Of all the things in this world to cook or bake, I seriously never thought pancakes would give me such a hard time. But this stack right here has been about 2 months in the making. And let me tell you, eight weeks of failure ridden, Sunday morning breakfasts was getting pretty annoying.
I find breakfast to be one of the hardest meals to do grain free. I know so many paleo advocates out there will say, “just treat it like another meal!” but here’s the thing…I don’t want to! I freakin live for breakfast. I go to sleep the night before thinking about it, when I randomly wake up in the middle of the night, it’s the first thing that pops into my head and I just flat out refuse to let my restaurant quality waffle maker sit unused in a corner cabinet while I eat chicken and broccoli or some other “dinner” meal first thing in the morning. Not happening. So I googled paleo pancakes a few months back and let me just say this, just because it’s on the internet, does NOT mean it’s good.
Holy eff.
The amount of disgusting paleo pancake recipes out there is mind boggling. I’m not naming any names, but just be prepared to waste a lot of eggs, bananas and almond flour if you’re ever testing some out. If you want an eggy souffle like pancake, you might be in luck because that’s what most taste like. I, however, wanted a pancake that tasted like a pancake minus the flour part. Simple sounding, difficult in execution.
So after trying other people’s recipes for 8 weeks to try and get that without any success, I gave up, got all my go-to paleo ingredients out, threw some pumpkin on the counter for good measure and totally winged it until I got a batter consistency I liked, crossed my fingers and came out with these.
These are good.
These taste like a pancake, not a banana-y egg casserole in the shape of a pancake.
When eaten on a weekend that includes 30 clean & jerks to support breast cancer prevention, motorcycle rides to Vermont, apple cider, pumpkin picking, pumpkin chip and salted caramel ice cream and riding dirt bikes around the yard to tire your dog (who must.chase.it) out, your life will be pretty complete.
You can also just eat them for breakfast with a cup of coffee and they’ll be pretty damn good too.
- ½ cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
- 2 tablespoons vanilla protein powder (optional)
- pinch of salt
- ½ tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup egg whites
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- coconut oil for cooking pancakes
- Heat a pancake griddle over medium heat.
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Whisk together wet ingredients in a small bowl.
- Add wet to dry ingredients and stir together.
- Add enough coconut oil to the pan to grease the center.
- Pour batter in approximately ¼ cupfuls onto pan and spread out into pancake shape (the batter will be a bit thick and need some help to form a circle)
- Cook for about 3-4 minutes on the first side, carefully flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes on the second side.
- Repeat with remaining batter, adding more coconut oil to the pan as needed
{ 84 comments… read them below or add one }
Yum! They look so delish
I find it really hard too to make brakfast grain-free – lunch and dinner: no problembut breakfast is a bit more difficult, so thumbs up to these pancakes! 
My old vegan/gf pancake recipe that I used to make a lot uses almond flour, flax, and coconut flour. I havent used coconut flour in ages – that stuff is like a sponge. Haha! Your pancakes look awesome and yes, agreed, there area so many recipes out there that are headscratches!
Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and your right it’s hard to find a grain free one. Your pancakes look delicious!!!
These look yummy…I haven’t yet tried cooking with coconut/almond flour yet but hoping it is in the near future.
That’s my biggest pet peeve – making a recipe from a blog and it tastes like garbage. Your experience with pancakes was mine with gluten-free muffins. Do you know how many recipes there are out there that result in a mushy muffin? I even read one blog post that said, “they turn out really mushy, but I like them that way.”…. that’s not a muffin! Ah!
haha! I sooo understand.
your weekend sounds way fun… i want to ride a motorcycle to vermont! cool life.
I rarely attempt pancakes, thankfully my taste buds are so boring that eggs just about every morning for over a year has not become an issue.
“cool” life indeed. It was kinda cold on that thing! Note to self for the future: Vermont is colder than NY…
We totally agree with you about breakfast! We usually go to bed knowing what we’re going to have for breakfast the next morning. We are NOT savoury breakfast girls, either. We want pancakes, waffles, crepes, oatmeal, overnight oats, buckwheat bakes… all the good stuff!
