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How to Make Pancakes without Milk

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe
Image: Stack of pancake with butter
Image: Stack of pancake with butter
Image: Stack of pancake with butter
Image: Stack of pancake with butter
Image: Stack of pancake with butter

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!

Image: Stack of pancakes topped with butter and syrup.

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.

Image: Stack of pancakes with butter

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!

Image: Bowl of flour.

Pancake Batter Consistency without Milk

The consistency of pancake batter without milk is the same as my milk-based pancake recipe. 

Image: Bowl of whisked pancake batter.

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.

Print

Pancakes without Milk

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★★★★★

4.7 from 59 reviews

No milk? No problem! This recipe for pancakes without milk uses water instead and still yields a fluffy and delicious stack.

  • Author: Laura Fuentes
  • 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

  1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
  2. Make a well in the middle and pour in the water, egg, butter, and vanilla extract. Mix with a whisk or fork until smooth.
  3. Heat a non-stick griddle or large pan over medium-high heat, I set my griddle at 300-350 F.
  4. 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.

Equipment

Whisk

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Griddle

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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

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @MOMables on Instagram and hashtag it #momables

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Reader Interactions

Comments

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    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

  1. Burr Battle

    March 02, 2023 at 11:07 am

    Highly impressed! We don’t buy milk often since the kids are gone so this works perfectly and tastes great!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Diana C

    February 23, 2023 at 7:05 pm

    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. 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. Jayne

    February 23, 2023 at 11:50 am

    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!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  4. M

    February 10, 2023 at 12:00 pm

    Best pancake recipe

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  5. Septimus

    December 18, 2022 at 11:56 pm

    Spot on!

    ★★★★

    Reply
  6. Erin

    September 18, 2022 at 10:46 am

    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 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes

      September 22, 2022 at 3:04 pm

      That sounds like a great substitute for when you run out of milk, Erin!

      Reply
      • Richard Paul

        January 05, 2023 at 8:39 pm

        Also, if you have condensed sweet milk, you can substitute that for the milk, butter, and sugar.

        Reply
        • Laura Fuentes

          February 02, 2023 at 5:30 pm

          great tip!

          Reply
    • Hello

      September 23, 2022 at 4:27 am

      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

      ★★★★★

      Reply
  7. ginger

    August 10, 2022 at 9:33 pm

    we were out of milk and you totally saved pancake day!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  8. Bri Marie

    August 02, 2022 at 2:19 pm

    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.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes

      August 09, 2022 at 11:50 am

      I’m thrilled you enjoyed this recipe Bri!

      Reply
      • Marie Alonso

        November 22, 2022 at 11:38 pm

        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 !

        ★★★★★

        Reply
        • Laura Fuentes

          November 27, 2022 at 11:37 am

          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!

          Reply
  9. Melissa

    July 07, 2022 at 3:49 pm

    Yum! Craving pancakes but can’t have dairy so this recipe came in handy. Definitely satisfied my craving!

    ★★★★

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes

      July 09, 2022 at 12:57 pm

      I’m so glad you were able to enjoy pancakes without milk!

      Reply
  10. Dale F Gillett

    April 26, 2022 at 10:23 pm

    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.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Liezl

      May 30, 2022 at 3:49 am

      Definitely one of the few recipes for gluten free pancakes that does not flop. Tastes excellent and looks wonderful.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
  11. Julianna

    April 26, 2022 at 10:17 pm

    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.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  12. Felicia

    March 28, 2022 at 11:10 am

    Awesome…nice, fluffy and flavorful

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  13. Belinda

    March 26, 2022 at 10:15 am

    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.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  14. Annette

    March 18, 2022 at 8:22 am

    Thank you for sharing this. Really helped me out in a pench

    Reply
  15. Leaf

    March 08, 2022 at 12:42 am

    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

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  16. Juloe

    March 07, 2022 at 4:02 pm

    Pancakes look great but all I can taste is the baking powder

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes

      March 07, 2022 at 4:04 pm

      Did you add any of the flavoring to the recipe?

      Reply
      • Annie

        June 11, 2022 at 7:36 am

        Great recipe! We are on a budget being gfdf and a no-milk recipe comes in handy a lot to save money.

        ★★★★★

        Reply
  17. Xack

    February 07, 2022 at 4:47 am

    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

    ★★★★★

    Reply
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