Chickpea Flour Pancakes
These fluffy, gluten-free and vegan chickpea flour pancakes are easy to make with 3 ingredients.
Not only are chickpea, or garbanzo bean, flour pancakes fantastic for an easy gluten-free pancake, they’re wonderful regardless of dietary restrictions!
Chickpea flour pancakes are easy to make, thick and fluffy, high in protein and easy to customize with different add-ins.
They fluff up nicely and have a dense, almost cake-like texture, which in addition to their protein and fiber content, makes them very filling.
Enjoy these amazing pancakes any day of the week for a healthy, hearty and satisfying breakfast. Once you make these, they’re sure to become a new go-to pancake recipe.
Recipe Features
- Dietary Needs: Vegan (no eggs, dairy-free), gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free and oil-free!
- Nutrition Features: 300 calories with 14 g of plant-based protein and 6 g of fibre per serving.
- Easy to make in minutes with just 3 simple ingredients.
- Amazing thick and fluffy texture you’ll love.
- Fun to customize with different add-ins like berries, banana and chocolate chips.
Ingredients & Substitutions
A complete list of ingredients with amounts and full instructions is located in the printable recipe card below. This section covers ingredient and substitution considerations.
- Chickpea Flour: Look for chickpea flour or garbanzo bean flour. I like Bob’s Red Mill. Note chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour is different from besan or gram flour, so make sure you choose chickpea or garbanzo bean.
- Sweetener: Use any sweetener you like. Maple syrup, coconut sugar and cane sugar all work or you can use stevia or monk fruit sweetener for a sugar-free recipe.
- Baking Powder: This is needed to make them fluffy. Make sure you use baking powder and not baking soda.
Step-by-Step Instructions
The complete written recipe can be found by scrolling to the end of this page. This section features step-by-step photos for a quick visual reference.
Step 1: Add the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl. This includes the chickpea flour, salt, baking powder and dry sweetener, if you’re using one.
Mix them up using a fork or whisk, this will help break up any clumps of flour and distribute the baking powder and salt. An important step for a fluffy result!
Step 2: Start heating a non-stick skillet, crepe pan or pancake griddle over medium heat.
Add the water and liquid sweetener if you didn’t use a dry one to the bowl and mix everything up until fully combined into a thick batter.
Let the batter rest for a few minutes while the pan finishes heating up.
Quick Note: If you use the listed water amount, the batter will be very thick, not quite pourable and will result in thick, fluffy and dense pancakes. You may have to scoop it into the pan and use a spoon to spread it out a bit. If you prefer thinner pancakes or crepes, you can add more water to adjust the thickness of the batter.
It may take some experimenting with the recipe to find the liquid amount that works for you. It may also vary from brand to brand of chickpea flour.
Step 3: If needed, use a light coating of non-stick cooking spray in the pan, then add 1/4 cup portions and cook for 4-5 minutes until the edges look dry and firm and some bubbles appear.
Flip each pancake and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute until cooked through.
Add your favorite toppings and enjoy your delicious chickpea pancakes!
Notes & Tips
Sugar-Free Pancakes: These can easily be made sugar-free. Simply use whole leaf stevia, liquid stevia drops, monk fruit sweetener or erythritol, sweetened to taste.
Serving Size: This recipe is made to serve 1 or make 2 small servings, say for kids or a snack. It can be doubled or tripled as needed and leftovers store well in the fridge or freezer.
Add-Ins: These are easy to customize. Try adding up to 1/2 cup fresh berries, sliced banana or 2-3 tbsp of chocolate chips, nuts or seeds. You can either mix them into the batter or drop a few on to each pancake after adding the batter to the pan.
For flavour enhancers, you can add 1 tsp of vanilla and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon. You can also add up to 1 scoop of protein powder with additional water to adjust the consistency.
For variations on this recipe, try these carrot cake pancakes, blender spinach pancakes or chocolate protein pancakes.
