Vegan Chia Seed Pancakes
These delicious, vegan chia seed pancakes are light, fluffy and easy to make with just a few basic ingredients.
Looking for more ways to use chia seeds? Why not in pancakes! The nutritious, little seed works its magic in these pancakes for a light, fluffy and delicious result.
Enjoy a stack of these hearty pancakes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or whenever a pancake craving strikes!
Recipe Features
Here are a few reasons why you’ll love this recipe:
- Dietary Features: Vegan (dairy-free and egg-free), oil-free, nut-free and can be sugar-free.
- Amazing light and fluffy texture and yummy, lightly-sweetened flavour.
- Easy to make with just a few simple ingredients.
- 5-star reviewed recipe you can make with success!
- Delicious served hot and fresh but they’re also yummy straight from the fridge spread with almond butter and banana slices for a quick snack.
Ingredient & Substitution Notes
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.
- Flour: The recipe is written for all-purpose flour but whole wheat flour, spelt and white whole wheat flour. You should be able to substitute all-purpose gluten-free baking flour but may need extra liquid to adjust the consistency of the batter.
- Baking Powder: Make sure you use baking powder, not baking soda.
- Chia Seeds: White or black chia seeds work. Make they’re fresh though. Chia seeds keep for up to 1 year in a cool pantry or 2-3 years in the fridge or freezer but if they’re very old they may not work as they should.
- Sweetener: You can use any sweetener you like. Maple syrup, coconut sugar, cane sugar etc. all work or you can use stevia or another sugar-free sweetener for sugar-free pancakes.
- Almond Milk: Substitute with cashew milk, soy milk, oat milk or hemp milk (make sure you like the taste before using). Water also works.
- Vinegar: You can use apple cider vinegar, white vinegar or lemon juice.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Scroll down for the full written recipe. This sections covers step-by-step instructions for a quick reference with some extra tips.
Step 1: Mix together all the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Use a fork or whisk to help break up any clumps of flour and distribute the chia seeds, baking powder and salt.
In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients: almond milk, vanilla (if using), maple syrup and vinegar.
Quick Note: It’s not totally necessary to mix the wet ingredients separately, so feel free to add them straight into the dry ingredients to save a dish. It’s just easier to mix and avoid over-mixing if you mix them in a separate bowl first. Up to you!
Step 2: Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and fold together until all the flour is incorporated but the batter is still a bit lumpy.
Let the batter rest for 5-10 minutes while you heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Don’t skip the resting, it’s key for thick, fluffy pancakes.
Step 3: Once the pan is hot, add approximately 1/4 cup scoops of batter to the pan. If you make them this size, you should get about 10 pancakes.
Let each pancake cook until the edges appear dry, firm and golden brown and small bubbles are appearing in the batter. This should take 4-5 minutes.
Flip them and cook for another 30-60 seconds until cooked through and browned on both sides.
Add your favourite toppings like fresh berries and maple syrup and dig in!
Topping Ideas
Here are my favourite ways to top pancakes:
- Fresh fruit. Try blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, banana, mango or diced apple.
- Coconut yogurt or coconut whipped cream for a treat!
- Quick Berry Compote. Heat up frozen berries stovetop to make a quick berry sauce, add a bit of maple syrup for sweetness, if you like.
- Homemade chia seed jam.
- Date caramel or date paste. Make a quick date caramel sauce by soaking fresh dates in hot water for 15 minutes then blending with a little water or coconut milk. I like to add a pinch of sea salt and some vanilla.
- Any nut or seed butter. Try peanut butter, almond butter, tahini, cashew butter or coconut butter.
- Tahini caramel. Mix 1 tbsp of tahini with 1 tbsp of maple syrup and a bit of water to make a delicious tahini caramel sauce.
- Sautéed apples or chopped baked pears.
- Maple syrup, agave syrup, honey (not vegan) or coconut syrup.
Variations
Chocolate Chip Chia Pancakes: Mix 6 tbsp vegan chocolate chips into the batter or drop a few onto each pancake after you add the batter to the pan.
Blueberry Chia Pancakes: Gently stir in up to 3/4 cup fresh blueberries into the batter or drop fresh or frozen blueberries onto each pancake after adding the batter to the pan. This works with chopped strawberries or raspberries as well.
Lemon Chia Pancakes: Replace the vinegar with 1 tbsp lemon juice and stir 1-2 tsp lemon zest into the batter.
Carrot Cake Pancakes: Stir 3/4 cup finely grated fresh carrot into the batter and add 1/2 tsp of ginger and 1 tsp cinnamon, or try these chickpea flour carrot cake pancakes!
FAQs
Yes. You can substitute the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour, white whole wheat flour or spelt flour.
You can substitute something like Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour though you may need to increase the liquid to get the right consistency.
For gluten-free pancake recipes, try my chickpea flour pancakes, buckwheat pancakes or quinoa flour pancakes.
Nope. Not at all. Any vinegar flavour gets cooked out.
Why vinegar? It makes them extra fluffy!
Storing
- Fridge: Store in a sealed container for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Freeze on a baking tray first (will prevent them from sticking together) then transfer to a freezer bag or airtight container or freeze with pieces of parchment paper between each pancake. Store for up to 4 months.
- Reheating: If frozen, thaw briefly at room temperature or in the fridge. Reheat in the oven or a toaster oven, microwave or on medium in the toaster until heated to your preference. They’re yummy cold too though!
