So you didn’t order that dairy-free box of chocolates in time, and aren’t willing to pay an arm and a leg for over-inflated flower prices. But, what about a more thoughtful and affordable gesture like breakfast in bed? Any mom or loved one will be delighted by a stack of these fluffy yet wholesome and guilt-free whole wheat vegan pancakes … and you will be thrilled with how easy AND cheap they are to make!
When I make this recipe into vegan waffles, I typically adorn them with homemade nut butter, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a light drizzle of honey.
But for vegan pancakes, some maple syrup is always in order. To keep it on the healthy side, I usually add sauteed apples, cinnamon, and finish off the stack with a generous sprinkle of freshly ground flaxseeds. I’ve included instructions for Alisa’s Vegan Pancakes Topping (pretty nutritious) and Tony’s Vegan Pancakes Topping (just a wee more indulgent) in the notes of my whole wheat vegan pancakes recipe below.
Special Diet Notes: Whole Wheat Vegan Pancakes
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free/ non-dairy, egg-free, soy-free, nut-free, peanut-free, vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian.
- 1 Cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (Note: I made these pancakes at high altitude (6500ft), where everything gets a little extra “lift.” If you are at 3000 ft to sea level, I recommend increasing the baking powder to 1-1/2 Tablespoons. Yes, it may seem like a bit, but it helps to replace the lift that usually comes from eggs!)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sweetener (I used Palm Sugar, but you can use Sucanat, Brown Sugar, Maple Syrup, etc.)
- 1 to 1-1/4 cups milk alternative, room temperature if using coconut oil (I used Unsweetened Coconut Milk Beverage)
- 1-1/2 tablespoons oil (I used melted coconut oil, but extra-light olive oil, grapeseed oil, or your favorite baking oil will do)
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt, and set aside.
- In a measuring cup, combine the sweetener, 1 cup of the milk alternative, and the oil. Whisk in the reserved flour mixture.
- If the batter is too thick or becomes too thick as it sits, add up to ¼ cup of additional milk alternative (I live at high altitude, where things rise more, so I used the full 1 and ¼ cups for the pancakes, but you may not need that much). Keep in mind that egg-free pancake batter works better when it is a little thicker than egg-containing pancake batter.
- Prepare your skillet with some cooking spray, and preheat it over medium heat.
- Pour the batter into the skillet to create your desired size of pancakes (I make dollar-sized ones because I am so bad at flipping the bigger ones!). Cook over medium heat, reduce heat to medium-low if the skillet gets too hot (I have this problem with our electric stove).
- The pancakes will bubble as soon as the batter hits the pan, ignore those bubbles. The batter will smooth out after 30 seconds. Wait until you see bubbles break at the surface again, then flip. Cook for about about 1 minute on the other side. Remove from the pan, and pour in the next batch of batter.
- Repeat until all the batter is used up, and you have a few plates of scrumptious pancakes!
- Top as desired (see my notes below for suggestions).
Tony’s Pancake Topping: To the other half of the cooked apples, I add 1-1/2 Tablespoons maple syrup and 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed. It was still a nice pourable maple syrupy topping with big, soft apple chunks. The flax goes pretty well un-noticed by my husband.
For Waffles: Everything is the same, but I use only 1 cup of milk alternative, even at high altitude. The thicker batter works better on waffle irons. Simply prepare the batter and follow the directions for your waffle iron. They freeze and re-toast beautifully!
This recipe is Vegan, Vegetarian, Dairy free, Egg free, Nut free, Peanut free, Soy free, Low sugar, and Low fat.
54 Comments
We love these pancakes! Sometimes we add chopped pecans. Make these for your non vegan/vegetarian friends as an easy and tasty way to show how yummy food can be without animal products
Fantastic! So glad you like the recipe Linda 🙂
I just made these woderful pancakes. I’ve been altering my non-vegan recipe but this was so much better. I also decided to try the Apple mixture baked in some of the batter to make an Apple pie pancake and it was delicious!
Brilliant idea sage!
Just made these as waffles, glued my waffle iron shut tight and I had to pry it open. There is no way this mixture is ever going to come off. The waffle iron is now in the trash 🙁
Wow, that’s crazy! Make sure your waffle iron is well-seasoned before using. When you aren’t using eggs and it is a healthier recipe, it is essential to properly grease and make sure your waffle iron temp is hot enough. That sounds odd and extreme though!
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Can this batter be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for a few days?
I would say a day or two, I’m not sure about more. If the batter thickens too much, thin with water as needed.
