Vegan Buckwheat Pancakes (Gluten-Free)
By Carine Claudepierre
Published on 10/30/2023
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These vegan buckwheat pancakes are healthy vegan, gluten-free fluffy pancakes, perfect to start the day with a wholesome breakfast.
It’s an easy pancake recipe with no milk, no eggs, 100% vegan, and rich in nutrients using gluten-free buckwheat flour.
If there’s one type of recipe I am an expert at, it’s crepes and pancakes. Born and raised in France, where buckwheat flour is mainly used for French buckwheat crepes.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Buckwheat flour is not only a gluten-free flour but also a healthier flour option than gluten-free all-purpose flour. If you are after a gluten-free pancake recipe that is also naturally nutritious, you must start baking with buckwheat flour.
These buckwheat pancakes are truly fluffy filling, and they will keep you satisfied and energized up to lunchtime. Taste-wise, buckwheat pancakes are absolutely delicious, adding earthy, nutty notes to baked goods.
Expert Tips For Buckwheat Pancakes
While most people think buckwheat flour is bitter and turns food ultra dry and dark, this is untrue. One of the things I learned about buckwheat flour after baking with it for more than 20 years is that all blends are not equal. Some brands add bits and pieces of the back hull from the buckwheat groat. These bits can be more present in some flour brands adding a grittier and darker color to the food you bake with.
That’s why the first step to start baking with buckwheat flour is to test and choose the perfect blend. Buckwheat flour should be pale, greyish, and not too gritty to the touch. This is the first step to succeed and deliver fluffy buckwheat pancakes that truly look and taste good.
How To Make Vegan Buckwheat Pancakes
This Vegan buckwheat pancake recipe is super easy to make with only a few wholesome ingredients.
Key Ingredients
- Buckwheat Flour – Make sure you pick a light buckwheat flour with a white-grey color, and fine texture, not gritty or ultra dark. The dark blend contains larger pieces of hull and makes the pancakes denser, not fluffy, and very dark in color. The color of buckwheat flour varies from brand to brand. It tends to be darker in Europe (e.g. France has a darker buckwheat flour called ‘farine de ble noir‘ or ‘farine de sarrasin‘), and it is lighter in the US or New Zealand/Australia.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda – Make sure you use gluten-free baking powder and a fresh batch of each raising agent. The combination of both makes the pancakes ultra fluffy. In fact, buckwheat flour is a dense, heavy, gluten-free flour, and the combination of raising agents is how you make fluffy, vegan, gluten-free pancakes.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – The acidity of the vinegar activates the leaving agents and also creates a vegan buttermilk when combined with plant-based milk.
- Unsweetened Almond Milk – This is the best milk substitute for buckwheat flour pancakes. It’s light and tasteless and therefore, it keeps the pancakes fluffier. You can also use other plant-based milk, like soy milk, oat milk, or coconut milk. But it makes the pancakes slightly heavier pancakes.
- Liquid Sweetener – I love to use unrefined sugar, so the best liquid sweeteners are brown rice syrup, agave syrup, coconut syrup, and maple syrup.
- Vanilla Extract – For flavor and to cover the light bitterness of the flour.
- Coconut Oil – melted and cooled, or choose a light-flavored oil like almond oil or avocado oil for healthy options. You can substitute oil with applesauce for an oil-free vegan, gluten-free pancake recipe. Note that this will make the pancakes dryer.
Combining Wet And Dry Ingredients Separately
- First, whisk all the wet ingredients into a mixing bowl: almond milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar. The vinegar will slightly curdle the dairy-free milk and help the pancakes rise more. Set aside while you combine the dry ingredients together in another bowl.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk buckwheat flour, baking powder, and baking soda until well combined.
Whisking Ingredient and cook on a pancake griddle
- Next, pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. The batter should look thick and smooth, with no lumps.
