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
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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.
These sound amazing! I shared these on Pinterest.
Thank you so much Steve! Please let me know if you make them!
I don’t know if someone already asked, but will canned pumpkin work as well, for those times I have no cooked sweet potato on hand? And where do you find potato starch?
Thanks
Hi Kathy! I haven’t done pumpkin personally, but in the comments above a few people have stated they swapped out the potato for pumpkin and added some pumpkin pie spice to the batter and it worked perfectly! If you try them, please leave me feedback here, I’d love to hear!
Kathy I realized I forgot to answer your other question. You can find potato starch at most grocery stores in the specialty flour or health section. I find mine at either krogers, HEB or Whole Foods.
Ikr on the mushy fruit! And forgot to mention that we didn’t have a large metal cookie cutter. Didn’t matter though because I just put a cookie cutter sized dollop of batter and I gently pressed the sides and it stayed in a beautiful round thick circle. My daughter was super impressed!, which never happens;) You are brilliant! Next challenge for you…vegan, gluten- and soy-free hotdogs that don’t taste like refried beans or mashed potatoes. Might not be possible…. Thanks again!
Oooh BIG challenge, haha! I’ll have to think on that one because, yeah, I don’t like soy either! So glad they still worked well without the cookie cutter 🙂 Thank you so much!
My daughter keeps trying gluten-free and vegan pancake recipes and doesn’t really enjoy them. Too flax seedy or too banana or applesauce-y. These were just right. We didn’t have patience to wait on cooling off the sweet potato completely so baked, removed skin, cut up, and put in freezer for 10 mins. They were nice and cool but moist. It worked just fine though. Thanks so much for the brilliant creation!
Thank you Nina for the amazing feedback! You just described why I have hated virtually every other vegan/gluten-free pancake out there! I want my pancakes to be cooked and not taste like mushy fruit, haha! So glad these are such a hit for you and your daughter! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know!
I luv making these weekly! So soft, moist, healthy an scrumptious! I can’t wait to have one or two this weekend!
Thank you so much Tiffany for the feedback!
Hi Brandi, I’ve been lurking on your site for a while and tried out some of the recipes, and it’s only right that I give you some feedback. I live in Sweden, where the holiday season is all about saffron buns, made with lots of butter, milk and often cream cheese, as well as white wheat flour and lots of sugar. They taste so delicious and it is hard to walk past a bakery without buying one, so I’d been dreading the day when I would inevitably cave in, throw gluten-free veganism to the wind and buy one. Until today, when I made a batch of these pancakes but substituted the vanilla for about 1/4 gram of powdered saffron and baked them in muffin cases in the oven for about 25 minutes. Oh. My. They taste UNBELIEVABLE (if you like saffron, that is).
Thank you for all the incredibly hard work you put in. I am spreading the word about your blog.
Awww Iris, this is the kind of feedback and comment that means so much to me to hear from my readers! I really appreciate your kind words. The saffron sounds amazing, what a wonderful idea!! Thanks so much for sharing!
These were so delicious! Because the directions said to not blend the combined flour and sweet potato mixture for longer than a few seconds, I was nervous to over-blend it. Therefore my batter ended up a little chunky in the end- so don’t be afraid to blend the mixture for up to 30 seconds depending on your food processor! Regardless, they were so moist and fluffy! I ended up eating 3 without any regard to the calorie count on each one- oops 🙂 I definitely recommend these!
Wonderful Marita!! Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback, I’m so happy you enjoyed them! And yes, blend just until smooth, I just didn’t want people to overblend and make it too thick, but yes blend until it’s just smooth.
I’m so glad you loved them and thank you for taking the time to let me know, I love hearing the feedback! 🙂
Has anyone tried making these with a gluten-free all-purpose flour? If so, did you need to use I different amount? They look AMAZING, but I want to make them for my boyfriends’ Dad who can’t have nuts(almond flour). Also, the GF all-purpose flour I have already has potato starch in it so could I skip that? Thank you!
Hi Brianna! Unfortunately, a gluten-free blend will not work in place of all the flour. The almond flour is what gives the pancakes fat and a lot of moisture. Subbing with a premade blend would make the pancakes on the dry side and gummy and I have no idea what else result it would give texturally and flavor wise. My suggestion would be to grind up some sunflower kernels (raw unsalted) into a flour and then measure 1 1/4 cups. It will alter the flavor some and they may not be quite as fluffy, but that’s your best chance of getting a close result. Try to use a 4.5 inch cookie cutter if you can (like I’ve noted) and that will help them be more fluffy.
Let me know if you try that!
Haha, thats kind of funny because he’s also allergic to sunflower seeds 😛 Thanks so much for getting back to me though 😀 I appreciate it. I’m definitely going to try these for myself. I LOVE almond flour!
I made these with my Baby Cakes Doughnut maker and they are delicious! My son loved them!
Wonderful Sheila!! Donuts sound wonderful! Thanks so much for the feedback!
So tempted to make these! I think they’ll be today’s dessert 🙂 do u think I can take more coconut milk instead of the syrup?
