Healthy pancakes that actually taste good! Soft, fluffy and amazingly grain/gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, sugar-free, low-carb, Paleo & Vegan.

GF Pancakes with Good Texture

Texture is probably THE most important factor in pancakes. I don’t know about you, but since going gluten-free, the pancakes I’ve tried have been not-so-great.

They’re either eggy, dry, gritty, grainy, too flat, too dense, or something that screams, “THIS ISN’T A REAL PANCAKE.” And that’s precisely NOT what I want to eat. You and I both want the real deal (just without the inflammatory ingredients, right?)

I’ve tried a LOT of pancakes over the years and have never been satisfied so I was hesitant to attempt them again. But it has been one of my most-requested recipes. I aim to please, so I set out to make some “good” pancakes. And I love how they turned out!

To help me in my quest, I found a Paleo/Vegan pancake recipe from the Real Food Dieticians that I knew could be altered to fit my dietary restrictions. I customized it so that it was much lower carb but still delicious! It’s really amazing how these taste “real” without any eggs, grains, bananas, sugar, dairy, or crazy ingredients.

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Fluffy without Eggs

These pancakes are crisp and firm on the outside but soft and fluffy on the inside. They remind me more of whole wheat pancakes since they’re a little nutty.

They’re admittedly not as feather-light as pancakes made with bleached white flour and eggs, but they’re not *too* heavy.

The baking powder, baking soda and apple cider vinegar give them fluff so you’re not left with hockey pucks, haha.

How to make Pancakes Low-Carb

A combination of almond flour, tapioca and flaxseed are used as the “flour” here to replace white flour.

It’s best not to rely on any one “flour” in gluten-free cooking. A variety of different dry ingredients helps the texture immensely.

I know some that follow low-carb or keto may be hesitant to use tapioca flour since it’s a little higher in carbs, but it really helps these taste lighter, fluffier and more like conventional pancakes.

I only used 4 Tbs tapioca flour in the whole recipe, instead of 12 (!) like other recipes, so the carbs are much lower.

If you’re absolutely against tapioca, you may sub more almond flour, or another nut/seed flour– just keep in mind, the texture will be heavier.

On the flip side, if you’re fine with tapioca and want to make these even FLUFFIER, go ahead and replace the flax with more tapioca 🙂

The Best Sugar-Free Syrup

To sweeten these pancakes, AND to drizzle on top, the perfect sugar-free/low-carb natural sweetener is monk fruit maple syrup.

My favorite is Lakanto brand. It has a delicious maple flavor and perfectly sweetens these pancakes. It’s not too sweet, although it is on the thin side. That doesn’t bother me though.

PS This syrup is not only for breakfast! I use it in many other of my recipes, like these

• Keto Crunch Bars,
• 4-Ingredient Fudge and
• Orange Spice Cheesecake (some of my personal faves!!)

My Favorite Dairy Alternatives

I’ve been mostly dairy-free for about 5 years now. (Maybe longer? I kinda lost count.) But I weaned myself off dairy by trying different “milks” until I found one I liked.

What I like and always use unsweetened vanilla cashew milk. I do this in my coffee, smoothies as well as some dessert recipes. I don’t drink it straight, but I like the taste.

And instead of butter, I use buttery flavor coconut oil. It’s SO GOOD. I found it at Thrive Market significantly cheaper than Amazon or grocery stores. (Don’t forget you can use my referral link to save 25% off your entire first order!)

But if you don’t have buttery flavor oil, you can also use refined coconut oil plus butter extract (it’s dairy-free/vegan), or use any oil or butter you like.

I also tested these with avocado oil, and that worked as well. But my preference is to have that delicious butter flavor — in the pancakes, on the griddle AND of course slathered on top 😉

Can these be made into WAFFLES?

I have tried a very similar recipe to this in my waffle maker, and unfortunately, they stuck really bad. 🙁 I think it’s due to the lack of eggs.

But I will keep working on it! Waffles are one of my favorite breakfast foods EVER, so I’ve gotta find a way to make them grain-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, and egg-free.

If you’re ok with eggs, you could play around with this recipe by possibly using 2 eggs and reducing the milk by 1/2 cup. If you try it, please report how it goes 🙂

What other recipe makeovers would you like to see? Let me know in the comments! 

Low-Carb Pancakes

Soft and fluffy low-carb pancakes without any eggs, dairy, flour, sugar or butter!

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 12 pancakes

Author: Emily

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

• 1 1/4 cup fine almond flour
• 1/4 cup  tapioca flour
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 1 Tbs baking powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• pinch pink salt
• 2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla cashew milk - or almond milk
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1.5 Tbs monk fruit maple syrup - see notes
• 1 Tbs buttery coconut oil - melted
• 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
• In a small glass bowl, melt coconut oil and whisk in remaining wet ingredients.
• Pour wet over dry and gently stir until just combined (do not overmix). Let batter rest for 3-5 minutes while you preheat your skillet to medium (batter will be thick). Grease skillet lightly with buttery coconut oil or oil of choice.
• Use an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup scoop to place batter in a hot pan. Gently spread the batter with the scoop to flatten slightly (Pancakes will not spread much on their own)
• Cook for a few minutes until edges are set and pancakes are lightly golden, then flip to cook the other side until the tops are firm and spring back when touched.
• Serve warm with a slather of buttery coconut oil and a drizzle of monk fruit maple syrup.

Notes

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for about 5 days.

They also freeze great. Place on a parchment-lined tray in a single layer in the freezer until frozen. Then transfer to a freezer bag. Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave.

Sweetener alternatives:

• Pinch of pure stevia powder + 1.5 Tbs additional milk
• Pinch of pure monkfruit powder + 1.5 Tbs additional milk
• 20-30 drops liquid monkfruit, to taste
• 30-40 drops liquid stevia, to taste

For non low-carb:

• 1.5 Tbs pure maple syrup
• 1 Tbs coconut sugar + milk to thin

Servings Size: Personally, I eat 2 pancakes at a time. I calculated the macros based on 1 pancake, but you can easily double or triple the numbers to see how these fit into your preferences.

Nutrition Facts

Low-Carb Pancakes

Amount Per Serving

Calories 101 Calories from Fat 76

% Daily Value*

Fat 8.47g13%

Saturated Fat 1.55g10%

Trans Fat 0.01g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.01g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.01g

Cholesterol 0.01mg0%

Sodium 22.29mg1%

Potassium 128.1mg4%

Carbohydrates 5.73g2%

Fiber 1.96g8%

Sugar 0.51g1%

Protein 3.09g6%

Vitamin A 0.01IU0%

Calcium 76.33mg8%

Iron 0.78mg4%

Sugar Alcohol 0.32g

Net Carbs 3.5g

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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