Cooking the Pancakes
- These simple vegan buckwheat pancakes must be cooked in a warm, non-stick pan or pancake griddle. First, warm your non-stick pan over medium heat. Use cooking oil spray to oil the entire pan surface between each addition of pancake batter. This prevents the pancakes from sticking to the pan, making them easier to flip. Cook the pancakes over low-medium heat until golden brown – about 2 to 3 minutes. Then, slide a flat spatula under the pancake and flip it to the other side. Cook the buckwheat pancakes for an extra 1 or 2 minutes until the center is cooked through. Repeat the cooking steps, greasing the pan between each batter addition to prevent the pancakes from sticking to the pan.
The Best Gluten-Free Pancake Toppings
The best vegan gluten-free pancake toppings for these buckwheat pancakes are:
- Liquid Sweetener – Healthy options are unrefined sweeteners like pure maple syrup, brown rice syrup, apple syrup, or coconut syrup.
- Nut Butter – Pour a drizzle of almond butter, cashew butter, or peanut butter on top of the pancake stack.
- Fruits – Add some fresh or frozen berries, like raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries. Otherwise, use banana slices or diced apples.
- Unsweetened Shredded Coconut – If you can toast the coconut before, it adds an extra nutty flavor that goes amazingly well with the buckwheat flavor.
- Sliced Almonds to add crunch and extra nutty flavors.
- Vegan Butter – Add a piece of vegan butter on top of warm pancakes it will melt and make the buckwheat pancakes ultra moist and buttery.
More Vegan Gluten-Free Breakfast Recipes
If you need more inspiration on vegan, gluten-free breakfast recipes, check out those other breakfast recipes below!
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Vegan Buckwheat Pancakes
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Buckwheat Flour
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
Liquid ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Almond Milk - unsweetened, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar - or any vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Brown Rice Syrup - or maple syrup or any liquid sweetener
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 tablespoon Coconut Oil - melted or canola oil
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together unsweetened almond milk, vinegar, syrup, vanilla, and oil. Set it aside.
- In another large mixing bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients: buckwheat flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Make a well in the center and pour the liquid ingredients in the middle.
- Whisk until it forms a smooth, slightly thick batter with no lumps.
- Warm a pancake griddle under medium heat with a little olive oil or coconut oil.
- Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the warm oiled griddle. Use the back of a spoon if needed to spread batter into a lovely round-shaped pancake.
- Cook until bubbles form on top and sides are set and dry – about 2 minutes, then slide a spatula under the pancake and flip on the other side. Cook for an extra 30 seconds on this side.
- Serve immediately or cool on a rack while you area cooking the rest of the batter. You should be able to make 11 pancakes.
- Serve with toppings of your choice, like maple syrup, brown rice syrup, almond butter, dairy-free coconut yogurt, berries, or banana slices, etc.
Notes
How to Store Vegan Buckwheat Pancakes
Make-ahead: This is a great recipe to make your breakfast ahead. You can make ahead the pancake batter and store it overnight in the fridge in an airtight container. Fridge: Otherwise, store the cooked pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Freeze: these pancakes freeze very well, too. You can freeze them in a zip bag, placing a piece of parchment paper between each pancake so they don’t stick together. Thaw pancakes on a cooling rack or a plate at room temperature. Frozen pancakes can be rewarmed in a warm pan or bread toaster.Allergy Swaps
Nut-free – replace almond milk with soy milk, oat milk, or any nut-free milk you love Oil-free – replace oil with the same amount of unsweetened apple sauce.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
These buckwheat pancakes are vegan gluten-free, and therefore they are slightly more dense than vegan wheat pancakes.
However, they are still fluffy for gluten-free pancakes, with a delicious nutty, earthy flavor from the buckwheat flour.
No, this is a simple vegan buckwheat pancake recipe designed to use only buckwheat flour. This recipe won’t work with almond flour or wheat flour.
Buckwheat flour is a very special flour with lots of fiber and protein. It can’t be swapped for white wheat flour or any other flour with the same ratio.
This will mess up your recipe, resulting in either heavy or fragile pancakes depending on what you swap buckwheat flour for.
