The Fluffiest Ever Vegan Buttermilk Pancakes (Refined Sugar Free and Gluten Free option)

These vegan buttermilk pancakes are the fluffiest, softest, most perfect pancakes ever!  They are refined sugar free, and use a secret technique to get that perfect fluffy texture.

Real talk – is there anything better on a weekend morning than a big stack of fluffy pancakes?  Ideally, vegan buttermilk pancakes?? I’d say the only thing better than this would be being able to eat them while still in your pajamas and fuzzy slippers.  And that is the beauty of homemade pancakes! 

The “secret technique” I teased above is SO simple.  Basically, you make the batter, then let it hang out for 20-30 minutes (or longer) and thicken up a bit before actually making the pancakes.  This thickening of the batter is what makes the pancakes extra thick and fluffy when you make them.  This is also perfect for your morning routine.  Roll out of bed, make the batter, then you have a little time to do your other morning things – brush your teeth, wake up the kids, or maybe roll back into bed for 20 minutes and try to revisit that great dream you were having.

And actually if you want to REALLY streamline your morning routine, make this batter the night before, chill it in the fridge overnight, and then you don’t even have to do ANY work in the morning aside from making and flipping them!

Fun note!

Also I noted in the title that these pancakes are free of refined sugar – all of my pancake recipes are!  In place of regular old sugar, I love to use maple syrup in my pancake batter.  It ties the flavor together so beautifully, and keeps them so moist. 

Speaking of “all my pancake recipes”, if you have found yourself on this page because you LOVE pancakes, but really you want something more fun than just vegan buttermilk pancakes, feel free to check out some of my other favorites – banana pancakes, blueberry pancakes, or chocolate chip pancakes!  And if you DO want to make these (personally they’re my favorites), then let’s get going!

How To Make Them

I love making pancakes.  They’re insanely easy.  They fall into my favorite category of baking, which is basically – throw all the ingredients together into a bowl, mix, and then you’re ready to go.

The absolute only prep for your prep here is making the vegan buttermilk.  They’re not just called “vegan buttermilk pancakes” for fun!   Haven’t made vegan buttermilk before?  It’s so easy!  Basically you use non-dairy milk and mix it with a bit of apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, or lemon juice, and let it sit for a few minutes to curdle.  This gives it a thicker texture and keeps the end result extra moist and well formed.

While the buttermilk is curdling, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl – gluten free (or all-purpose) flour, baking powder, and salt.  Then add in the vegan buttermilk, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and neutral oil.  Mix until combined, and then here’s the fun part – let it sit at room temperature on the counter for at least 20 minutes. 

Look, if you don’t have that time to spare, you can totally just make the pancakes immediately, and they will be DELICIOUS.  But if you let it sit for a bit, the batter will thicken up, and you will find yourself with extra thick and fluffy pancakes as an end result.  Also as I noted above, you can even make the batter the night before, cover it and keep in the fridge overnight, then just let it come to room temperature in the morning and cook them as soon as you’re ready for breakfast!

Time to go!

No matter which route you take, once you’re ready to make the pancakes, use a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop out your batter onto a greased or non-stick pan over medium heat.  I recommend using a spoon or even your fingertips to help form them into a perfect circle shape around 3-4 inches across.

If you’ve never made pancakes before, they’re quick and simple!  Let them cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes on the first side, you’ll know it’s time to flip them when the top starts to bubble a bit and you see the edges are cooking.  Flip and cook on the other side for about 2 minutes until golden brown, then remove from the heat and get the next one going, and start building that stack of beautiful vegan buttermilk pancakes!!

Storage

I imagine these will stay good at room temperature or in the fridge for a few days, and I’m sure they will freeze well, but guys I have never NOT eaten the whole stack at once so I really can’t help you here.

Pro Tips & Tools

• Make sure you are measuring your flour either by weight or using the spoon and level method.  Do not scoop directly from the container, as you will wind up with too much! This is so important! If you want to buy a pre-made gluten free flour blend, make sure it’s King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour, it is BY FAR the best one for my recipes, NOT Bob’s Red Mills or any others. If you want to make a homemade blend, here is a link to the one I use.
• Make sure you measure your liquid ingredients using liquid measuring cups.  This will ensure accuracy!  I love this set.

Ingredients Needed

• Non-dairy milk – any will work, I usually use soy
• Apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, or lemon juice – used to curdle the non-dairy milk to make a vegan buttermilk. Again, they’re vegan buttermilk pancakes for a reason 🙂
• Flour – Make sure you are measuring your flour either by weight or using the spoon and level method.  Do not scoop directly from the container, as you will wind up with too much! This is so important! If you want to buy a pre-made gluten free flour blend, make sure it’s King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour, it is BY FAR the best one for my recipes, NOT Bob’s Red Mills or any others. If you want to make a homemade blend, here is a link to the one I use.
• Baking powder – I recommend using baking powder that has no added aluminum. This one is my go-to.
• Salt
• Maple syrup
• Neutral oil – any will work, I usually use grapeseed.
• Vanilla extract

What To Bake Next

• Want more fun breakfast options? Maybe donuts?! Try these Vegan Cinnamon Sugar Donuts, or these Vegan Coconut Donuts, or these Vegan Blueberry Donuts with Blueberry Glaze, or these Vegan Copycat Entenmann’s Donuts.
• How about some breakfast muffins!? Try these Vegan Blueberry Muffins, or these Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Muffins, or these Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Muffins, or these Vegan Flourless and Refined Sugar Free Chocolate Chip Mini-Muffins.
• Okay last but not least, more breakfast treats?! Check out this Vegan Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, or these Vegan Lemon Blueberry Scones, or this Vegan Marbled Banana Bread, or this Perfect Vegan Coffee Cake.