancakes
- Calories: 247
- Sugar: 0.1g
- Sodium: 566.8mg
- Fat: 7.6g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 41.8g
- Fiber: 2.6g
- Protein: 3.1g
- Cholesterol: 86.6mg
Keywords: paleo pancakes, healthier pancakes, cassava flour recipes
Toni
I made these for the first time today, and fell in love with them! My family owned and worked in the restaurant business for over 25 years, and we did all homemade food, including pancake batter. After finding out I had many food allergies a couple years ago, it has been a struggle to find recipes that work and are actually good. These passed my test; Great flavor and they were the same consistency as a real pancake! They are not gritty, crumbly, or gummy. They were the right weight, cakey consistency and could be thinned out or thickened up depending on what you like. I made one substitution and one minor change – I used safflower oil instead of melted butter or coconut oil. I also didn’t use a full tsp of salt – maybe a half tsp at the very most. Best of all, everyone in my house can eat these with their varying food allergies!
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
I’m so glad these were a success for you! I love having recipes that accommodate for everyone’s needs and you only have to make one batch!
Lara
What can I do if I don’t have any eggs? I just ran out and I don’t actually have eggs. I’ve heard you can use applesauce in place of eggs but I don’t think I’ve ever tried that. Like what is your recommendation in place of the two eggs if I have everything else I need but that? Thanks!
Laura Fuentes
Lara, this post covers what you can use as an egg substitute for pancakes. Ignore the recipe, use the substitute that works best with the Cassava flour recipe. My recommendation would be the flax egg method or the commercial substitute.
Elly
I did a review of the recipe and how good the pancakes were. When I went back into my kitchen I realized the two eggs were still on the counter.
A happy mistake because without the eggs they taste fabulous.
★★★★★
Taneal Jarrett
I’m so upset. I followed this recipe to the T, and it’s so gummy and not fluffy at all. All the pancakes using flax eggs turn out stringy and gummy like a gummy bear inside. My sons allergic to egg and I just can’t seem to find anything to substitute it and make things fluffy. I had hopes for this recipe 🙁
Laura Fuentes
This recipe performs incredibly well -until the eggs are substituted. All egg substitutes are denser than traditional eggs. One tip is to make thinner pancakes (spread the batter on pan thinner) and it reduces the gummy texture.
Patty
I love them! I followed the recipe and just added 2tsp
Of Vanilla like someone suggested. I also didn’t put any oil in my cast iron pan and they came fluffy, around 1/4 inch tall and not greasy! Delicious! It goes on a favorite list
Laura Fuentes
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cassava flour pancakes, Patty!
Andrea
Hello I loved these, made half of this recipe and still have leftovers I couldn’t use baking powder, so I tried half teaspoon of baking soda with half teaspoon of vinegar…Next time I’m definitely gonna add less salt and perhaps I’ll add some vanilla extract as someone suggested.
I was wondering if I could do half cassava, half coconut flour ? I’m obsessed with coconut
★★★★
Laura Fuentes
I am glad this recipe worked out well for you. The ratio is not half cassava and half coconut, since coconut flour is 10x more absorbent. I recommend you mix the recipe, and add one tablespoon of coconut flour, stir to mix, wait 10 minutes, then add another. Yes, it takes up to 10 minutes to fully absorb liquid. You might get away with about 2 tablespoons total. I hope this helps!
Ana
These were way too salty for me, but otherwise, delicious! I would definitely make again and just decrease the salt. The texture was great, and that’s usually not the case with cassava flour pancakes! I added some chocolate chips for a Saturday morning treat 🙂
★★★★★
Jodie
Since finding out I have numerous food allergies, I have spent countless hours looking for and trying paleo/gluten free recipes a lot of times with disappointing results. Not with this recipe It was delicious! Light, fluffy and the perfect texture!! I did add a little vanilla extract, as others mentioned, and used the flax egg substitute. Also, just wondering have you ever made this recipe with dairy free milk? Thanks for helping this girl with her pancake craving!!
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
I’m so glad this recipe satisfied your pancake craving, Jodie! You can most definitely make this with dairy-free milk -I use almond milk all the time!
Taylor Wilde
I’m so excited to try these! Curious what syrup you use? Maybe I missed it in the blog portion.
Britt
I don’t know why these didn’t work for me. I followed the recipe to a T.. they are gluggy and overly moist on the inside. They also didn’t brown well like my usual paleo recipe I use. Quite disappointing in having wasted the ingredients.
Laura Fuentes
I’m sorry these didn’t work for you. The video in the post follows the recipe to a T and they turn out for us weekly. I am thinking the issue is the flour. Which brand did you use?
Leanne
I have Otto’s Naturals cassava flour on hand. Have you ever tried this flour?
Laura Fuentes
Works great! I tried it after another reader left a review.
Ang
It may be the pan she’s using or the baking powder might have expired.
Allison Firehammer
These cassava flour pancakes turned out great!
★★★★★
R
Just adding my comment that you need to pick your flour carefully. I used Shiloh Farms Cassava flour and the batter got way too thick and it wasn’t remotely pancake texture. I ended up rolling them out and cooking them a little bit like tortillas or crepes and that was fine, but it wasn’t pancake-like at all.
I have to assume it’s a good recipe if you use the flour recommended, but wanted to add a word of warning not to substitute in other brands of flour unless you are sure about them.
Thanks, Laura!
★★★★
Laura Fuentes
Thank you for adding this comment. It’s very difficult for me to explain that cassava is a starch and different brands have different milling processes and therefore, the product varies (sometimes within the same brand a different bag!). I can only recommend my recipe 100% of the time with Bob’s. When using another brand, I recommend one goes by sight and adjusts some measurements based on batter consistency since some brands absorb the liquid differently.
