These Vegan Sweet Potato Pancakes are gluten-free and oil-free! They are also grain-free! Made with almond flour and potato starch for the richest, moist and fluffy pancakes ever! Just 7 ingredients!
*This post was originally published on 9-11-2014 and has been updated with better instructions and new photos.
VEGAN SWEET POTATO PANCAKES
If you love sweet potatoes as much as I do, then you will love these super fluffy vegan sweet potato pancakes! They are SO moist with no oil or butter. Yup, totally oil-free, grain-free and gluten-free! They are also only 7 ingredients, how easy is that?
I created this grain-free gluten-free flour combo many, many years back on my blog and have been using it ever since. It is my almond flour and potato starch combo.
This delicious vegan pancake idea came from my Vegan Sweet Potato Cinnamon Muffins, which uses the almond flour/starch combo. That recipe resulted in such a soft, light muffin that I had been wanting to try it as pancakes. So, I changed up my recipe a bit to turn it into a pancake recipe and voila, fluffy sweet potato pancakes.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
(Only 7 main ingredients needed. Full details and measurements on the recipe card below.)
- blanched almond flour
- potato starch
- baking powder
- lite canned coconut milk
- vanilla extract
- maple syrup
- cooked/mashed sweet potato
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN SWEET POTATO PANCAKES
Step 1: Cook the sweet potato, let it cool and then add to a blender or food processor. Blend with the coconut milk, syrup and vanilla until smooth.
Step 2: To a large bowl, combine the flour, starch, baking powder and salt and whisk well.
Step 3: Pour the liquids over the dry ingredients and stir until a smooth batter forms. Let the batter sit about 10 minutes, as this will yield more fluffy and better cooked through pancakes.
Step 4: Heat up a pancake griddle or nonstick pan using while the batter sits. I use a high-quality pancake griddle that requires no spray, but your pan may need some. Cook each pancake 3-4 minutes over medium-low (closer to low) heat until the top forms bubbles and the edges are dry. Flip and cook another 1-2 minutes. Lower the heat if they are cooking too fast.
The key to these cooking through is to cook them over the low heat. Serve with maple syrup and walnuts or fruit of choice.
MORE VEGAN PANCAKE RECIPES
- The Best Pancakes Ever
- Best Vegan Fluffy Pancakes
- Fluffy Vegan Blueberry Pancakes
- Vegan Gluten-free Buttermilk Pancakes
- Low-fat Vegan Gluten-free Corn Pancakes
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes
- Pumpkin Spice Latte Pancakes
*This post contains affiliate links. See my full disclosure policy here.
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Vegan Sweet Potato Pancakes (Gluten-free)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (60g) cooked, cooled & mashed sweet potato
- 1 cup (240g) room temp canned lite coconut milk, shaken (SEE NOTES below)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (40g) pure maple syrup
- 1 1/4 cups (140g) superfine blanched almond flour (very important it is superfine and not gritty)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (100g) potato starch
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 2-3 tablespoons (30-45g) mini dairy-free chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand) Optional
NOTE
- Always use a scale for accuracy following MY gram weights listed. You never need cups, just the scale and bowl and make sure to zero out in between each ingredient.
- I use this scale.
- I use this pancake griddle. It NEVER sticks.
Instructions
- I suggest cooking the potato an hour or the day before you will want pancakes, so the potato is completely cooled. Either roast or microwave the sweet potato (whole). Cool completely, peel and measure 1/4 packed cup. Weigh for best results
- Add the sweet potato, coconut milk, vanilla and syrup to a food processor or blender and process until completely smooth with no potato lumps remaining.
- To a large bowl, combine the almond flour, potato starch, baking powder and salt and whisk really well until no lumps remain. Stir in the chocolate chips, if using. Pour the liquids from the blender over the dry and stir until the batter is completely smooth. The batter will be thick, this is normal and do not add more milk. It should resemble a thick muffin batter.
- Let the batter sit about 10-15 minutes, as this will yield more fluffy and better cooked through pancakes. The batter will thicken more.
- Heat up the pancake griddle or a nonstick pan using while the batter sits. I use a high-quality pancake griddle (linked above) that requires no spray, but your pan may need some. Use an ice cream scoop or heaping 1/4 cup of batter and cook each pancake 3-4 minutes over medium-low (closer to low) heat until the top forms bubbles and the edges are dry. Flip and cook another 1-2 minutes. Lower the heat if they are cooking too fast.
- The key to these cooking through is to cook them over the low heat to allow the centers to fully cook through. These can be very finicky and not cook through if you cook them too fast or high of a heat. Leave the pancakes to sit 5 minutes or so before eating, as they will fluff up more as they cool a bit. These pancakes are even better the next day, as potato starch based recipes get even fluffier as they sit!
Notes
- Coconut Milk: I highly recommend the Thai kitchen brand, it’s super creamy and high quality. Do not use the Polar brand, it is mostly fillers and will ruin the texture.
- Almond flour: As noted above, a superfine flour is really important here. I've tried brands that aren't very fine and the pancakes are much more dense. I recommend the King Arthur Flour, Honeyville, Wellbees, Nuts.com brands the most.
- I originally wrote this recipe in 2014 and made them with a 4.5 inch cookie cutter, which makes perfectly round and super tall/fluffy pancakes. I don't do that anymore, to save time, but it is a great way to get amazingly extra fluffy "cakes" if you want to give it a try. Just make sure to spray nonstick spray on the inside of the cookie cutter before adding the batter, otherwise, it will stick badly. Wait until the tops are looking dry before flipping, and use tongs to lift up the cookie cutter.
