The Best Vegan Gluten-Free Buttermilk Pancakes that are made with white rice flour, almond flour and potato starch. These are so fluffy and soft, nobody would know they are oil-free and not made with any eggs! Just 8 ingredients and 1 bowl!
Have you ever had dreams of soft, fluffy and light buttermilk pancakes? Well, wake up, you aren’t dreaming, these are Vegan Gluten-free Buttermilk Pancakes are real. They are vegan and gluten-free, but taste amazingggg. My blog is no stranger to some amazing pancakes. In fact, some of my most popular recipes are in fact, my pancakes. These are consistently reader favorites:
- Best Vegan Fluffy Pancakes
- Vegan Sweet Potato Pancakes (also grain-free!)
- Fluffy Vegan Blueberry Pancakes
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes
But, I’ve never made just a classic buttermilk flavored pancake. All of my other ones are flavored in some way. It took me 3 trials to get these right, and third time was the charm. They are super soft, light, fluffy and moist.
To get that buttermilk flavor, I combine “lite” canned coconut milk with apple cider vinegar. Coconut milk has a different flavor than any other milk, in the sense that it lends a buttery mouth-feel. These are truly incredible. For gluten-free, these really are the best vegan pancakes. Honestly, just as good as regular gluten!
Vegan, and especially gluten-free, pancakes have a bad reputation for being raw and mushy inside and that is because most of them are. To me, there is nothing worse than a raw, flat, dense and disgusting pancake. The lack of eggs is the culprit, but I’ve found many tricks in many of my trials in creating the most amazing, soft and fluffy vegan gluten-free pancakes.
HOW DO YOU MAKE FLUFFY VEGAN BUTTERMILK PANCAKES?
Easy, you will start out by adding the rice flour, almond flour, potato starch, baking powder and salt to a large bowl and whisk for a couple of minutes, making sure it is well mixed and all lumps are broken up.
Make a well at the bottom and pour in the milk, don’t stir yet, then pour in the remaining ingredients. Don’t over mix it or the batter will get overly thick. This batter will be fairly thick, kind of like a thick cake batter. It should still be smooth though, not stiff. The thick batter is what will yield fluffy pancakes.
Let the batter sit 10 minutes before cooking. This is necessary to let the ingredients soak in together and allow the starch and baking powder react with the liquids, resulting in more fluffy pancakes.
Heat up your pan on medium-low while the batter sits.
Pour a scant 1/3 cup batter into the circle and lightly smooth out the top. Let them cook about 3 minutes or until the top is starting to look dry before you flip them. Repeat with all of the batter. If you have a griddle, it will go really fast.
The inspiration for this recipe came from my super popular Garlic & Chive Dinner Muffins. Those are so darn light and fluffy and buttery, and that is thanks to the coconut milk, almond flour and rice flour mix.
No raw mushy inside in these babies! These really are the best fluffy vegan pancakes!
I really hope you all love these Vegan Gluten-free Buttermilk Pancakes as much as we do.
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Vegan Gluten-Free Buttermilk Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (100g) white rice flour
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (70g) superfine blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (60g) potato starch (potato starch is what makes these so fluffy, other starches don't work well)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
- scant 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (150g) room temp "lite" canned coconut milk, shaken first (Highly recommend Thai Kitchen-SEE NOTES)
- 4 teaspoons (20g) apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons (30g) water
- 2 tablespoons (40g) pure maple syrup or agave
- 2 teaspoons (10g) vanilla extract
- Optional: a 3.5 inch cookie cutter for perfect round pancakes like in the photos.
- I use this scale.
NOTE
- Always use a scale for accuracy when using flours, following MY gram weights listed. You never need cups, just the scale and bowl.
Instructions
- Add the rice flour, almond flour, potato starch, baking powder and salt to a large bowl and whisk for a couple of minutes, making sure it is well mixed and all lumps are broken up.
- Make a well at the bottom and pour in the milk, don't stir yet, then pour in the remaining ingredients. Give the liquids a light stir and then whisk them all together just until it is smooth and no lumps remain. Don't over mix it or the batter will get overly thick. This batter will be fairly thick, kind of like a thick cake batter. It should still be smooth though, not stiff. The thick batter is what will yield fluffy pancakes. If it is way too thick, you can add a tiny bit more water, but don't add too much or you will have thinner pancakes.
- Now, important, let the batter sit 10 minutes before cooking. This is necessary to let the ingredients soak in together and allow the starch and baking powder react with the liquids, resulting in more fluffy pancakes. At this same time, heat up your pan on medium-low, closer to low for those same 10 minutes. It's important your pan is hot when you add the batter.
