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.
Absolutely perfect. (I used the whole eggs.) Thank you!
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!
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 !!!!!!
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.
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.
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! :)
This recipe was amazing! Delish!!! Thank you.
Oh yum!! trying them out for sure!!!
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!
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.