The BEST Fluffy Vegan Whole Wheat Pancakes are just 7 ingredients and 1 bowl. They are oil-free, soft, fluffy and made with no eggs and are dairy-free!
FLUFFY VEGAN WHOLE WHEAT PANCAKES
Nothing says comfort food quite like a tall stack of vegan fluffy pancakes with syrup drizzled all over them! In other words, I’m talking about these vegan whole wheat pancakes that are both whole grain and healthy. I’m no rookie when it comes to amazing vegan fluffy pancake recipes. I consider it one of my specialties, as I require pancakes to be fluffy and soft. No dense or mushy pancakes, please!
If you prefer simple vegan pancakes, with regular all-purpose flour, try my Best Ever Vegan Pancakes!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
(Full recipe details on recipe card below.)
- Whole wheat pastry flour: This is the exact flour that makes these healthy vegan whole wheat pancakes soft and so tender and fluffy. It also makes them a bit healthier than using regular white all-purpose flour. Wheat pastry flour also has a bit less gluten in it than regular flour, resulting in a more tender bite.
- Potato starch: This is the secret to these fluffy vegan pancakes. It replaces eggs and makes these so fluffy and cooked through on the inside! Nobody wants a mushy, raw pancake on the inside, which is what most vegan pancake recipes are. This is a secret I’ve been using years for my pancake recipes. It cannot be replaced or omitted. Another starch will not perform the same.
- Baking powder
- Canned “lite” coconut milk: This is another secret to these pancakes. Since these are oil-free pancakes, the coconut milk replaces it, while keeping them moist and making them fluffy. It leaves no coconut taste at all. Another milk will not perform the same here, especially since these are oil-free, it is rather important. Other milks will yield flatter, more dense pancakes.
- Vanilla extract
- Pure maple syrup
- Apple cider vinegar: This vinegar reacts with the baking powder, resulting in fluffy pancakes.
HOW TO MAKE FLUFFY VEGAN WHOLE WHEAT PANCAKES
Step 1: To a large bowl, add the dry ingredients and whisk very well.
Step 4: Cook each pancake 3-4 minutes on the first side. You will know when it’s time to flip when the top starts to look dry and the edges are firm. Flip over and cook another minute. Repeat.
TIPS FOR VARIATIONS
- We love to serve these pancakes as is with just maple syrup drizzled on top. They are truly perfect that way! But sometimes my daughter likes chocolate chip pancakes. Add them for a fun treat and variation.
- If you would like a spiced pancake, add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon or pumpkin spice for variety!
MORE VEGAN PANCAKE RECIPES
- Best Vegan Pancakes Ever
- Vegan Sweet Potato Pancakes
- Vegan Gluten-free Buttermilk Pancakes
- Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes
- Fluffy Vegan Blueberry Pancakes
- Vegan Cookies ‘N’ Cream Pancakes
- Vegan Gluten-free Corn Flour Pancakes
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Fluffy Vegan Whole Wheat Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (200g) whole wheat pastry flour (can also use regular all-purpose)
- 3 tablespoons (30g) potato starch, patted down well
- 1 tablespoon (15g) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups (300g) "lite" canned coconut milk, room temp and shaken well first (don't recommend other milks, see post above)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons (50g) pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon (15g) vanilla extract
- 1/2 tablespoon (7g) apple cider vinegar
- Optional add-ins: We eat these plain and love them but I also add chocolate chips sometimes for my daughter. For cinnamon, add 1 teaspoon.
NOTE
- Always use a scale for accuracy when baking or measuring flours, following MY gram weights listed. You never need cups, just the scale and bowl.
- I use this scale.
- I use this pancake griddle, it's amazing and never sticks, no spray needed!
Instructions
- Make sure your liquids are at room temperature, as cold will make your pancakes less fluffy.
- To a large bowl, add the flour, potato starch, baking powder and salt and whisk very well.
- Pour in the milk, syrup, vanilla and vinegar. With a spoon, gently stir the ingredients in a folding motion from the bottom. You just want to mix just until all the flour is incorporated. Don't overmix or the pancakes will be more tough because of them being wheat.
