Gluten-Free American Pancakes

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These Gluten-Free American Pancakes are thick and fluffy pancakes and taste wonderful. The carefully chosen flours mean these healthy gluten-free pancakes are light in texture with a deep toasty vanilla flavour and have no xanthan gum in the mix. They are refined sugar-free and sweetened with dates alone. Plus quick and easy to make in the blender.

this recipe

Never has a pancake recipe been tested so many times. I have been making classic Gluten-Free American Pancakes every week for the whole family for years, using whatever gluten-free flours I have on hand. They always turn out pretty good and I was confident to share the recipe.

However, when it came to setting in stone the exact flours, quantities and method to create the perfect gluten-free pancakes recipe, I came a bit unstuck.

Watch the video to see how to make them

What is the ideal gluten-free pancake?

It’s actually a pretty tall order. We need these American pancakes to stand on their own rather than just be a carrier for all our favourite toppings.

• Light. Not dense.
• Fluffy. Not gummy.
• Neutral in flavour. Not leaning too hard on a particular flour note.
• Quick and easy method.
• Minimal ingredients.

To tick all of these boxes and create a a gluten-free pancake batter that came out perfectly time and time again, I made this recipe 12 times. In every combination:

• Wholegrain or starchy flour?
• Milk or buttermilk?
• Bicarb or no bicarb?
• Resting or no resting?
• Soda water or no soda water?

Eventually the recipe has been finally honed to tick all our boxes and I can guarantee if you follow this method you will have your new favourite Gluten-Free American Pancake which is thick, fluffy, healthy, incredibly easy and hopefully, like me, you’ll love making them every weekend.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Perfect flavour. The wholegrain flours chosen help give a neutral but toasty rich flavour which will be the perfect backdrop for whatever toppings you enjoy on your pancakes.
• Gentle spicing. Just a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg to round out the flavour.
• Fluffy texture. To make fluffier pancakes use a blender to whip air into your batter to make the pancakes super light.
• Quick. From a pancake craving to drizzling on the final flourish of maple syrup you can be sure it takes under 15 minutes.
• Healthy gluten-free pancakes. A lovely mix of nutrient dense wholegrain flours, whole ingredients and no gums make these a healthier choice for breakfast.
• Sugar-free pancakes. This recipe uses just 2 dates to perfectly sweeten the pancakes.
• These traditional pancakes are suitable if you are following a gluten-free diet because of a gluten intolerance or celiac disease.

Complete list of ingredients

• Ghee. It has a high smoking point and is my personal favourite for this kind of cooking. You can substitute for 1 teaspoon butter and 1 teaspoon olive oil. Or even coconut oil if you need your pancakes to be dairy free.
• Sorghum flour. As above.
• Buckwheat flour. As above.
• Sweet rice flour. As above.
• Eggs. This recipe uses medium sized eggs, about 60g each (with the shell). The eggs bind our pancake together and makes it nice and thick. If you can’t find medium sized eggs then use instead 100g of beaten egg.
• Dates. They naturally sweeten the pancake. They are great to use, rather than honey or maple syrup as they don’t affect the moisture content. Make sure they are super soft medjool dates as they blend better.

If you like your healthy pancakes on the sweet side then add 1-2 more dates. The great thing about this recipe is that adding more sweetness doesn’t change the moisture quantity of the recipe and you can tailor it to your tastes. I prefer to add a maple syrup or honey drizzle when I’m serving the pancakes and keep the pancakes on the not so sweet side.

• Milk. You can substitute for a dairy-free milk alternative.
• Apple cider vinegar. Thickens up the milk and creates a ‘homemade buttermilk.’ This makes the pancakes extra thick and fluffy.

Instead of the milk and vinegar you can use replace with buttermilk. It’s not easy to find where I am so I just automatically sub with the ‘homemade’ version. I find that the mixture doesn’t thicken quite as much when you use plant based milk so do use whole dairy milk if you can.

• Butter. You can use coconut oil if you need a dairy free choice. The fat in the recipe softens the pancakes and makes them moist
• Baking powder
• Bicarbonate of soda
• Vanilla extract. I like to use the Nielsen Massey brand.
• Ground cinnamon.
• Ground nutmeg.
• Salt. You can omit but I love the way it elevates the other flavours.

