Pumpkin Pancakes (Vegan)

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These vegan, gluten-free pumpkin pancakes are full of fall flavors and are the perfect cozy breakfast for the whole family!

I have been making these pumpkin pancakes every fall season for a few years now, and they are always a hit when I make them for my friends! They are also so easy to make- you just throw the ingredients in a bowl, mix them up, and cook each pancake. They can also easily be made in a batch and you can store some for later. I have instructions on how to do this at the bottom of the post.

Making these pancakes vegan and gluten free

For some reason, people think it's tricky to make pancakes vegan, but it's super easy! Pumpkin pancakes are even easier to make than regular vegan pancakes because the pumpkin is so moist and acts as an egg replacer.

I am not personally gluten free, but I know that many people who come to my site are, so in the last few years, I have been making many of my recipe gluten free as well as vegan. I want my recipes to be accessible to as many people as possible. I've actually loved doing this because I find that gluten free baking can be just as delicious as traditional baking (sometimes even more delicious)!

After much experimentation with gluten-free flour, my favorite remains oat flour. It's not the absolutely ideal gluten-free flour for every recipe, but it definitely is for this one. I actually find that oat flour is more flavorful and delicious than regular all-purpose flour, and it's more nutritious, so I find myself using it in my personal baking as well.

Oat flour also works really well in baked goods. Not every gluten free flour can be easily substituted (i.e. almond and coconut flour are very different and cannot be substituted 1:1 with regular flour). However, in this recipe, oat flour can be used interchangeably for all purpose or whole wheat flour. In fact, if you do not have any oat flour on hand, or are not gluten free, you can use either one of those flours instead. These will make your pancakes even fluffier because of the added gluten, so if you want extra fluffy pancakes, use those flours instead!

Something important to note is that if you are celiac or have a gluten allergy, you should look for a label on your oats or oat flour that says that they are certified gluten-free. In some facilities, oats can be cross-contaminated with other glutens, so please keep that in mind for safety!

Although the pancakes in this recipe are both vegan and gluten free, they are still super fluffy, moist, and so delicious. They are a great treat for this pumpkin season, and they are very easy to make too!

I decided to make these high in protein for a little extra nutrition by adding some vegan protein powder, but you can skip that part if you want.

What you'll need for this pumpkin pancake recipe

Dry Ingredients

• oat flour: I used oat flour to make this recipe gluten-free. You can make your own oat flour at home by finely grinding oats in a high speed blender. This method is great because it is very cheap. However, when baking I like to use store-bought oat flour because it is ground up super finely and is ideal for baking. I like this one oat flour from Bob's Red Mill or this one from Arrowhead.
  If you don't have oats or oat flour on hand, and you don't need the recipe to be gluten free, you can also sub the oat flour for all purpose flour or whole wheat flour. Make sure that you buy certified gluten free oat flour if you have an allergy.
• plant-based protein powder (optional): for extra added protein.
• coconut sugar: I used coconut sugar for this recipe, but any granulated sugar (like white sugar or brown sugar) will work.
• baking powder
• cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice: you can also use pumpkin pie spice in place of this spice combination.
• vanilla extract
• sea salt

Wet Ingredients

• pumpkin purée: I used store bought canned pumpkin because they are super easy to find here in the US in the fall. However, I know that they are not as commonly found in many countries, so I wanted to include an option for those of you who might not be able to find canned pumpkin puree so easily. Here is a great recipe I found for homemade pumpkin puree.
• dairy free milk: I used unsweetened almond milk in this recipe, but any non-dairy milk will work such as oat milk, coconut milk, or soy milk.
• coconut oil: you can also use vegan butter instead.
• optional: for extra flavor or crunch, you can add chopped pecans or chocolate chips in the batter.

The full ratios are listed at the bottom of the post in the recipe card. If you give this recipe a try, please consider leaving a star rating and comment, it would mean so much! : )

Equipment

• frying pan or nonstick pan
• large or medium mixing bowl
• whisk
• spatula
• measuring cups
• food scale for measuring flour (optional): this is definitely not a requirement because you can use measuring cups instead, but I find that it can sometimes be tricky to get the exact amount of flour using a measuring cup, so I find that weighing my flour is the best way to ensure I am measuring correctly. This is why I have included the grams for this recipe in the recipe card. You can just make this recipe using measuring cups, but make sure you are measuring correctly. Here is a great video showing how to correctly measure flour.

How to make these healthy pumpkin pancakes

To make the pancakes, add all of the ingredients to a large bowl. Use a whisk to mix them until you get a thick pancake batter.

Note: if you don't feel like mixing the batter, you can also pulse all of the ingredients in a food processor.

Grease a non-stick pan with coconut oil and add about ¼ cup of batter for each pancake. 

Cook each pancake for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Flip and cook for about another minute on the other side.

Serve the pumpkin pancakes with vegan whipped cream, maple syrup, and pecans. Almond butter or other nut butters also make great high-protein toppings.

This recipe makes about 6-7 pancakes.

Video

If you liked these fluffy pumpkin pancakes, you might also like these other pumpkin recipes

pumpkin cupcakes

pumpkin cheesecake

pumpkin pie

Can I make waffles with this recipe?

Yes! I have actually done this before and love it! Generously grease the waffle maker, then scoop out the batter on top and cook until golden brown on both sides.

How to store these vegan gluten free pumpkin pancakes

You can store any leftover pancakes in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

Can I freeze these pancakes?

You can freeze the pancakes by first placing them in an airtight container. When you're ready to enjoy them again, you can pop them in a toaster oven or on a pan over medium heat to warm them up. You can store them in the freezer for about a month (I have not tested storing them for longer, but it might be possible).

Making this recipe with other gluten free flours

I have only tested this recipe with oat flour. This recipe will not work with almond flour, coconut flour, cassava flour, or chickpea flour.