Best Gluten-Free Vegan Buckwheat Pancakes
on Feb 02, 2024, Updated Aug 02, 2024
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These gluten-free and vegan buckwheat pancakes are easy to make with simple ingredients and ready in 15 minutes for a healthy breakfast.
Gluten-free flours such as quinoa flour, oat flour and chickpea flour also work well for making gluten-free pancakes. You can try them in these Vegan Quinoa Flour Pancakes, Vegan Oat Banana Pancakes, Oat Flour Pancakes without Banana or Vegan Chickpea Flour Pancakes.
If you love pancakes, then you’ll love these fluffy buckwheat pancakes!
This recipe is oil-free, gluten-free, egg-free and dairy-free so makes an excellent option for those with allergies or other dietary restrictions.
Buckwheat pancakes have a nuttier, earthier flavour than regular pancakes made with white or whole wheat flavour. They may also vary from a light colour to a dark, greyish colour depending on if light or dark buckwheat flour is used.
Regardless of the differences, buckwheat pancakes still cook up wonderfully light, fluffy and delicious, just like traditional pancakes.
Enjoy buckwheat pancakes hot from the pan, topped with fresh fruit and syrup, or stash them in the fridge or freezer and reheat in the toaster for a quick snack or breakfast.
For easy vegan pancakes made with all purpose flour you can try these Vegan Chia Seed Pancakes or Vegan Banana Pancakes with Berries. For vegan pancakes made with whole wheat flour, try these Fluffy Vegan Whole Wheat Pancakes.
Ingredient Notes
- Buckwheat flour. I used store-bought buckwheat flour for this recipe and have not tested it with homemade buckwheat flour or any other gluten-free flours. I used light buckwheat which is why my pancakes have a more traditional pancake colour. Dark buckwheat flour will result in darker, grainier pancakes but is still ok to use.
- Baking powder. It’s important to use active baking powder (not baking soda) to give these some nice fluff! If you’re unsure if your baking powder is active, put 1 tsp in a small dish and pour hot water over it. It should bubble up right away if it’s active.
- Sweetener. I used pure maple syrup to sweeten these. It can be substituted with brown sugar, coconut sugar, agave or brown rice syrup. For sugar-free pancakes, sweeten to taste with stevia.
- Vinegar. The vinegar helps add some extra fluff to the recipe and gives it a subtle buttermilk flavour. You can use white vinegar, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.
- Water or Milk. I have tested this recipe with water, almond milk and cashew milk and haven’t noticed much of a difference between them. They came out slightly fluffier when made with nut milk but in a pinch, water is totally fine!
This list is not complete. Please see the recipe card at the end of the post for the complete ingredient list with measurements and detailed instructions.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Make sure to mix well thoroughly distribute the baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
Step 2: Add the sweetener, vanilla and milk to the dry ingredients and start folding together until the flour is all wetted.
Once you’ve mixed it up, let it rest for 8-10 minutes while you heat the cooking surface.
Step 3: Make sure the pan or griddle is fully heated and prepped with a bit of non-stick cooking spray. Drop batter onto the hot griddle in 1/4 cup portions.
Flip the pancakes when small bubbles appear across each pancake and the sides start to look dry and firm. Flip and cook for a couple more minutes, repeating until you’ve used all the batter.
Serve your buckwheat pancakes with a pat of butter or almond butter, maple syrup, banana, fresh blueberries and any other toppings you enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Although buckwheat has wheat in its name it’s not even related to wheat. In fact, buckwheat isn’t even a grain, it’s a grain-like seed.
So yes, buckwheat is gluten-free and perfect for a gluten-free diet. Just make sure you use gluten-free certified buckwheat in severe cases such as coeliac.
You will find two different kinds of buckwheat flour in stores, light, and dark. The difference being light buckwheat flour is ground from hulled buckwheat whereas dark buckwheat flour is made from unhulled buckwheat.
I prefer light buckwheat flour for baking and pancakes as it’s finer in texture and lighter in colour.
I’ve seen packaged buckwheat flour that does not specify light or dark. In those cases, it turned out to be dark buckwheat flour. Dark buckwheat flour is fine to use in these, the pancakes will just be darker in color and grainer than they’d be with light flour.
Buckwheat pancakes provide a healthy alternative to pancakes made with white flour. These pancakes provide 7 grams of fiber and 8 grams of protein per serving for a more balanced meal.
It’s also possible to make the pancakes sugar-free by using a sugar-free sweetener like monk fruit or stevia and they make a great base for healthy additions like blueberries. Buckwheat is also naturally gluten-free, making buckwheat pancakes an excellent option for those with celiac or a gluten intolerance.
Leftover pancakes can be stored in the fridge in a sealed container or food storage bag for up to 3 days. Enjoy cold or reheat briefly in the microwave, over or toaster.
Yes. Let cool completely then either freeze on a baking tray then transfer to a freezer bag or sealed container or freeze with a piece of parchment between each pancake to avoid them sticking together.
If frozen, thaw briefly at room temperature or in the fridge or reheat from frozen in the microwave, oven or toaster.
Cooking Notes
- Serving Size: I get 8 medium-sized pancakes out of this recipe but it can easily be doubled if you need a bigger batch. Leftovers keep great in the fridge and are quite tasty cold. They can also be reheated in the toaster!
