Fluffy Vegan Pumpkin Pancakes

These vegan pumpkin pancakes are so fluffy and will be your new favorite fall breakfast! Full of cozy spices like cinnamon and topped with maple syrup, they’re ready in just 15 minutes.

Ingredients Needed

• 1 TBS flax meal, ground from flax seeds (optional but recommended)
• 1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or an equal mix of AP and whole wheat)
• 1 TBS baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (a mixture of 1/8 allspice, 1/2 cinnamon, 1/4 nutmeg, and 1/8 cloves)
• 1/2 TBS lemon juice (or sub apple cider vinegar)
• 1 cup almond milk
• 2 TBS oil of choice 
• 2 TBS sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

How to Make Vegan Pumpkin Pancakes

1. Add your ground flax to a small cup with 3 TBS water. Set aside to gel.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl and set aside.

3. In a medium sized bowl, add lemon juice to milk and stir. This will create a “buttermilk” that helps the pancakes become extra fluffy! After a minute or so, add in coconut oil, sugar, pumpkin, and vanilla.

4. Slowly add your wet ingredients to dry, taking care not to over-mix.

5. Lightly oil a griddle, heat to medium-low, and scoop batter into 1/3 cup for each pancake. Cook for about 2 minutes, flip once puffy and bubbling, and cook 1-2 minutes more. Serve with toppings of choice.

What are some benefits of baking with pumpkin?

• Pumpkin is naturally high in fiber, antioxidants, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, and Potassium. Feel free to read more about its health benefits here.
• When used in baked goods, pumpkin acts as an excellent binding agent. This means that these pancakes are naturally vegan without eggs.
• It’s affordable. We’re using canned pumpkin here (not pumpkin pie filling) which is just about $1 at most grocery stores!

Tips for Making the Best Pumpkin Pancakes:

1. Be sure not to over-mix the batter. It’s OK if you have a few clumps, but stirring too much may activate gluten in the dough and cause it to become tough and flat.
2. Keep your griddle temperature in the medium/medium low range (adjusting slightly lower throughout batches as the pan retains more heat). A pan that is too hot will cause these to burn on the outside and remain uncooked on the inside. No thank you!
3. Resist the urge to flip pancakes more than just once. I recently learned that flipping pancakes more than one time (in the middle of the cooking cycle) will cause them to flatten out.

Possible Substitutions for this Recipe

• I am using a mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat pastry flour since that is what I had on hand, but fine oat flour should work if you’re gluten-free. The pancakes may be a little more dense so be sure that your oats are very finely ground in this case.
• I have not tried making this recipe without oil, but I am guessing that some applesauce could be substituted in place of 1 TBS of oil.
• If you do not have flax seed on hand, it could be omitted. If you are not vegan, you can also add one egg to help with binding.
• Some topping ideas include dairy-free yogurt, nuts, and maple syrup. Feel free to add whatever fruit you have (apples and bananas would be delicious), along with some nut butter!

I hope you love these pancakes and enjoy making them all autumn long! Please be sure to let me know on Instagram at @garlic_head if you give them a try.

Looking for more pumpkin recipes? Try one of these next:

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Vegan Pumpkin Cake

Turkish Candied Pumpkin

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

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