Looking for a milk substitute in pancakes? Make this Almond Milk Pancake Recipe! They are so fluffy and delicious that nobody will notice they are dairy free.
If you have never tried making pancakes with almond milk before, now is the time. It is a great replacement for milk in pancakes. If you have a dairy-free diet or just want to make a change in your regular pancakes, this recipe is for you.
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Almond milk is a great plant-based milk. We use it often, especially to make hot chocolate. We also make crepes with almond milk and love them so much!
We first tried it on a day when we noticed that the only milk in the refrigerator to make some pancakes was a bottle of homemade roasted almond milk. They turned out great with a super fluffy texture and as tasty as regular milk pancakes. So they have become our (and your) favorite pancake recipe since then.
About The Ingredients
- Flour: Use all purpose flour, also known as plain flour. You can use a combination of plain flour and whole wheat flour if you want. If you want, use a blend of gluten-free flour. When measuring, fill the cup with flour using a spoon. Don't directly scoop the measuring cup.
- Sugar: Use granulated sugar. One or two tablespoons will be enough as we serve our pancakes with maple syrup.
- Baking powder: It really helps a lot to make fluffy pancakes.
- Salt: Just a pinch of salt to balance the flavors.
- Almond milk: Use unsweetened, plain almond milk or vanilla almond milk. If you want, you can even make your own almond milk buttermilk and make this recipe with it.
- Egg: One egg is enough for this recipe. If you are after an egg-free recipe, leave it out and add extra almond milk (2-3 tablespoons).
- Oil: You can use olive oil, vegetable oil, canola oil or coconut oil. We use it both in the batter and for cooking pancakes. You can use melted butter (vegan or regular) too.
- Optional Add-Ins: You can add a handful of chocolate chips or berries and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. For chocolate chips, check the ingredients of the product you use to be sure they are dairy-free.
Instructions
This fluffy almond milk pancakes recipe is no different from making a simple cake batter.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt well in a large mixing bowl. Then, in a medium bowl, whisk together the almond milk, egg and oil until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk just until everything is combined. Don't over-mix! Otherwise, your pancakes won't turn out fluffy enough. It is okay if you see a few lumps in the batter. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Put 1 teaspoon oil in a non-stick pan or use a cooking spray. And heat it over medium heat. Swirl the oil or spread it with a spatula so it covers the base of the pan.
- Use a measuring cup (¼ cup) or a tablespoon (for a smaller size) and drop batter in the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes or until you see bubbles on the surface of the pancake.
- Then flip and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes. Transfer the pancakes on a plate and repeat the same steps until all batter is used.
- Make the pancakes in batches. If you are using a large pan, you can make 4-5 pancakes at a time.
Storage
In the fridge: These dairy-free pancakes can be made ahead of time. Store them in the refrigerator covered for 2-3 days. Reheat in the pan or microwave before serving.
In the freezer: Let the pancakes cool completely. Put them in a freezer bag with a piece of parchment paper between each. They keep well in the freezer for 2 months. Reheat them frozen in the microwave oven for about 20 seconds or in a large skillet covered until warm. We don't recommend freezing the uncooked batter.
Expert Tips
- Don't over mix the batter even if you are tempted to.
- Letting the batter rest for 5 minutes really helps the pancakes rise better.
- When the pan gets too hot, remove it from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Then continue cooking the remaining pancake batter.
- To keep the cooked pancakes warm while you are working with the rest of the batter, put them on an oven-safe plate or in a baking pan and let them sit in the oven at low temperature (200 F / 93 C degrees).
Does almond milk change the taste of pancakes?
No, it doesn't. Unsweetened, plain almond milk has a mild flavor, so it is not noticeable in pancakes.
Is this a dairy free pancake recipe?
Yes, these pancakes are completely dairy free. This recipe doesn’t call for any dairy-milk or butter. The only milk in these pancakes is from almond milk, which is a plant-based milk. It is a great substitute for milk in pancakes.
Make Them Vegan
This pancake recipe with almond milk is NOT vegan.
To make them vegan, you can make flax egg by mixing 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal with 3 tablespoons water. Let it sit for 5 minutes and then substitute this mixture for the egg in the recipe.
Also, you can check out our almond buttermilk pancakes, which are completely vegan.
Toppings
We love having a variety of serving options. These pancakes are not so sweet so that you can adjust the sweetness to your taste by drizzling them with maple syrup, agave syrup or honey.
Another sweetener could be powdered sugar. If you like, sift a little powdered sugar on the pancakes. Also, you can serve whatever fresh fruit you like on the side like blueberries and strawberries.
If you are a fan of marmalade or jams, serve your pancakes with some lemon marmalade or orange marmalade.
If it's the right season, you can even consider roasted fresh figs to pair these pancakes with.
And a dollop of simple applesauce would make a big change too.
Other Substitutes For Milk
Almond milk is our favorite substitute for milk in pancakes. But you are definitely not limited to it. You can use plant-based milks like almond milk, oat milk, soy milk, coconut milk (carton or boxed, not canned) as an alternative to regular milk.
There are some other options too. For example, you can use citrus juice and give your pancakes a refreshing flavor. Another substitute could be mashed banana, which gives a nice aroma too.
You can even use plain water, but we would recommend adding vanilla extract then. Otherwise it might taste bland.
FAQs
Yes, you can. But read the ingredients first. If you are on a dairy free diet, boxed pancake mixes might not be a good option for you. Some brands contain milk protein or milk powder in their mixes. So beware of this.
Yes, you can. These pancakes are not vegan, but almond milk is a great option to make vegan recipes. You can prepare flax eggs if you want, but you really don’t need it when making pancakes. Add extra almond milk or water to the batter if you leave the egg out.
