Vegan Gluten-free Corn Flour Pancakes! These are incredibly soft and tender and taste like a super soft cornbread. They are made without any eggs, are oil-free and dairy-free and just 6 ingredients!
Sometimes miracles do happen. Pancake miracles. Okay, a bit dramatic, but seriously I didn’t think it was possible to make low-fat pancakes be delicious and also be vegan, gluten-free, nut-free and oil-free. And only require 6 ingredients! All of the above! I’m also sharing 3 flavor combos today with you. And get this, my husband loves these above all my other pancake recipes??! He really liked the flavor and amazing soft texture that these have.
These are so delicious and a wonderful change from my Best Vegan Fluffy Pancakes? I mean, instead of 15 g fat per pancake, these are just about 3 g fat! That’s a huge difference. And while they are not as rich, they are still so close and delicious.
With these low-fat pancakes, you will have plenty of room to stuff your face with my recipe post from earlier this week, did you catch the Smoky Jalapeno Black Bean Dip?
Knowing that a large amount of my readers are following a low-fat diet or need nut-free recipes, I knew they, and I, would love some low-fat pancakes to enjoy on the weekends.
HOW DO YOU MAKE FLUFFY VEGAN PANCAKES?
The “miraculous” flour? So, I used a flour not what you’d expect to see in a pancake recipe, corn flour. Not to be confused with cornmeal or cornstarch. I had some leftover corn flour sitting in my pantry from when I made my Hushpuppies and after a muffin recipe didn’t work out, I decided to see what would happen with them as pancakes. I was utterly shocked. The corn flour gave a naturally mild, sweet flavor to them and made them SO SOFT.
This is not the same taste/texture as you’d get from coarse cornmeal pancakes/waffles. These are super soft and tender. I switched up my starches too. I normally use my go-to potato starch, as in my other vegan pancake recipes, but since these corn flour pancakes have such little fat in them, the potato starch made them too dry. Potato starch works better in recipes that have a lot of moisture/fat in them. Of course I had to try these in different flavors, cinnamon was my favorite. Or, maybe tied with the chocolate chip ones. The cinnamon pancakes were quite delicious with some chai tea. You can make regular, cinnamon, chocolate chip or blueberry or extra vanilla. Really, it’s the perfect basic pancake recipe to add anything you want or just enjoy them as is with some maple syrup.
I love that these are fluffy too. I cannot stand paper thin pancakes. That is what crepes are for.
VEGAN PANCAKES MADE WITH CORN FLOUR
Would you look how soft and fluffy the insides are too?
So, these pancakes are easy to make and should basically fit the majority of allergies out there. They are vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, nut-free and low-fat and definitely kid-friendly.
MORE VEGAN PANCAKE RECIPES
- Vegan Gluten-free Buttermilk Pancakes
- Fluffy Vegan Blueberry Pancakes
- Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes
- Vegan Gluten-free Sweet Potato Pancakes
- Vegan Gluten-free Pumpkin Pancakes
Vegan Gluten-Free Corn Flour Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons Bob's Red Mill corn FLOUR (not the same as cornmeal or cornstarch. I highly recommend to use Bob's Red Mill here)
- 3 tablespoons (22g) arrowroot (I tested these with 3 different starches, arrowroot yielded the best result)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3/4-1 cup lite canned coconut milk (I recommend the Thai Kitchen or Sprouts brand)
- 3 tablespoons (60g) pure maple syrup
- 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
OPTIONAL FLAVORS
- Chocolate chip: add 1/4 cup chocolate chips
- Blueberry: add 1/4-1/2 cup fresh blueberries
- Cinnamon: add 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
NOTE
- These pancakes have a very mild cornmeal type of flavor to them, which I LOVE, so expect that. The wet batter tastes stronger than the cooked pancake, so don't be alarmed. Corn flour is very finely ground like all-purpose flour, it's not cornmeal and not the same as cornstarch. Corn flour is what cornstarch is called in England, so please click the link above to see exactly the product I used. Also, Bob's Red Mill corn flour is gluten-free naturally, but is processed in a wheat facility, so if you need a certified gluten-free corn flour, search for that online. Different corn flour brands vary in the batter thickness, so note the milk measurement.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- These are delicious with maple syrup on top. Since these are really low-fat, they are super soft and light, but not as rich as the fat-filled ones (obviously), so they are just perfect with maple syrup and some fruit. Enjoy!
- Combine the corn flour, arrowroot, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and whisk really well to make sure there are no lumps remaining from the starch.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the milk, syrup and vanilla and stir. Start out with 3/4 cup milk and add more as needed. You want a fairly thick, but smooth batter. This is what will produce thick, fluffy pancakes like in the pics. If your batter is too runny, it will produce thin pancakes. Slowly pour over the dry ingredients, whisking it in slowly until the batter is completely smooth.
- Let the batter sit for 15 minutes while you heat up the pan. This will give time for the baking powder to react with the liquid and also soak up the starch. This is what yields fluffy pancakes.
- Add a nonstick pan over medium-low heat.