Hi Liv! Well, it will taste much less like a dessert without the syrup, haha, so I wouldn’t really suggest leaving it out, it definitely adds some flavor! If you still want to though, I would suggest just adding one more tablespoon of milk to make up for the lack of syrup…since it is runnier than the syrup, I would only do 1 tablespoon. Please come back and let me know how they turn out, thank you! 🙂
These are delicious! I’ve made them with sweet potato and also with canned organic pumpkin (when I forgot to prep the sweet potato the day before) and added 1 T of pumpkin pie spice. Also delicious!! Thanks for this amazing recipe. We will be making these throughout the fall season…even though it’s still 90* in SoCal. :/
Carolann! Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback! I’m so glad to hear they are amazing with pumpkin as well, thank you for letting me know!
So, i made those pancakes again this morning cause my husband asked for them. The nonstick pan works so much better than my electric skillet (which is what i used the 1st time i made these pancakes). It made the pancakes a little crunchy on the outside and nice and soft in the middle….and really don’t need much syrup.
Mmmmm, crispy outside and soft middle is my favorite!! Oh yes, nonstick is what I use and recommend in the recipe for sure…skillet can get real messy! 🙂 Thanks so much for making them and leaving feedback!
They look absolutely divine!!! YUMMM!!!! Genius girl!
Awww thanks Karina!!
You know the song “All About That Bass”? Well, I’m all about these pancakes. The amazing pictures and reviews you’ve posted on Instagram have left me drooling. I’m definitely going to try them after we move (and I have my own kitchen again, ha ha)! 🙂
Crud, I just saw your comment Meredith! Thanks my dear, you won’t regret it! I hope you get a chance to make them! xo
These pancakes are perfection. As soon as I tasted the batter I knew they were going to be amazing. It reminded me of Bisquick, rich & buttery. They cooked up & flipped perfectly. The texture is light yet substantial. No syrup needed!!! I was raised in Vermont where we made our own. I put Vermont maple syrup in & on everything. It is honestly, truly not needed on the top of these beauties. They taste so buttery & rich (that’s the best way to describe them) with a depth of flavor that surpasses any buttermilk pancake I’ve had. You will not believe they are free of flour, sugar, oil, or animal products. Best of all, after eating them, I am full of energy & ready to take on the day’s challenges, none of that post-brunch I-need-more-caffeine deadweight feeling.
Thank you so much for the absolutely awesome feedback Jennille! I’m so happy you loved them so much and thank you for sharing your photo on Facebook! They really do keep you full for hours…the potatoes are such an awesome, healthy and filling food!
Beautiful photos and great recipe! Can’t wait to try these! 🙂
Thanks so much Vanessa…let me know if you do!
Let me start by saying that I am NOT a pancake person. Prior to being vegan, I would eat anything but pancakes. Now, as a vegan and seeing the recipe for life-changing pancakes, I knew I had to give these a shot. Wow! Wow! Wow! These are the lightest, fluffiest, yummiest things, ever! I also felt full for hours after eating these, and I usually eat every 2 hours. These lovelies have definitely made me re-think about being a pancake person. I just had to meet the “right” pancake is all and now, I have!
They are also teen boy approved and I had to make a double batch and couldn’t get them done fast enough for them to inhale them down.
Do yourself a favor and make these! You will not regret it!
Wow Lori, that is wonderful to hear! I love that even a self-proclaimed “not a pancake person” loved them so much and feel the same way about them as I do! They definitely changed my view of pancakes too. So glad your teen boys loved them, that’s a big compliment!
These pancakes are amazing!! I made them this morning and they are the best pancakes I have ever had. The cookie cutter made them so easy to cook and flip. I will definitely be making these often. Thank you so much for the delicious recipe!!
– Healthy Vegan Guy
Thank you so much Vince for the amazing feedback and your amazing photo you shared on Instagram!! So glad you loved them!
Best pancakes ever!! Followed the recipe exactly and they were delicious. My kids loved them as well and I will be making these weekly. It has been hard finding a successful gluten free pancake recipe. And now I have found one:) thanks so much!!! Much appreciated!!
Tenille-thank you so much for the amazing feedback! I know it’s so hard to find gluten-free pancakes that donn’t taste terrible and I’m so glad you feel the same as I do with these being the best ever, regardless of vegan or gluten-free!
My wife can’t eat these due to the ingredients, but I certainly am going to try these!! My friend Tiffany said to let you know that I got this from her. 🙂 –D
Wonderful Doug! Please let me know how they turn out for you and hey, more for you right?! 🙂
OMG!!! Your brilliant Brandi!! These are so moist,delicious,fluffy, healthy and delicious!! I made these bc we will be having a power outage on Sept 24th. I’m doing the Reset but sometimes you need other things prepped just in case the power stays out for a few hrs know what I mean? I deffnetly will be making these again! I will make these when I go home to my Parents house in Dec!
Yay, thank you for the awesome feedback Tiffany!! I’m so happy you loved them so much and good thinking on planning them ahead of time. Thanks for sharing your photo on Facebook too 🙂
These pancakes look all kinds of amazing! Soo fluffy! I can’t wait to try them. I love that they are made with sweet potato 🙂
Thank you so much Ceara! They really are the best ever! I hope you try them and let me know!
Something in reality if can be cruelty free, they are these pancakes. exactly as @thevegan8 says it Fluffy, Glutenfree, Grainfree, Oilfree and Vegan. Oh god they are AWESOME :* :* Thanks thevegan8 🙂
Awww thanks for the amazing feedback!! I’m so happy to hear you loved them and thank you so much for tagging me on Instagram and sharing your photo as well!