Perfectly light and fluffy pancakes that are healthy and taste amazing! These are pretty darn close to the traditional pancakes you know and love, but without the guilt. They are gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, paleo, and contain no refined sugar!
Ever since going gluten-free, the most challenging meal has been breakfast. My daily breakfast has always been something light and healthy, but on weekends I really enjoyed making pancakes, waffles, and other homemade breakfast treats.
As you can see from the title, these pancakes are paleo – so not just gluten-free, but grain-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free as well! I’m the first to admit I used to wrinkle my nose when I heard all of those words, but I have to tell you that these pancakes do not taste healthy!
I don’t follow a strict paleo diet as I do consume dairy in moderation and grains on occasion. However, I do like experimenting with it, but finding healthy and tasty ways to enjoy old favorites can be quite challenging! I have tried countless paleo pancake recipes and they all have left me disappointed. So, what’s a girl to do? Come up with her own recipe of course!
I found with a lot of recipes I tried the pancakes came out flat, and if there is one thing I can’t stand, it’s flat pancakes. Then I tried a “fluffy” recipe. The batter was so thick that it was hard to work with and the pancakes just wouldn’t cook. No matter what I did they were still raw in the middle. Yuck.
So, I walked into the kitchen the other day and grabbed a bunch of ingredients, threw them into a blender, and somehow ended up with perfect paleo pancakes. I’m serious. There was no prior research, no testing, no writing a recipe before hand – nothing! I just love when that happens!
I decided to make the batter in the blender to give it a really smooth consistency as almond flour can be somewhat granular in texture. However, if you don’t have a blender or don’t want to bother, you can certainly mix them up the old fashioned way. Dry ingredients in one bowl and wet in the other – mix them together and be on your way. I can’t promise they will be as fluffy though!
For photo purposes, I topped the pancakes with a little pat of butter. If you’re a strict paleo follower you obviously won’t use the butter, but I like butter and won’t ever give it up! Plus, I’ve read it’s a somewhat controversial ingredient and some consider grass-fed butter to be fine. So, whatever floats your boat here.
You can make these plain like I did, or add fruit to them – bananas, blueberries, or strawberries would all be delicious! I topped mine with pure maple syrup, but you could use honey, a homemade fruit syrup, or just plain fresh fruit.
I’m sure you’re wondering what these pancakes taste like. I have to say, I think if you made these and didn’t tell me what they were made with, I would say they are plain old pancakes. Maybe my tastebuds have just adjusted to almond flour, but I thought they looked, smelled and tasted like regular pancakes!
If I were really comparing the two I’d say these have a hint of nuttiness and a slightly different texture, but in a good way. They are soft in the middle and have lightly crisp exterior- just the way I like my pancakes.
Kyle agreed and he’s a pretty tough critic when it comes to my experimentation with almond flour. He can usually taste the “nuttiness” and isn’t a fan, but these he gobbled up. So, you’ll have to make them and decide for yourself!
- 2 Large Eggs
- ¾ Cup Almond Milk
- 1 Tablespoon Pure Maple Syrup, optional
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- ½ Teaspoon Lemon Juice, or white vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Melted Coconut Oil, or butter if you eat dairy
- 1 ½ Cups Almond Flour
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- Coconut Oil, for cooking, or butter
- Maple Syrup, Honey, or Fruit, for topping
- Combine the eggs, almond milk, maple syrup, vanilla, lemon juice, coconut oil, almond flour, baking soda, and salt in a blender. Be sure to add in the liquid ingredients before the dry.
- Turn the blender on low speed and slowly increase it to high. Blend for about 30 seconds until the batter is very smooth.
- Heat a griddle over medium heat and melt about a teaspoon of coconut oil. Pour pancake batter onto griddle into silver dollar sized pancakes. Allow the pancakes to cook until they set and you can easily slide a spatula under them. You’ll see the edges start to set and little bubbles forming when it’s time to flip.
- Continue cooking the pancakes, adding more coconut oil as necessary, until you’ve used all the batter.
- Serve the pancakes with maple syrup, honey, or fruit.
- This recipe will yield about 20 silver dollar pancakes.
- The batter should not be thick, it should pour easily out of the blender.
- Make sure you keep the heat at medium to medium-low as the almond flour pancakes will brown much quicker than traditional pancakes.
- I find that silver dollar pancakes work best and are easiest to flip, so I don’t go any bigger.
- Feel free to add your favorite fruit the pancakes. Pour the batter on the griddle and then add the fruit after they set before you flip them.
