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Home » Recipes » Pancakes

Easy Rice Flour Pancakes

By Laura Fuentes Updated Oct 23, 2024

4.97 from 54 votes

Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.

This is the recipe for rice flour pancakes you want to have on hand to satisfy the craving for a nice fluffy stack for breakfast!

This recipe yields great allergy-friendly pancakes without expensive mixes. Read the post for my tested tips that yield the best rice flour pancake texture!

stack of rice flour pancakes on a plate with honey poured over it
Jump to:
  • Fluffy Pancakes with Rice Flour
  • Ingredients
  • How to Make Rice Flour Pancakes
  • Rice Flour Pancakes with Great Texture!

Fluffy Pancakes with Rice Flour

Rice flour pancake recipes can be a hit or miss, especially if you’re searching for a recipe that compares to traditional fluffy pancakes.

I’ve tested many rice flour recipes, and none had the structure of the pancake I was looking for something stackable, with a little thickness, that also tasted good (most were bland).

This recipe keeps what you love: the buttery and lightly sweet flavor of the classic pancakes without sacrificing too much of the structure because of the rice flour.

Ingredients

You’ll find the amounts in the recipe card but before you make swaps or buy the wrong rice flour, check out the simple list of ingredients you’ll need to make delicious rice flour pancakes:

  • Rice flour: white rice flour yields a nicer outcome than brown rice flour. Below, I explain why you should not use glutinous rice flour; they’re not all the same.
  • Sugar: just enough to give these a light sweet flavor since rice flour tends to be very bland.
  • Baking powder: the rising agent that gives these pancakes texture. The pancakes won’t rise without it.
  • Milk: any kind of dairy or non-dairy milk works with this recipe, do not use water.
  • Egg: to bind the batter ingredients. This recipe will not work with an egg substitute for pancakes.
  • Butter: makes the pancake texture soft and adds flavor.
  • Vanilla extract: to add a touch of sweetness to the batter.

Is Rice Flour Healthier than Regular Flour?

Rice flour is not necessarily healthier than traditional wheat flour; it is, however, a good gluten-free option. Nutritionally, they both have thiamine, riboflavin, niacin (great minerals), and vitamin E.

Both rice flour and wheat flour have nearly the same amount of carbohydrates, 21 to 22g per ounce, and rice flour has a little less fiber.

Rice Flour Pancake Batter

Unlike traditional pancake batter, rice flour batter isn’t as thick at first. For this reason, I added 10 minutes of time to the recipe to let the batter sit at room temperature for it to thicken up and absorb the liquid. This is a crucial step to achieving a thicker pancake-like texture.

Rice Flour Pancake Texture

Rice flour pancakes are a little thinner than traditional pancakes in nature. This recipe contains starch to fill in the body of the pancake, and the baking powder helps them rise; both give these pancakes structure.

stack of rice flour pancakes on a plate

How to Make Rice Flour Pancakes

Grab your favorite mixing bowl, and let’s make some fluffy pancakes with rice flour!

  1. Mix the dry ingredients
    Combine the rice flour, starch, baking powder, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Add the wet ingredients
    Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla. Slowly mix with a fork or whisk until the batter is smooth.
  3. Wait 10 Minutes
    Allow the batter to rest for 10 minutes before cooking -don’t skip this step!
  4. Pour
    Heat a griddle or non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Grease it with butter or cooking spray and pour 3 tablespoons of batter per pancake.
  5. Cook and serve
    Wait until the pancakes are set and bubble form before flipping and cooking the other side for an additional minute. Remove from heat and serve with your choice of toppings.

Is Rice Flour Good for Pancake Batter?

Rice flour isn’t the first choice for making pancakes due to its grainy texture, but it is an option if you need to make gluten-free pancakes or allergy-friendly pancakes. A better gluten-free option is oats, which make terrific oatmeal pancakes.

Following the recipe below without making too many substitutions will reduce the chances of pancake mistakes happening.

Alternatively, you can make one of these fluffy paleo pancakes that are also gluten-free, these Cassava Flour pancakes, or my traditional gluten-free pancake batter using a 1:1 gluten-free flour mix.