Step-by-step instructions

For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post. 

1. Prepare the milk. Stir the vinegar into the milk and rest for 5 minutes until thickened.
2. Blend. First blend the milk, eggs, dates, butter and vanilla until smooth. Then add the dry ingredients and blend until just combined. Rest whilst you heat up the pan.
3. Prepare the pan. Heat up a cast iron skillet or large non-stick frying pan on medium-low heat for 5 minutes until it is hot but not smoking. Brush ghee around the pan.
4. Cook the pancakes. Pour the pancake batter into the pan using a trigger release ice cream scoop. Cook the pancakes in batches, fitting 3-4 in the pan at the same time. Cook for 1½ minutes the first side, flip and cook for 1 minute the other side.
5. Repeat. Brush more ghee around the pan then repeat the process with the next batch of pancakes until all the batter has been used up and you should have made about 12 pancakes.

Expert tips

• You do need to use a blender in this recipe so that the dates are blended properly into the ingredients. You can use a stand blender or an electric hand blender in a large mixing bowl.
• Blend everything together, except for the flour at first which will allow the dates to properly blend. Once the flour has been added the mixture is a little thick to blend the dates properly.
• Scrape the pancake batter out of the blender once ready into a large bowl which will make it easier to scoop out from.
• A cast iron skillet is ideal for cooking pancakes. It heats up evenly so the pancakes cook at the same time.
• It’s imperative that the pan is properly heated through before adding the fat or the pancake mixture. You want it to be hot but not smoking. Heat for up for 5 minutes on a low-medium heat should be right.
• If you find your pan is getting too hot and it’s already on its lowest setting then switch to a smaller ring or even turn off the heat for 5 minutes to cool it back down.
• Use a silicone brush to brush the pan with the ghee. About ¼ teaspoon butter brushed over the surface of the pan. Brush the pan in between each batch of pancakes.
• Use a trigger release ice cream scoop to scoop out your pancake batter. Fill up to ¾ way then pour out of the scoop in a careful controlled movement to create the perfect round circle.
• The longer you leave your pancake batter the thicker the mixture (and pancakes) will be.
• For ease of cooking, I recommend cooking 3 pancakes at a time as it’s easier to flip them evenly.
• Once the pancakes have finished cooking on one side then flip them over. Use a controlled wrist movement to avoid the pancakes being lopsided.

Shop the recipe

Sorghum Flour

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Buckwheat Flour

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Sweet Rice Flour (glutinous)

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Ice Cream/Cookie Scoop

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Cast Iron Skillet

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Silicone Pastry Brush

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Turner/Pancake Flipper

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Vitamix Blender

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Favourite sweet toppings

• Chocolate spread. Is there anything better than topping a good pancake with Nutella and fresh berries?
• Peanut butter. I like to warm my peanut butter up with a little honey to make a lovely drizzle for the pancakes.

Make ahead

• You can make the batter up to 12 hours in advance. Keep in the fridge and whisk well before cooking.
• The finished pancakes can be made up to 2 days in advance. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
• To reheat then either place in the toaster until warmed up or re-heat in the pan greased with melted butter.

Freeze

• These Gluten-Free American Pancakes freeze well. Once they have been made and cooled then store in a ziplock bag in the freezer.
• You can remove each frozen pancake one at a time as needed.
• Thaw for 2 hours at room temperature before re-heating as above.

Dairy-free option

​To make dairy-free pancakes you need to make the following substitutions:

• ​Whole milk. Swap for a plant-based alternative. I like almond milk or oat milk.
• Butter. Swap for coconut oil.
• Ghee. Swap for coconut oil.

Gluten-free pancake flavour variations

• Blueberry pancakes. Stir blueberries into the batter just before cooking.
• Orange blossom pancakes. Swap the vanilla extract for orange blossom water.
• Lemon pancakes. Add zest of 1 lemon to the batter.
• Chocolate Chip Pancakes. Stir a handful of chocolate chips into the batter just before cooking.
• Bacon Pancakes. Cook off 6 rashers of chopped smoked streaky bacon in the skillet. Cool the bacon whilst you are preparing the pancake batter, keeping the bacon fat in the pan. Stir the chopped bacon into the batter just before cooking and cook in the bacon fat.