Sure, you can add fruits or chocolate chips to this pancake vegan recipe.
To make vegan blueberry buckwheat pancakes add 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries to the batter.
Or add 1/4 cup of vegan chocolate chips if you are a chocolate lover!
Buckwheat flour is a gluten-free flour made from ground buckwheat seed, also known as buckwheat groats. Buckwheat flour has a hearty flavor.
It is high in fiber and, therefore, lower in carbs than other regular flour.
The color of buckwheat flour varies depending on the country and brand you use, from light white to grey pale.
Buckwheat flour is high in fiber, which means that it slows down the absorption of carbs.
Consequently, it’s a fulfilling flour that keeps your blood sugar level stable throughout the day.
It makes buckwheat flour a healthy alternative flour for diabetics, better than white wheat flour. On a vegan diet, buckwheat is a great vegan protein.
We added 10T each of hemp seeds and ground flax seeds, to boost the protein content up to about 10 gramd per pancake. I needed to add a little extra water.
I made waffles and they came out great. I oiled the waffle iron with coconut oil and the batter did not stick. Great recipe, thank you.
Ann
This recipe works! I have tried so many grain free recipes that don’t work. It’s nice to find one that does. I could taste the raising agent so will try to omit the baking soda next time. I used home made baking powder made with cream of tarter and baking soda. Pancakes were fluffy and cooked in the middle. I did not have to cook them long. Just how I would normally make a pancake when baking with wheat flour. I agree with other comments, you need a non stick pan and a coating of oil to avoid sticking.
Great recipe! Thanks
These were nice and fluffy and great taste! But my poor pan! They stuck like glue to the bottom of my pan. Any advice?
Thanks
Use a non-stick pan and a touch of oil.
Thank you for these recipes that turn out and taste very good! It is hard to find good gluten free vegan recipes. Thank you for answering your mail. Your answers help me as a reader as well. You give options and further ideas. Very refreshing! Thank you!
Happy to have discovered your site! Thank you for Gluten free vegan recipes that work and are delicious!
Tried these they were great! I wonder if they’d work as sheetoan pancakes so it’s faster to meal prep? What temp and time would you recommend and any changes to the recipe?
They would probably work as sheet pan pancakes. I would try at 425°F (200°C) for 15 to 20 minutes.
Hi there,
If I want to make waffles, should I keep the same ratios?
Thank you 🙂
Yes, it should work but grease the iron very well because buckwheat flour stick way more than all purpose.
Wow I haven’t had a pancake since I gave up eggs and gluten to help my thyroid! These are delicious. The buckwheat has a distinct flavor, but I like a hearty pancake. And I was surprised how much they puffed up. Definitely making these again and trying your other buckwheat recipes.
Easy and comes out perfect!
Hi mine are also flat, but delicious. I can only eat distilled white vinegar, is that no good as an activator? Will adding salt stop activation?
Yes, any acid should work even lemon juice but they won’t fluff the pancakes as well as ACV.
These are super easy to make and very good!! I added in some ground cinnamon to the mix and an extra 1/4tsp of baking soda and used Elmhurst Unsweetened Cashew Milk and 1TBS of applesauce instead of oil. These are amazing and a good size for a family breakfast. My batter made 16 1/4 cup pancakes so lots of leftovers for me and I can’t wait to finish them up :)!!
I would add 1/4 tsp salt in with dry ingredients to bring out flavors. A little flat tasting
Wow. This recipe is amazing. Thank you. It was a big surprise for me to see and taste such lightly fluffy pancakes…from buckwheat! Perfect. love these.
i used bob’s red mill bucketwheat flour and it is nothing like this photo. first of all buckwheat is darker, moreso when mixed with the wet ingredients. anyway, i read some good reviews and happy for them. just wondering if you really used your photo for this recipe though.
Buckwheat flour is grey in color, not dark in all countries, in New Zealand where I live it’s pretty much grey white while when I was in France it was more dark brown. I share recipes for free on my blog by passion for plant-based food and photography. I have no reason to use misleading pictures on my recipe post. I am sorry if your pancakes doesn’t look the same as mine, maybe try a different brand next time.
