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 are up there with best pancakes ever! Filling and delicious.
Yay! Thank you so much! So glad you loved them so much! Thank you for the feedback!
These were the best pancakes I’ve ever had. Wow! I would have never thought to blend in sweet potatoes in my pancake mix. My friends absolutely loved these.
I highly recommend to anyone with a sweet tooth!
I will definitely be making these again and will try more of your recipes
Cheers,
Steve
Thank you so much Steve for such awesome feedback! I’m so very happy to hear you and your friends loved these pancakes, they are my favorite too! Thank you!
Brandi,
Lovely to make your acquaintance. Love discovering you thru Pinterest.
The pancakes are every bit as awesome as everyone claims.!
I did, however, change a few things.
I didn’t have lite coconut milk so I had to add a smidgen more liquid by using full fat.
I did cut back the maple syrup by half because I don’t do sweet, however, I also cut the vanilla in half and added half of almond extract (yum!)
I switched out the chocolate chips with raisins (made up for the smaller amount of maple ayrup)
I also added a little cinnamon and a little ground clove (love my seasonings.) WOW!
I also used a cast iron pan on the lowest setting I could get with my camper gas range…AND…
Instead of a metal cookie cutter, I used a silicon egg circle that has a metal stem with a silicon know on the end. Nothing sticks to silicone and the cast iron pan is well seasoned so nothing sticks to it either.
I also put a lid on the pan to ensure more even cooking.
Tiny modifcations.. but they were still fabulous. Thank you SO much. I will be following you from now on (I have a bunch of allergies and these didn’t get ANY reactions… phew!)
Yes, such tiny modifications, so I’m glad they worked out and I’m so happy you loved them Helen! Thank you so much for the feedback!! I will have to look out for that kind of silicone cutter! I make all my pancakes on a griddle now, no longer a pan, so it makes for wonderful, fast weekend breakfasts!
Can’t wait to try! Do you think I could use full fat coconut milk?
Hi Kelly! No, I wouldn’t suggest full fat because it has a very high amount of fat in it and would make the pancakes too dense. I would suggest the “lite” coconut milk, cashew milk or soy milk should all work similarly. 🙂
I used full fat coconut milk (so delicious that comes in the little carton) I just used less of it & added some water to thin it down
Wonderful!! I’m so happy to hear you loved these pancakes so much and they are now your go-to!!
Hi Brandi! I enjoyed reading your post very much and love all the amazing ideas for ingredients in your recipes! After researching about vegan diets a few months back, I learned so much about the various substitutes that one can use in the most popular recipes, such as pancakes in your example. I am so surprised about how fluffy you were able to get your pancakes and just looking at your amazing photography makes my mouth water! Already having tried your simple vegan chocolate ice cream recipe using sweet potatoes, I fell in love with the idea of using sweet potatoes in various dishes. I cannot wait to try this recipe!
Such a sweet comment Saini, thank you so much! I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipes! I hope you love these pancakes! They are my favorite and the cookie cutter makes them super fluffy! Thank you so much for the compliment on my photos too!
Oh. My. LANTA!!!!!! I think that about covers it. These are the hands down, best pancakes I’ve ever, EVER had.
I didn’t even use syrup, they were so lightly sweet and fluffy. These will be amazing for company, brunch, lazy Sundays…anytime!
Thank you SO much Elyse for such incredible feedback! I agree, these are the best I’ve ever had as well and do not even need syrup because they are so moist! Thank you so much, so glad you enjoyed them!
Hi! These pancakes look incredible! I was wondering if i could use all purpose flour instead of almond flour, i can’t find it in Spain!
Thank youuu 🙂
Hi Teresa! No, unfortunately the almond flour is a must here, as that is the main flour and what yields so much moisture, since I don’t use oil in my recipes. All purpose flour would yield a completely different pancake. I would suggest making these instead. Can you find spelt flour? That’s what I use in this other pancake recipe and they are wonderful and fluffy. Spelt is best, but you can use regular flour if you can’t find it, but I would use 2 tablespoons less since it tends to soak up more liquid and you can always add another tablespoon or so of milk if necessary to the batter. Here is the recipe: https://thevegan8.com/2016/02/01/fluffy-vegan-spelt-blueberry-pancakes/ Let me know if you try those and drop me a line on that recipe!
