Fluffy and flavorful, these Vegan Buckwheat Pancakes are gluten free, grain free, nut free, and allergy-friendly.
They taste so good for being incredibly healthy pancakes. The intense flavor of buckwheat flour is evened out with rice flour for a wonderful texture and taste. The addition of applesauce gives these pancakes sweetness without added sugar. Meal prep and freeze these for weekdays or enjoy on a lazy Sunday morning.
The Best Gluten Free Pancake Recipe
I can safely say these are some of the best buckwheat pancakes I have ever had. So many recipes out have disappointed. There were ones that required tons of odd combinations of flour (⅓ cup potato starch, ½ cup rice flour, 2 tablespoon buckwheat, 5oz of unicorn fluff), others used nut flours or bananas to replace the eggs. Since nuts are one of my migraine triggers, this is so frustrating to me when it comes to vegan and gluten free recipes. They all use nut flours!
- Fits gluten free, dairy free, nut free, egg free, and plant based diets, as well as a migraine diet.
- Can be made in 15 minutes.
- Buckwheat flavor isn't too strong - balanced by using another flour to cut the bitterness. Any recipe that has you use all buckwheat flour is going to be incredibly earthy.
- Texture is perfect - light and fluffy like a traditional pancake.
- These are easy to freeze and store for meal prep and quick school breakfasts.
- Buckwheat pancakes contain more fiber and protein than traditional all purpose flour pancakes.
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Ingredients
Quick Note - If you're not looking for a gluten free pancake and just want a dairy free pancake, all purpose flour works great in this recipe! And if you just need gluten free, feel free to substitute melted butter for the oil
- Buckwheat Flour - I use store-bought from Bob's Red Mill or Arrowhead Mills, which contains 16g of protein per cup. These can be found at Kroger, Whole Foods, and HEB, as well as Amazon. Buckwheat flour is a wonderful addition for extra plant based protein, but tends to have a stronger, earthy taste.
- Brown Rice Flour - This helps to cut the strong flavor of buckwheat while also keeping the texture light. I've also used cassava as a substitute. Brown rice flour tends to have more moisture and be less gritty in texture than white rice flour.
- Baking Powder - I like to use aluminum-free like Rumsford. Make sure whatever brand you use is still fresh, as this will be important for creating the fluffy texture.
- Applesauce - Use sweetened applesauce in this buckwheat pancake recipe, or add 1 teaspoon of sweetener. This makes a great substitute for eggs and adds wonderful flavor as well.
- Milk - Any favorite can be used, although I tend to prefer oat milk like Oatly. Combine this with vinegar at the beginning of cooking to create a faux buttermilk, which adds flavor and texture.
- Coconut Oil or Pressed Oil - For this recipe I've real butter, coconut oil, and Earth Balance Pressed Oils. All work great!
Vegan Substitutes
I first tried this buckwheat pancake recipe with all kinds of combinations of chia and flax eggs, but didn't love the texture. For these, I found applesauce to be the best substitute. It's sweet so you don't need any added sugar, except for any maple syrup on top!
My favorite kind of milk to use for this recipe is Oatly oat milk, which is one of the best milk replacements in my opinion. It's thick, creamy, and doesn't have a strong taste to it.
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How to Make Vegan Buckwheat Pancakes
The great part about making these vegan buckwheat pancakes is you only need one bowl!
Step 1: In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients - the buckwheat flour, rice flour, baking powder, cinnamon and pinch of salt. Make a well in the center of the mixture.
Step 2: In the well, combine eggs, melted oil, milk and vinegar mixture, and vanilla. Stir to combine.
Step 3: Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until smooth and fully combined.
Step 4: Heat a griddle or nonstick pan over medium heat. Add a touch of oil or butter, which should bubble. Then pour the batter into the pan about ¼ cup at a time. DO NOT TOUCH IT. Leave the pancake until lots of small little bubbles pecker the outside edges - about 2 minutes. Turn to medium-low heat if cooking too quickly.
Flip the pancake and cook another 1-2 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.
Set the pancakes aside as your work through them, covering with a towel or foil to keep warm.
Tips for Success
Don't touch the pancake: The best way to screw up pancakes is to fiddle with them while they're cooking. Occupy your hands and step away from the pancake, for at least 1-2 minutes. The sign that they are ready to be flipped is little bubbles around the rim of the pancakes.
Watch the temperature: Whether using a griddle or a pan, the temperature can fluctuate. If the pancakes are taking forever to produce the bubbles, turn up the heat slightly. If they're cooking (or burning) very quickly, turn the heat to medium-low.
Serving size: These make roughly 2-3 servings, about 2 pancakes a person at ¼ cup of batter each.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Buckwheat pancakes are very healthy and super high in protein (16grams per cup!) and 12 grams of fiber. Buckwheat is great for controlling blood sugar, contains magnesium which is helpful for migraine patients, and improves digestion.
Buckwheat flour is plant-based and is not actually a grain or a type of wheat, but a pseudocereal. This is a plant or seed consumed as grains, similar to chia, quinoa, and amaranth. The seed comes from a plant closely related to rhubarb.
