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.
Love these! My wife and kids love them too (the kids love anything with chocolate chips though)! I bought Honeyville Almond Flour to get the best results, and I’m really happy with the texture. We recently had a family gathering where fajitas were being served. I eat an animal and gluten free diet so I decided to make these with corn instead of chocolate chips and they turned out GREAT! My brother made a bunch of smoked meat and instead of that being the star of the show everyone wouldn’t stop talking about the corn cakes. I topped them with beans, onions, green peppers, guacamole, and salsa and they were absolutely delicious. Every time someone would say how much they loved them I would say, “SEE! LIFE CHANGING!” Good laughs, and great pancakes.
Aww I love this feedback Liam!! I love your creative twist on these, sounds so amazing! So glad everybody loved these so much! Thank you for making them and leaving feedback, I love hearing it 🙂
Thank you for this beautifully creative recipe!! I made a sugar-free version of them yesterday and they were utterly scrumptious!! http://cultivatedsolace.com/2015/04/patience-pancakes/
Thank you so much Abigail for making them and I’m so happy you enjoyed them!!
Just made them and they are great! I doubled the recipe and they were VERY filling
I’m so happy to hear that, thank you so much for the feedback Kim!
im making these right now. However, I am baking them in the oven in little tart pans, at 350… Hoping for the best!
I am dairy, egg, soy, gluten free. Breakfast is the worst!
So I will say, they turned out amazing! I did turn the oven up to 400 for a total of 20 minutes. Best breakfast I’ve had in forever! Thank you!!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear they worked well in the oven as well! Thank you so much for the feedback Danielle, I truly appreciate it!
Is it possible to used canned sweet potato since it’s already cooked?
Hi Loren! I don’t see why not. I do believe canned sweet potatoes are more wet, so you may need slightly more starch, so the pancake batter isn’t too thin, but it should still work. Let me know how it turns out!
these look so delicious!! xxo
Jamie
http://www.candystilettos.com
Thank you so much Jamie! They are very delicious!!
These look amazing! I am building a community of vegans and would love for you to hop over and leave a recipe at http://www.wedigfood.com
I’m a little confused. Am I spraying only the cookie cutter so it doesn’t stick or the space within? Seems like it read both ways in the recipe. Spray circle first & then spray cookie cutter each pancake. Thanks I’m excited to give these a try.
Hi Missy! Just place the cookie cutter on the pan and then spray within the area inside the cookie cutter, this is so the batter doesn’t stick to the cookie cutter when it’s ready to flip. Hope that helps!
I want to make these for a group of ten. Has anyone tried doubling or tripling?
Hi Denise! I’ve never tripled the recipe, but as long as you measure everything accurately and follow the steps, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work out just fine!
My sweet potato will be so happy to know he has a purpose.
Haha! Let me know if you try them!
LIFE CHANGING!!! wowwwwww
Yay!! I’m so glad to hear that!! They were for me too, haha!
OMG…..I cannot believe how absolutely wonderful these are. So good and so sweet! I didn’t use any syrup, I had it out but after the first bite I though Holy Smokes!!! No syrup needed! Amazing Brandi!!!
Wonderful Louise! I’m so happy you loved these pancakes so much! You described them exactly as they should be! I honestly don’t need syrup either as they are so moist and sweet without them! Thank you for the feedback and sharing on Facebook as well!
Just came across this recipe on Pinterest and would love to try it for my pancake-loving famly! However, one of my kids is very allergic to nuts. Can you recommend a substitute for the almond flour?
Hi Melissa! Almond flour really is best, but the other thing you can try is using ground up raw sunflower kernels into a “flour” (unsalted). Just grind them up in your food processor and then measure out the same amount as the almond flour, make sure to pat it down in the cup some and then level off with your finger. It may not be as fluffy and leave a sunflower taste, but overall I think it should work fairly well. Please let me know if you try it so I can make a note of it! Thank you!