I also found that even with the increase to 1/2 tsp of baking soda didn’t create a fluffy pancake. They tasted great, but we’re on the flat side for sure.
Delicious recipe! I followed it to the letter and it turned out perfect. Kid approved too! Love that I don’t need to faff about with multiple flours or banana or flax eggs or apple sauce. Thank you
These pancakes are delicious and are our staple now. Thanks for a great clean recipe. I can’t get mine to look as fluffy as your picture though. They come out flat. Any ideas why?
I am so happy you love them too! Buckwheat flour has no gluten, so it won’t raise as much as gluten-based flour. However, adding the apple cider vinegar and baking powder do the trick for me all the time! You can add an extra 1/4 teaspoon baking soda to help the batter raise more if needed. Enjoy!
Made these last night and really enjoyed them, but mine are super dark and the buckwheat flavor was a bit much. Where do you find the light buckwheat flour? Also, any suggestions of another flour (not rice or wheat) that could be mixed in to balance out the buckwheat flavor? The texture is amazing. Also, I added a bit of sugar and a dash of salt. Thank you for the great recipe!!
Buckwheat flour has different color based on where you live. Back in France the buckwheat flour I bought was always dark grey but here in New Zealand it’s very light in color even if the nutrition panel is the same. You can decrease the flavor of buckwheat flour by using only half of it in the recipe and another half of all-purpose gluten free flour blend or chickpea flour. I hope it helps.
These are fluffy and they go great with fruit and maple syrup.
The vinegar came through a bit stronger than expected, but very tasty.
Delicious!
Just make some for breakfast… Delicious! Thanks!
I never take the time to write reviews but this recipe deserves it so much! I just found out I’m allergic to gluten, dairy, eggs, and almonds so that makes making pancakes extremely hard. I made this recipe exactly as written except I used coconut milk instead of almond and I could cry with how well they turned out. Thank you so much!!!
Does anyone have a recommendation on the brand or type of buckwheat flour they used? The buckwheat flour I have on hand is very coarse, so I was disappointed in these, but am going to look for a better brand!
Bob red mills is great! Enjoy, XOXO Carine
Thank you for a great recipe! I am at an in between stage of healthier cooking, as I like it, but my husband, not so much. Then he had a heart attack. I had maple syrup, buckwheat flour and avocado oil. I had no almond milk so used the buttermilk I had. It still turned out great. Thank you for posting it!
I don’t usually leave comments but wow these were Really good! They were super light and fluffy, not dense and weird textured or taste like many gluten free recipes. This was my second time using buckwheat flour and I really like the texture of it by itself without mixing it with any other flours. These were definitely not as sweet as i’m used to with pancakes but topped with maple syrup and sweet fruit were definitely enough for me. I added a little cinnamon, dried ginger, carrot pulp and a pinch of salt to mine. Thank you!
Made these this morning, topped with banana, peanut butter and syrup. These where delicious! Thank you
Sounds so GOOD! Thanks for sharing. Enjoy the recipes around here. XOXO Carine
Hello, I have a doubt, could I divide your recipe in half (all the ingredients)? Since I don’t have too much buckwheat flour left. Thanks!
Sure ! No problem at all. Enjoy the pancakes, XOXO Carine
Hi Carine,
Can I grind raw buckwheat groats for the flour? Would you recommend sifting it? Thanks so much, can’t wait to try these tomorrow!
Lav
Sure! Make sure you grind them thinly into a thin powder and it should be fine, no need to sift it. Enjoy the recipe, XOXO Carine.
I’ve recently switched to an anti-inflammatory diet because of my auto-immune disease, and the biggest thing I’ve struggled with is finding decent GF alternatives. These pancakes are every bit as good as wheat based pancakes. We really enjoyed them – thank you for the recipe!
Thank you for the lovely comment! I am so happy you found recipe you love on my blog, Enjoy! XOXO Carine