Both have the same light and fluffy texture, but buckwheat pancakes will have a more earthy flavor than regular pancakes, as well as a darker hue. Because of the protein and fiber content, you will say more full for longer with buckwheat versus all purpose flour. This is great for a more substantial and healthy breakfast.
Some great toppings for these pancakes are berries (strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries), maple syrup, whipped cream (or coconut cream), pepitas or sunflower seeds, sunflower seed butter, and granola.
How to Store
I do not recommend making the batter too far ahead of serving, or it may become very thick. That being said, the batter takes about 5 minutes to whip up.
These pancakes store very well and can be frozen up to 3 months for the best flavor and texture. Place a slip of parchment or wax paper between each cooked and cooled pancake. Then place the pancakes into a freezer bag or air-tight container.
To thaw pancakes, place at room temperature for 1 hour, or thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Microwave to reheat, or warm in a pan for 1 minute on both sides.
Vegan Breakfast Recipes
For more nut free breakfast recipes like these vegan buckwheat pancakes, check out these posts.
If you make this, tag me #thedizzycook or @thedizzycook on Facebook and Instagram. And if you love the recipe, please leave a review below! Follow along on my Pinterest for more great recipes.
Vegan Buckwheat Pancakes
Ingredients
- ½ cup buckwheat flour
- ½ cup brown rice flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- ¼ cup sweetened applesauce
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil or pressed oil (or butter)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 cup milk of choice
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Once stirred together, make a well in the middle. Add the wet ingredients to the middle and mix together. Begin to fold the wet ingredients into the dry ones, stirring until the batter is smooth. Allow the batter to sit for about 5 minutes to thicken up a little bit more.
- Heat your griddle or pan over medium heat with a touch of extra coconut oil or butter. Add the batter, ¼ cup at a time and do not touch your pancake!! The biggest mistake you can make is flipping these guys too early. Wait till the edges have firmed and bubbles appear at the top.
- Flip the pancake and allow to cook until lightly browned - another 2 minutes or so. Top with maple syrup, fruit, whatever you like!
Notes
- This makes roughly 6 pancakes at ¼ cup batter per pancake.
- Butter and regular milk work well in this recipe. 1 cup of all purpose flour can also be substituted for both individual flours.
- If not using sweetened applesauce, add 1 teaspoon sugar to the batter.
Nutrition
This post was originally published March 5, 2019 and was updated February 2022 to include new photographs, step by step process instructions, and frequently asked questions. Below is the original picture.
I loved the recipe and they came out delicious! I didn't have rice flour or apple sauce so I used vegan protein powder and a mashed banana. Because bananas are ok for me. Thank you for sharing this gluten free vegan pancake recipe 🙂
Great to know! Thanks for sharing!
Oh my gosh, these were SOO good!!!
I tweaked the recipe a bit, as I avoid any kind of rice flour due to its high arsenic content, & my levels got really high due to consuming brown rice flour on my GF diet. Not very many people are aware of this, so I just wanted to point that out. I used 1/4 C. Teff flour + 1/4 C. Sorghum flour instead of the 1/2 C. brown rice flour. I also used unsweetened applesauce, as I try to stay away from sugar, & instead added 3/4 Tbsp. pure maple syrup, the pancakes were perfectly sweet! I also used 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar instead of the white distilled vinegar. These were SO dang good, I ended up eating 5 for breakfast, which is not like me. 🙂 Next time I’ll throw in 1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed. Thanks so much for sharing this awesome delicious recipe!
Hi I can’t have rice flour . Is there another flour I could substitute, say amaranth or tapioca flour ? Thanks .
I haven't tried it with another flour, but you could try and let me know! I'd say oat flour.
This is a fantastic recipe! It turned out really well. I used oat milk. Nice that this can suit several diets (GF, DF, etc)
what kind of syrup is safe?
Any plain maple syrup is fine.
These are my favorite pancake recipe and I agree, the mix of flours is a great taste. I've tried way too many all buckwheat that were terrible! Thank you
I made these for breakfast this morning omitting the vanilla since I did not have an alcohol free kind, and substituting oat flour for the buckwheat flour, and they were delicious! Even my husband couldn't believe how yummy they were! Thank you for this delicious recipe. I had been craving pancakes since I started the HYH diet a month ago.
Hello,
I have just found your site and an so grateful for the work you are doing. I just started the migraine elimination diet and have been overwhelmed at what I can and cannot eat. Your site has been a life-saver. I am trying to balance this diet with weight watchers which I have been successful with for many years. But now I can’t eat some things that helped me with weight watchers and that is tough. One question is about sugar-free syrup. The one I have been using has aspartame and in searching the web I have found Walden Farms Pancake Syrup which uses sucralose (and a lot of other things) one item listed is ‘natural flavors’ which I am not sure about. I think the other weird items are OK, but do you think this is another way to say MSG? Thanks!
Thank you! I hope you found the list of foods you can eat. Sucralose is considered ok to use as well as stevia and monkfruit. Natural flavors is typically ok in sweet things - it's savory items you have to worry about more. I'm not a huge fan of sugar replacements, but if you have to go with one, those are better than aspartame. 🙂
Thank you for your quick response!
Excited to try these! I don't have buckwheat flour at home, but I have oat flour. Love our weekend pancakes at our house 🙂
I've made these with all oat flour too and really enjoy them!