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You’d never know these super easy, unbelievably fluffy buttermilk pancakes are 100% gluten free! They’re made with just a few pantry-staple ingredients, and this totally foolproof recipe guarantees perfect stacks of pancakes every single time. Perfect for weekends, holidays, or even breakfast-for-dinner, and easy to make vegan if needed!
🌾 What Makes This Recipe So Good
- If you’ve been missing traditional fluffy, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth delicious pancakes since going gluten-free, then you’re in luck. This recipe gives you perfectly rich, decadent homemade pancakes without any gluten. You’d never know it just by tasting them, though! The texture and the flavor are everything you’d expect from “real” pancakes, which means even the pickiest eaters will happily dig in to a stack of these!
- You don’t need any expensive mixes or complicated alternative ingredients to make these. In fact, this pancake recipe uses a whopping SEVEN ingredients, all of which you probably have in your fridge and pantry right now. You can totally dress them up with your favorite mix-ins and toppings, too. Turn them into chocolate chip pancakes! Use strawberries, blueberries, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, brown sugar… the options are endless!
- Mornings a little wild at your house? Mine, too. That’s another thing I love about these gluten-free pancakes, though – they actually give you a couple of stellar make-ahead options! For days when you’ve got just a little more time, you can keep the dry ingredients mixed up in an airtight container so all you have to do is add the wet ingredients and cook the pancakes. My favorite option, though, is to keep some pancakes stashed in the freezer. That way all I (or the kids) have to do is toss a couple in the toaster and then add toppings!
👩🏼🍳 Chef’s Tips
- When you’re measuring the dry ingredients, make sure to use the spoon and level method to get the most accurate amounts. All that means is: don’t scoop up the flour using the measuring cup. It’s really easy to end up with way too much flour that way. Instead, spoon the flour into your measuring cup until it’s full but not packed. Then, use the back of the spoon or a knife to level off the flour even with the lip of the measuring cup.
- Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. I like to use King Arthur Measure-for-Measure for all of my gluten-free recipes, and while other flours will work, your results may differ depending on the specific flour you use. Make sure, too, that you’re using a gluten-free flour that includes xanthan gum. If yours doesn’t include it already, you’ll have to add some to your dry ingredients, or your pancakes won’t have the right texture.
- The number of pancakes you get out of this recipe depends on a few different factors. A thinner batter will typically yield more pancakes than a thicker batter. Also, I use around ¼ cup of prepared batter per pancake, but you might want to use more or less to make larger or smaller pancakes. Adding mix-ins like blueberries or chocolate chips will also change how many pancakes you can get out of this recipe. If you’re making these to feed a large group, I recommend making the recipe as-written at least once first. That’ll give you a better idea of how much you might need to increase the recipe to fit your needs.
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! They freeze really well, and you can reheat them in the toaster, the microwave, or the oven.
Absolutely! You shouldn’t need to make any changes to the recipe at all. Just don’t overfill the waffle maker!
Did you use the spoon u0026 level method, or did you scoop the flour straight out of the bag with your measuring cup? If you used the measuring cup as a scoop, you most likely ended up with too much flour. Add buttermilk in 1-tablespoon increments until the batter’s thinned out.
First, check your baking soda! Is it more than 6 months old? If so, it may have been too old to react like it should, which means your pancakes didn’t rise. Also, be sure you’re not over-mixing the pancake batter. Over-mixing will make the pancakes dense and heavy instead of light and fluffy.
Your griddle or skillet is probably too hot! Turn down the temperature a little and let it cool before continuing. Also, if you’re using butter to cook the pancakes, try using ghee, avocado oil, or refined coconut oil instead. They have higher smoke points and won’t brown as quickly as butter.
🥘 More Gluten-Free Recipes You’ll Love
- Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls (Cinnabon Copycat)
- Dreamy Crockpot Chicken and Rice
- Chicken Piccata (Paleo, Gluten Free)
- Paleo Blueberry Muffins (Gluten Free, Grain Free)
- Keto Cookie Dough (Sugar Free, Gluten Free, Egg Free)
- Paleo Lime Bars (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
- Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies (Gluten Free)
- Perfect Paleo Brownies (Fudgy, Crackly Top, Gluten Free)
Fluffy Gluten-Free Pancakes
Equipment
- large mixing bowl
- whisk
- griddle or large frying pan
- butter or neutral oil
- scoop with release handle or batter dispenser, or measuring cup
- Spatula
- Large plate
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients for Gluten-Free Pancakes
- 1 large egg or 1 flax egg
- 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons neutral-tasting oil avocado oil, refined coconut oil, etc.
