Recipe

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Follow this easy recipe for vegan pancakes made with simple pantry staples.

These vegan pancakes cook up soft, fluffy, and guarantee an epic weekend breakfast.

stack of vegan pancakes on a plate topped with sliced bananas and chopped nuts.

Homemade Vegan Pancakes

I first shared my vegan gluten-free pancakes in 2012, and I often use flax in my recipes to replace eggs, so that’s what I used to create this vegan pancake recipe. You’ll love that it’s made with ingredients you already use to deliver the fluffy texture from my best pancake recipe.

Ingredients

All-purpose flour is the base for this recipe, baking powder gives your pancakes a fluffy texture, a little sugar to sweeten the batter, and a pinch of salt to enhance the flavor. Dairy-free milk (any) is the main liquid in the batter, and flax meal + water are combined to replace 2 eggs. A vegan butter alternative (or coconut oil or a neutral oil) adds moisture, and vanilla extract for flavor.

How to Make Vegan Pancakes

Mix the egg replacer.
Combine the flax meal and warm water in a dish and let it sit for 10 minutes. It should resemble a thick gel before adding it to the batter.
Make the pancake batter and let it rest.
Mix the dry ingredients first, then add the flax egg and the rest of the wet ingredients and combine. Stop mixing when there’s no visible flour left, or you’ll have chewy pancakes. Let the pancake sit on the counter for 5 minutes.
Cook the pancakes.
They take about 2 minutes per side over medium heat on a greased surface. Rinse the pan between batches if they’re burning on the outside.
Serve and store.
Top these with your favorite toppings, maple syrup, strawberry pancake syrup, or blueberry syrup.

Laura’s Secret Tips

The secret to getting the first vegan pancake as good as the last is letting the flaxmeal egg gel before mixing with the liquids and resting the batter so the flour can absorb the liquid before cooking.

Easy Vegan Pancakes

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 10

Follow this easy recipe for vegan pancakes made with simple pantry staples.

5 from 2 votes

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Ingredients

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder, aluminum-free
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups milk, any
2 tablespoons flaxmeal
⅓ cup warm water
2 tablespoons vegan butter, or coconut oil melted and cooled
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

Prep:

Melt the vegan butter replacement or coconut oil and let it sit on the counter to cool slightly.
In a small dish, mix the flaxmeal (ground flax seeds) and warm water. Let it sit for 10 minutes, stirring a few times, until it forms into a gel-like substance. This is your egg replacer. You can also use a commercial egg-replacer (powder) and follow the instructions listed to substitute for 2 eggs.

Make the batter:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Make a well in the middle by pushing the flour to the sides and pour in the flaxmeal "egg", the plant milk, melted and cooled vegan butter or coconut oil, and vanilla extract. With a fork, combine the flaxmeal "egg" with the liquid ingredients, then slowly incorporate the liquid mixture with the dry ingredients, working from the outside of the bowl in, until just combined and mostly smooth. Stop mixing when you no longer see flour to avoid chewy pancakes.
Let the pancake batter sit on the counter for 5 minutes, up to 10 (without mixing), so the flour can absorb the liquid. This helps your first pancake be as good as the last.

Cook the pancakes:

Heat a non-stick griddle or large pan over medium heat. Once hot, grease it and immediately pour ¼ cup of batter. The batter is on the thicker side, so use the back of the scoop or a spoon to gently spread it and shape the pancakes.
Cook the first side for about 2 minutes, until the edges begin to look defined and bubbles form. Flip the pancakes over and cook the second side for a little less time. Avoid pressing down on the pancake with the spatula after flipping; this will make the pancakes dense by eliminating air pockets and/or cause the batter to ooze out on the sides and be undercooked.
Remove the cooked pancakes from the pan and repeat the process with the remaining batter, serving the pancakes as you go or keeping them warm on a sheet pan in a 200F oven.

Serve and store:

Plate a few pancakes on a plate, top with your favorite toppings and syrups.
Refrigerate leftover pancakes in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Rehat in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute or in the toaster.

Notes

Add-ins/Mix-ins: add them right before cooking, after the batter has rested.

Add up to 1 cup of diced fruit, cut small, like diced strawberries or blueberries (whole), to the batter by gently folding them in with a spatula.
Banana: 1 medium, up to ¾ cup, mashed until it’s pureed, added to a bowl, and mixed with the wet ingredients separately, before mixing it with the dry ingredients.
Chocolate chips: about ½ cup to the batter, folded gently.
Cinnamon: 1 to 2 teaspoons, depending how much you like it.

Consistency Tips:

If your batter is too thick, you likely added too much flour into the cup (or omitted the oil or vegan butter). Add 2 more tablespoons of plant milk to thin it, then mix gently.
If your batter is too runny, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more flour, mix gently, and wait 5 minutes before cooking.
If your pancakes are flat, your baking powder is no longer active (gone bad), and it happens when it's been opened for more than 9-12 months. This ingredient cannot be omitted.