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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!

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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.

How to Make Rice Flour Pancakes
Grab your favorite mixing bowl, and let’s make some fluffy pancakes with rice flour!
- Mix the dry ingredients
Combine the rice flour, starch, baking powder, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. - 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. - Wait 10 Minutes
Allow the batter to rest for 10 minutes before cooking -don’t skip this step! - 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. - 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!

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.
Donna F says
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!
Laura says
Thrilled this pancake recipe worked for you to make waffles with!
Audrey says
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.
Laura Fuentes says
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!
Lucy says
These were so good!
Dayna says
Great recipe for rice flour pancakes
Jackie says
So great!
Sol says
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.
Vanessa says
These were easy and soooo good!
Jenna says
In love with these rice flour pancakes.
Nicole says
I loved that these rice flour pancakes still felt like “real” pancakes! Great recipe!
Kennedy says
I was amazed at how fluffy these rice flour pancakes are! Delicious!
Rhonda says
Yum! These rice flour pancakes were easy to make and tuned out golden and fluffy!
M.T. says
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.
Laura Fuentes says
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.
Sara Welch says
Enjoyed these for breakfast this morning and started my day off right! Turned out light, fluffy and delicious; easily, a new favorite recipe!
Kechi says
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!
Kathleen says
These rice flour pancakes look so nice and fluffy. A perfect breakfast to start the day with.
Justine says
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.
Janet says
These rice flour pancakes were so good!
Jennifer says
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!
Jane R says
These are better than my “normal” pancakes! Thanks for hint to leave the batter for 10 minutes, it really works!
Wendy says
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!!!
Laura Fuentes says
wow. I’m glad they withstood a stainless steel pan! -usually I only recommend non-stick. Thank you for sharing you enjoyed these.
Tiffany says
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!
Tara says
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!
Laura Fuentes says
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!
Kristen says
Can you confirm the liquid amount? I made this batter and it’s not like a soft cookie dough than batter
Laura Fuentes says
Yes, the amount is 1 cup of liquid. What type of rice flour are you using?
Thomas says
Can you use glutinous rice flour instead of standard rice flour?
Laura Fuentes says
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.
Diana says
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 .
Laura Fuentes says
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!
Laura Fuentes says
These are not fluffy like traditional pancakes but then again, nothing with rice flour is. The flavor was good, thanks for the recipe.
Hana says
Taste light and great, but it didn’t come out fluffy like the picture.. will see in the next batch. Recommend
Laura Fuentes says
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.
Abi Dickson says
These pancakes with rice flour are awesome for my food allergies, and are just as delicious!
Erica says
Fluffy and delicious, just like regular pancakes. My kids loved them. Thank you for these.
Crystal says
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❤️