Oat Flour Pancakes
Oat flour pancakes are soft, fluffy and so easy to make. The perfect healthy breakfast, these pancakes with oat flour are lightly sweetened and great for a quick and easy breakfast everyone is sure to love. These pancakes are freezer friendly and great for meal prep too.
If you love making homemade pancakes, you have to try these Protein Pancakes (made with protein powder) or healthy protein waffles.
Why you will love this recipe
- Simple ingredients
- Easy to make
- No special equipment needed
- Great for meal prep
- Easy to customize
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
What do you need to make oat flour pancakes
- Dairy free milk – use your favorite dairy free milk here. I love cashew milk but almond milk, oat milk or coconut milk (in the carton, not the can) would also work great.
- Yogurt (regular or dairy free) – yogurt helps make the pancakes moist and tender without making them soggy. If you want to increase the protein in these pancakes, use a Greek style yogurt.
- Maple syrup – the maple syrup sweetens the pancakes just slightly and also helps them brown a bit when cooking. You could also use honey or your favorite liquid sweetener. If you choose to omit the maple syrup, add 2 additional tablespoons of milk.
- Eggs – the eggs in this recipe really give structure to the pancakes. I have not had great success in swapping out the eggs for flax eggs or chia eggs.
- Oat flour – oat flour is a little nutty in flavor and makes the pancakes really filling. Oat flour is packed with fiber and protein. You can make your own oat flour by grinding up oats in the blender.
- Baking powder – baking powder helps the oat flour pancakes rise. Since there is no gluten in the recipe, the extra baking powder is needed to create the fluffy pancakes you typically get with regular flour.
How to make pancakes with oat flour
Make the oat flour: If you don’t have oat flour on hand, make your own by blending 1 cup of rolled oats or quick oats in a blender on high for 1-2 minutes. Be sure the oats are ground into a very fine powder. Skip this step if you have oat flour on hand.
Preheat a large skillet over medium to medium high heat (I use a ceramic skillet set to 300F).
Combine the wet ingredients in a large bowl.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir well. Try not to over mix. Let the batter rest for 2-3 minutes.
Make a test pancake: Turn the heat down to medium (about 250-275F). Spray the skillet with avocado oil, olive oil or melt a little butter or ghee. Make a test pancake. Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to pour out the batter onto the skillet. Cook until the top starts to bubble and carefully flip with a spatula.
- Once you have made a test pancake, adjust the batter if needed (too thin, add more oat flour, too thick add water/milk).
Make the pancakes: Spray the skillet down and make the pancakes, using the ¼ cup measuring cup to keep them all the same size. Flip the pancakes once you notice there are bubbles forming on the top of the pancakes and they start to look golden brown on the underside. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes on the other side.
Add your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Top tips
- Be sure to preheat the skillet before pouring the pancake batter. This helps ensure the pancakes cook evenly and don’t stick.
- Use a large spatula to flip the pancakes. They are fragile but can easily be flipped with a large spatula.
- If you are unsure about the consistency of the batter, make a small test pancake first. This way you are not wasting all your ingredients if the batter isn’t quite right.
- To make these oat flour pancakes gluten free, be sure to use an oat flour that is labeled gluten free, as many oats can get cross-contaminated during processing.
- If you are making a large batch and need the pancakes to stay warm, preheat the oven to 200F and place the pancakes in a casserole dish with a lid (or wrap the pancakes in foil). This helps ensure the pancakes don’t dry out when keeping warm in the oven.
Mix-ins
- Frozen blueberries (add these at the last minute and make sure they are frozen so they don’t turn the batter purple).
- Fresh blueberries, chopped strawberries, chopped banana, raspberries
- Mini chocolate chips
- Chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, pistachios, almonds)
- Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice
- Dried fruit: Raisins, chopped dates, dried cherries, dried cranberries
Topping ideas
- Fresh fruit: Berries, sliced bananas, cherries, peaches
- Maple syrup or honey
- Whipped cream or yogurt
- Chocolate tahini spread
- Cinnamon maple frosting
- Nut butter – cinnamon raisin peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, sunbutter, peanut butter
Common questions
What to do if the pancake batter is too thick
Oat flour has a tendency to absorb a lot of liquid and will thicken the longer it sits out.
The pancake batter should be runny enough that you can pour it out into the skillet, but thick enough that it keeps it shape as a pancake when you are pouring it out into the skillet.
If you find that the batter is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of water or dairy free milk until it’s the right consistency. I find that oat flour really thickens the longer it sits out, so if you are making a large batch of pancakes, you may need to add some water or milk to thin out the last few pancakes.