Savory Chickpea Pancakes: This recipe makes a great base for savoury pancakes too! To them savoury, omit the sweetener and try spices and herbs like turmeric, parsley, cilantro, chili flakes and black pepper. From there, try add-ins like thinly sliced scallions, red onion and red bell pepper.
I prefer savoury pancakes a bit thinner, using closer to a 1:1 ratio of chickpea flour to water and omitting the baking powder.
FAQs
Chickpea flour or garbanzo bean flour, is made from ground dried, raw chickpeas. It’s a staple in various cuisines around the world.
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.
It can be used as a binder in baking, in pancakes and crepes, to make vegan frittatas and omelettes, as well as in savoury dishes like stews and soups.
No, they are not the same.
Chickpea flour, or garbanzo bean flour, is made from white chickpeas. It has a fine powder consistency and is pale yellow in colour.
Besan, or gram flour, is made from brown chickpeas (chana dal) and I would not recommend it for this recipe.
Bob’s Red Mill Garbanzo Bean Flour works great in this recipe. I’ve also used this organic chickpea flour with success.
Chickpea flour is naturally gluten-free, rich in protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals. It also contains iron, potassium, manganese, copper, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium, folate, vitamin B6 and thiamin, so it’s a great way to sneak some extra nutrition in your diet.
Yes and no. The raw batter definitely has a pronounced beany and slightly bitter taste. It does not taste particularly good, so don’t be discouraged is you try it! The flavour and bitterness will also vary from brand to brand.
Once cooked, that bitter, beany flavour cooks out. The cooked pancakes taste earthy and nutty, depending on how much sweetener you add. Though optional ingredients, vanilla and cinnamon can also help enhance the flavour of the pancakes.
If you’re really not a fan of chickpeas, you may like my buckwheat flour pancakes or quinoa flour pancakes better.
Topping Ideas
I love getting creative with toppings! Here are some fun ideas:
- maple syrup
- chia seed jam or homemade cranberry sauce
- date caramel sauce, date paste or homemade caramel sauce
- nut butter caramel sauce (blend dates with a spoonful of almond or cashew butter)
- any nut butter
- tahini and caramel sauce
- berries like blueberries, cherries or raspberries
- sliced banana
- baked apple slices
- sautéed apple and cinnamon
- caramelized banana
- nuts or seeds like hemp seeds, walnuts or pecans
- chocolate chips
- cacao nibs
- coconut flakes
Storing
If you have leftovers, they can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days and enjoyed cold or reheated in the microwave, toaster or oven.
To freeze then, either freeze them spaced out on a baking tray then transfer to a freezer bag or freeze with a piece of parchment between them to prevent them from sticking together.
They can be reheated from frozen in the microwave or oven. They can be reheated in the toasted but I’d suggest thawing them first.
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Click here to leave a review.
Print
Vegan Chickpea Flour Pancakes
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 6 mins
- Total Time: 11 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Enjoy these easy, fluffy, gluten-free and vegan chickpea flour pancakes for a healthy, hearty breakfast any day of the week.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (80 g) chickpea flour
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1–2 tbsp maple syrup or coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup water (80 ml)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract, optional
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon, optional
Instructions
- Pre-heat a non-stick skillet, crepe pan or pancake griddle over medium heat.
- Mix the chickpea flour, salt and baking powder together in a mixing bowl using a fork or whisk to help break up any clumps and distribute the baking powder and salt. If you’re using a dry sweetener, mix that in as well.
- Add the water and liquid sweetener if you didn’t use a dry one (and vanilla and cinnamon, if using) and mix until you have a smooth batter with no lumps. The batter will be quite thick and not quite pourable. With the water amount as written the pancakes will be very thick and fluffy. If you prefer thinner pancake or crepes, you can add more water to thin the batter until it’s easily pourable. Note that the raw batter may have a pronounced beany and slightly bitter taste but that will cook out once you make the pancakes.
- Let the batter rest for a few minutes while the pan finishes heating.