- Spray the pan with nonstick spray and pour a 1/4 cup of batter on the pan, it should naturally form a round shape. You should hear a sizzle, that's how you know it's hot enough. Let the pancakes cook about 3 minutes or more, looking for the top to have a dry look and the edges look dry and small bubbles forming. Flip over and cook the other side for just about a minute. If you find they are cooking too fast, just slightly turn down the heat.
- These are very tender upon just coming off the pan, so give them a few minutes before eating so they firm up. They firm up a lot more after they've sat several minutes.
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Made these this morning and they were delicious! My stepdaughter brought us corn flour from the Seneca Nation reservation in New York and we found your recipe online. Perfect! I’m now following your Instagram account.
Yay, so glad you loved these!
Very dry so added more water and 1/8 tsp xanthum. Better but cheated and added 1.5 tsp yogurt. Also added tsp vinegar.
What kind of flour did you use? They shouldn’t be dry at all.
Is masa harina the same as corn flour?
No they are different. Masa harina goes through a process. Corn flour does not and they are labeled differently. This article on google explains it. https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/what-is-masa-harina/
Looks amazing 🤗 What is arrowroot? I have never heard of this before and what could be used as a substitute? Xx
It’s a starch sold in the baking aisle. Very common starch. As noted, it needs to be arrowroot. I tested other starches and they did not work well at all.
WOW. I have been looking for a vegan pancake for a while and came upon this recipe. I decide to give it a try and I am hooked. Just made them and they taste even better than regular pancake. Thank you Brandi. Much love. Oh I did not have arrowroot so I used brown rice flour. Next time will try arrow root and see the difference.
Yay! That is so awesome to hear Nicole! Thanks so much for making them and leaving feedback!
Another winner. Had to really watch the heat. The recommendation to use a little cooking spray and to use a nonstick pan was a good one. Only had to spray the pan once before I started. The recipe yielded 6 pancakes. I love chocolate chips so we added those for that extra zing!!! As usual they were a real hit. Thanks again for this awesome low-fat recipe. My daughter loved them too
Brandi, these are so good! So thick and fluffy. And I love that you include weights for ingredients in most of your recipes. I can’t believe how inaccurate my measurements were before I started using a scale. I was surprised these are as sweet as they are with such a little amount of sugar added. I used lite coconut milk and I guess that combined with the corn flour makes them sweet. I’m sure I’ll be making these again!
So I think it’s entirely possible I may have used masa instead of corn flour….
They don’t taste of lime at all though so I think I’ll be able to squeak them by. Must. Label. Mason jars.
As you know, I’m addicted to all your sweet recipes. I had to tear myself away from the Life Changing Pancakes to try this one, since I shouldn’t be indulging ALL the time! These were great! All your pancake recipes are so different, they really offer options for texture and sweetness level. I appreciate that so much– I was very happy with the easiness and outcome of these!
So happy to hear you enjoyed these Liz! I know they are not as indulgent as the Life Changing ones, lol! But a nice much lower-fat version to enjoy more often for sure, with less guilt. Thank you so much for the feedback!
Those are my hands down favorites! My girls call them cuddle cakes and we limit them to birthdays and Christmas! Although we just tried the chocolate waffles with her sauce and those may go into birthday rotation.
That is so awesome to hear Elyse! So glad these are such a favorite, thank you so much! Would you mind star rating the recipe next time, I’d really appreciate it, thank you!
Just made these this morning and they were so yummy! How do you get yours so thick!? Mine were really thin :/
I’m so glad you loved them! Hmm, that’s odd, I make them each weekend and they are always fluffy. Did you use a different corn flour other than Bob’s Red Mill? I purchased another corn flour one time (Hodgson Mill) and noticed my mixture was more thin, so I’m guessing it varies by brand. I will note to use between 3/4-1 cup milk.
These were totally amazeballs! Different from your standard pancake, mine were a bit crispy on the outside (too much spray heh), with a light & soft interior. The cornflour gave it an almost cream-like flavour! Reminds me of a traditional malay cake that my grandma makes, called kuih bakar. An easy recipe that’s definitely a keeper. Thank you, Brandi!
I’m so so happy to hear that Ryza! Your pic on Instagram was absolutely stunning of these pancakes! Thank you so much for making them and leaving your awesome feedback!
We are trying the Forks Over Knives way and was curious what non-stick spray to you use? I’m not a fan of the non-stick pans but having a hard time with things like pancakes and not sticking with no oil in pan….
Thank you for the beautiful recipes and photographs.
Hi Angela! I just use either the coconut oil nonstick spray or the one that is just an avocado oil spray. I agree, pancakes stick unless I use a nonstick spray, which is the only time I use one.
Brandi, I am so sorry to say that these were a fail in my house this morning. I absolutely love, love, love all your recipes, but, these turned out too dense for our liking. I did use soy milk and I wonder if that was the problem? I also let my batters sit overnight so that I can make my kids’ pancakes on school mornings so maybe that was what happened? Not sure, but, I think I’ll stick to the one pancake recipe I know we love from now on. So sorry! You’re still my favorite!