- Liquid Amount: Start with 3/4 cup liquid and add 1-2 tbsp more, if needed. If you use 3/4 cup, the batter will be quite thick and you will get 8 medium pancakes. You can add more liquid for slightly thinner pancakes and to stretch the batter further. I’ve found 1 cup of liquid to be too much though, so it’s better to start with 3/4 cup and add a touch more if needed.
- Too Much Liquid: If you do add too much liquid, no problem, just stir in a little more flour to thicken. I use 3/4 cup liquid as I like pancakes on the thicker side! If you do use up to 1 cup liquid they’ll be thin pancakes closer to crepes. Both are good, just depends what you like! Keep in mind the batter will also thicken as it rests before cooking.
- Doubling: For a double batch of buckwheat pancakes, the recipe can be doubled with no further adjustments.
- Measuring Accuracy: For best results, use a kitchen scale to measure ingredients with accuracy.
More Recipes to Try
- Vegan Blueberry Coconut Pancakes: Classic pancakes with blueberries and coconut.
- Vegan Buckwheat Muffins: Another yummy use for buckwheat flour!
- Vegan Chia Seed Pancakes: Fan-favourite pancakes made with chia seeds!
- Vegan Buckwheat Crepes: Switch it up and make crepes with yummy fillings.
- Healthy Carrot Cake Pancakes: Chickpea flour pancakes that taste like carrot cake.
For more ways to include nutritious buckwheat in your diet, this Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Sesame Dressing and Vegan Cold Buckwheat Noodles with Miso Sauce are both delicious!
Vegan Buckwheat Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup buckwheat flour, 120 g
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 cup + 1-2 tbsp unsweetened almond or cashew milk*
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp maple syrup or other sweetener of choice
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together in a mixing bowl until well combined.
- Add Remaining Ingredients: Add the rest of the ingredients and gently fold together until all the flour is wetted. If it’s a bit clumpy, that’s great, do no over mix.
- Rest Batter: Let the batter rest for 8-9 minutes while you heat a non-stick pan or pancake griddle over medium heat.
- Cook Pancakes: Spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray then scoop the batter onto the pan in scant 1/4 cup portions. Let cook until bubbles appear all over each pancake and the edges start to look dry and cooked, this should take 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Repeat until you’ve used all the batter, you should get about 8 pancakes.
- Serve: Enjoy right away topped with your favourite pancake toppings like maple syrup and fresh blueberries. Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or freezer for up to 3 months. Leftovers can be reheated in the toaster or oven.
Beautiful pancakes, I make them regularly. The only thing I would say for the author’s benefit is they don’t take anywhere near 25 minutes to make. 10 minutes at the most. Thank you 🙏💚
Thanks very much! I try to be on the cautious-side with timing for slower cooks, haha, but yes I’d say less than 15 minutes or even less if you don’t let the batter rest as long. Thank you!
I make these, but substitute the ‘milk’ for homemade chicken stock!!! And add extra maple syrup. They come out SOOOOOOO AMAZING. Sometimes I add applesauce. Sometimes I add chocolate chips.
I use them to make mini muffins. Amazing every time.
That’s awesome, thanks!
Very good! I wasn’t expecting these to turn out nor that my picky eater would enjoy them but boy she did! I used the darker buckwheat flour but they still turned out good. My daughter calls them brownie pancakes because she said they remind her of brownies due to the color. Pleasantly surprised by these and love the minimal ingredients!
Aw, love that! Glad they were a hit.
Pancakes turned out awesome! I followed your recipe exactly as written with ¾ c almond milk. They held together nicely and the flavour was delicious. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Thanks for trying it and the kind review! So glad you enjoyed.
These were very easy to make and turned out nice and tasty. I used homemade flour made from buckwheat groats I turned to powder in the blender.
These are my favorite pancakes!! I made a few modifications by using 1 cup plant milk, added 2 heaping Tbsp of collagen peptides, only 1 Tbsp of maple syrup and fresh nutmeg and cardamom to the cinnamon. So light and flavorful. Farmer’s Market blueberries put them over the top. Thank you for another fabulous recipe. You never disappoint.
These really are the best buckwheat pancakes! I’ve tried other recipes and they simply fall apart when cooking. Not these ones! Going to be using this over and over again. Any idea how these would hold up as waffles?
Hi Tori! That’s great, so glad you enjoyed them. I haven’t tried them as waffles myself but I think some other readers have with success. Let me know if you try it!
Thanks.great!
H! I love this recipe thank you for posting 🙂 Is it possible to prepare the batter and let it sit in the fridge overnight? Would save me some prep time.
Hi Sarah – I haven’t tried that myself but I don’t see why not. I think it will thicken up though so you may need to adjust the consistency in the morning with additional liquid. Otherwise, I’d suggest making a double or triple batch and freezing or just storing in the fridge and reheating as needed (you can reheat in a pan, the oven or toaster). Thanks!
I really like these pancakes but was wondering if it would be possible to try them with arrowroot flour? Not sure if it matters what flour you use (as long as it is gluten-free) but figured it would be worth asking because I am most definitely not a chef lol
I’ve never used arrowroot flour as a main flour, usually it’s used in smaller amounts in addition to another gluten-free flour for binding, or for thickening like you’d use cornstarch. I’m not sure how they’d turn out using it as a 1:1 replacement for the buckwheat flour – sorry!
That’s okay! I am new to this so thank you for the help, I figured it would probably not hold up. Most other gluten-free flours (cassava, arrowroot, tiger’s nuts, and rice flours) would probably need a binding agent. And that is way too much cooking for me! So thank you for this wonderful recipe I have truly enjoyed it 🙂