Start your morning with a stack of these fluffy vegan buckwheat pancakes, flavored up with a hint of cinnamon and drizzled in warm maple syrup! A delicious breakfast main that everyone will love!
I've been more of a breakfast person lately. Maybe you've noticed?
Just to be clear, I eat breakfast every day of the year. Most days it's the only thing that gets me out of bed, but in the spring, my tolerance for morning improves quite a bit.
I'm never what you'd call a morning person, but some early daylight definitely helps get me moving, and even sometimes even taking on morning projects as ambitious as a vegan omelet, tempeh benedict, or in this case, vegan buckwheat pancakes.
So a couple of weekends ago I got up and whipped up these vegan buckwheat pancakes, and now this is my favorite pancake recipe ever, despite being super simple. These cakes are a bit heartier than your basic vegan pancake and deliciously satisfying. You also have the option of making them as gluten-free pancakes, so everyone can enjoy them!
Read on to learn how.
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Non-dairy milk. Just about any variety of unsweetened and unflavored non-dairy milk will work! Almond milk, soy milk and cashew milk are all great choices. If you need help choosing one, check out my guide to dairy-free milks.
- Ground flaxseed. This is our egg replacer, so don't skip it.
- Vegetable oil. Just about any neutral oil can work here, such as canola oil, corn oil or melted coconut oil.
- Vanilla extract.
- Buckwheat flour. I used dark buckwheat flour, but light buckwheat flour will work just fine.
- Spelt flour. Feel free to replace this with additional buckwheat flour to make your pancakes gluten-free. You could also use all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour.
- Baking powder.
- Cinnamon. I put cinnamon in just about everything, and I find it really enhances the flavor of these pancakes, but feel free to skip it if it's not your thing.
- Salt.
Tip: I kept things simple and didn't include any sweetener in this recipe. After all, they are getting topped with maple syrup! Feel free to add a tablespoon or two of organic sugar if that's your preference though.
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Start by whisking your wet ingredients together: milk, flax, oil and vanilla. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl: flours, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk the batter together, just until combined. Don't overmix it! A few lumps are fine.
- Let the batter sit for 10 minutes while you preheat your cooking surface.
- Lightly oil a pan or griddle, place it over medium heat, and add some batter. Let it cook until bubbles form in the center.
- Flip the pancake and let it cook for a few more minutes, until fluffy and golden brown on both sides.
Tip: Use a good nonstick cooking surface to prevent your pancakes from sticking and falling apart! I'm a big fan of cast iron for pancakes.
- Douse your vegan buckwheat pancakes in maple syrup and pile on vegan butter, fresh berries, or any other toppings you like!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan buckwheat pancakes will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months. They can be reheated in the microwave or in an oven set to 350°F until hot (about 5 minutes if refrigerated, 10 if frozen).
More Vegan Pancakes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Buckwheat Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus extra for grilling
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup buckwheat flour
- ½ cup spelt flour (Note 1)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Whisk the milk, flax seeds, oil and vanilla together in a small container or bowl. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes.
- While the wet mixture sits, whisk the flours, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together in a medium bowl.
- Pour the milk mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk the batter together just until combined.
- Let the batter rest for 10 minutes.
- Lightly oil the bottom of a nonstick skillet or griddle and place it over medium heat.
- Give the oil a couple of minutes to heat up, then pour ¼ cup of batter into skillet. (Note 2)
- Cook the batter until small bubbles form in the middle, about 3-4 minutes. Carefully flip the pancake and cook it for about 2 minutes more on the opposite side.
- Repeat the process until all of the batter is used, adding oil to skillet as needed between cakes.
- Serve with vegan butter, maple syrup, and optionally fresh fruit and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Notes
- All-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or additional buckwheat flour can be substituted here. Use all buckwheat flour to make your pancakes gluten-free.
- Feel free to cook multiple pancakes at once if you can do so without crowding the cooking surface.
- Add a tablespoon or two of organic granulated sugar if you prefer a sweeter pancake.