- Very important for fluffy and cooked through pancakes, leave the batter to sit for 15 minutes. At the same time, turn on your pan to medium-low, closer to low. Your pan must heat up at the same time your batter sits. This will ensure your pancakes are all fluffy and cooked through well. You will notice how much your batter poofs up after the 15 minutes.
- Lightly spray the pan (unless using a high quality nonstick pan like I linked above) and pour a 1/3 cup of batter onto the pan, it should be fairly thick, but smooth. Just slightly smooth the top, but don't overspread out the batter, or your pancakes will be more thin. Cook the first side until the top is forming a dry look, the edges are looking dry and firm and some bubbles are on top. You can peak underneath to make sure they aren't browning too quickly. If they are, slightly reduce the heat. Flip over and cook another minute. Repeat.
Notes
Nutrition
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Can the matter be made in advance and stored for 24 hours?
No, they would become extremely dense.
I couldn’t find any potato starch at my local grocery store and I didn’t realize my pastry flour was unbleached white until I got back home from shopping, but it’s Bob’s Red Mill. I really love and trust the quality of his products. I am definitely going to order potato starch online. OMG!!!…the best pancakes of my life. So fluffy and flavorful. I couldn’t believe it. I am still amazed. We will eat this again and again.
I’m so glad you loved these Coletha! Thank you for making them!
Hi Brandi! Do these taste like coconut since they have coconut milk?
Hi Meagan! Nope, not at all! That is why I use lite. It just yields more fluff and moisture and takes place of oil, but leaves zero coconut taste 🙂
Hi! Thank you so much for the recipe!
I usually have light coconut milk on hand but I just have regular today and I want to try these right now! How can I sub in regular fat coconut milk and still be okay? I’ll try to wait for your response but in reality I’m too excited and will likely try these before you can respond haha.
Thank you so much!
Hi! Full-fat coconut milk has 3 times the amount of fat as lite, so you would need to try to do a 3 to 1 ratio, so 1/3 cup full fat milk to 1 cup water. Couple of tips though to make sure you get the right consistency, blend up the contents of your can of full-fat coconut milk first BEFORE separating it, as the water and chunks tend to separate and you want to make sure you don’t get an off balance. Once that is completely smooth, then measure 1/3 cup of the full fat milk with 1 cup room temperature water, mix and then measure out the 1 1/4 cups (300g) for the recipe. Hopefully that works just as well!
Thank you! You caught me right as I was putting the coconut milk in the blender!
They turned out wonderfully! I added walnuts and chocolate chips. They were MOSTLY fluffy with a few dense spots but that could just be because I haphazardly threw everything together and possibly over mixed. Next time I’ll use lite coconut milk! Thanks again again again!
Yay, so glad to hear that!! Yeah or the milk issue and not weighing, but so glad they still turned out wonderful!!
Hi! I’m trying these today but I don’t have any maple syrup, can I sub for granulated sugar?
Thank you so much!!!
Hi Karen! You really need the liquid so the batter consistency is correct. Do you have agave?
So fluffy, delicious and easy!! Yay! Love this recipe. ❤️
I have a glass cooktop. What would be a good griddle for that if any? Or a good electric griddle suggestion.
Thank you,
Judy
Hi Judy I’m so sorry I missed this! My pancake griddle is linked above in the recipe card or can be found on my SHOP tab!
Hi Brandi, made these this am to treat my grandsons for Christmas, they turned out great! (They wanted chocolate chips added)
Thank u Brandi for ur meticulous efforts in making and sharing ur recipes.
So wonderful to hear Mark!
Worst recipe ever… They don’t taste or look like pancakes! What a waste of time and ingredients! It didn’t seem right as I made it but I trusted you. Will definitely unfollow!
I have no idea what you did on your end but these I’ve been making for years, as have all these readers leaving comments before you and they absolutely look and taste just like pancakes. The pictures aren’t fake, lol. It’s a very straightforward recipe with common ingredients so I’m confused as to what you used or how you ended up with such an odd result.
Could I use cornstarch in place of potato? Ty!
They will be less fluffy and more chewy, so that’s up to you!! Potato starch gives the fluffiest results.
Is it possible to use almond or oat flour instead? 🙂
For these, no, I would check out my gluten-free pancake recipes linked in the post! 🙂