More Breakfast Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Almond Milk Pancakes (Fluffy & Dairy Free)
INGREDIENTS
- 220 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 300 ml almond milk
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ¼ cup Berries optional
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup optional
INSTRUCTIONS
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt well in a large mixing bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond milk, egg and oil until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk just until everything is combined. Don't over-mix! Let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Put 1 teaspoon oil in a non-stick pan or use a cooking spray. And heat it over medium heat. Swirl the oil or spread it with a spatula so it covers the base of the pan.
- Use a measuring cup (¼ cup) or a tablespoon (for a smaller size) and drop batter in the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes or until you see bubbles on the surface of the pancake.
- Then flip and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes. Transfer the pancakes on a plate and repeat the same steps until all batter is used.
- Serve with maple syrup and fresh berries.
Video
NOTES
- Don't over mix the batter even if you are tempted to.
- Letting the batter rest for 5 minutes really helps the pancakes rise better.
- When the pan gets too hot, remove it from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Then continue cooking the remaining pancake batter.
- To keep the cooked pancakes warm while you are working with the rest of the batter, put them on an oven-safe plate or in a baking pan and let them sit in the oven at low temperature (200 F / 93 C degrees).
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
- In the fridge: These dairy-free pancakes can be made ahead of time. Store them in the refrigerator covered for 2-3 days. Reheat in the pan or microwave before serving.
- In the freezer: Let the pancakes cool completely. Put them in a freezer bag with a piece of parchment paper between each. They keep well in the freezer for 2 months. Reheat them frozen in the microwave oven for about 20 seconds or in a large skillet covered until warm. We don't recommend freezing the uncooked batter.
NUTRITION
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
ADDITIONAL INFO
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Meri says
Terrible. So much flour and no flavor. I had blueberries in them and no amount of butter and syrup could make these good.
Alana says
Not at all fluffy. Like someone else said very dense and a gummy texture paired with a bland taste. Even with cinnamon apples and drenched in syrup I couldn’t bring myself to even eat two. Do not make. Even in the video you can tell they’re not going to be good based on the fact that no air bubbles are coming through them as they’re cooking. Wish I read the reviews before I made these it’s a shame that these are one of the first results when you google almond milk pancakes.
Kelly says
You would definitely need to add a fruit because the pancakes taste like nothing
Elli says
The recipe is excellent! I just made them and they were extremely easy, quick and I don’t feel heavy like with other recipes after eating them. Instead of oil I used coconut oil and they tasted amazing. Thanks so much for sharing! Greetings from Greece!
Zerrin says
Hi Elli! Glad you enjoyed these as much as we did. Adding coconut oil is a great change in the recipe, need to try it. Sending love to Greece! Hope to visit your country one day 🙂
Jeremiah Tadpull says
These are yummy but not particularly fluffy as eluded to in the recipe name. DOOD!!!!
Jones says
Jeremiah...Not particularly fluffy? These were the least fluffy pancakes ever! They were almost gummy...BIG thumbs down! Only reason I made these is because all I had in the house was almond milk but thanks for the added motivation to make sure that I don’t run out of milk and forget to grab some again. My kids hated them 🙁 Comments from the people saying these are good must seriously hate pancakes.
Isabella says
Don't normally leave comments on recipes, but these pancakes were SUPER delicious! Didn't know what to expect, but this will definitely be my go-to pancake recipe from now on. Thankyou for sharing 😊
Zerrin says
So happy to hear that you loved these pancakes as much as we did! Thanks for the comment!
Elizabeth Smith says
These literally taste like nothing. I added 3 more tablespoons of sugar and some vanilla extract but that didn't help much. They were gross, never using this recipe again .
Emily says
These were not fluffy, no matter how long I cooked them they remained raw in the middle. Wasted ingredients.
Kayfaith says
Guessing you probably did not have your grill hot enough.. Mine needed to be quite hot. Super yummy and fluffy!
Jo says
Thanks for sharing this recipe! The pancakes were delicious.
Zerrin says
Glad you loved the recipe Jo!
greendeen says
Hi! I was wondering if the (2 tablespoon) oil can be substituted with coconut oil? 🙂
Zerrin says
Yes, you can use coconut oil instead.
Surabhi says
This pancake looks delicious also not tough to cook as mentioned. We'll surely try this and let's hope it will be as good as it looks in the picture. Thanks for sharing!!
Codrut Turcanu says
I like pancakes, and I've not eaten them in years! This recipe comes in handy, thanks!
Zerrin says
It's really easy to make these. Hope you love the recipe as much as we do.
Carol R says
Just perfection. Just made these and they were so SO good. I opted the sugar with honey and they were perfect. Thanks friends.
Zerrin says
Hi Carol! Glad you like the recipe. Honey would be a great alternative to sugar. Thanks for sharing your experience with us here.
Albert Bevia says
These pancakes look so fluffy! wow! my wife is vegan so I definitely have to try this recipe out, we always have almond milk on hand...love it!!
Zerrin says
Thanks Albert! These are great for vegans. Hope your wife loves the recipe as much as I do.
Natalie says
Yay! I'm looking for a new pancake recipe to use with my nutella, and strawberry is also a plus point 😛
However, I often use butter instead of oil, I think it'd be more flavoured.
Zerrin says
Nutella and strawberries always make a great topping on pancakes. How come did I forget to mention it? Thanks for reminding 🙂
Amy says
I made these this morning with whole wheat flour and they still came out so fluffy! Thanks for the recipe! Topped mine with maple syrup because I love pancakes a little sticky and wet. YUM!
Zerrin says
Glad you loved it Amy! Planning to try the recipe with oatmeal next time to see if it works fine too.