Whether you ran out of milk or just want a recipe for pancakes without milk that uses water, today’s recipe and tips will show you how to make fluffy no milk pancakes every time!
This recipe has saved pancake morning at my house on more than one occasion and I’m so happy to be able to share it with you today.
Can You Make Pancakes Without Milk?
Of course, you can make no milk pancakes, that’s why we’re here today!
Flavor aside, the purpose of milk in a pancake recipe is to dissolve the flour and other ingredients and to provide the liquid structure. This means that any liquid will do the trick.
If you’re still weighing your breakfast options for today, you can also make French toast without milk!
Making Pancakes with Water
Making pancakes with water is as simple as making regular pancakes. The main difference with a water-based pancake recipe and a milk-based recipe will be the flavor of the cooked pancakes.
Whether you use dairy milk or non-dairy milk in a recipe, using “milk” adds a creamy flavor to pancakes. Even pancake mixes that say “just add water” have powdered milk in the ingredients.
So, if you want great tasting pancakes with water, make sure to not skimp on the melted butter, vanilla, and the little bit of sugar that’s added to the recipe.
If you try a pancake or two and find them a little bland, add one of the “flavor add-ins” listed below.
No Milk Pancakes Ingredients
To make no milk pancakes, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Granulated sugar
- Water
- Egg
- Butter
- Vanilla extract
If you have those ingredients, let’s keep going!
Pancake Batter Consistency without Milk
The consistency of pancake batter without milk is the same as my milk-based pancake recipe.
Check out this video so you can learn the consistency of good pancake batter. Granted, I add milk to the bowl, but the consistency is the same.
Other Milk Substitutes for Pancakes
Milk adds both flavor and the “liquid” to a pancake recipe. There are other milk substitutes for pancakes and below I share both options: for flavor and liquid texture.
Liquid Milk Substitutes for Pancakes
As a liquid substitute for milk, use equal parts of:
- almond milk
- oat milk
- soy milk
- hemp milk
- half & half + water (50/50 ratio)
- heavy cream + water (50/50 ratio)
- cashew milk
- rice milk
- coconut milk
- eggnog (check out this eggnog pancake recipe)
- water
Milk Substitutes for Pancakes to add flavor
If you’re using water to make a pancake recipe, you’ll need to add a little more “flavor.” Here are some add-in options:
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons almond extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons maple extract
- 1 extra tablespoon melted butter
- 1 cup blueberries, chopped berries
- ¼ cup jam or jelly
- Zest of 1 orange
After you make your traditional pancakes or fluffy gluten-free pancakes be sure to try one of these pancake toppings to make your breakfast complete.
PrintPancakes without Milk
No milk? No problem! This recipe for pancakes without milk uses water instead and still yields a fluffy and delicious stack.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15-20 minutes
- Yield: 10 pancakes
- Category: Breakfast
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ Tablespoons sugar
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
- Make a well in the middle and pour in the water, egg, butter, and vanilla extract. Mix with a whisk or fork until smooth.
- Heat a non-stick griddle or large pan over medium-high heat, I set my griddle at 300-350 F.
- Pour or scoop ¼ cup of batter for each pancake. Wait until bubbles form to flip. Continue cooking for an additional minute to cook through, and brown on the other side. Remove from the pan or griddle and serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 pancakes
- Calories: 158
- Sugar: 3.9g
- Sodium: 239.6mg
- Fat: 0.4g
- Saturated Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 35.7g
- Fiber: 1.2g
- Protein: 3.9g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Keywords: no milk pancakes, milk free pancakes
Burr Battle
Highly impressed! We don’t buy milk often since the kids are gone so this works perfectly and tastes great!
★★★★★
Diana C
This was delicious! And easy to make for Valentines day brunch. I can’t do too much dairy so this was not only perfect, but very tasty. I did add the extra butter for flavor. I went back just now to save the recipe for later and now I’m craving it again. 🙂
★★★★★
Jayne
I am lactose intolerant and even before I was, I could never make a decent pancake. Tried this recipe and the pancakes are absolutely the best I have ever made. Delicious and pretty! Thank you so much for sharing it!
★★★★★
M
Best pancake recipe
★★★★★
Septimus
Spot on!
★★★★
Erin
This recipe is AMAZING! Didn’t have milk, so we tried the 50:50 coffee cream & water & it worked perfectly! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, this is a keeper 🙂
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
That sounds like a great substitute for when you run out of milk, Erin!
Richard Paul
Also, if you have condensed sweet milk, you can substitute that for the milk, butter, and sugar.
Laura Fuentes
great tip!
Hello
These pancakes without milk are so yum, thank you for this recipe, I love it, the fam loves it, we all love it!! This is a keeper, definitely
★★★★★
ginger
we were out of milk and you totally saved pancake day!
★★★★★
Bri Marie
I’ve been struggling to find a good pancake recipe without milk and this has by far been the BEST one!!! Thank you so much. It was so quick and easy.
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
I’m thrilled you enjoyed this recipe Bri!
Marie Alonso
How can I triple this recipe?! Everyone kept coming back for more ! Used Almond milk and added 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon and 1 ½ maple extract (just had it on hand) for extra flavor and not only was it yummy but our home smelled yummy to ! Thank you !
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
The easiest and most accurate way to triple a recipe is to measure out each ingredient 3x in the same bowl. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Melissa
Yum! Craving pancakes but can’t have dairy so this recipe came in handy. Definitely satisfied my craving!
★★★★
Laura Fuentes
I’m so glad you were able to enjoy pancakes without milk!
Dale F Gillett
Craving for pancakes tonight. Out of milk. This turned out better than I expected. Very fluffy and mighty tasty. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
★★★★★
Liezl
Definitely one of the few recipes for gluten free pancakes that does not flop. Tastes excellent and looks wonderful.
★★★★★
Julianna
I used unsweetened almond milk, but I added *just* a bit more vanilla extract! And then I added a few dashes of cinnamon. Absolutely YUMMY! Biggest tip: make sure the pan is super hot and ready when you pour the batter in. It ensures that they won’t spread out and get too thin.
★★★★★
Felicia
Awesome…nice, fluffy and flavorful
★★★★★
Belinda
I ran out of milk and found this recipe….really nice and easy to make. Added more water to stretch the batch a bit further, didn’t put as much baking powder as I had cake flour…they turned out perfect.
★★★★★
Annette
Thank you for sharing this. Really helped me out in a pench
Leaf
Made these pancakes without milk for my family using vanilla paste and a few tablespoons of homemade seedless blackberry jam. Parents loved it! Thank you
★★★★★
Juloe
Pancakes look great but all I can taste is the baking powder
Laura Fuentes
Did you add any of the flavoring to the recipe?
Annie
Great recipe! We are on a budget being gfdf and a no-milk recipe comes in handy a lot to save money.
★★★★★
Xack
This was such a great recipe they turned out light and fluffy. The first one, normally the worst of the bunch, actually turned out just as beautiful as the rest
★★★★★