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Still using this recipe weekly in 2024. Wanted to add: to make them gluten free and still light and fluffy I use Bob’s Red Mill (King Arthur should work as well) 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour in place of Spelt Flour. You can also add a couple of tablespoons of raw or coconut sugar to sweeten them for less of a ‘health food’ taste for picky eaters.
This is the absolute best recipe I've found for buckwheat pancakes. The addition of cinnamon really makes a difference! Thanks!
Just made these. Came here to comment that I used half buckwheat flour and half almond flour and they came out great. Fluffy texture. They do have a nutty, earthy taste but with the syrup and butter they were excellent.
Thanks for this recipe! These are a great gluten free/vegan substitute to traditional pancakes. The recipe works perfectly (I used all buckwheat flour and no spelt).
These are fantastic! I made them exactly as the recipe read. Definitely recommend!
Delicious, thank you! Sometimes I add to the recipe mashed bananas, or currants, or mini chocolate chips, or chopped nuts.
These are delicious with just a sprinkle of cinnamon on top! Thanks for the recipe. I have been looking for one that isn't just sugar on sugar. These taste great as is
Just tried these. I added a tablespoon of Chia seeds to the wet mix and waited 15 minutes. They were excellent. I may skip the baking powder next time because I always taste it no matter how little I put in.
Is this recipe using light or dark buckwheat? No one around us carries light. I have ground some in a blender but I’m sure it’s not as fine as storebought.
I used dark, but light should work too!
I made these yesterday morning and they were fantastic. I was really not expecting them to taste as good as they did. Have you ever tried converting this recipe into one for buckwheat waffles? Based off what I've read just doubling the oil content should do the trick. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Glad you enjoyed them! I haven't tried, but I usually add oil and a little extra liquid to my batter to make waffles. Doubling the oil sounds like a good place to start, then make a test waffle and then add more milk if it seems needed.
Made these for brunch today. Turned out great. Wonderful recipe. Thank you!
Delicious! I added chocolate chips to mine :)
Wow these pancakes were so delicious! I’ve made a few different vegan pancake recipes and this is by far the best! This will definitely be my go to from now on. So good thank you!!!
I made this for breakfast this morning. Buckwheat/chia seeds/psyllium husk/Teff/blueberries mixture. It was beyond delicious. Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe and tutorial video. Now I’m making mozzarella cheese. Can’t wait! 🙏
Just made them - super yummy!! I used a full cup of buckwheat flour and they were very fluffy and delicious. Next time I may try 1/2 cup of regular flour.
I'm glad you like them! Thanks Kitty!
Note, you have an error in your Tips section. You say "For gluten-free vegan buckwheat pancakes, use all spelt flour". Spelt is not gluten free! I'm sure you meant to say "use all buckwheat flour".
Whoops! Thanks for catching that! I just corrected it. :)
Can’t wait to try this. I’m embarking upon following the blood type diet for a month while I am undergoing some treatements and buckwheat is one of the recommended foods to eat in the grains section. Although technically not a grain. These would great even just for a snack with some nut butter. Do you think these would cook up well in a waffle iron??
I usually use a slightly thinner batter for waffles, so maybe try adding some extra non-dairy milk - just a bit at a time so you don't overdo it! Enjoy and I'd love to hear how it turns out if you try!
How many servings dies this recipe make?
About 4 - depending on how big you make the pancakes. It makes 6 to 8 of them!
Hi Alissa,
for medical reasons I have to change my diet and I often found breakfast very frustrating (I am an athlete and big breakfast person). I tried your pancakes recipe using only buckwheat flour (can't have spelt) and loved it!
Thank you!
Silvia
Yay!! I'm so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks Silvia!
These are our favorite pancakes! Vegan, gluten free, and delicious! I use 100% buckwheat flour and add fresh or frozen blueberries. They are amazing! Thank you for the recipe!
Awesome!! I'm so glad you're enjoying them!
These really good. I used all buckwheat flour because of a gluten problem. They mixed well, cooked well and tasted good. They were full of bubbles and light which was awesome. I think these are just a good as the standard white flour pancake, if not preferable to some tastes.