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup buttermilk plus more as needed, see Notes
Dry Ingredients for Gluten-Free Pancakes
- 1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour with xanthan gum, see Notes
- 1 tablespoon fresh baking powder
- 1 large pinch salt
Suggested Toppings (All Optional)
- butter
- pure maple syrup
- fresh fruit strawberries, bananas, blueberries
- whipped cream
Instructions
- Crack 1 large egg directly into large mixing bowl. Add 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar, 2 tablespoons neutral-tasting oil, and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Whisk vigorously until ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Once ingredients are combined, add 1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour , 1 tablespoon fresh baking powder, and 1 large pinch salt. Continue whisking until dry ingredients are fully incorporated and combined with wet ingredients.
- Add ¾ cup buttermilk to mixture and whisk until incorporated. For thinner pancakes, add 1 additional tablespoon buttermilk and whisk until incorporated. If batter is still too thick, add another 1 tablespoon buttermilk only if needed to achieve desired consistency. Set batter aside.
- Heat griddle over medium heat. When surface is warm, add butter or neutral oil to grease griddle. Let butter melt completely (or heat oil until shimmery). Tilt griddle or pan to distribute butter or oil across entire surface.
- When butter is melted (or oil is hot), pour pancake batter onto griddle, using ¼ cup prepared batter per pancake. Be careful not to overcrowd griddle or pan as batter will spread slightly.
- Let pancakes cook undisturbed until top of batter begins to bubble and pancakes begin to puff up. Carefully slide spatula under each pancake, then flip pancakes over and continue cooking 2 to 3 minutes or until bottom of pancakes are golden brown.
- Transfer fully-cooked pancakes to large plate and set aside. Repeat process with remaining pancake batter, adding butter or oil to griddle or skillet when needed.
- Once all pancake batter has been cooked, divide pancakes between serving plates. Top with butter, maple syrup, or fresh fruit as desired and serve warm with preferred sides.
Video
- Use the spoon and level method to measure your dry ingredients. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup, without packing it down. Once the cup’s full, level the top of the flour with the back of a knife.
- Gluten-Free Flour: This recipe needs a gluten-free flour that includes xanthan gum. If yours doesn’t, you’ll need to add ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum for every 1 cup of flour you use.
- Buttermilk: If you don’t have or can’t use buttermilk, use ¾ cup milk of choice (whole, skim, almond, oat, etc.) and 1 teaspoon white vinegar to replace the ¾ cup buttermilk.
- Make it Vegan: Replace the traditional egg with 1 flax egg. Instead of buttermilk, use ¾ cup vegan milk of choice and 1 teaspoon white vinegar. Cook your pancakes in a neutral oil rather than butter, or use a vegan butter. Make sure, too, that your sugar is 100% vegan and not filtered with bone char.
- Make it Dairy Free: Replace the buttermilk with ¾ cup non-dairy milk of choice and 1 teaspoon white vinegar. Use a neutral oil or dairy-free butter to cook the pancakes.
- Make-Ahead: The dry ingredients can be mixed together in advance and stored in an airtight container.
- Freezer Option: Prepare the pancakes as instructed. Let the fully-cooked pancakes cool to room temperature, then place them on a baking sheet, making sure not to stack or overlap them. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, transfer the pancakes to a freezer-safe sealable bag or airtight container and freeze up to 3 months. Reheat frozen pancakes in the toaster, or defrost the pancakes in the fridge overnight and reheat them in the microwave or oven until warmed through.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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Wow wow wow! This is hands down the best gluten free pancake recipe I’ve ever tried. You can’t even tell it is gluten free!
We’re so glad to hear you loved it! Thanks for sharing, Christina! 🙂
Very good! These are a winner for sure. Light and fluffy.
Thank you for the great review! Happy you enjoyed it.
Made these for my celiac husband’s birthday. He declared they were the best he’s had! Made a double batch with almond milk.
I made these for myself because my husband is off playing golf. They are the best gf pancakes I’ve made ever! I used Cup 4 Cup gf flour and they were perfect. I am thinking of adding a smidge of cinnamon to the batter next time, just to up the taste. Fluffy, easy, and fast. Thank you. I am tossing all my other gluten free pancake recipes.
I can honestly say these are the very best gluten-free pancakes I have ever eaten. I made these today for our 51st wedding anniversary and we were not disappointed. I made 1-1/2 times the stated recipe thinking I could freeze a few, and in doing so I added 2 eggs. They were so fluffy and delicious. I hate to admit that I ate more of these pancakes than I have ever eaten. They were that good and so glad I increased the recipe. My freezer remains bare of pancakes.
Thank you, Cheryl, for sharing this excellent recipe with us.