Is Glutinous Rice Flour ok to use for pancakes?

Glutinous rice flour is better suitable for dumplings, not pancakes. I’ve tested this recipe several times with it and had horrible results. Regular rice flour and glutinous rice flour have very different textures.

Regular rice flour will yield a cake-like consistency like traditional pancakes, whereas Glutinous Rice Flour will yield a sticky and chewy textured pancake (think dough-like).

What Can You Add to the Batter?

From berries to chocolate chips and chopped nuts, pancakes never have to be the same. A good rule of thumb is to not add more than ½ cup of pancake add-ins to any standard, 4-serving pancake recipe.

You can always use one of these pancake syrups or these pancake toppings to up your breakfast game.

Rice Flour Pancakes with Great Texture!

stack of rice flour pancakes on a plate with honey poured over it
Servings: 12 pancakes
Prep Time: 5 minutes mins
Cook Time: 10 minutes mins
Total Time: 15 minutes mins
This is the recipe for rice flour pancakes you want to have on hand to satisfy the craving for a nice fluffy stack for breakfast!
4.97 from 54 votes
Print Pin

Ingredients

  • 1 cup rice flour
  • 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch*, see note
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 3 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
  • 1 cup milk, any
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the Batter:

  • In a large bowl, combine the rice flour, cornstarch, sugar, and baking powder, making sure everything is mixed well.
  • Make a well in the middle of the bowl, and add the milk, egg, butter, and vanilla. With a whisk, combine the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until everything is well combined.

Wait 10 minutes:

  • Set the bowl aside and let the mixture sit for 10 minutes. This allows the rice-flour batter to absorb the liquid and thicken, making this an essential step for the pancakes to have a thicker/fluffier texture.

Cook the pancakes:

  • Heat a non-stick pan or griddle on medium-high heat. Once hot, grease with oil or butter and pour about 3 tablespoons of batter per pancake onto the hot pan. I use a ¼ cup scoop filled about ¾ of the way.
  • Cook the first side for approximately 2 minutes, and once the edges are defined, and the middles begin to bubble, flip and cook for an additional minute on the other side.
  • Repeat the process with the remaining batter to yield about 12 pancakes. Serve with your favorite toppings and syrup.

Notes

  • A starch is necessary for this recipe to provide structure. I recommend cornstarch because it’s readily available; however, I’ve also tested this recipe with tapioca starch and cassava flour (starch) and gotten great results. In all instances, you must wait for the batter to absorb some of the liquid before cooking the pancakes.
  • 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.

Equipment

Rice flour
batter bowl with a lid
Batter Bowl with Lid
pancake syrup dispenser filled with syrup
Syrup Dispenser
cloth pouch to keep pancakes warm
Pancake Keeper
ceramic dish to keep pancakes warm
Ceramic Pancake Warmer
small jar of aluminum free baking powder
Aluminum-free baking powder

Nutrition

Serving: 1 pancake | Calories: 78kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 120mg | Potassium: 50mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 91IU | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 0.2mg

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Comments

    4.97 from 54 votes (28 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Donna F says

    May 08, 2025 at 12:27 pm

    5 stars
    I made waffles with this recipe, and they are better than what you buy in the store. Store bought become mushy and take longer in the toaster. Bonus to this recipe, I eat the waffles plain they taste so good. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      May 08, 2025 at 1:15 pm

      Thrilled this pancake recipe worked for you to make waffles with!

      Reply
  2. Audrey says

    April 20, 2025 at 8:09 pm

    Could these be made with water, perhaps less than the amount of milk called for? I have trouble digesting most milk, even non dairy forms.

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes says

      April 29, 2025 at 11:13 am

      I have not tested this specific recipe using water. I can imagine that it will work, the key is leaving the batter to sit to absorb the liquid a little longer, maybe an extra 5 minutes? If it’s too thin, I would consider adding 1 teaspoon of corn starch, giving it a mix, and then waiting another 5 minutes. I hope this helps!

