Vegan Chocolate Protein Pancakes
on Oct 23, 2018, Updated Mar 13, 2025
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These extra thick, vegan chocolate protein pancakes are amazing. You’ll need just a few basic ingredients to make them and they’re oil-free, sugar-free and gluten-free.
Ingredient Notes
- Vegan protein powder. You’ll need some vegan chocolate or vanilla protein powder to make these. I used North Coast Naturals Vege Pro-7. I also like SunWarrior, Iron Vegan and Vega. Note the amount used is 30 grams so adjust as needed based on the suggested serving size of the brand you’re using.
- Chickpea flour. Chickpea flour, besan or gram flour is my go-for for gluten-free vegan pancakes. It’s inexpensive, fairly easy to find and high in protein and fibre. If you can’t find it in your area, you can buy it on Amazon here.
- Baking powder. You’ll need baking powder to create the epic fluffy thickness of these pancakes.
- Cocoa powder. To make these chocolate protein pancakes, I used 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder. Raw cacao powder would also work if you want the extra nutrition. I would have used cacao powder but I didn’t have an on hand, so it was regular cocoa powder for this one.
- Optional stevia. I added an extra 1 tsp of unprocessed stevia to sweeten these up a bit more. The protein powder does add some sweetness so this is optional but I prefer the extra sweetness with the bitter cocoa powder.
WHAT IS CHICKPEA FLOUR?
Chickpea flour, also know as gram, besan or garbanzo bean flour, is made from ground dried, raw chickpeas. Chickpea flour is a staple in many different cuisines around the world but has been gaining popularity in North America with the rise of gluten-free cooking and baking. From traditional Italian and French socca to Indian sweets and crepes, chickpea flour dishes can be found in South Asian, Middle Eastern and Southern European cultures, among others.
Chickpea flour can be used as a binder in baking, in pancakes and crepes, vegan frittatas and omelettes, as well as in savoury dishes like stews and soups.
Best Chickpea Flour
I’ve noticed some differences in brands so you may need to shop around for one you like. The flavour tends to vary. I use a generic brand from my local natural food store but I’ve used Bob’s Red Mill before with success.
I haven’t tried any other brands but I’d suggest looking for something very light yellow in colour, very fine consistency and a faint beany smell…lol, sounds so good, doesn’t it?
Tips
There’s not much to this recipe but here are some tips on protein pancake success:
- Make sure you pre-heat the pan over medium-high heat.
- Use a good non-stick pan and/or some non-stick cooking spray.
- Mix the dry ingredients well before adding the water.
- Don’t add too much water. 3/4 cup is the exact right amount for best results, so measure accurately.
- Don’t over-mix the batter. Fold it together gently until everything is wetted but don’t overdo it. If there are a few bits of flour left over, that’s ok.
- Let the batter rest for 5-10 minutes before cooking.
More Vegan Pancakes
I’ve grown quite the collection of vegan pancake recipes over the years so if you like these ones, you’ll have to check these out too:
- Vegan Chickpea Flour Pancakes
- Vegan Carrot Cake Pancakes
- Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Pancakes
- Vegan Quinoa Flour Pancakes
- Vegan Buckwheat Pancakes
- 4-Ingredient Fluffy Vegan Protein Pancakes
More Recipes to Try!
Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Protein Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour, 63 g
- 1 serving vegan protein powder, chocolate or vanilla (30 g)
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 15 g
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 cup water
Instructions
- Heat a a non-stick pan over medium-high heat.
- Add all of the dry ingredients to a medium mixing bowl and mix well.
- Add the water and gently fold together until all the dry ingredients are wetted. The batter will be very thick, this is perfect.
- Let the batter rest for 5 minutes.
- Spray the pan with a little cooking spray, then use a spoon to scoop the batter into the pan to form 5-6 small pancakes or 3-4 large ones. You'll have to use the spoon to spread it out as the batter is so thick.
- Cook until the edges of the pancakes look dry and firm, this should take just a few minutes. Flip and cook for 1 more minute then they’re ready to enjoy.
Love the idea of them, don’t love the taste. They’re also dry.
Wanted to love these, but turned out very dry and salty tasting. I followed the recipe exactly as written. Could only eat half the pancakes before having to stop due to saltiness. The plain chickpea flour pancakes are great, these are not.
I made these once with wheat flour and they were AMAZING! Absolutely perfection! Now I’m GF so I tried them with arrowhead mills all purpose gf flour blend with xanthan gum and they did not work at all. So thick you couldn’t spread it at all, stuck to pan and spatula. They stayed raw on the inside after cooking. 🙁 I’m totally new to gf cooking so maybe I’ll figure it out one day
This recipe is for chickpea flour which is quite a bit different than wheat flour or gluten-free blends with added gums. Just add more water next time to adjust the consistency to a thinner batter. It should be thick but pourable. You could also try my fluffy vegan protein pancake recipe with a gf blend instead of wheat flour.
Could I use oat flour for this recipe to make it low fodmap?
I don’t think oat flour will work in this recipe unfortunately, without some further adjustments anyways. I haven’t tested oat flour in a recipe like this. You may be able to use a gluten-free flour blend but I don’t think oat flour will work on its own. I don’t have an oat flour pancake recipe but I’m sure you can find one online! Good luck!
This recipe was quite good. I mixed chocolate chips in mine. This is the first pancake recipe of yours I have gotten to work out as expected using the chickpea flour. I am glad I kept persevering until I got it right.