Hi Lisa! Oh no! Well, that is because you left the batter to sit overnight! I’ve only noted to let the batter sit 15 minutes. Letting it sit over night will make the corn flour soak up every bit of liquid and will most definitely make the pancakes too dense. These are extremely light and fluffy and soft and the batter is meant to be used right away 🙂 You can see the reviews above have all had success, so please give them a try again. One reader even used soy milk, so I don’t think that was the problem, although I don’t use soy, it shouldn’t ruin the recipe, that reader loved them with the soy milk! Try them again using the batter as noted! Thank you so much Lisa!
Thank you so much, Brandi! I should have known that was what did it. I will definitely try them again this weekend. I am sure we will love them b/c we love all of your recipes and I’ve never had one that didn’t work out and that we didn’t love. Thanks so much for your quick reply.
Thank you so much Lisa for such kind words! I really appreciate it! I want you to have success with the recipe and enjoy it, so definitely try them again and let me know 🙂
I heard from Estee you tried them again and loves them!! Was so happy to hear that!!
These were PERFECT!!!! So fluffy, wonderful texture and amazing flavor! Thanks to you, I’m now a huge fan of corn flour – I’ve only ever worked with corn meal. I was so impressed with how “smooth” these were, no grit, just pure fluffy deliciousness! As you already know, we added the chocolate chips and they really did taste like a cookie, but with much less guilt! I ate three of them (no shame). Ha! I’m definitely making these again very soon!!! Awesome recipe, friend!
Stumbled onto your site through some instagram tags and this is just what I’ve been looking for! One question, did you use arrowroot starch flour like the one Bob’s Mill makes or arrowroot powder? Is flour and powder the same? Thank you~
Yes, they are the same! 🙂 Let me know after you try them! You can use Bob’s Mill.
I just made these pancakes substituting one cup of unsweetened soy milk (whole foods 365 brand) for the coconut milk since I have a tree nut and coconut allergy. I left everything else the same in the recipe and made sure to still let the batter sit for 15 minutes. They turned out absolutely amazing!!! I was missing pancakes so much and wondering how I would live life without them and these aren’t just flat, sad pancakes. They are fluffy and delicious!!! Thank you so much! ❤️
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear this Rebecca!! Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback and I’m so glad that soy milk worked perfectly with these and I agree, flat dense pancakes are a big no around here, pancakes should be fluffy! Thank you so much for leaving your review!
When I see “gluten free” or “fat free” I usually run. But Brandi, I trust you… tearing myself away from your recipe for Life Changing Pancakes (one of my all time favorite recipes!), I wanted to try a lighter pancake so I made this recipe. I loved it!!! I love the interesting and yummy taste of the corn flour, and with blueberries, Earth Balance, and syrup– mmm. mmm. So good. It also made a LOT. I love that. I made all 6, large pancakes, ate 3 and saved the others for later (which held up remarkably well). Thanks for the great recipe!
I’m so happy that you loved these pancakes so much Liz! I know they are a much lighter (less indulgent, haha) pancake recipe than the Life Changing ones….but when they are 5 times less fattening, yet still delicious, it’s a total win! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your review on here and sharing your beautiful photo on IG, I will definitely be sharing it. Thanks again!
THESE WORK! These are the least “fussy” vegan pancakes and they turned out just like your pictures. Thank you for a perfect vegan pancake recipe. You’ve made it easier to feed my family vegan 🙂
Wow, thank you so much for such wonderful feedback Andrea! I’m so happy to hear these were the easiest pancakes and such a hit for you, thanks so much for letting me know! 🙂
You have a holy grail here, amazing recipe and suitable for almost everyone. I’ll have to look into arrowroot, I’ve been seeing it around more and more lately.
You are so sweet Mary, thank you so much for your kind words! I tried it with both potato starch (too dry!) and tapioca (tad too gummy) and the arrowroot was the winner!
These look absolutely perfect, Brandi! I love your miracle pancakes 🙂 Light and fluffy and delicious as they should be.
Thank you so much Audrey!
I haven’t had pancakes in so long, and yours look so fluffy and delicious I have to try them! I got lost in yumminess looking at your pics too. 🙂
Aww thanks so much, so kind of you!
These look gorgeous!! Alas in the UK, ‘corn starch’ is called ‘corn flour’ – I’m not sure how to make sure I get the right kind of corn flour (that isn’t just corn starch under the UK name)! Will have to investigate 😉
Just look at the contents…it should be finely ground and yellow, not white starchy stuff 🙂
I did a new pancake undertaking today, veeeery similar to these ones!! Actually I used this recipe as a base. And they were really really good 😀
Thanks so much, Brandi! Finally the vegan pancake mystery is solved!
Awwww yay! So happy to hear these helped out so much, I know we’ve talked a bit about solving the vegan/gluten-free pancake mystery, haha! Can’t wait to see your recipe whenever you post it! 🙂
LOVE all the pictures Brandi!!! Your styling was right on point. The pancakes look great! Once I finish a few of the different flours I have in my pantry, I’ll definitely have to try the cornflour! I’m in the need to clear-out some of my pantry mode right now ha! My brother would love this recipe!
Aww thanks so much Anjali for the photo compliments, I really appreciate it!! We really enjoyed them. They are light and don’t leave you feeling heavy since they are so low-fat, so you can eat a lot more, haha!