I didn’t eat pancakes all summer then all of a sudden I remembered…it’s been way too long since I had pancakes! Shortly thereafter, these 4-ingredient fluffy vegan protein pancakes were born! You only need a few basic ingredients to make these delicious fluffy pancakes and they can be prepared in a matter of seconds. All you need is flour, protein powder, sweetener and baking powder and you’re ready to go. Load them up with your favourite toppings like peanut butter and berries and dig in.
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Make the Most of Carbs
These fluffy vegan protein pancakes are a good choice a few hours before a workout or shortly after one. Carbohydrates are the the body’s preferred source of energy so it’s a good idea to eat the majority of your carbs around the most active part of your day to make the most of them.
You want the carbohydrates you eat to either be used an an immediate source of energy or used to restore glycogen levels rather than be stored as fat. Sometimes pancakes are just pancakes and I’ll eat them for breakfast no matter what’s my plan for the day is but for the most part I try to eat most of my carbs before and after training.
If I was to eat these before training, I’d give myself a couple hours to digest and allow those carbs to get to work, ensuring blood sugar levels are up and glycogen stores are full prior to hitting the gym. Since they have some added protein they’re more balanced than regular pancakes and if you add some healthy fats on top, like almond butter or hemp seeds, they’ll be digested more slowly, providing sustained energy and helping to maintain more stable blood sugar levels.
If I was to eat these after training, I’d try to eat them as soon as possible to get those pancake gains!
But don’t worry too much about all that…these are also PANCAKES, guys, so go ahead and dig in anytime you need a pancake fix. Just keep those energizing carbs in mind when you might them to fuel up for a big workout.
4-Ingredient Fluffy Vegan Protein Pancakes
I usually only eat pancakes on Sundays but these are so quick and easy they could work as a weekday breakfast for the family. Top them with loads of fruit or some of the topping ideas below and you’re all set for an active day!
Pancake Topping Ideas
Pancake toppings are the best part, aren’t they!? Here are some of my favourites.
- peanut butter, almond butter, tahini or sunflower seed butter
- dates soaked in hot water then blended to make caramel sauce
- nut butter caramel sauce – blend your fave nut butter or tahini with dates
- sliced banana
- fresh blueberries, strawberries or cherries (try berries added to the batter too, YUM!)
- homemade raw chocolate sauce made from maple syrup, coconut oil and cacao powder
- cacao nibs or dairy-free chocolate chips (you can also add these to the batter for chocolate chip pancakes!)
- pure maple syrup
- chia seed jam
- one of my absolute favourites: coconut butter
What are you favourite pancake toppings? I can always use delicious new ideas! Let me know in the comments what you’re putting on these.
More Vegan Pancakes Recipes
If you enjoy these, you’ve gotta check out these other pancake recipes:
- Vegan Chickpea Flour Pancakes – Oil-free, grain-free, just a couple ingredients!
- Whole Wheat Fluffy Vegan Pancakes – very popular, oil-free, can be sugar-free
- Vegan Chia Seed Pancakes – a reader fave, oil-free, super easy and so fluffy!
4-Ingredient Fluffy Vegan Protein Pancakes
- Yield: 6 pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup organic brown rice protein powder or vegan protein powder of choice
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup, stevia powder or liquid stevia drops
- 1 cup water + more as needed
Instructions
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
- Add the maple syrup or sweetener of choice, then slowly add the water, mixing until “just mixed.” It should be a little lumpy and quite thick. Add a little extra water if needed.
- Cook in a hot non-stick pan until bubbles appear in the centre of each pancake. Flip and cook for a few more minutes.
- Serves 2.
Notes
- The original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of water but as you’ll notice below, people were finding the batter too runny. I reduced it to 1 cup but I think somewhere between 1 and 1 1/2 cups works. Start with 1 cup and as more as needed. It works great with 1 cup but the batter is very thick, however this will result in an extra fluffy pancake. If you want the batter to stretch a little further and make more pancakes, add a little extra water.
- I haven’t tested these with gluten-free flours but some readers have had success. Check the comments section to see what’s worked for people. If you have success with a gluten-free flour blend, let me know in the comment section!
If you enjoyed this recipe please take a moment to share it via your favourite social media network below! I’d really appreciate it. Thanks, guys! And don’t forget to tag me on social media and use #runningornealfood so I can check out your pics.
hippymomelizabeth
I still love your blog and your commitment to being active is beautiful. I love your pancakes and you rock. Keep shining 🙂
Tot Dental
A very tasty recipe.
