I first started making vegan pancakes thanks to this recipe by the One Ingredient Chef. But, that recipe didn’t work for me as written, and resulted in perfectly tasty but flat and mushy pancakes.

So I’ve spent the past 6 months working on it, as you do.

I thought maybe it was the flax seed, but none of the other egg replacements worked (Egg Replacer: gummy, applesauce: gross). I played with baking powder and baking soda, to no good effect.

Ultimately, the liquid was off. Perhaps he was using a different milk alternative. I had to reduce it substantially, as you’ll see.

Oh, and I also double the recipe because… as written, his recipe makes about 5 medium-sized pancakes. Not enough for these two people.

 

Vegan “Buttermilk” Pancakes

2 cups flour

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp ground flax seed (sold at Whole Foods)

4 tbsp warm water

1 1/2 cups milk alternative (we use Rice Dream Enriched Vanilla milk)

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp oil (original recipe calls for coconut oil, but regular vegetable oil works fine too)

 

Start heating up your griddle on low heat.

In a small bowl, mix the ground flax seed with warm water and let it sit for a few minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. Then, carefully add the wet ingredients, making sure not to over mix — you want it to still be lumpy. If the mixture still seems too thick, add in more milk a tablespoon at a time until it gets to the right consistency.

Sprinkle some water on your griddle; if the pan is ready, the water will dance across the surface. Spread a thin coat of vegetable oil over the surface.

While your waiting for your griddle to heat up, take a sheet of aluminum foil and fold it in half, then fold down edges leaving one edge open like an envelope. Stick it in your (unheated) oven. (This step isn’t necessary but nice if you’re making a lot of pancakes and want to keep them warm until you serve all of them.)

Use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop out the batter onto the griddle.

Look for the edges to begin hardening and bubbles rising to the top, it should take a few minutes. Flip.

When the bottom crust is golden brown, remove the pancake from the pan and stick it in the aluminum foil envelope in the oven.

I’ve also had success tossing blueberries and raspberries in (add 4 or 5 berries after you pour the batter onto the pan).

 

The apple cider vinegar adds a wonderful tang to the pancake, mimicking the subtle flavor of buttermilk in regular pancakes.

I serve mine with Earth Balance Coconut Spread (which is hard to find, I stockpile it when I do) and maple syrup. The combination of sweet coconut and nutty maple syrup is downright delicious. (And, yes, I continue to eat them that way even though I can eat butter now.)

Enjoy!