I made these again today. I even left out the chocolate chips and they were amazing. I cooked them in my copper skillet. It is really important to heat it up for at least 5 minutes at a medium low heat before adding the batter to prevent sticking. Anyway, thanks for a great recipe. It’s our favorite pancake recipe!
So awesome to hear Sharon!
Can’t wait to try these! Do you think I could use cassava flour instead of the potato starch? I also have rye, all purpose, bread, wholewheat and masa harina to choose from. Potato starch is notoriously difficult to find in my small little community.
Hi Nupur, usually to sub potato starch for all-purpose flour, you’d need twice the amount. I’ll be testing it this weekend with all-purpose flour and let you know! I have never used cassava flour, so I cannot answer whether it would work or not.
Eager to hear your results. Any other starch that can take the place of potato starch, such as tapioca? Love your stuff!
You can try cornstarch, but based on how moist these are, I’m afraid they are going to be too dense and not cook through the same. Potato starch yields much fluffier results. But if you try cornstarch, be sure to use the same gram weight amount of 100 grams. The weight is different per tablespoon of cornstarch to potato starch. So, for cornstarch, 100g would equal to 3/4 cup. Just keep in mind that I have not tested them with cornstarch and that is based on my experience of baking with both starches and knowing how they different, especially in a pancake recipe. Let me know if try it. I linked above to the potato starch I order off Amazon.
Are these the pancakes formerly known as life changing? They look super familiar but I can’t find my comments and I know I gave those some massive love in the past. If they are, you all must make these on the ASAP because they are serious perfection.
Hi Elyse! Yes, same recipe, I just updated the recipe with better instructions and new photos, since the recipe was originally posted in 2014. Your comment is still there, you just have to click on older comments. There are so many comments on the post, that it’s only showing a couple of recent ones for some reason.
Excellent! These are still our birthday and Christmas treats and the girls count down until we can make them again.
It’s fixed, that was an accident. No vinegar.
It is fixed. Only coconut milk
Cassava flour seems to work well as a total flour replacement. I used it this year for Passover and was pleasantly surprised how well my recipes turned out
These were delicious! I didn’t read the special notes prior to picking up my groceries so I used Polar brand coconut milk instead of Thai brand and it was tough to find almond flour in my area that was super fine. I was too anxious to order online and wait, so my texture was just okay and I had to be super patient to get the middle to cook all the way through due to the density. But nonetheless worth the wait. I HIGHLY recommend getting that superfine almond flour.
So glad they were delicious Taylor! Ahhh yes, that’s why I worn about the milk, haha, the Polar brand is just not good for baking or pancakes or anything really, since it’s actually very little coconut and mostly fillers, so it just doesn’t perform well. You’ll notice a huge difference with a better brand!
Hello, may I substitute soy flour for almond flour? Thank you!
Hi Stela! I really do not think that would work. Almond flour is the main flour here and I’ve never worked with soy flour, so I have no idea how it would work to replace the main ingredient or not. But you can always try it!
If you are in the market for a super fluffy, absolutely delicious and easy peazy pancake recipe. Then look no further because you have found it!! You have to make these, they are so tasty and easy to prepare! Kid approved as well!! Yum!! Free from gluten, dairy & eggs.
Thank you so much Stacey for this amazing feedback!!
Brandi, you really knocked it out of the park with this recipe. It’s rare for a recipe to turn out perfectly each time, but they do. Well, there is one problem–I could eat them EVERY day, but then I would probably weigh 1,000 lbs…still, it might be worth it. The only thing twist I add is spices–I add my own gingerbread blend, and I bet your new Chai blend would be good in here, too. I know you have a pumpkin pie pancake recipe but I prefer to just add a little bit of spice to this recipe. I love them so much I am sending the dry ingredient mix for this recipe to add to my dad’s b-day gift box of treats, so he can make them for his b-day breakfast. He’s not vegan, but maybe this will convince him 😉
I don’t follow too many food blogs regularly, but am always happy to see recipes pop up from you. I have baked and experimented with gluten-free ingredients for years now–not because I am allergic to gluten but have come to find the results more interesting and appealing than “traditional” most of the time–and your style and preferences are so similar so mine! It’s like you’ve custom-made recipes for me 🙂 I’ve thought of starting my own blog because you inspire me. Thank you again!
hahaha! That made me laugh Christa! So glad you love these so much! Thanks for sharing your stunning photo of these on IG and taking the time to leave this feedback. Your words are so kind and I appreciate them so much! xx
I’m on AIP diet so I wanted to make these Pancakes but I’m not ready to introduce nuts into my diet yet so I used this recipe as a baseline for my own aip pancakes. The difference in mine was I used tigernut flour because to me that has the most similar texture to almond flour and instead of potato starch I used arrowroot flour. For the flours I used the same exact amount as the recipe called for. I used vanilla powder , half a teaspoon instead of vanilla extract . I cooked them just as it was written. These have been the best aip pancakes I’ve tried . I’ve made a few different ones, but they all come out too gummy in the inside. These were a bit crunchy on the outside and soft in the inside . They weren’t as fluffy as this recipe but I knew that would be a possibility since I’m using different flours. I had no choice, I figured I have to try these changes and see for my self because so far every other aip recipe has failed me so miserably so I’m glad I gave these a try. Thank you for sharing and one day when I can have Nuts I’ll make them just as it’s written until then I’m enjoying my pancakes very much thanks to you .