More gluten-free breakfast recipes you’ll love

• Kid Friendly Granola
• Sweet Potato Bacon Rosti
• Bircher Museli
• Breakfast Quinoa
• Pumpkin Pancakes
• Banana and Walnut Paleo Pancakes

I urge you to give these Gluten-Free American Pancakes a try. If you do then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a star rating which helps others find the recipe on Google. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own culinary creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.

Gluten-Free American Pancakes

Georgina Hartley

These Gluten-Free American Pancakes are thick and fluffy and taste wonderful. The carefully chosen flours mean these healthy gluten-free pancakes are light in texture with a deep toasty vanilla flavour and have no xanthan gum in the mix. They are refined sugar-free and sweetened with dates alone. Quick and easy to make in the blender.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Total Time 22 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 12 pancakes

Calories 114 kcal

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 180 g whole milk
• ▢ 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 2 eggs - medium size, about 60g shell on
• ▢ 2 medjool dates - stoned
• ▢ 40 g butter - unsalted at room temperature
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 75 g sorghum flour
• ▢ 75 g buckwheat flour
• ▢ 20 g sweet rice flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ghee

Instructions

 

• Weigh out the milk in a jug and stir in the vinegar. Rest for 5-10 minutes until the milk has thickened/curdled.
• Pour the milk into a blender along with the eggs, dates, butter and vanilla and blend for a 1-2 minutes on high speed until the dates have completely blended in.
• Whisk together in a large bowl the flours, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spices then add to the blender.
• Blend the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just blended.
• Pour the pancake batter into a bowl and rest whilst you heat up the pan.
• Heat up a cast iron skillet on low-medium heat for 5 minutes until it is hot but not smoking.
• Brush ¼-½ teaspoon ghee around the pan, it should immediately bubble.
• Use a trigger release ice cream scoop and fill ¾ with pancake batter, gently drop into the pan to form a circle. Repeat with the next pancake. Cook between 3-4 pancakes at a time.
• Set the timer for 1 ½ minutes for the first side of the pancake, then flip each pancake which should be cooked and golden brown. Cook for 1 minute on the next side. Remove from the pan to rest on kitchen paper.
• Brush more ghee around the pan then repeat the process with the next batch of pancakes until all the batter has been used up and you should have made about 12 pancakes.
• Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

Ingredient substitutions

• Sorghum flour or buckwheat flour. You can substitute either of these flours for oat flour (but not both). If you do use oat flour the pancake batter will be slightly thicker.
• Sweet rice flour. You can swap for tapioca flour.
• Ghee. You can sub for half olive oil and half butter.

Dairy-free version

• Whole milk. Swap for a plant based milk.
• Butter and ghee. Swap for coconut oil.

Important tips

• You do need to use a blender in this recipe so that the dates are blended properly into the ingredients.
• It’s imperative that the pan is properly heated through before adding the fat or the pancake mixture. You want it to be hot but not smoking. Heat for up for 5 minutes on a low-medium heat should be right.
• Use a silicone brush to brush the pan with the ghee. About ¼ teaspoon butter brushed over the surface of the pan. Brush the pan in between each batch of pancakes.

I have included even more in depth tips and troubleshooting in the full post above.

Make ahead

• You can make the batter up to 12 hours in advance. Keep in the fridge and whisk well before cooking.
• The finished pancakes can be made up to 2 days in advance.
• To reheat then either place in the toaster until warmed up or re-heat in the pan greased with melted butter.

Freeze

• The pancakes freeze well. Once they have been made and cooled then store in a ziplock bag in the freezer.
• You can remove them one at a time as needed.
• Defrost thoroughly before re-heating as above.

Ingredient measurements

• Please note when you see ‘grams’ listed as opposed to ‘millilitres,’ or any other term of measurement, that is not incorrect. I weigh all of my ingredients, including liquids, for accuracy.
• US customary measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups

Nutrition information

• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use. Please seek a professional nutritionist’s advice for further clarification.
• The nutrition serving is for 1 pancake, assuming you make 12 pancakes from this recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 114kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 3gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 230mgPotassium: 151mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 153IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 43mgIron: 1mg

Have you tried this recipe?Head to the comment section and let me know what you think!