Yay!! I'm so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks so much Rebecca!
I wonder the nutrition facts if using all buckwheat.
Fiber and carbs
These were de.lic.ious.
We used some coconut cream because we didn't have enough almond milk, then coconut oil for the vegetable oil, and white whole wheat flour instead of spelt. It was so flavorful and not dense, moist and soft. We'll be making these again, especially since it's an easy recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed them, and glad to hear they worked out with coconut cream!! Thanks so much Christian!
Love you recipe! Tweaked a bit to my prefernce. Skipped on the baking powder & just added a bit more salt & grounded flax seeds. Thank you!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks Leslie!
Can your make these with water? My nice has severe allergies to nut, soy, and dairy.
I think that would work just fine! :)
I made them with coconut milk and they were delicious!
Made these this morning my meat eating husband and son ate them up! Filling for me, a snack for the husband 😊. Will keep this and make it again.
I'm glad you enjoyed them!
These turned out WONDERFUL!
I added blueberries to the mix and made a blueberry sauce by blending blueberries with almond milk and letting it simmer for a while. No added charger and it was DELICIOUS!
Thank you for this recipe- definitely a new staple.
Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed them! And I bet the blueberry sauce was a delicious addition!
These are awesome! We used all buckwheat flour. And added dark chocolate chunks, ate with strawberries and maple syrup.the second time they were even better because we let the flax sit in the almond milk for longer, and doubled the salt. Just as fluffy as advertised, and my s.o. and I are definitely going to make again. Way better than trying to mix a bunch of different flours.
I'll bet they were aweesome with chocolate & strawberries! Glad you enjoyed them!!
I loved this recipe! I got the perfect pancakes with it and blogged about it on my blog.
Thanks for sharing it! Will try out more if you're recipes soon!
Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed them!!
came out dry. didn't work for me.
Thanks so much for this recipe, made the pancakes this morning, they were so delicious and fluffy!
Glad to hear it! Thanks Carolyn!
Hi Rachel
I made mine according to the recipe, but the batter was very thick, so much so I could not pour it. So added some extra milk.
Which made it more like a normal batter. When I cooked them they did not rise?
Do you have any suggestion?
Thanks
Lissa
The batter is meant to be thick xxx
I was skeptical at first, but these turned out brilliantly! I made them with all buckwheat flour and they were fluffy and delicious (and filling!) Thank you for the recipe.
Glad you like them!!
I'm new to the vegan thing so am struggling a little. I'm sure it's my fault but when I made these the taste of bicarbonate of soda from the baking powder left a soapy aftertaste. Is there anything that I can do about this? So appreciate your help.
Hi Rachel! Is it possible you used baking soda instead of powder? A lot of people make that mistake! Or perhaps used a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon? I don't think the amount in this recipe should leave an aftertaste, but you could try using a bit less.
Just made and devoured them, yum!!!!
Yay! Glad to hear it!
I made these for my son and I. I did substitute the oil with apple sauce and added some fresh chopped peaches to the batter. Thank you for the recipe. We loved them
Awesome! Glad to hear the apple sauce worked nicely, and chopped peaches sound like they'd be delicious. Thanks so much!
Great recipe! I've always loved buckwheat pancakes, and now that I'm vegan I needed one without the egg. I'm also g.f. by necessity, so the first time I made them all-buckwheat (as I usually do), and had them with maple syrup. Today I wanted a little more protein so I made them buckwheat/chickpea flour. Served with homemade fresh blueberry sauce, mug of green tea on the side...super duper!
Oh nice! I love chickpea flour so I might try that next time. Glad you enjoyed them! Thanks Colleen!
I am serving them with Banana Dairy free Icecream
Flavoured with a date, Tahini and carob sauce to resemble chocolate.Crushed mint and almonds on top
That sounds delicious. :)
These look yummy! Definitely gotta give them a try! It looks like they could easily be made gluten-free...
Yum! These look delicious :)