      Reply
  3. Lucy says

    March 06, 2025 at 4:14 pm

    5 stars
    These were so good!

    Reply
  4. Dayna says

    March 01, 2025 at 3:33 pm

    5 stars
    Great recipe for rice flour pancakes

    Reply
  5. Jackie says

    February 25, 2025 at 3:49 pm

    5 stars
    So great!

    Reply
  6. Sol says

    February 19, 2025 at 11:24 pm

    5 stars
    Finally, somebody explained why when I used other recipes my pancakes didn’t turn out good. It turns out that I was using the wrong flower! This recipe was perfect.

    Reply
  7. Vanessa says

    February 19, 2025 at 7:23 pm

    5 stars
    These were easy and soooo good!

    Reply
  8. Jenna says

    February 16, 2025 at 4:53 pm

    5 stars
    In love with these rice flour pancakes.

    Reply
  9. Nicole says

    February 06, 2025 at 7:24 am

    5 stars
    I loved that these rice flour pancakes still felt like “real” pancakes! Great recipe!

    Reply
  10. Kennedy says

    September 22, 2024 at 8:15 am

    5 stars
    I was amazed at how fluffy these rice flour pancakes are! Delicious!

    Reply
  11. Rhonda says

    September 11, 2024 at 9:31 am

    5 stars
    Yum! These rice flour pancakes were easy to make and tuned out golden and fluffy!

    Reply
  12. M.T. says

    August 07, 2024 at 5:18 pm

    These were horrible. The texture was gritty and they had no taste. Very disappointed – followed the recipe exactly including the rest time, will never make these again.

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes says

      August 27, 2024 at 4:31 pm

      I’m sorry you’re disappointed with the recipe. What type of rice flour did you use? rice flour (which is naturally very grainy) will never have as much “fluff” as traditional pancakes but gritty these are not (I’ve made these many times). The recipe includes sugar, butter, egg, milk, and vanilla extract -all of which add flavor to this recipe, far from tasteless.

      Reply
  13. Sara Welch says

    July 19, 2024 at 5:27 pm

    5 stars
    Enjoyed these for breakfast this morning and started my day off right! Turned out light, fluffy and delicious; easily, a new favorite recipe!

    Reply
  14. Kechi says

    July 19, 2024 at 3:30 pm

    5 stars
    This pancake recipe sounds delicious and I can’t wait to give it a try whenever I get rice flour. Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply
  15. Kathleen says

    July 19, 2024 at 3:14 pm

    5 stars
    These rice flour pancakes look so nice and fluffy. A perfect breakfast to start the day with.

    Reply
  16. Justine says

    July 19, 2024 at 2:33 pm

    5 stars
    I bought some rice flour to make mochi and had some to use up, but didn’t know what to do with it – these pancakes were perfect! We loved them.

    Reply
  17. Janet says

    July 17, 2024 at 9:20 am

    5 stars
    These rice flour pancakes were so good!

    Reply
  18. Jennifer says

    July 04, 2024 at 10:00 am

    5 stars
    My daughter loved these! We subbed dairy free & arroroot (due to a corn allergy) & it worked great. I also added chocolate chips for my other kiddo & it worked fine. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! It was awesome having a “normal” morning with pancakes for the first time on our new food journey!

    Reply
  19. Jane R says

    June 25, 2024 at 11:08 pm

    5 stars
    These are better than my “normal” pancakes! Thanks for hint to leave the batter for 10 minutes, it really works!

    Reply
  20. Wendy says

    March 24, 2024 at 9:09 am

    5 stars
    I just tried. The batter is tough enough to stand the pan frying and not sticking to my stainless steel pan. Now I can enjoy gluten free pancakes again. Thx so much!!!

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes says

      March 25, 2024 at 3:58 pm

      wow. I’m glad they withstood a stainless steel pan! -usually I only recommend non-stick. Thank you for sharing you enjoyed these.