Made this today and wow I’m so glad I did! Soft and delicious and really, no toppings needed! I didn’t have chocolate chips so I used cacao nibs instead. Also I don’t have a cookie cutter or non-stick pan but they still turned out amazing and fluffy using a normal pan with little coconut oil. Yummy, easy to make and bake = me likey!
I made these with ground up sunflower seeds instead of the almond meal and they turned out fantastic! Thank you so much!
Wanted to let you know that my family LOVES these pancakes! I’ve tried a LOT of different gf pancakes, and these are by far the best. My daughter has sensitivities to gluten, dairy and eggs, so recipes like these are gold! She’s also sensitive to potato, so I subbed arrowroot flour for the potato starch and they came out perfect! I saw that you recommended NOT subbing with this (arrowroot) to someone else, so just wanted to let you know that for us it worked out nicely. I also used 2T of xylitol in place of the maple syrup and they taste great. I’ve made many batches and stock them in the freezer.
Thanks again!
Oh, I’m so glad to hear it worked out well for you Staecey! That is wonderful. SO happy you loved these! Thanks so much for the feedback!
Mine and my husband’s all time favorite pancakes…I actually make waffles out the batter….and always double and triple the recipe because I love to have leftovers the next day!
I’m so happy to hear that Elilta, thank you so much for the awesome feedback!
i have an allergy to coconut, is there anything I could use instead of coconut milk? I understand they may not be perfect without it but they sound amazing!
Hi Abbie! For best results, make sure to sub with a very creamy milk, like cashew milk or you could try soy milk. I think either of those should work fine. Please let me know after you make them!
so I’m gearing up to make theses delicious looking pancakes as we have tried other sweet potato pancake recipes with minimal success, I have bought all the ingredients as per your guidelines with one exception (i’ll come back to that in a second) I don’t have nor have I yet been able to find a large round metal cookie cutter. For now I have taken a large 28 oz tomato can and have cut it and taken the lid out to create a “cookie cutter” about 4 inches in diameter. Do yo think that will work? Your cookie cutter looks a bit bigger around but is kind of hard to tell.
The one ingredient I couldn’t find exactly was the almond flour. They did have organic almond meal,,,the question if I grind that up a bit more will that work? Thanks can’t wait to try these. Love your site have been eating healthier, really just getting started on a vegan plan to help with my wife’s fibromyalgia. We are about 21 days in and she seems to be feeling better, but we have a ways to go. Anyway thanks for the great recipes
Hi Jeff! Yes, actually I think 4 inches will be just fine. The one I use is 4.5 inches, so yours will be a bit thicker, so just wait for them to look a bit dry on top and around the edges before removing the cutter and then flipping carefully over. The almond flour I used is blanched almond flour, but if you can’t fine that, then I think almond meal should be just fine, just make sure to use the same weight amount. These have been one of my most popular recipes to date and are truly the best pancakes I’ve ever had, so I really think you will love them 🙂 I also have some other pancake recipes as well that have rave reviews from readers, such as the peanut butter chocolate chip ones too, check those out. Let me know how they turn out for you! And congrats on the new vegan journey, I’ve been vegan over 3 years now and it has done nothing but positive, amazing things for my whole family’s health!
I was out of ingredients for the regular pancakes I make on Saturday mornings and I stumbled upon this recipe. We have a new favorite now!! These are awesome! The funny thing is after starting making these I found I didn’t have coconut milk so I used half regular milk and water. Then I didn’t have enough almond flour so I used half almond and half white rice flour! These still turned out awesome! So soft and fluffy!