Definitely follow healthy diets and improve our overall health if they so good not cost us too much work.
Replacing animal protein with plant protein seems a good and healthy decision.
Do not forget to brush our teeth.
Regards.
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Rae Ann
I love the idea of protein packed pancakes!!! I just tried mixing these up- the batter is so runny. I used soy milk instead of water. Did I do something wrong?
Caleigh
Same thing happened to me. It 1 1/2 cups too much liquid?
Deryn
I’m not sure. I’ll have to test again…I haven’t made these for a while but I can’t remember having any problems with the recipe. I should be able to re-test next weekend. Thanks for the feedback!
katherine
They were tastey but mine were really runny too. Will try again with less water. Loved the taste though!
Karin
Subbed oat and almond flour and used Vega vanilla powder- really delicious !
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Kristian
How much did you use? Half and half?
Patty
Greetings from Brazil. I made some changes in the recipe but I loved it anyway. Really fluffly indeed!!! Thank you very much.
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jd
I made them as written. Batter was very runny and as result didn’t rise to the lovely puffiness in your photo. Please let us know how to modify liquid. I, too, thought 1 1/2 c water was a lot for 1 cup of flour! I did add some chopped nuts and blueberries. The pancakes taste amazing. . . just not great texture.
Deryn
I’m thinking it must be 1/2-1 cup of water but unfortunately I can’t find my original recipe! I know I’ve said I’ll re-make them to figure out the liquid but I keep forgetting! It’s on my list for this weekend for sure though. I’m glad you were able to make them work..
teresa
just tried it – used 1 cup rice milk and added strawberries.;
very good
Rebecca
I made these this morning and they were so good!!!! super simple and easy. For the protein powder I used Garden of Life Vanilla Raw Meal and it tasted really yummy with the slight vanilla flavor. I added a little more water then instructed but that’s just preference. I was amazed at how well they turned out and i’m gonna try and fight the urge not to make them every morning. I added sliced bananas in the batter and that was amazing! so glad i found this recipe.
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Mia
These were really good. I too had a runny mix with one cup of water so i just added a little extra flour and they came out fluffy. I also added a little cinnamon, yum.I doubled the recipe so I and my boy friend had some for the week. thanks!!
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Kelly
Loved this recipe! I doubled the maple syrup and added vanilla and almond=family favorite!!!
Cyndi
Does this serve 6 or serve 2? It says 6 at the top, and 2 in the recipe?
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Cyndi
Could these be tweaked for coconut flour? I have a big bag in the cupboard and have no idea what to do with it… I know it doesn’t mix the same as other flours.
Nejlika
Coconut flour is almost the best replacement for NOT healthy wheat flour. But it could be needed adding some thickener, it can be many things, but easier is to buy Xanthan Gum, which s needed very, very little – f.ex. 1/2 teaspoon for a not large cake. Or 1/4 teaspoon for pancakes.
Sandra
If I wanted to make these using 2 tbsp of hemp protein powder, would I need to add 2 tbsp of flour as I would be cutting out 2 tbsp of the rice protein powder?
tt3d29
I used ground flaxseed instead of protein powder and they came out great!
Caitlin
These pancakes are SO GOOD. I think this is the first time I’ve actually made successful protein pancakes that weren’t cardboard like. They are actually really fluffy like the picture and tasty and filling! I think the perfect amount of water is 1.25 cups.
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Lora
Great .. Thanks for sharing great article
Kiki
These sound so good! I love making pancakes with ripe bananas and coconut flakes! Gluten free but I do use an egg… I have heard you can use chickpea fluid from the can to substitute egg whites – have you tried!
Rog
I tried these using Vega vanilla flavored protein and they taste like cap n crunch cereal. Still good though. 🙂
Deryn
Haha, thanks for the feedback! I can’t say I know what that cereal tastes like but I’m glad they at least worked out for you!
Julie Christopher
A few of the shots of the pancakes appear to have bananas in them. Please clarify. Thank you!
Deryn
Sometimes I add banana or berries to the batter as it cooks, up to you! Enjoy 🙂
Tom
Looks great! Did anyone try whole wheat flower? Was there a reason it would not work?Thanks
Deryn
I’ve made them with whole wheat…works fine!
Ivan
So does this recipe make 12 or 6 pancakes?
Deryn
It depends how thick you make the batter but it serves 2 with approximately 6 pancakes.