      Reply
  21. Tiffany says

    January 15, 2024 at 12:51 pm

    5 stars
    Great recipe! I’m always on the hunt for a solid GF pancake recipe & this fit the bill. The only substitution was I used tapioca starch instead of corn starch as I try to stay away from corn and I used low fat oat milk. The cakes were fluffy, texture & color were spot on and the flavor was great. I used Bobs GF white rice flour. Will definitely make again!

    Reply
  22. Tara says

    December 16, 2023 at 9:26 pm

    4 stars
    Hi. Great tasting pancakes but no way did they turn out fluffy like the initial picture on the post. They turned out more like the pic within the post. I had to substitute both the cornstarch and the baking powder as I am allergic to corn but still turned out yummy! Thank you for the recipe. It’s a keeper!

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes says

      December 20, 2023 at 4:27 pm

      I’m glad you still enjoyed them. The corn starch is essential for giving these pancakes texture and the baking powder for helping them rise and making them “fluffier.” When both are used, they will turn out like in the post (the thicker). If you can use potato starch instead and use baking powder without corn like in this recipe, you’ll achieve a nice stack!

      Reply
  23. Kristen says

    December 07, 2023 at 7:15 pm

    Can you confirm the liquid amount? I made this batter and it’s not like a soft cookie dough than batter

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes says

      December 11, 2023 at 9:22 am

      Yes, the amount is 1 cup of liquid. What type of rice flour are you using?

      Reply
  24. Thomas says

    October 28, 2023 at 9:52 am

    Can you use glutinous rice flour instead of standard rice flour?

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes says

      October 28, 2023 at 11:59 am

      Great question! Those two flours have very different textures and therefore, will yield very different ressults. Regular rice flour will yield a cake-like consistency like traditional pancakes whereas Glutinous Rice Flour will yield a sticky and chewy textured pancake (think dough-like). The Glutinous type is better suitable for dumplings not pancakes.

      Reply
  25. Diana says

    August 31, 2023 at 8:53 am

    5 stars
    Goodbye GF Bisquick these pancakes were fabulous! I used an ultra fine rice flour (Viddie’s) and these pancakes were so soft and fluffy. I also added a table spoon of tapioca starch since I’ve read it helps with springiness. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you for saving my family from so many bad pancake mixes out there. So simple and great tasting .

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes says

      September 01, 2023 at 3:37 pm

      I love using Viddie’s flour for these pancakes. They are definitely a higher quality flour that yields great results. Great tip on the starch! I’ll be adding it to my next batch to see the consitency! thank you!

      Reply
  26. Laura Fuentes says

    August 14, 2023 at 1:23 pm

    4 stars
    These are not fluffy like traditional pancakes but then again, nothing with rice flour is. The flavor was good, thanks for the recipe.

    Reply
  27. Hana says

    May 15, 2023 at 11:16 am

    5 stars
    Taste light and great, but it didn’t come out fluffy like the picture.. will see in the next batch. Recommend

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes says

      May 24, 2023 at 3:46 pm

      Hi Hana! perhaps add a bit more (about 1/2 teaspoon) or replace your baking powder? Baking powder tends to loose some of its lifting powers after 6 months of opening. The other essential step is allowing the batter to sit for a minimum of 5 minutes for it to thicken and this helps the pancakes fluff. Next round, wait 10 minutes, since some rice flours are more coarsely ground.

      Reply
  28. Abi Dickson says

    April 17, 2023 at 2:00 pm

    5 stars
    These pancakes with rice flour are awesome for my food allergies, and are just as delicious!

    Reply
  29. Erica says

    April 13, 2023 at 10:11 am

    5 stars
    Fluffy and delicious, just like regular pancakes. My kids loved them. Thank you for these.

    Reply
  30. Crystal says

    March 16, 2023 at 12:12 am

    5 stars
    This is the best recipe I’ve found for gluten-free pancakes. I couldn’t believe how fluffy and moist they were. My kids are very picky eaters, and they absolutely loved them, too. So grateful❤️

    Reply

Hi! I'm Laura.
Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, mom of three, and the woman behind the world’s best pancakes—here to help you ditch the mealtime drama with recipes your family will actually eat.

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