Gina – these actually LOOK like they taste amazing. I’m pretty sure I have all those ingredients, too! Winner.
Love these! I’ve definitely tried to make some of those paleo versions that were not pancake-like at all. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
8 weeks?! Holy hell that’s a huge commitment to find the perfect pancake. I’d have given up long ago.
i’m thinking i’m going to make these for lunch! (:
seriously, your honesty about the paleo pancake situation is refreshing – i just can’t handle trying to make something when it doesn’t work out. and these actually SOUND good!
I think you should eat sashimi for breakfast. Just saying.
i just gagged.
BAHAHAHAH! I love it! Ive actually served some of the paleo ‘pancakes’ ive created : either hockey pucks or the eggy ‘souffle’ type.gross. And I ALWAYS feel more than slightly embarassed.too funny. I too REFUSE to eat steak and chicken with a side of broccoli for breakfast. never never never.
Also im glad to know im not the only weirdo who goes to bed thinking about breakfast and then if I happen to wake up in the middle of the night….think about breakfast again. yay for foodies.
Also is it just me or is half the fun of eating pancakes adding toppings every bite? hahah!
This recipe makes me so very happy. Thank you. After several really bad batches of gf pancakes, I gave up trying, because they were realllly bad. But, I am SO trying these.
haha, hope these don’t disappoint!
Wooop Gina, these sound awesome! I STILL haven’t made pumpkin pancakes, I know I know.. shame on me. It JUST so happens I have almond flour now though so you never know… I might just try these out
I could care less about the paleo aspect, but these do look and sound incredible! I need to get my hands on some almond flour and then I’m on it!
Yes finally a grain free recipe that is not banana based! Seeing as bananas does not like me at all this is so much appreciated, thanks a lot
I just showed this post to my boyfriend (who is currently back to his paleo ways) and he is soooooo excited to make these this weekend! You rock, Gina!
Just curious if anything can be substituted for the almond flour, since I’m allergic to almonds?
I had just run out of almond flour when I made these. I used 3 rounded tablespoons of coconut flour and 3 of arrowroot powder. I also added an extra egg because of the extra coconut. turned out perfect!
I know nothing about paleo but i SOOOO want these pancakes.
This recipe sounds delicious! I have been craving pancakes like crazy and with fall being here Pumpkin pancakes or anything pumpkin for that matter has been calling my name. Having recently gotten rid of 50 pounds in the last 4 months I have pretty much decided that those fluffy buttermilk pancakes with a giant pat of melting butter and warm maple syrup are a thing of my past….until I saw your recipe! I have a couple of questions thought…the paleo way of eating is something I have just recently started to read up on and I had heard that coconut oil smells terrible when you heat it up. Is this true? Also, can you tell me what the nutrition information is on this recipe…mainly calories and fat per serving. I hope to make these soon and I really hope that my 15 and 11 year old will enjoy them as well. Thank you for posting and for all of your months of trial and error to come up with such a great recipe.
What a coincidence… I just got a Paleo cookbook from the library and was thinking of trying out the pumpkin pancakes. But I think I’ll give these a try instead
I just made these pancakes this morning and let me tell you they were so good! I have been looking for a recipe where I could use coconut flour and this was perfect. I recently tried another coconut flour pancake recipe and it was horrible, they just tasted like egg. I am so glad I found this recipe. I knew when I saw it was from your site they were going to be good and I was right.
So glad you liked them! I know what you mean about other recipes tasting just like eggs, believe me!
I just made these pancakes this morning and let me tell you they were so good! I have been looking for a recipe where I could use coconut flour and this was perfect. I recently tried another coconut flour pancake recipe and it was horrible, they just tasted like egg. I am so glad I found this recipe. I knew when I saw it was from your site they were going to be good and I was right.