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to the comment section to leave a star rating and review.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Vegan Chia Seed Pancakes
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 10 pancakes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These chia seed pancakes are light, fluffy and so easy to make. Enjoy for a hearty and delicious vegan breakfast!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (180 g)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3 tbsp chia seeds (33 g)
- 3 tbsp maple syrup (45 mL)
- 1 1/2 cup almond milk (354 mL)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (5 mL)
- 1 tsp cinnamon, optional
- 1 tsp vanilla extract, optional
Instructions
- Mix together all the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, chia seeds, cinnamon if using) in a medium mixing bowl. Use a fork or whisk to help break up any clumps of flour and distribute the chia seeds, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (milk, maple syrup, vinegar, vanilla if using).
- Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk or stir until all of the flour is incorporated but the batter is still a bit lumpy. Avoid over mixing.
- Let the batter rest for 5-10 minutes while you heat a nonstick skillet, griddle or crepe pan over medium heat. If needed, add a light coating of oil or nonstick cooking spray to the pan.
- Once the pan is hot, scoop approximately 1/4 cup portions of the batter into the pan.
- Let each pancake cook until the edges appear dry, firm and golden brown and small bubbles are appearing in the batter, about 4-5 minutes. Flip them and cook for another 30-60 seconds until cooked through and browned on both sides.
- Repeat until you’ve used all the batter. You should get approximately 10 pancakes or enough to serve 3-4 people.
- Serve right away with your favourite pancakes toppings like fresh fruit and maple syrup.
Notes
Sweetener: Maple syrup can be substituted with any sweetener such as agave, honey (not vegan), brown sugar, coconut sugar, cane sugar, etc. For sugar-free pancakes, use stevia, monk fruit sweetener or erythritol to taste.
Liquid: Almond milk can be substituted with water, soy milk, hemp milk or cashew milk.
Some readers have found the pancakes too salty. This may be due to variations in baking powder from brand to brand. You can use a low-sodium baking powder and do make sure you’re using baking powder and not baking soda as that would have a much stronger taste. If you’re concerned, reduce the salt to 1/4 tsp salt.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/3 of recipe
- Calories: 376
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 111 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 73 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 9 g
What does the apple cider vinegar do? Is it and optional ingredient?
The vinegar helps them rise so they’re nice and fluffy, you can leave it out if you want though..
Lemon juice will also work as the acid to help with the rising!
Oh ya! Great idea 🙂
Because of a sensitivity I have to vinegar (especially apple cider), I cannot consume it. Is there something else I can use instead of the vinegar, or can I leave it out entirely without ruining the dish? I’d love to try some chia pancakes! Thanks.
You should be okay to omit it. It just helps them rise, but it should be fine without 🙂
Thanks, Deryn! I’ll try that! 🙂
For the future, you can also sub lemon juice for apple cider vinegar 🙂
Yes, both work great! Thanks!
I made these this morning with a few modifications…I substituted 1/4 cup of the AP flour for coconut flour, used unsweetened coconut milk and increased it by 1/4 cup to compensate for the addition of coconut flour, and I used agave syrup instead of maple syrup….then I topped them with roasted blackberries…SO GOOD! Thanks so much for a great recipe 🙂
Mmm, sounds delicious. I can never get coconut flour to work, maybe I’ll give this a try! Would be nice to make them without the AP flour.
From the little I’ve worked with coconut flour, in a recipe like this, you can substitute around 20-25% of the AP flour without the texture changing undesirably. In something like a cookie, you could probably go all coconut. If you were to go all coconut, you’d have to up the liquid quite a bit because the coconut flour sucks it right up. Sorry, I’m a pastry chef by trade, I get so excited when something works for me on the first try haha
So happy I stumbled on your blog! I’ve been searching for a vegan chia pancakes and this one looks fab. I need mine to be GF, so I think we a few adaptations, this will most definitely work!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Can I sub all purpose flour with other flour?
It should be okay with whole wheat flour but you may need to add more liquid if it’s too thick. I’m not sure about any other flours though..
I’ve been making oatmeal flour out of rolled oats for several years now and it works fine. I generally add blueberries and over-ripe bananas (which we freeze when they get too far gone to peel and eat) to the batter. I’m going to begin adding chia seeds though. Love your site keep up the good work!
Thanks so much David! I appreciate that. I’ve never tried this recipe with oat flour but good to know you’ve had success. Thanks!
Hi Deryn – mm these chia seed pancakes look like such a great idea (and you definitely managed to make them look delicious:)
I usually go with ground flax seeds instead of chia, but it worked out great! They are delicious! Thanks for the comment 🙂
Those look amazing!! I will try, for sure! Like your pancake kick, I was on a “healthier” brownie kick for a while, lol. I guess we just have to follow our hearts (stomaches 😉
Hahaha, yes stomachs control so much don’t they? Mmm, I love a good “healthy” brownie! Maybe I’ll make some tonight 😉
I used to hate pancakes too! But thankfully I’ve been converted over to the bright side as well 🙂
These look delicious!! I never used chia in my pancakes, I always go for flax. But that’s going to change next time!
The texture of these pancakes looks absolutely perfect! Chia seeds are pretty magical. 🙂
Oh I am just like you – I used to hate pancakes, but that was only because I was the queen of pancake fails and had the worst flipping skills. Then I got an amazing crepe pan and the ultimate spatula and I’ve been hooked ever since.
These look delicious! I love using chia seeds in pancakes and baked goods – especially as they give an easy nutritional boost too!