I have been waiting patiently for my cookie cutters to arrive in the mail. They came yesterday, so today was pancake day! These truly are like little cakes! I have only ever had true cake style pancakes like these in diners and my days of ordering pancakes in diners have long since passed! I’ve never produced a pancake like this at home, and I didn’t know what I was missing. What a treat it was! So light and fluffy! Truly doesn’t need syrup, but we used a little anyway. I always make a peanut butter syrup with equal parts peanut butter, water, apple sauce and maple syrup blended until smooth. I find it’s a great way to stretch the syrup without adding too much sugar. With chocolate chips inside and peanut butter syrup and bananas slices on top, these pancakes were a dream! Thank you!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear this amazing feedback April! Your feedback made my day and I’m thrilled they turned out so perfect! Your peanut butter syrup sounds delicious too!
Where do I find the cookie cutter
Hi Reed! I purchased mine at a store called Sur La Table..it is 4.5 inch round cookie cutter. Lots of kitchen supply stores sell them, or you can always look on Amazon.
Hi Brandi, I’m going to give these a go, but will probably use blueberries as I’m not keen on chocolate for breakfast. Can they be frozen do you think?
Oh my gosh Annie, I’m so sorry I missed this comment, feel free to email me anytime if I don’t respond the same day! You can use frozen, but it will just make the batter bleed, but flavor should still be good! 🙂
OMG! Those life changing pancakes are just that! I no longer want cake! I was not expecting them to be so delicious as i suspect many vegans either never liked food in the first place, or have had the majority of their tastebuds removed. Jeez. These are fantastic! THANK YOU! You have rescued my Sunday Brunch! xoxoxo
PS- I want in the mood for choco chips, so i added frozen handpicked blueberries to the batter in the pan. Double OMG!
Oh Barbara, your feedback made my day! I’m so happy to hear you loved these so much!! They really are life changing for me too! Thrilled you love them, thank you so much for letting me know how you liked them!!
Hi Brandi,
I am not sure if anyone asked you this, but I can’t have Almonds, therefore, what other flours would you recommend?
Macadamia nut flour?
Hi Amber! Can you have sunflower kernels? The almond flour is very important because it is what lends so much moisture to the pancakes, especially since there is no oil. My best suggestion would be to grind some unsalted sunflower kernels into a flour in a food processor, as fine as you can get it without it turning into a paste, just a few seconds. Use the same weight amount as the almond flour. Just fyi, it will change the flavor a bit and may make the pancakes more dense since blanched almond flour is lighter, but I think it should still work. I haven’t tried it though. Let me know if you try it please!
First I wanted to check out your new broccoli post, but then you caught my attention with these pancakes. I love lifechanging stuff. Potato starch and coconut milk! Almond flour and chocolate chips! This sounds awesome!!
Thank you so much Howie! They are unconventional for sure, but they truly are the fluffiest pancakes I’ve ever had….miles high better than any I’ve had in restaurants and especially considering they are vegan and gluten-free, it was a challenge but finally perseverance paid off!
Hi ! I was just wondering if this recipe could be made with unbleached almond flour ? Would it alter the texture of the pancakes ?
I’m sorry, I meant to say unblanched* almond flour..
Hi Eva! Yes, I think so, they just be slightly less fluffy, so I would add a couple tablespoons more possibly of the almond meal to make up for it. Let me know how they turn out! Thank you!
So I have a very picky hubby. I have tried to sneak almonds and almond meal into many recipes,and it’s a no go with him because somehow he can taste it! I don’t know how,but he can always taste it and he thinks almonds taste like dirt. it’s unfortunate because I personally lllooovveee almonds so I was wondering if I could sub cashew meal for almond meal? Reason I thought that would be a good sub is because it is still a fatty nut,but without the distinct a taste of almonds.
Hi Angela!! Oh wow, that is too funny! I don’t taste almonds at all in these but I know we are all different. You can certainly try cashew meal but I have NEVER used it before so I really have no idea how it would work. I do know that cashews are much more dry than almonds so if anything, it might make the pancakes a tad dry, but hopefully all the milk and sweet potato will make up for that. Please let me know how they turn out. I’ll be dying to hear! I’m thinking it would work though!