- These pancakes reheat very well. I made a batch, wrapped up the leftovers and then heated them on a griddle lightly coated with coconut oil until they were warm throughout. Great make ahead breakfast!
- *I used lemon juice as it’s paleo approved, but you can also use white vinegar. Vinegar seems to be a controversial ingredient for paleo, so use your own discretion there.
Oh my! You’re talking my language with these! A beautiful healthy alternative for one of my favorite breakfasts!
Annie @ ciaochowbambina recently posted…Corned Beef & Horseradish Cabbage Slaw with Dubliner Cheese Panini
These are seriously so good, Annie! Healthy that doesn’t taste healthy! 🙂
I’m impressed! Usually paleo pancakes look not so fluffy and delicious. I made the banana/egg ones and it just tasted like a sweetened egg thing. Not good. I think I’ll have to give these a go 🙂
Caitlin @ teaspoon recently posted…Zurich’s Street Food Festival
Thanks, Caitlin! I shocked myself with these – I’m not a fan of the banana/egg ones either. These really do taste pretty close to the original. I’m obsessed!
Keri, these pancakes look so fluffy and moist! Love the use almond and coconut oil here!
Thanks, Savita!
Keri, these pancakes look fantastic! I love how fluffy they turned out. Definitely a perfect Sunday breakfast! Pinned!
Gayle @ Pumpkin ‘N Spice recently posted…Chocolate Covered Potato Chips
Thanks, Gayle! I can’t believe how great the texture came out on these! Thanks for the pin 🙂
I don’t follow a paleo diet, but these look too good! I do make paleo and gluten-free dishes for friends and family. I’m sure they’d love these. 🙂
Erin @ Miss Scrambled Egg recently posted…Mint Chip Cheesecake Bars
Thanks, Erin! It’s nice to have some paleo and gluten-free recipes in your repertoire for just that reason. I love experiment with it! These pancakes will please even non-paleo eaters! 🙂
Help I don’t know what I did something wrong these are more the consistency of cookie dough I added lots more coconut milk and can’t get the texture to be creamy
You’ve done it! Mastered the paleo pancake! You saw my coconut flour fail, so I can really appreciate how great these look Keri! Can’t wait to give these a try. So smart to do a blender, that will leave them nice and smooth : )
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely recently posted…Five Things for Friday
I’m obsessed with these – they taste SO good and have the perfect texture. The blender really does make a difference! You’ll love them Natalie!
Help!! I did something wrong here I don’t know what its turned out more like cookie dough even after I added a ton of almond milk I just can’t get it to look like pancake batter
Hi Cassandra! What brand of almond flour are you using? If you’re following the recipe exactly the batter should come out pretty thin. The only thing I can think of is maybe the brand of almond flour is changing the consistency? I use Bob’s Red Mill and make these often. If you have a different brand, try cutting the almond in half and mixing it up – then you can add more flour as necessary to get the right consistency. I hope this helps!
Hello I try The first recipe paleo pancakes and was a totally success,
the second recipe Wasnt a total
Success the consistency become to soft to flip it 🙁 fall in pieces ..
Now what can I do with all the batter?
I need to know what 1 serving is equal to? How many pancakes are in a serving? Just one at 80 calories?
Does that also include the maple syrup?
Hi Monica! I’d say 3-4 pancakes is a normal serving, but you can adjust it as necessary. I’m assuming you plugged the ingredients into a calorie counter? I would include the maple syrup if you’re a strict calorie counter. I hope this helps!
Hi Keri
I made these today for our Sunday breakfast. I followed the instructions to the letter and they did not get thick or fluffy and took a long time to cook, they were mostly flat. I did get 19 cakes and they tasted just fine. I will try this recipe again.
Hi Bridget. I’m so sorry they didn’t turn out perfect for you. I see a few people have had trouble and I’m wondering if they brand of almond flour could be the issue. I used Bob’s Red Mill. Another thing is to make sure of the expiration on your baking soda – it’s the reaction between that and the acid component that allow them to fluff during cooking. I hope you have better luck next time!
Hi Keri,
Next time I will try the almond flour you suggest ed. My sofa is new. Thank you for your reply.
What’s the nutrition and calorie count?
I don’t count calories, but you can certainly plug the ingredients into an online calorie calculator ?
I did plug the recipe into myfitnesspal and it came out to 234 calories per serving. Yummy pancakes!
Thanks for sharing, Bridgett! Glad you like them, too 🙂