- If using a cookie cutter, place the cookie cutter (I used 3.5 inch one for 1/3 cup batter, if you use larger, your pancakes will be thinner or you will need to pour a bit more batter) on the preheated pan and spray within the circle with nonstick spray. I used coconut oil nonstick spray and it works perfectly. If you don't use spray, these will stick to the pan! This is necessary so the cookie cutter works and the pancakes don't stick. Pour a scant 1/3 cup batter into the circle and lightly smooth out the top. Let them cook about 3 minutes or until the top is starting to look dry before you flip them. You can peak underneath to see if it's browned. If they are cooking too fast, slightly turn down the heat. Gently pull off the cookie cutter with tongs and flip the pancake. Otherwise, if not using a cookie cutter, just pour onto your pan or pancake griddle, lightly smoothing out the top, but not spreading out the batter too much. The more you spread out the batter, the thinner your pancake. The pancakes will still be delicious and fluffy without a cookie cutter, just not quite as tall.
- Serve with delicious maple syrup!
Notes
- COCONUT MILK: DO NOT use the Polar brand, it is all stabilizers and additives and not pure coconut milk, it will yield dense/gummy pancakes. I love the Sprouts brand "lite" coconut milk, it works great. Just make sure if the milk is separated and chunky, to blend it first before measuring.
- ALMOND FLOUR: The key to these fluffy pancakes is also the texture. Almond flour brands vary greatly in how fine they are, this can affect how thick the batter turns out. As well, how fluffy your pancakes turn out. Make sure to use a superfine one for best results.
too DIE for. New fav pancake recipe. So easy to make and truly tastes just like buttermilk pancakes. I had sweet white sorghum flour, not white rice flour and they came out great!!
Xoxo
Yay Melanie! Thank you so much for the awesome feedback! I’m so appreciative!
Wow wow wow! Brandi you make the most amazing pancakes! These look incredible! I love how light, moist and fluffy these look. They’re absolutely perfect!
Awww thank you so much Harriett! You are so sweet!
I am scarfing these down right now with strawberries on top! They are incredible! I love your sweet potato pancakes too but these will now be added into the mix. The texture and flavor are perfect!
Yay! So happy to hear that Alicia, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback and star rating! Sounds delicious with strawberries on top!
My hubby would love these! He’s the pancake lover at our house. I love how tall you made your stack. I could totally see these life sized with people bouncing on them and taking a big fluffy bite on the way down. LOL! Look delicious lady!
Hahahaha, that made me laugh out loud!
The thickness on these pancakes is ridiculously thick! I need these ASAP! You are a genius Brandi!
Aww thanks so much Bethany! They turned out even better than I expected!!
I love how thick they are! They look so light and fluffy. Nice work, my friend.
Thank you so much Linda!
Man these look freaking amazing. Only thing is they have almond flour in it. Do you think pecan flour/meal would work? I don’t think you can get blanched pecan flour/meal so I am thinking it wouldn’t work. They look absolutely delicious tho. I would like to eat the whole stack. Just brilliant girl.
Yes, I would grind some raw pecans into a “flour” as fine as you can get it without it turning into a paste and then use the same weight amount. I think that would possibly work and oh my, they would taste even better because pecans taste super buttery! They will likely be less fluffy, but still delicious!
These are so fluffy and bouncy and yummy!! My 15 year old omni said these are THE best healthy (not sure what that means — hahaha) pancakes he’s ever had. He also slathered them with yummy gravy. I left them naked with just a little maple syrup. I think these are THE best pancakes all the way around.
Yayyy!! Best pancakes all around, whoop! Thank you so much Estee and I’m totally drooling at the thought of eating pancakes with gravy….yum!!
Your comment*
Brandi –
I may or may not have eaten the whole batch all by myself…
Once again, you fail to disappoint. These pancakes are the closest I have had to a “real” pancake in a very, very long time. Keep bringing us more masterpiece recipes.
Ida
Hahaha! SO thrilled you loved these so much Ida and I loved your pic and comment on FB, made me laugh! Thank you so much for the feedback and kind words 🙂
Girl, HOW have I only just discovered your blog? These pancake stacks looks amazing! Im seriously going to have to spend this afternoon creepin’ through your recipes (in a non creepy way 😉 such beautiful vegan recipes!
Aww thank you so much Lucie and I’m so glad you found me, thank you!
Cannot get over how yummy these look! The absolute most perfect texture <3
Thank you so much Aimee, that is so sweet of you!
Holy high stack! Are you sure those are pancakes and not English muffins stacked up? Crazy tall – I love it!
Haha, I promise they are not English muffins! Close up shots and using a cookie cutter just makes them look extra tall and perfect 🙂
Those are GORGEOUS!! What a great idea to use a cookie cutting to make them thicker.
You are so sweet Heather, thank you so much! It is much more time consuming, so I only do it for the photos, haha, not on regular pancake weekends 🙂
I think I could live on pancakes and waffles! Mmmmm! Beautiful!