I made these this morning. I loved them and my family gave me the thumbs up! I added ground almonds and raisins for my husband and me…left them plain for my son. Really great. They added syrup..I used a little butter. YUM!
Thanks for this recipe. It turned out great and is way better than the one in my pricey Paleo cookbook!
I never write responses to recipes online, but these were so freaking good that I had to! I was a little apprehensive because many reviews talked about how they “looked good” and not how they tasted, but I gave it a shot because I too have been the victim (too many times) of failed paleo pancake recipes. These pancakes were not runny, banana-tasty, or disappointing. They were nothing short of delicious and amazing. THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting this, experimenting and caring about pancakes. My taste buds and belly really appreciated it
This just made my day. So glad you were happy with them! No more nasty paleo pancakes! haha
I just tried making these and they stuck to the bottom and were mushy
What did I do wrong? I used coconut oil to heat the pan. I have this problem with so many pancake recipes that I try. Any advice?
Nutritional info on these pancakes?
Could you use just coconut flour, as opposed to the almond flour?
No, I wouldn’t suggest it. Coconut flour is much different and absorbs a lot more liquid than traditional flours or nut flours. You’d have to play around with the liquids in the recipe to do so and the resulting texture would be very different as well.
Okay, thanks! Can’t wait to try it out
These were amazing! Best flourless pancakes I have had to date. The whole family loved them (including the biggest pancake lover I have ever known… my 8 year old son and the pickiest pancake eaters… my 6 and 4 year olds ). Thanks!
They sound really yummy and I’d like to try them. I noticed a couple of requests for calories and nutritional info. Can you please respond with that info? Thx
I don’t calculate nutritional info for my recipes. If you’re interested in that, there are plenty of online calculators (sparkpeople has a great one) that you can plug the recipe into.
the fact that you said it like it is with these blog recipes, coupled with your 8 week trial and error makes this the first paleo pancake recipe I will be trying!! I too love breakfasts and want my typical breakfast food! Yay for breakfast!
Nice, I’ll give this a shot next wekend. And yes, most of the recipes out there suck. The one in Practical Paleo is not even anything resembling batter, it’s soup. But there’s no mention of it on the errata pages on the web.
I did Barbells for Boobs too. Good times.
Awesome I just made these!!! It has been forever since I had good pancakes. This made my day today. Thank you
Dat 1 of my paleo diet. I tried these pancakes for dinner tonight (sick hubby). Quite surprised! The texture wasn’t all that great… a little mushy. But the flavor was outstanding! I’ll just have to work with the recipe for a while to find that right consistency. Glad I stumbled onto this site. Will definitely have to check out your other recipes
I dont take the time to write reviews, but this recipe was RIDICULOUS!!!!
I hope that’s a good ridiculous??
Tasted great, but was frustrated with the fact that they stuck to the pan and came out in pieces. Any suggestions?
Did you grease the pan well? A non-stick griddle and grease is the only thing I can think of.
I wasn’t able to keep them from sticking. So I put them on greased parchment paper and baked them.
I’ve made these twice now and they are so effing good. I dont add the flax though. I made extra for leftovers and made a breakfast sandwich with them with sausage and egg! Kinda like a mcgriddle minus the feeling of absolute death after consumption. SO GOOD.
8 weeks, so impressed and thank you for taking one for the “healthy” team. I can’t wait to try these out (and where in VT are you?).
Not in VT, we live in NY and just took a ride to Bennington for the day
Thank you SO much for this recipe! I made it this morning & they were delicious.
I did want to remark on some posters’ comments about the pancakes coming out crumbly or not holding together. I have room on my griddle to cook 2 pancakes at a time; I noticed that the last 2 didn’t hold together quite as well as the others. I think that this may be a function of the coconut flour — the longer the batter sits, the more liquid the coconut flour absorbs.
