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.
Amazing! Thanks for sharing this recipe! 🙂
My pleasure, so glad you enjoyed them!
One of my favorite pancake recipes! So easy & they turn out perfect every time!
That is amazing to hear, thank you Jess!
These are an awesome “buttermilk” pancake! Move over boxed pancake mix, these are Waaay better! Light, sweet, perfect, traditional pancake! This is the 3rd Vegan 8 pancake recipe I rotate in on the weekends for my family. I triple this recipe so we have enough for a couple of days. I throw them in the toaster oven the next day and they are great.
I’m really starting to love cooking by using the scale vs the measuring cups. It’s so simple and less cleanup!
Aww yay, I’m so very happy to hear how much you loved these! So glad you family loves them too! Yes, weighing makes the results MUCH more accurate too!
Made these for my daughter’s birthday breakfast and they were a hit! I’ve struggled with gf pancakes in the years since we became vegan, and have stuck to waffles since they’re easier. My daughter has missed pancakes and these blew every recipe I’ve tried out of the water!
Yay Charisse, happy birthday to your daughter! So happy to hear these blew away every recipe you’ve tried, woohoo!
Oh my gosh are these pancakes AMAZING! I have tried so many vegan pancake recipes before and this BY FAR is the best! So easy to make and so yummy! I topped mine with blueberries/chocolate chips/and kept some plain. This is a must try!!
Thank you so much Lynn! I’m so very happy you loved these so much!!
5 star recipe!
Made these this morning and they are incredible!
Texture is light and fluffy….like fluffy pillowy clouds of heaven!
Thank you so much Brandi for all of the work you put into your recipes and your thorough instructions..cant imagine how much work it takes to achieve results like this!
Yay Emily! I’m just so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for this incredible review!
So, it’s a stormy Saturday night and my hubby & I were just enjoying Comedians in Cars Getting Cofffee when Jerry & guest start chowing down on these scrumptious-looking pancakes. We both turned to one another and said, “That sounds perfect for dinner!” :). While it was tough to choose from your recipes I opted for these beauties bc they’re Low Fodmap and I’m having a reflux issue at the moment. Anyway, the house still smells Vanilla-licious but all that remains are fond memories of scarfing these down! 😋 I didn’t have potato starch so I used tapioca (Google told me to add a tiny bit more for the same rising property as potato) and they were awesome! It’s always a bit sad to see a few reviewers who didn’t get the same terrific results, but sadly you can’t be in everyone’s kitchen to see what the issues might be. (New career path, Brandi?! Traveling chef advisor?! 😜). I have found if my baking powder or soda is past 6 months old things don’t rise correctly. Even flours and starches need to be changed more often than folks think. Once they’re open the “use before” date is no longer valid, but I know you know all that. I just don’t want you taking their failures to heart bc this is an amazing recipe! As always, THANK YOU for sharing your hard work and creativity!! 💗
Hi Colleen! Oh, this makes me SO happy to read! Especially after the previous 2 reviews weren’t great, haha! I have no idea because all the previous reviews above those are all fantastic and they are so amazing everytime I make them! But as you know, some almond flours are gritty and others are not and if somebody doesn’t weight ingredients, particularly with gluten-free, it can really alter the results! I totally agree with everything you said too 🙂
Oh, I will add that note about the starch, cornstarch actually will work much better than tapioca even, as tapioca can tend to make things rather chewy, gooey and rubbery….cornstarch is closest in results to potato starch, sorry for not mentioning that! And I LOVE to have pancakes for dinner, my Mom used to do that a lot when I was growing up, such a great idea, thanks for inspiring to make that happen again. Thanks for leaving this awesome review Colleen, it helped boost my rating back up, haha!
I weighed all the dry ingredients on a digital scale, and followed the recipe exactly, but after the 10 minutes of rest, the batter was bubbly, but almost solid. There was no way I could “pour” it. At this point I think it was too late to add some water. Also my pancakes barely got browned at all, they were more of a light yellow colour, so looked a bit anemic. I heated the pan to medium for the 10 minutes the batter was resting. I used two tablespoons of maple syrup. The second batch I cooked at a higher temperature, but this did not improve the colour. The pancakes tasted of apple cider vinegar, and had an unpleasant smell when cooking (the vinegar is noticeable) It seems like 4 tsp of cider vinegar is too much. I used Braggs Apple Cider vinegar. I really wanted these to work out because I need to eat gluten free, but my husband wanted “fluffy” pancakes. I usually make oat flour pancakes which are not fluffy at all. I would have to alter the measurements of the coconut milk (I used Aroy D), cider vinegar, and maple syrup if I were to make these again.
Sorry you had trouble with them Lydia, the color is supposed to be a light yellow color, they aren’t supposed to be brown, they are buttermilk pancakes so they are just a light color like any traditional pancake. The only reason there is some brown on mine is from the maple syrup. I have no idea what smell you are smelling, perhaps too much vinegar got added?? I never smell that when I make these and they just taste delicious, no strong apple cider taste and I’ve not heard that from any other reader. The batter is supposed to be thick, that is what yields the fluffy pancakes and you just use a 1/3 cup of batter to add to the pan. They always work out for me when I make them.