Tanya D
Wonderful pancakes, my skeptical sons loved them. I’m wondering how to use this recipe to make waffles? Any tips?
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
You’d need about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of additional liquid.
Steve B
Hi,
I’m wondering if you’ve ever tried the recipe with Thrive Market brand cassava flour. Thanks for a great site!
Laura Fuentes
Yes. I had a bag of Thrive Cassava flour and I used it in a few batches. They weren’t bad. I highly suggest you adjust the batter for consistency and not by measurements only. That’s the reason I switched to Bob’s because I could consistently achieve a good batter (and good pancakes) regardless of the bag. With other brands, I found that the product was not consistent. I hope this helps.
Nas
Wow. I made these today, and my very picky 8 yo devoured them. I took a risk with a random brand cassava flour I had bought from Walmart, and didn’t use as much salt, added 1 TBS of cacao powder, and used vanilla almond milk. They were SCRUMPTIOUS.
Kacie
Great recipe! My kiddos can be somewhat picky when it comes to alternative flours but they gobbled these pancakes right up and said they were great. Not gummy, not dense, just fluffy and perfect! Thank you for posting!
★★★★★
Kristin
Made these with Otto’s Cassava Flour and I had to add slightly more liquid, but they turned out great!
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
Thank you for sharing that Otto’s worked for you. Not all cassava flours are the same so I’m glad you were able to make this enjoyable recipe!
Leanne
Thank you for sharing your tip for using Otto’s flour!
Maddison
Turned out well. I like the recipe. I often read comments saying “my husband liked these and he hates cassava flour.” This has never been true for any other recipe in my case, so this is a first 🙂
★★★★
Nicola
Do you think the batter would keep for a day or two in the fridge, if I wanted to make ahead and have a couple per day? Or maybe if I split the batch in two and only add in baking soda on the day of?
Laura Fuentes
You can definitely make the pancake batter ahead or save the leftover batter for a day or two in the fridge. After 24h, you will notice that the batter is thicker, so simply adding a tablespoon of water and letting it warm up to room temperature for about 10 minutes is essential for good pancakes. Cold batter on the griddle will not yield as good pancakes. Enjoy!
Connie
I am transitioning into more food options after being Whole30 since last April. Lost 47 pounds! I am ready to add a few things back in to my diet. Being grain free and without refined sugar is important to me. Sugar causes so much inflammation. I tried these pancakes and I have to say they are probably better than any mix or restaurant! Lovely texture and tastes so good. For topping I used Forager plain cashew yogurt mixed with natural no added sugar raspberry jam. My husband loved them! Thank you so much for such a great recipe.
Christen
Would you be able to include the cassava flour measurement by weight? I used the recommended flour but I have observed that cup measurements can be unreliable with it since it’s so powdery. Thanks!
★★★★
Laura Fuentes
For this recipe, you’ll need 210g of Cassava flour.
Jess
These were delicious! The batter was so thick I thought it wouldn’t turn out well but the opposite happened! So fluffy and light! Thanks!
★★★★★
DJ
Tried this with Anthony’s Goods Tapioca Flour and they were perfect. This is my new favourite GF recipe.
Delia
I guess you meant it when you said to use Bob’s Red Mill or Otto’s, because I used a brand I had got on Amazon (first time cooking with cassava) and the “batter” was more like mashed potatoes, and the pancakes fell apart while cooking! I’ll try it again with Bob’s.
Laura Fuentes
Hi Delia, yes, I’ve had better success with Bob’s Red Mill Cassava Flour.
Elly
I have been searching for a decent pancake recipe since diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. No more grains for me. I just tried the recipe and was blown away by how good it is. I added some cinnamon and vanilla. They are fluffy and have a very similar taste to wheat pancakes without all the flare up pain. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
I’m thrilled you enjoyed these cassava flour pancakes, Elly!
Ke’la
I followed this recipe to a T and it did NOT turn out well. It was so extremely thick I had to add so much more water to it. And it still ended up super lumpy in the end
Laura Fuentes
Hi Ke’la, this happens for a lot of people including myself, I get the best results from using Bob’s Red Mill Cassava Flour.
Debbie
Do the flours and milk need to be room temperature? Like flours I used to use, I kept my cassava flour (Pamela’s organic) in the freezer until using. And I used cold goat milk to which I add liquid enzymes to remove the lactase. The goat milk fat tends to glob and not mix into the rest of the milk. The batter was much thinner and the pancakes as well, but they were still tasty and hard not to eat just as I cooked them! I watched your video and read all the info twice and was delighted in how much joy you have in cooking and sharing… what a blessing you are — and a great find after learning an autoimmune disease has me gluten free for good.
Laura Fuentes
Hi Debbie, the flour at room temperature is definitely a must. I have not tested this recipe with Pamela’s organic or with goat milk. I would suggest adding a tablespoon or two of flour at a time to achieve the texture as shown in the video, and about 1/4 teaspoon additional baking powder (so they are not flat). I hope this helps!
Debbie
Does the temperature of the cassava flour or the kind of milk matter? I used the flour straight from the freezer where I keep my brown rice flour. Also, does it matter what kind of milk? I used Summerhill goat milk. My first attempt this morning turned out more like crepes. They were still tasty and hard not to eat as I went. I even used a couple as wraps for my tuna salad at lunch. I have more in the fridge and will try again tomorrow morning. Adding a little more flour didn’t seem to help get them thick. I just found your website and look forward to exploring other recipes.
Laura Fuentes
The cassava flour at room temperature will definitely help absorb the liquid. Unfortunately, as mentioned in the post, not all cassava flours are the same and have the same starch ratio, which affects texture.