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I just made these as waffles & they are divine! I used spelt flour. We topped them with Earth Balance (Soy-Free), hot maple syrup, & fresh blueberries. Thanks for the great recipe!!
You are welcome glad you enjoyed them as waffles!
Being newly dairy-free and egg-free (and having a bit of a hard time with it) I really liked this recipe. They were very good tasting. I live at a low altitude so went high on the baking powder but I won’t next time. I don’t enjoy as much a thickish pancake. I usually add extra liquid actually to my old pancake recipe so they’re somewhere between the thickness of a crepe and a pancake, just my preference. I also tried making them the standard size but they have a tendency to fall apart so went with the dollar-sized suggestion and they were fine. I didn’t add the sugar because I was using rice milk which is already way sweet. But overall I very much enjoyed this recipe. Thank you Alisa! My only dilemma, and question to anyone, is why they had such a tendency to stick. I used my usual cast iron frying pan and had to put so much oil in it they were practically deep-fried. Any suggestions?
Hi Lisa, glad you liked the recipe! I haven’t had issues with sticking, and use very little oil. It sounds as if your pan may not be hot enough. I would turn it up a notch and make sure that it is fully preheated.
These are delicious! I made them as waffles and they are definitely the best I’ve had in a LONG time!!!
Glad you are loving the recipe! Waffles freeze well, too 🙂
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Ha. I should’ve known better!! I completely misread it, and since it was my first “vegan” recipe, I went with it! Got a good laugh at myself, at least.
So sorry this didn’t work out Libby and sorry again for any confusion. I had never thought about the wording otherwise! I hope that you will give them another go and enjoy 🙂
Hi Libby, don’t feel bad. I took it the same way but just thought it was a typo, hehe.
Sorry if the wordage is confusing – I actually can’t access to make edits to the recipe – the coconut milk beverage needs to be at room temperature if you are using coconut oil for the oil. Otherwise, the milk alternative can be cool.
The recipe says that room temp coconut OIL can be used as a substitute for the milk….it definitely cannot be, as I learned first hand just now. I have a disaster to clean up in my waffle iron 😉
Libby, I’m sorry if the wording is confusing to you. What is says is that the milk alternative has to be at room temperature if you are using coconut oil (as your oil) as it will harden if you use cold coconut milk. It isn’t listed as a substitute for the milk. The oil is 1-1/2 tablespoons, listed as a separate ingredient.
They have a good overall taste but turned into a soggy mush as soon as you put syrup or anything on them. I just couldnt eat them.
So sorry they didn’t work out for you Melody – we’ve never had a soggy issue at all here.
This was very yummy! I used almond milk and added dried cranberries and sliced raw almonds for a deliciously sweet and nutty breakfast. Thanks for the recipe- this will definitely be added to my go-to recipe box. 🙂
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed Sarah!
Made these today and they were delicious! I didn’t wanna put any kind of syrup on them! 😀
Glad you liked them Gina! Sometimes I just slather them with nut butter 🙂
Delish!!! Made the pancakes and next weekend the waffle iron! Thanks!!
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed them as waffles, too 🙂
Thanks for the great recipe and helpful tips and comments too!! I’ve been trying out various vegan pancake recipes with whole spelt flour instead of whole wheat (due to a wheat sensitivity) and this is the only one I plan to make again! I’m at sea level and used the suggested bkg pwd increase to 1 1/2 Tbsp, and only 3/4 cup of almond milk and they turned out fabulous!
Angie, I’m so glad it worked well with spelt flour, too, and appreciate your notes on adapting!
Wahoo, thanks for this great recipe, I was missing my pancakes because of allergies, and now I can have them again 🙂
I just made these 20 minutes ago, and they turned out great, everyone ate them and asked if there was more..They had no idea there was no butter, milk and eggs, my little secret 🙂
That’s awesome! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much!
Tried these out with a slight variation. I doubled the recipe and used 1 1/2 c. Whole wheat flour, 1/2 c. Almond flour, a can of coconut milk (13.5 oz), 1 tsp vanilla and cinnamon, 2 tbsp each – baking powder, brown sugar and canola oil. I used 1/4 c batter for each pancake. Made 14 total.
Had my vegan friends over and with 4 adults and one toddler they were totally gobbled up. As good as any pancakes with eggs and dairy!
That looks great:) I guess vegan pancakes are gaining popularity because I’ve just seen another recipe for vegan pancakes (that takes 5 minutes).