This is the first dairy free pancake recipe that has worked out for me! Tender and fluffy yet didn’t fall apart nor remain uncooked in the middle. I’m super happy with how these turned out! Saving this to use again! I used oat milk for my milk substitute. Delicious!
You’ll never buy pancake mix again.
Six years ago, before we ever moved to France, I had never made pancakes for myself. Not once. I never even considered it. It was something I could get at any restaurant that served breakfast, and I never really liked breakfast that much.
But, somehow, when you can’t have something, you want it even more. So of course, when we were faced with spending several euros for the smallest box of sub-par pancake mix or making some from scratch, I figured it out.
More dairy free breakfast ideas: no milk French toast / asparagus quiche / homemade waffles / tater tot breakfast casserole
Can you make pancakes without milk?
I slightly adapted this recipe – using oil because I didn’t like melting butter, and eventually switching to dairy free milk – and we never looked back. Why would we when it literally takes 2 extra minutes to measure out ingredients instead of paying for pricey pancake mix.
Maybe pancake mix isn’t that pricey, but it’s still something I don’t need to spend money on. Plus, I almost always have all of these ingredients in my pantry.
So anytime we want pancakes, I whip up a batch of this batter, and Marc mans the griddle. He’s really strangely good at making pancakes. I know I’ve told you that before.
More pancake recipes: Bananas foster pancakes / Birthday pancakes / Gluten free pancakes / Cornbread pancakes / Whole wheat pancakes
How do you make dairy free pancakes?
We’ve used all different kinds of milk in the recipe – coconut milk (from the refrigerated section, not the can), almond milk, lactose free milk and regular milk – and it turns out great every time.
They’re the fluffiest with traditional milk, but they are still so fluffy and good no matter what we use. Use whatever you have on hand, and I promise it will still work. If you use flavored or sweetened nut milks, adjust the recipe accordingly.
More dairy free breakfast recipes: Scrambled eggs without milk / Cinnamon apple bread / Asparagus quiche / Zucchini muffins
Tips for making dairy free pancakes:
- Don’t skip the baking powder. I know the recipe seems like an excessive amount, but if you want them to be fluffy, especially without dairy, you need it.
- Use canola oil or other vegetable oils. This is my go-to substitute for melted butter because I always have it on hand.
- Keep the eggs. I know these pancakes could easily be made vegan, but the eggs do wonders for the texture of these pancakes.
- Keep your cooked pancakes warm in the oven (about 200˚F) while you’re making the rest.
Extra Fluffy Dairy Free Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cup almond or coconut milk*
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Add milk, canola oil, egg and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
- Preheat a non-stick griddle or large skillet to medium heat. (Coat pan with butter or oil if not using non-stick).
- Pour about ⅓ cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Allow it to cook until bubbles are visible throughout the pancake before flipping.
- Repeat until all batter has been used.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Amazing recipe! I have try it. That is perfect breakfast!
Hi, we had these yesterday and they were amazing. I just wondered, if you were going to add a banana into the mix, would you just add one? If yes, would I need to alter any of the other ingredients quantities to allow for this? Thanks
Oh geez. I really don’t know. You can use a banana in place of an egg usually, so maybe you could leave out the egg!
I made these for my kiddos following the recipe exactly and they loved them! I did make a couple changes to the recipe for my pancakes, though. I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Flour mix instead of regular flour and I used Oat Milk instead of almond or coconut. They turned out delicious! No more gluten free Bisquick for me!
That’s fantastic to hear! Thanks for sharing!
I used rice milk. Didn’t come out fluffy, kind of dense. Will try again with another milk alternative
That’s so disappointing to hear. Is it possible that your baking powder was expired? You can test it by adding a little to vinegar to see if it fizzes. If it doesn’t, it won’t work in the pancakes which would make them super dense and not fluffy.
I would never have guessed these were dairy free! Honestly, I’d eat these for breakfast or dinner! haha
We made these this weekend and loved them! Thank you for the great recipe!
So going to try this! My baby is cows milk
Intolerant so I’m cutting out dairy atm. This may just satisfy me though!
Oh they will definitely satisfy! I hope you love them!
I made these this morning, and they were delicious! I tried a couple modifications. First, instead of 1 1/2 cups AP flour, I used 1 cup AP flour, 1/4 c almond flour, and 1/4 c coconut flour. I just wanted to experiment and use a little less gluten. That seemed to work just fine, though I don’t know how it would be to sub out all the flour. I also added 3/4 Tbsp of cinnamon after seeing someone else suggest that. They smell SO good! And the taste was great. I also tried using coconut oil just to grease my pan. I did 1 test pancake with the coconut oil, and it didn’t work out at all. I think there was a little too much oil, and I don’t think the skillet was quite hot enough, so the pancake texture was just terrible. I poured out the little bit of coconut oil and swiped some vegetable oil in the pan, and finished cooking them that way. I love pancakes, but this was the first time I made homemade pancakes, and I will definitely make these again. Oh, and I added some blueberries and bananas to some of the batter 😊. Also, I added a tad more milk during cooking to help thin out the batter.
Delicious! Thank you! I’ve tried making dairy free pancakes withnot much success. I was even adding extra baking powder too but after trying this recipe, I realized it needs a lot more than I was adding. These pancakes were so good I made another batch to put in the freezer.
Yes! It’s crazy how much of a difference the baking powder makes! And, it doesn’t affect the flavor at all. Thanks for the great review!
I make these pancakes almost weekly and they are definitely extra fluffy and absolutely delicious!
This was an amazing recipe! 10/10 would recommend. I decided on original unsweetened almond milk not the unsweetened vanilla almond milk and it turned out great
That’s what we use, too! I’m so glad you liked them!