I have an oat flour pancake recipe on the blog that are very fluffy and loved by readers.
You could try that one instead and you will see all the rave reviews in the comments if you are curious.
https://thevegan8.com/2015/04/03/peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookie-pancakes/
These did come out fluffy and looking nice but they do taste like gluten free pancakes. They’re a bit gritty too. Even with super fine almond flour. Bummer!
Hi Kendall! Sorry to hear that. These are gluten-free, so they are not going to taste like all-purpose flour ones, however, they should NOT be gritty whatsoever. I can promise you it’s not the recipe, but either the almond flour or white rice flour. I cannot stand grit and I make these quite often and so do my readers and never once are they gritty. Did you use Bob’s Red mill almond flour? These should be really soft and fluffy, not grit at all. Some white rice flours are more gritty than others as well I’ve found. Readers have absolutely loved this recipe so I would love to help you out on the flours used. Did you sub any of the ingredients so I can help?
Also I just want to double-check it’s supposed to say two and a half teaspoons of baking powder right? That seems like a lot.
Ok, I think that’s it! I know it sounds crazy, but the carton versions are much more runny and have many additives, unlike the canned versions. I always, always use the can because it’s creamier and doesn’t have all the additives. This would explain why your batter was runnier and not thick and also why they are chewy! Those carton version have extra gums and a TON of vitamins added and that alone will make them more chewy and gross. I definitely think that’s it! The can version I love the Sprouts Lite coconut milk and/or Thai Kitchen (not Taste of Thai) Lite both found in the Asian isle. They are much better than the cartons.
Hey Brandi! I had trouble with this recipe…i seem to be the only one, so that’s a good sign! I keep racking my brain trying to figure out what I did wrong but I did everything exactly as you said. Except I combined all the dry ingredients the night before and then put them in an airtight container on the counter until morning. And then I followed the recipe. My batter was not a thick cake like batter it was almost foamy, like clouds. I double checked all my measurements and I did not put in too much baking powder so I have no idea what I did wrong. When I put the pancakes on The Griddle they were like mashed potatoes. They yielded a chewy pancake. Was it because I mixed the dry ingredients the night before? Thanks!
Hi Heather! That’s odd because yes, like you said, all readers have had amazing success and I make these quite often. But based on what you said, it sounds like you used potato flour instead of potato starch. Potato flour would make them just like you described, mashed potatoes. These should be very fluffy and soft. Also, another thing may be since you said “chewy” is by chance, did you use the “sticky” white rice flour instead of just regular white rice flour? They are very different.
If you only mixed the dry ingredients, that shouldn’t have any effect on them. Also, the baking powder is correct. You don’t taste it at all, it is needed because they are vegan pancakes with no eggs and the extra baking powder makes them super fluffy and rise like in the photos. I hope that helps some! Otherwise, it sounds like the measurements somehow were wrong because it should be a thick smooth batter, not runny. Did you sub the milk or anything?
I’m not positive on the rice, the bag did not say sticky, it just said white rice flour. Also it is potato starch not the potato flour. I use it often. I’m stumped! I tried again and got the same results! And I guess I would describe the texture more as gummy than chewy. Don’t get me wrong, my kids and husband like them! The flavor is great, But they are definitely not like the photo…not Fluffy at all. I make your recipes all the time and they are always so great so I was super excited for these pancakes! Any other tips you have for me? I double and triple checked all of my measurements the second time and got the exact same result. Actually now that I think of it, I did use my coconut milk from the fridge. But I left it out to a room temperature. That is the only difference from your recipe. Could it be that that would cause them to foam up and be such a weird texture? Thank you so much for all your help! I really would love to get this recipe down and make them for my in-laws!
So very strange! I literally have never had any reader not get the same exact results as mine! I even had 3 reviews come in this past week all great. Did you by chance use the full-fat coconut milk and not the “lite” or low fat version? That would make them MUCH more dense. Also, cold milk will make the pancakes less fluffy, but not as much as you described. I’m confused too, lol. Also, are you letting the batter rest 10-15 minutes while you heat up your pan?
Yes! In fact the longer it sits the worse it gets. I wish I could attach and video or photo…
I really have no idea Heather, it’s all so odd. You are the first person to have this issue so I wish I knew what the deal was…you used “lite” coconut milk and not the full fat kind?
I know it’s not the recipe… It’s gotta be something I’m doing wrong! The milk i used is the SO delicious milk in a container. Not canned. Maybe thats it? I’ll check out the other pancakes. Thank you
Hi Brandi,
Is there any reason why I couldn’t make this batter tonight, so that my hubs can arise from his slumber in the morning to make them as breakfast in bed? 🙂
Hi Sam! You could mix the dry ingredients tonight and then just add the liquids in the morning to save time but you don’t want to mix it all tonight or it’ll get too thick and make dense pancakes! 🙂
These pancakes are amazing! Thank You! Im getting on amazon and buying potato starch and white rice flour in bulk. This is the first Vegan GF pancake recipe I’ve tried that didnt turn out gummy and actually fluffed up, the only downside is my kids and wife were on me like a pack of hungry wolves when I made this so I think I will have to hide out in the garage after midnight in order to actually eat more than the scraps. Much props on this recipe!