So I would suggest having the griddle pretty much ready to go before combining the wet & dry ingredients. As soon as they are combined, start making the pancakes. The next time I make them, I might try adding a little almond milk to the tail end of the batch & see if that helps the last 2 pancakes hold together.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! They were so good, and I feel the EXACT same way about breakfast. My ridiculously picky daughter (who is five) ate them up and asked for more. I’ve been sharing this recipe with everyone…
I just made these…thanks for the recipe! They were delicious! I found the batter a bit thick and hard to spread…so my pancakes were oddly shaped. However, the flavour and texture was the best I’ve found so far using Paleo ingredients.
Yeah, you kind of have to shake the pan to get the “pancake” shape. I haven’t yet found a paleo version without a thick batter
Glad you liked them!
I’ve been searching high and low for good Paleo pancakes (and my daughter is GF) so can’t wait to try them. Quick question do I have to use the ground flax? I am not opposed I just don’t have any at the moment. Thanks for the help!
I think you could probably leave it out and be fine. Haven’t tried it without but that’s my guess
Any ideas for a substitute for the egg whites? Thanks!
Just made these and they were unreal! Just started paleo a little while ago and breakfast is my favourite meal of the day and i’ve been scouring the internet for recipes to satisfy my craving. I served these with a dollop of coconut cream, fresh strawberries and maple syrup!
i just made these tonight! i used quit a bit of coconut oil to grease my pan. but whatever they came out amazing!!!! all pancakes i have had since i started eating clean have had banana so it felt and tasted so good to have something without the banana. the pumpkin was very slight which i enjoyed.
These were wonderful. Just delicious. Light with a lovely texture, and very much a pancake, not some weird eggy mess. Thank you so much.
Nice recipe. The first time I made them they were a little flat, and the texture was a little custardy. So I made them again, but this time I whipped the egg whites into a meringue before folding them into the dry ingredients. Came out much fluffier, with more of a pancake texture. Give it a try.
These pancakes were great! I used the entire egg (not just the white) and cooked them in a bit of grass fed butter. Delicious – thanks!
Oh yum!! trying them out for sure!!!
This recipe was amazing! Delish!!! Thank you.
Oh my goodness! This is my second paleo pancake recipe I’ve tried and you really blew this recipe out of the water! After my last endeavor I was pretty skeptical that there was even such a thing as “just like regular pancakes” out there. I chose your recipe this time around due to your high star rating. These pancakes really do have the consistency of regular buttermilk pancakes. I seriously felt like I was eating a cheat meal even though this is a much healthier pancake version. The last recipe I tried left me so disappointed! No one craving pancakes for breakfast wants to eat a cardboard “pancake” that needs to be drenched in syrup just to get a little bit of softness to eat bite. Yuk!! I do have to mention however, that I did not completely follow the recipe… There were a few things I didn’t have on hand so I made some adjustments. I subtracted the ground flax, and protein. I also substituted 1 1/2 ripe bananas for the pumpkin pure. They tasted great though
like a pumpkin banana nut bread pancake. Next time when I have the other ingredients on hand I would like to try this out again, following your recipe to a T. Thank you so much for sharing. I will forever be using this recipe for all future pancake cravings! 
Also I noticed a few prior comments regarding a “thick” batter consistency. I did not have this problem. Since I made a few adjustments I’m not entirely sure how my batter came out like that of a normal pancake batter consistency. I assume it was because I did not add the ground flax seed and protein powder (less dry ingredients). Also I used 3/4 a cup of liquid egg whites, not egg whites from the shell… Try that next time with the 1/2cup of pumpkin and it might be okay.
Once again, these pancakes have been on my menu for months, but I had yet to make them. Thank goodness they tasted awesome because they looked ugly! There was absolutely no possibility of these pouring from the bowl. The only substitution I made was to put in two eggs instead of egg whites and I found myself pressing the batter out in my hand like hamburger patty. My 2 yr old loved them though, “Bite? Bite?” and scarfed them down without hesitation. I might need to figure out how to sneak some veggies into these next time.