- Once the pan is hot, add a light coating of non-stick cooking spay, if needed, then add approximately 1/4 cup portions of the batter to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes until the edges look dry and firm and a few bubbles have appeared.
- Flip the pancakes and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute until cooked through.
- Repeat until you’ve used up all the batter then add your favourite pancake toppings and enjoy!
Notes
Sweetening options: For sugar-free pancakes, use about 15 drops liquid organic stevia, approximately 1 tsp stevia powder or 1-2 tbsp monk fruit sweetener. To make them refined sugar-free, use coconut sugar or pure maple syrup, start with 1 tbsp and add up to 2 tbsp, to taste. Cane sugar and other refined sugars work as well, it’s your choice.
Nutritional information includes 1 tbsp maple syrup. If you make them sugar-free, they’ll be 252 calories per serving with 4F/43C/14P.
You can adjust this recipe to however many servings you want by using more or less chickpea flour and water. You can also adjust the thickness of the pancakes. I like them quite thick, so I don’t use much water. For thinner pancakes, to stretch the batter further, or to make crepes, use more water to create a thinner batter.
This recipe only serves 1 so feel free to double or triple it as needed.
For best results, use a kitchen scale to weigh the chickpea flour. It should be 80 grams, however, I make this recipe often with just 60 grams as well, so as long as it’s between 60-80 grams you should be good.
Some readers have found these too salty but I still use 1/4 tsp. If you’re sensitive to salt, consider reducing it to 1/8 tsp salt. This may depend on the baking powder used as the sodium content varies from brand to brand. Also make sure you’re using baking powder and not baking soda, which as a much higher sodium content.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 batch
- Calories: 304
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 636 mg
- Fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 56 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 14 g
Keywords: chickpea pancakes, chickpea flour pancakes, vegan chickpea flour pancakes
Originally published September 21, 2017.
I tried this recipe four times, and this is amazing. I like use matcha instead of cinnamon and make matcha chickpea flour pancake. It completely covers the strong taste(smell) of chickpea flour but still leaves the nuttiness.
Also like decreasing the baking powder a little (only use 1tsp) because my baking powder seems to be saltier and bitterer. If your pancake tasted bitter, recommend to reduce the baking powder, it is still fluffy!
Thank you for the great recipe.
Thanks for the great feedback, Mika!
Excited to try these based on the fabulous reviews! I’m wondering if this would be suitable for my waffle maker… or do you think the mixture would stick to the lid?
Thanks for the yummy recipes 🙂
I think it would work but I haven’t tried this batter in a waffle maker, so I can’t guarantee it. Let me know if you try it!
My husband says that this is a keeper. I used the maple syrup (4 Tbsps) the vanilla extract and cinnamon. I added 2/3 cups of fresh blueberries.
I ate this recipe for weeks on end. I ate it so much my body said no more chickpeas. Well, my body is now saying…more chickpea pancakes please. This is the best vegan package recipe out there.
★★★★★
Yummy when cooked! Do not taste the batter. I just added a pinch of salt instead of 1/4 tsp salt. This is my new favorite vegan pancake recipe!
★★★★★
Thanks for this simple recipe. Can you explain the ideal consistency a little more? I found mine to be thick, denser and not fluffy. I was trying to achieve a thick but scoopable texture but kept needing to add more tbs. of water and didn’t know if I had gone too far or not far enough. I read the other comments too so I know thicker is better. Can you give some more details on what thick but scoopable ideally looks like?
I was looking for recipes to use my chickpea flour I’d bought randomly, and this seemed perfect with its short ingredient list! Now the taste is quite different from “traditional” pancakes, a lot more dense and with a pretty nutty flavour; maybe my flour being a bit old contributed to that. It’s also verrrrry filling; I had a hard time finishing them off by myself! Still made for a satisfying breakfast with a cup of oolong tea. I’ll most likely try it again, either with a reduced recipe or with a second person to share with 🙂
★★★★
How amazing! I just had these plain with no sweetener and they were by far the lightest and most tasty chickpea ‘thing’ I have ever had! And believe me I have tried SO many recipes, all more complicated. Never again, these fluffy little guys will be my go-to for a satisfying bakey cakey snack meal that’s ready in minutes and needs almost no ingredients! 😀 Super chuffed, thank you very much for sharing this magic!