Thank you Annie, I think I could too!
Just slather some chocolate frosting between those layer and let’s sing happy birthday to someone! These are so freaking tall and fluffy it could be a layer cake 😍 Mushy pancake inside is one of the grossest things. The first time that happened to me I seriously wouldn’t eat pancakes for months lol. The fact that you got the perfect texture all the way through considering how thick they are AND that they are gluten free is practically magic! White rice flour and almond, that is a combination I’ve never tried, but together they have the right balance of sticky and good crumb texture. And I’m sure the coconut milk makes these divine, even the light stuff. You make pancakes more epic than anyone else I know!
Thank you so much Natalie! Funny you say that because this turned out SO amazing, that I’m working on creating a cake with this flour combo now…it’s just so darn fluffy and soft and amazing. I can’t wait! Ahhhh, hahaha, yes, I don’t see how people eat raw mushy pancakes…I gag….gross. These are the opposite of that…fluffy and cooked all the way through! Yes, this was my first time ever using white rice flour in pancakes and it took me a couple of trys to get the right ratio for both taste and texture, but these are it. We love them!
Oh, and I just read your comment on IG, yes, the green in the background is my backyard, but the photos are taken in my living room with the back window open in the background….I wanted a early morning look to the pics and decided to go for a more natural effect instead of posterboards in the background this time 😉
GOOD. LORD. Look at that perfect, fluffy stack of pancakes!!!! Unreal! I can personally vouch for your other pancake recipes (except the spelt ones) so I know that these will be incredible. I’ve been working on a pancake recipe of my own and almond flour makes an appearance…such a magical ingredient! But mine won’t be nearly as fluffy as these! Brandi, I’m just in awe! And that shot of the inside is amazing <3
Aww thanks so much Mandy!! These are the most fluffy incredible pancakes, I hope you try them! Almond flour is my little go-to for so many baked goods!
I was soooo psyched when I saw that pic of those fluffy pancakes! But then I saw that the key ingredient was coconut milk and my heart sunk. Coconut makes my skin breakout so badly that I read the back of everything I buy in a panic that coconut is in there somewhere. Is there an a substitute I can use ?? Please say yes!
Yes, I noted right next to it that soy milk will work! I haven’t tried cashew milk, but you can try that too if you can’t do soy. The coconut milk gives it the most buttery flavor, but they are still delicious without it. Cashew milk sometimes can make pancakes a bit more dense, but a creamy milk should work in place of it 🙂 Let me know if you try them with another!
Brandi you are the pancake queen! These look delicious I would love to eat the whole stack! Pretty pictures, too.. The middle and the last closeup are my favorites. I love using cookie cutters and pancake molds for my pancakes, too… But I agree it’s not necessary for it. Absolutely delicious and fantastic looking pancakes, yum!
Please correct step #4. It seems crucial to the recipe.
It’s fixed, sorry about that!
Wow! These look awesome. I noticed that step #4 seems to be missing– or is that just a glitch in the mobile version?
I fixed it sorry! I was rushing this morning!
Love the perfect shape 😉 When I’m feeling crafty I like to get out my heart shape mold or…..TEDDIE BEAR one! Haha! It makes some damn cute pancakes 😉
Awww teddy bear sounds soo cute…my daughter would love that!
These look amazing, Brandi!
Wow, the center of those babies looks just perfect!! Super fluffy! Well done – can’t wait to try!
Thank you so much Jenn! I was amazed at how well they turned out!
I was so excited to try these! But I’m allergic to almonds 🙁 anything else I can try besides almond flour? Thank you ♡♡ all your recipes are a delight
Hi Maria! Oh, such a bummer, the almond flour is pretty crucial for these, otherwise they will be totally dry and dense. My only suggestion would be to try grinding up raw unsalted sunflower kernels into a fine flour and then use that same weight amount. That will be the best sub. It will leave a sunflower taste somewhat I’m sure to the pancakes. Otherwise, you can try my spelt pancakes (if you don’t need them gluten-free) and for those a reader subbed the almond flour with 1 tbsp ground flaxseed and it worked…so for the 1/4 cup, you would need just 1 tbsp flaxseed. It worked on those, but I wouldn’t recommend it for these buttermilk ones because a large amount of the almond flour is needed for these. Here is the spelt pancakes. They are fluffy and delicious. https://thevegan8.com/2016/02/01/fluffy-vegan-spelt-blueberry-pancakes/
OK so I made these at the weekend and absolutely loved them!! I have shared your recipe a few times already (of course just shared as is with all credit to the page). I even bought egg rings today to try it your way. We had no almond flour so blanched the almonds and blitzed them until they looked more like almond meal. I then sieved them to ensure there was no lumps. I had no potato starch so used Arrowroot instead which was fine.
Next time I would double the quantity as we all were wanting more 🙂