The search for a good grain-free, gluten-free fall pancake ends here. These pumpkin paleo pancakes are bursting with fall flavor and, unlike many other paleo pancake recipes, actually taste like a real pancake!
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 of pumpkin paleo pancakes 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.
Go eat a real egg souffle like this asparagus omelette souffle instead, you’ll thank me.
I, however, wanted a pancake that tasted like a pancake minus the flour part.
Simple sounding, difficult in execution. Until now.
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 pumpkin paleo pancakes.
These are good.
These taste like a pancake, not a banana-y egg casserole in the shape of a pancake.
They’re neck and neck right now with my other favorite go to pancake recipe of all time – perfect protein pancakes (they’ve got 30g of protein per serving!) and that’s saying a lot because I LOVE those pancakes!
They also give my cassava flour pancakes a run for their money but I prefer that recipe for a more traditional paleo pancake whereas this one is great for fall.
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.
And if you don’t care about the whole “paleo” thing, try these pumpkin protein pancakes or these low carb pumpkin pancakes – both delicious cousins to these paleo pumpkin pancakes.
Sweet potato chocolate chip pancakes and gingerbread pumpkin pancakes are also great fall-inspired pancake recipes to try!
If you have leftovers, check out our guide on how to reheat pancakes and avoid any rubbery flapjacks the next day.
Pumpkin Paleo Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
- 2 tablespoons vanilla protein powder, optional
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 3/4 cup egg whites
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- coconut oil for cooking pancakes
Instructions
- 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 1/4 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
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Gina, you’ve got some mad skill for coming up with this recipe! Thank you for sharing your hard work’s results with the rest of us! I’ve been eating paleo pancakes since 2007, and this is one of the best recipes I’ve tried! My husband is not a fan of paleo pancakes, preferring the gluten originals. I’m not exaggerating. This morning after trying these, he said, “Can we always just have these? Let’s just stick to this recipe from now on!”
I chose to make these minor adjustments, & the recipe still worked wonderfully! :
5 whole eggs, because I didn’t have egg whites in a carton, & didn’t want to waste my egg yolks.
1/2 tsp of nutmeg (in addition to the cinnamon), because I didn’t have pumpkin spice mix
I omitted the option protein powder, because I didn’t have any.
1 full tsp of vanilla extract (because I love the stuff)
1/3 c of coconut milk (to make the batter less thick & more pourable)
I cooked them in electric skillet (w/ coconut oil) at 300 degrees (medium/med-high heat), 5-7 minutes on each side (so that center is well cooked & not mushy like some of the other comments mentioned). I used a 1/4 size measuring cup to pour then spread each pancake, which yielded in about 8 medium size pancakes.
Hope this helps answer some substitution questions out there!
I just made these (my first time making paleo pancakes) and they were even better than “normal” pancakes! I used four whole large eggs instead of just whites and the texture was perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
I was wondering why so many grain free/paleo recipes call for egg whites? Do you need the yolks for something else? I know the yolk has most of the fat but it also holds all the nutrition- minerals, lots of them. Eggs are a nutritionally complete food but no without the yolk. I didn’t think paleo eating pattern is restricting fats but I may be wrong? Was it just your personal preferences to not include the yolks or will it mess up the batter?
I am a nutrition student almost finished my 4 year degree program and one of the biggest take aways so far is keep your yolks the cholesterol and fat in them will not hurt you, not even if you are a cardiac patient. I too am looking for a good bkfast option my family is sick of bad/gluten free pancakes I have made in the past. Thank you for all your testing to get us here.
Love this recipe! Didn’t have flax meal or protein powder so they were omitted. Used 3 whole pastured eggs. Used plenty of coconut oil in a non-stick skillet. A thin rubber silicone spatula/flipper smoothed the thick batter well enough. Had to use a jiggling spreading motion so it wouldn’t stick to the utensil and stay in contact with the cooking surface, but it worked. My stove is electric so on medium heat I only needed to cook about 2 minutes on each side. Once flipped I did flatten it down a bit. Oh! Were they ever yummy! Topped with Ghee (made from Kerry Gold Butter) and heated organic maple syrup in a shot glass so I wouldn’t overdo it on the sugar. (Sorry, maple syrup is pancake religion) Mmm! Mmm!
Way to mushy. Not like a pancake at all. Throwing out rest of batter:(
I subbed brown rice flour for almond flour. I have a nut sensitivity. Kids couldn’t get past the grainy texture. I can’t win them over. I enjoyed them. I added water to moisten the batter. I made so much of the batter I’m experimenting with muffins.
Just made these for the second time . They are absolutely yummy !
Love them. Even the picky skeptical kids loved them.
Questions… Your recipe says it yields 2. Does that mean 2 pancakes or 2 servings? Thanks! Can’t wait to try these!
2 servings. Enjoy!
I’m doing the Whole Life Challenge and can’t have honey right now, but really want to make these! Any ideas on a substitute? The only sweetener I can have is stevia….
Just go with stevia then, might change consistency a bit though and the batter for these is already quite thick so I’m not 100% sure. I’m sure you can make it work though :)
Just made these – they’re still pretty spongy and grainy but they taste good (texture is just weird). Better than no pancakes.