Melanie Hicks
Daryn loved this easy recipe..I do have to make it gluten free so I use a mixture of
Gluten free flours for 1/2 of the cup of flour …the other 1/2 cup I use coconut flour….
As far as people having trouble with the liquid…I used unsweetened Almomd milk…
Started with 1/2 cup and gradually added another half with just water…the coconut flour really
is great at absorbing liquids ..they came out really fluffy and yummy….not runny at all..
Also another addition was apple butter for 1 tablespoon of the called for maple syrup…
These are divine….
For the original recipe do you have a calorie count….
Thank you yummmmmmmm????
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Adrien
Worked great! Used half amounts of pea protein and rice protein and tasted good. Used 2 teaspoons of baking powder. Really happy because I find the pea and rice proteins fairly disgusting to drink in shaker with water. Won’t need to throw them in bin after all.
★★★★★
Deryn
haha, I’m glad you found a way to use them up!
Matt
These have become my go.to Sunday pancakes. I only get creative with toppings. That’s the fun!
Deryn
The toppings are the best part!
Martina Ventura
I just made them for breakfast and they’re great. They taste really good and when you use toppings these pancakes reach the next level. I can’t believe that they’re so good AND with great nutritional values. Thank you so much for sharing this. I know I will come back to this recipe over and over again!
★★★★★
Deryn
Yay! So happy you liked them! They’re awesome, aren’t they? I love loading them up with my fave toppings, so good. Thanks for your comment.
Barbara Board
This is the best vegan protein pancake recipe!! Could these be made into waffles ? Would I have to modify recipe ?
Deryn
So glad you enjoyed it! I don’t think you’d have to modify anything to use the batter for waffles, let me know if you try it!
Cali Dunks
Our family loves this recipe. We make it probably 2-3x a week! I just made a pumpkin spice version by adding 1/3C pumpkin puree and 1/2t pumpkin pie spice. So yummy!!
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Deryn
omg, YUM!! Good call on the pumpkin! I’m so happy you guys have been enjoying it.
JJ
I don’t know what everyone is talking about, but this recipe turned out horrible. I even made it twice.
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Deryn
Sorry to hear that, Hector. Did you follow the recipe exactly as written?
Alaska
Can I sub oat flour for all purose flour?
Deryn
I haven’t tried it in this recipe and I can’t guarantee how it will come out without the gluten. I think the best bet for gluten-free would be a gluten-free flour blend. I think they’ll probably cook up okay with oat flour but I’m not totally sure, the texture would be different but I think they’d at least cook. Let me know if you try it!
Devorah
My middle child makes these all the time for the whole family and loves them. We used half chai and half vanilla protein powder to get a chai vanilla pancake! Thanks for the recipe!
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Deryn
Oh yum, sounds so good with chai! Glad you guys enjoy them. Thanks for your comment.
Anna
I finally found the perfect protein pancakes recipe!! Thank you so much!! I no longer feel guilty eating pancakes! How cool is that!?!
Thank you for this awesome blog, i found loads of good advices and discover stuff i didn’t know i could benefit from (motivational books for example!)
keep’em coming!!
Deryn
Awesome, Anna! So happy you’ve some so good tips and advice. Happy pancake-eating!
Taylor Meek
My favorite pancake recipe!!!! <3
★★★★★
Deryn
Yay! That’s awesome, so happy you like them!
Alex
Hi! Is there a gluten free version of this? Can I use oat flour and get the same results?
Deryn
Oat flour will not provide the same result in this recipe. You could try it with a gluten-free flour blend such as Bob’s Red Mill but I haven’t tested any gluten-free options. Thanks!
Marjorie
I just tried this recipe and I love it! I used oat flour and Arbonne’s Vanilla Protein powder. I followed the recipe and just had to add “a little” more water. It is perfect for this Girl who has soooo many allergies. Simply [email protected]!
Deryn
Awesome, so glad you liked them and found a recipe that works for you!
Linda
I first made these with coconut flour, attempting to keep them gluten-free. That did not work. It was a clumpy, doughy mess no matter how much water I added! I tried again with whole wheat pastry flour (all I had on hand) and it was delicious!! Just over 1 cup of water was the perfect amount for me to create the fluffiest pancakes! Topped with strawberries and some more pure maple syrup. The best!
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Deryn
Yes, unfortunately these would not work with coconut flour but they’d probably work with a GF flour blend such as Bobs Red Mill. Glad they worked out in the end!