What if the pancake batter is too thin
If the batter appears thin, let it rest for 5 minutes to thicken. If it still seems thin, add 1-2 tablespoons of oat flour to thicken.
What is oat flour
Oat flour is flour made by finely grinding up oats (rolled oat or quick oats). You can buy oat flour already ground or make your own.
Great for baking or making healthy pancakes, oat flour is higher in fiber and protein compared to traditional all purpose flour.
Oats are naturally gluten free however they can get cross contaminated when grown or processed, so if you want your oat flour pancakes to be gluten free, be sure to use gluten free certified oats or oat flour.
How to make oat flour at home
Pour rolled oats or quick cooking oats into a high speed blender. Do not use steel cut oats, as they still have the hull on them and will not grind into a fine powder.
Blend on high for 1-2 minutes until the oats resemble a very fine powder. Often I find that some of the oats did not get blended, so I usually pass this flour through a fine mesh sieve to catch the larger pieces.
Store the homemade oat flour in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Can you make these pancakes without eggs?
I have not had success making these oat flour pancakes without eggs. I find the eggs really help hold the pancakes together when flipping them and also help create a fluffy texture. When I tried this with flax eggs, the pancakes were mushy in the middle and very dense.
Can you freeze gluten free oat flour pancakes?
Yes, these pancakes freeze well. To freeze, allow the pancakes to cool completely before stacking the pancakes with parchment paper between the pancakes (this helps keep them from sticking together). Store in a freezer safe bag or container for up to a month.
When you are ready to use the frozen pancakes, place them in the toaster or toaster oven and toast until defrosted. You can also defrost in the microwave at 50% power for 2 minutes.
Storing leftovers
- Fridge: Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Wait to add your toppings until after reheating.
- Reheat in a warm skillet, in the toaster (or toaster oven) or in the microwave.
- Freezer: Freeze with parchment paper between the pancakes in a freezer safe bag or container up to 1 month.
More recipes with oat flour
Pumpkin Cookies (with oat flour)
Oat Flour Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dairy free milk
- 1 cup yogurt
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups oat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat the skillet over medium to medium high heat (300F).
- If needed, make the oat flour by blending oats in a blender 1-2 minutes.
- Combine the wet ingredients in a large bowl (dairy free milk, yogurt, eggs, maple syrup). Stir well until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients (oat flour and baking powder) to the wet ingredients. Stir well to combine. Let the pancake batter rest 2-3 minutes.
- If you have the time, make a practice pancake. Turn the heat down on the skillet to medium. Spray the skillet with avocado oil, olive oil, melted butter or melted ghee. Portion out 1/4 cup of batter. Cook 2-3 minutes until the pancake starts to bubble at the top. Carefully flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. If needed, add more liquid to thin out the batter or add 1-2 tablespoons additional oat flour or let the batter rest longer to thicken.
- Once you have determined that the batter is the perfect consistency, make the rest of the pancakes. You likely will need to do this in batches. Cook 2-3 minutes until the pancakes start to bubble on top, then flip and cook 2-3 more minutes. Note: you can keep pancakes warm by placing them in a 200F oven in a casserole dish (covered with a lid) or wrapped in foil.
- Add your favorite toppings and enjoy.
Notes
- Be sure to preheat your skillet before pouring the pancake batter. This helps ensure the pancakes cook evenly and don’t stick.
- Use a large spatula to flip the pancakes. They are fragile but can easily be flipped with a large spatula.
- If you are unsure about the consistency of the batter, make a small pancake first. This way you are not wasting all your ingredients if the batter isn’t quite right.
- To make these oat flour pancakes gluten free, be sure to use an oat flour that is labeled gluten free.
- If you are making a large batch and need the pancakes to stay warm, preheat the oven to 200F and place the pancakes in a casserole dish with a lid (or wrap the pancakes in foil). This helps ensure the pancakes don’t dry out when keeping warm in the oven.
- Frozen blueberries (add these at the last minute and make sure they are frozen so they don’t turn the batter purple).
- Fresh blueberries, chopped strawberries, chopped banana, raspberries
- Mini chocolate chips
- Chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, pistachios, almonds)
- Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice
- Dried fruit: Raisins, chopped dates, dried cherries, dried cranberries
- Fresh fruit: Berries, sliced bananas, cherries, peaches
- Maple syrup or honey
- Whipped cream or yogurt
- Chocolate tahini spread
- Cinnamon maple frosting
- Nut butter – cinnamon raisin peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, sunbutter, peanut butter
- Fridge: Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Wait to add your toppings until after reheating.
- Reheat in a warm skillet, in the toaster (or toaster oven) or in the microwave.
- Freezer: Freeze with parchment paper between the pancakes in a freezer safe bag or container up to 1 month.