Yay! So love hearing that Jade, thank you so much for the wonderful rating and review! I know what you mean too, so many recipes turn out gummy and raw on the inside so it was quite the mission for me to achieve that classic fluffy pancake without eggs or gluten! So glad you loved them!
These look like pancake perfection! I’m excited to try them. About how long do you cook them once flipped? I made your chocolate cake today for dessert. 🙂
Hi Hannah, I usually cook them another 1-2 minutes until the bottoms are golden 🙂
Hi Brandi! Just wondering, can i make these with just regular white flour do you think? If so, how much do you think? They look amazing!
Hi Tess! Subbing with white flour won’t work for these, but it will for these Ultimate Fluffy Vegan Pancakes!
You will still need the starch because that is what replaces the eggs in traditional pancakes and make them so fluffy! These are actually the ones I make the most now 🙂
https://thevegan8.com/2017/01/04/ultimate-vegan-fluffy-pancakes/
Yum! My kids and I made these this morning. We added blueberries and cinnamon and they were great! The thick batter had me worried but they turned out great, will definitely make again!
So aweome to hear Shires, thank you so much!
Brandi! These are so fantastic 🙂 they cooked up beautifully, were crazy-fluffy, and soooo delicious! I don’t know why I haven’t made these ones before… maybe because I make your sweet potato ones all the time 😉 thank you for everything you do!
ALSO! I have made the pb chai cookies from your dessert book twice in one week… they are unstoppably good! ❤
Oh yay, this makes me so happy to hear! Sorry for just seeing this comment so late too!
I loved these! I’ve been meaning to try pancakes without a rich flavor, and these were it! I wish I had a cookie cutter to make them super fluffy. I only had half the amount of coconut milk, so using more water didn’t make them as fluffy. I had melted frozen blueberries and raspberries on top since I was out of maple syrup. I used coconut nectar in place of the maple syrup in the recipe. I absolutely love all of your pancake recipes that I’ve tried, and these along with the life-changing ones are my favorites. Thanks for being my go-to for pancakes! ❤️
So sorry I missed this comment before Jessica! I’m so very happy to hear you loved these and all of my pancake recipes, thank you for the wonderful review! Yes, water will definitely affect the fluff factor big time, so next time use all the milk and they will be so much more fluffy. The fat makes a big difference! 🙂
Would love to make these for my kids but we don’t use coconut milk,nor any other non dairy milk.Could these be made with regular buttermilk (I make it myself from raw milk)? Than you.
Ann, I’m so very sorry I missed this comment, sometimes they slip through! Yes, regular buttermilk should totally work!
Had these pancakes Sunday for breakfast, OMG !! light, fluffy and delicious. My husband even asked for another (3) stack they were perfection. Love them. Brandi, that hearty Italian bean basil soup, my husband love that thing so much I have to make it twice every week. I am 100% sure this soup would be the way to his heart if we weren’t already married. Thanks Brandi.
Yay! So happy to hear that Josie! Thank you so much for the awesome feedback and that is so wonderful your hubby loves the Italian bean soup so much!
The Hearty White Bean Italian Basil Soup is my favorite soup, EVER! 😍
Oh I’d love to get my fork in to these! Brandi I think you have put every single “non”vegan pancake to shame with these ones! Who needs eggs hey!
Aww thanks so much Laurina! Pancakes are one thing I’m super particular with, high standards, LOL!
OK, the fact that I had 99% of the required ingredients in my pantry lets me know that I’ve been reading your blog for a while. 🙂 The only thing I didn’t have this time around was almond flour, but I made some from the almond milk I had and it worked just fine!
Just made these this morning…actually typing this comment in bt bites…and am IN LOVE! So fluffy and tasty! This is my new go-to pancake recipe and will also see how it comes out in the waffle maker. I didn’t use a cookie cutter and ended up making silver-dollar-ish size pancakes. The fluff is real! We also added cinnamon for a bit of pizazz. YUM. Thank you, Brandi, for another winner!
Yay Courtney, I’m so darn happy to hear that you loved these so much!! I love adding cinnamon sometimes as well! Thank you so much for the awesome feedback!
Delicious!! you have done your vegan/gf magic again! I am not a pancake person, but really enjoyed these! you may convert me 😉 I did use the Bob’s finely ground almond flour because that is what I had on hand, but look forward to trying the recipe again sometime with one of the flours you suggested. thanks for another wonderful v/gf recipe <3
Yay! So so happy to hear you loved these so much Gail, thank you so much for the feedback!
Omg these look so perfect and round! I think this is going to be my Saturday breakfast!
Thank you so much Tiffany, let me know if you try them!