I love your blog and all your recipes, I’ve tried many of them! And I really wanted these to change my life, but they didn’t. They were gluey and rubbery. I knew it must’ve been me because everyone else has had so much success with them. I tried twice with the same results. I want the fluffy ones! Lol
Hi Elissa! What ingredient did you sub? The starch? Maybe a different type of almond flour? Did you use coconut milk and did you let the batter sit the full 20 minutes? I ask these because I know many times people make a recipe but sub ingredients and it just doesn’t work, especially gluten-free. These are truly the opposite of gluey and rubbery, in fact, with the ingredient list, it’s impossible for them NOT to be fluffy and they are very tender. I make them weekly and they turn out light and fluffy everytime. And all the prior who’ve made them have ended up with fluffy too 🙂
I’m glad you’ve loved all my other recipes!
One other thing…did you let the potato cool completely before blending? Because blending a hot potato gives a gluey texture, but even still the cornstarch and letting the batter sit should help with that. You should try these…they are my other very similar pancake recipe but with no potatoes or blending and is a simpler recipe, they are light and fluffy and delicious. They use pumpkin instead. If you don’t like coffee, then you could use a plant milk instead and add cinnamon.
https://thevegan8.com/2014/12/09/pumpkin-spice-latte-pancakes/
Can you make these ahead and freeze them?
I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure. Potato starch tends to dry out overtime in the fridge, but I am not sure how it works freezing them. If you try it please let me know!
I was wondering if you made them not gluten free if you could use regular all purpose flour instead of the almond flour, and omit the potato starch if it will turn out the same?
Hi Chelsea, Unfortunately no that won’t work at all. That would be completely changing the main ingredients and you would end up with a very different, dry pancake. The almond flour provides tons of moisture and flavor and the the potato starch makes them very light, so the combo honestly produces the best textured pancakes I’ve ever had, gluten or not. 🙂 Let me know if you give them a try, thank you! 🙂
These look amazing! I just came across them on pinterest and thought they must have something yucky in them, but the ingredient list is great. I’ll definitely be trying this recipe!
Haha! Nope, nothing yucky! All yummy stuff! Please let me know when you try them!
Brandi, I wish to thank u for another fabulous recipe! I made these this morning for my finicky husband. He LOVED them! He wants them tomorrow for Xmas breakfast too! He’s already told our daughters about them.
I doubled the recipe and added 2-oz water with a 13.5-oz can lite coconut milk. I left out the chocolate chips, and didn’t use the cookie cutter (cuz I couldn’t find one). They held their shape on the griddle and looked and tasted dee-lish-ee-oh-so! So light… fluffy… YUMMY!!
I’m SO grateful for u and your website! You’ve made meals so much easier to plan and prepare for my (picky) husband and me. I wish for u many Xmas blessings and the happiest of times in 2015.
Woohoo! I’m so happy to hear they were a hit with your finicky husband!! My husband is also super picky and he even loves them! I really don’t know anybody who hasn’t loved them, because they are so light and fluffy and better than any traditional pancakes I’ve had. I’m so happy everybody loved them and thank you so much for letting me know and your kind words, it really means so much to me. So glad my recipes are helping you so much, Merry Christmas!!
Have you made these without the chocolate chips? I can’t eat chocolate. Since you talked about no substitutions, I wondered if these were just for flavor or for some other reason. Thanks. I’m a real newbie to gf cooking–I just found out I have a wheat gluten allergy, so I’m definitely in the pioneering stage.
Hi Sue! I make my Pumpkin Spice Latte Pancakes (a recent post) plain and it is very similar recipe and they are still delicious without the chocolate chips. They have lots of spices in them though. You could definitely make these without the chocolate chips! They add flavor of course and a bit of moisture, but they are plenty moist without them. OR, you could add blueberries…a couple of my readers have done that and loved them. Please let me know if you make them! 🙂
Do you think you could use coconut flour in place of the almond? No allergy, just no almond flour in the house!
Hi Loral! No, unfortunately coconut flour would not work at all. Coconut flour and almond flour are 2 completely different flours….coconut flour is VERY absorbent and makes things rather dry and crumbly and almond flour is just the opposite, making things very moist. Almond flour is a main ingredient and really needs to be used for the best results, especially since there is no oil. I would hold off on making the recipe until you get some, otherwise the results won’t be good with coconut flour! The recipe is worth it to follow it to a T, as all the reviews will convince you. :)Thank you!
Do you think subbing the sweet potato for a pumpkin or squash puree would work?
Thanks so much!
Hi Lucia! Well aren’t you lucky…I just posted a recipe just now using pumpkin, check it out!