Well… What a find!! I too have crashed and burned and crumbled and fallen apart through several failed paleo pancake, alleged recipes.
This one works. I didn’t have all the exact recipe but put buckwheat and rice flour instead if almond flour. I even used an egg yolk or too so as not to waste them. I didn’t have pumpkin spice so used Chinese 5 spice (nutmeg, cinnamon etc…). The mixture needed a little more moisture so I put in a splash of coconut oil.
The pumpkin turns them a beautiful orangey yellow colour. I cooked sliced banana into them which was delicious. Served with natural plain yoghurt, a dab of butter and z drizzle of honey. Tipped with fresh strawberries sons blueberries.
My kids and I devoured them !!!!!!
So it seems like over half the people commented with five stars didn’t even try to make them yet or at least when they commented. I’m not sure how you can rate something without trying it yet. Well i found the recipe, bought everything and was very happy with the end result. It’s always nice to find a recipe that is spot on. Nice work on the ingredients mix from trial and error!
Absolutely perfect. (I used the whole eggs.) Thank you!
I just read this post, and in addition to being excited to try these pancakes, I just wanted to say hello to a fellow “30-clean and jerk” motorcycle riding fellow paleo food lover. It’s just a small world. Awesome recipes here! I’ll be an avid follower.
This was just awful. The taste was okay, but the texture was bad. Ruined my breakfast.
This recipe says it serves ’2′ but I ended up with enough mix to to make at least 12-16 pancakes. It must say because the author knows that more than half if them aren’t going to make it out of the pan because of the terrible consistency. I’m not sure what I did differently but this was not good. And my children wouldn’t eat them at all. Disappointed…
I’m pretty sure paleo man didn’t eat pancakes, or anything like them. How is it a paleo lifestyle if you spend so much time trying to make something so non-paleo while following some silly set of rules that then makes it “paleo?” FFS, just eat what you like.
These look wonderful. I’ve tried a few paleo pancake recipes using coconut flour and bananas but never one with almond flour. I have all the ingredients on hand and will likely make them tomorrow for a Sunday breakfast. Just discovered your blog, by the way and I’m subscribing!
I just made these for myself and my grown son. Except for the fact that I did not have any protein powder, I followed the recipe exactly. They were delicious, and quite filling. You do have to press them down, and I used the bottom of the 1/4 cup measuring cup to help that process. They were not overly sweet, which I like, and did not fall apart like most coconut flour pancakes. Thanks for all your effort.
)
I made these this weekend, LOVED them! I have never liked pancakes (gasp) but these were delicious and did not have that gritty, consistency issue that causes my dislike for regular pancakes! My non-Paleo roommate also loved them! Thanks for sharing and this will become a regular in my recipe box!
SO GOOD! These have become a staple in our household. My two year old just can’t get enough and I am more than happy to indulge! Although, I must admit we add a few of the goodlife chocolate chips and strawberries to the top of ours- heavenly!
For those with sticky/ crumbly pancakes they have trouble flipping-
1. Check the temp you are cooking on, I had to play with mine to get the right heat level to maintain. On my gas stove I do just below the medium setting.
2. They take a while to cook. Give them plenty of time before you attempt flipping. The tops look almost cooked through with just a bit of raw batter left on top when I turn them.
3. Make sure you spread the batter out so the pancake is pretty thin. I use a plastic serving spoon so that it doesn’t stick as I move it around.
4. I actually prefer a coconut cooking spray for the grease as apposed to the jarred coconut oil. I feel like it cooks a little more evenly.
Thank you for a great recipe!!
Thank you, these are fun and tasty! Five months new to Paleo eating and my husband and I really enjoyed the pancakes. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Made ours with EnerG Egg Replacement since can not eat eggs, perhaps a bit thicker than your picture but we so enjoyed the taste and great to have something different for breakfast. Homemade Nutella on top was a favorite, though your picture of butter and pumpkin seeds looks amazing. Cheers!
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