★★★★★
You’re so welcome! Aren’t they the best??
These are simply DELICIOUS. I have fallen in love with chickpea flour – I buy it from my local Indian grocers – and this is my favorite recipe so far. These pancakes keep me feeling full for hours. I’m going to try a little vanilla in them next time 🙂
Perfect! I love chickpea flour too! Thanks for the review.
This is genius – the pancakes turned out soft and fluffy on the inside, and just a little crunchy on the outside, just as really good regular pancakes, but without the bloating I usually get from them. I loved them, and we will be having them as a staple breakfast in our house from now on. Thanks so much for the recipe!!
★★★★★
Thank you for this simple and easy recipe. I tried it but the result was not what I expected. It’s dry and a bit salty for me. As I love gram flour recipes, I’ll try again with less salt and more water
★★★★
These were absolutely delicious, I had mine with banana but will definitely experiment with other toppings. These will be featuring regularly on my breakfast menu frim now on!
★★★★★
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed them.
Which chickpea flour brand did you use? I have Bob’s Red Mill but when I calculate the protein intake for 80grams I only get about 12 or so. Are you also including the protein in the peanut butter you used? Or is there another brand you would suggest?
I use a generic brand from a local natural food store. 18 g is probably a bit high but I checked again and most listed in the program I use for calculating come out around 15 g for 80 g. Nutrition information is always going to be an estimate so it’s best to use the products you use if you need it to be more accurate. Thanks!
These were delicious! I doubled the recipe and made them smaller. Next time I’ll try adding less water. Definitely will make again!
★★★★
Great! Thanks, Nicole!
Hi
What do you recommend other then cooking spray?
Thank you.
If you have a good non-stick pan you don’t need anything, I don’t use spray in my pan and they work great. Otherwise any oil or butter works.
Never used chickpea flour before, so I was hesitant. So glad I stuck it out! The thick consistency made me doubtful, but I trust you, Deryn! These are a great base recipe! I do t like how I feel after eating other gf pancakes, but felt great after eating these. WINNER!
★★★★★
SERIOUSLY AMAZING RECIPE, I topped with cooked mixed berries and they were absolutely perfect, nothing else needed, simplicity at its best!
★★★★★
So glad to hear it, Blaine! Thanks for trying them.
I love love love this recipe. So simple and versatile. We love it with some added blueberries and hemp hearts into the batter before frying up! So yumm with some PB and cinnamon sprinkled on top too.
★★★★★
Sounds perfect! So glad you enjoy them. Thanks so much for the review!
I love this recipe! I added 1 mashed banana to this recipe, it kills the mild chickpea flavour and makes the pancake not so dry. Make sure your chickpea flour is 100% chickpeas and no mixed with dal(split peas). I used Bob’s Red Mill Chickpea Flour. Don’t overcook them it will make them dry and hard.
★★★★★
Thanks for the feedback, Diana! I like using Bob’s too. Glad you enjoy the recipe and thanks for leaving a review.
I tried making these for the first time last week, and I accidentally put in twice as much water as recommended, and they ended up flat and tasted too much like chickpeas. This week, I followed the recipe exactly, adding half a tablespoonful of maple syrupper serving as the sweetener, and it was like magic. The pancakes were fluffy, and the taste of chickpeas was so mild one could easily miss it if one didn’t know the ingredients. I cooked them oil-free in my Swiss Diamond crepe pan over medium-low heat for about two minutes a side, and I served them with frozen blueberries that I heated on the stove. (The first side of the first pancake took four minutes; this always happens wih pancakes.) They are filling, too. Thank you for posting well-tested recipes. Too many food blogs these days are all about pretty pictures, with recipes no one, including the supposed chef, seems to have actually tried following.
★★★★★