These oat flour pancakes are wholesome, gluten-free, and naturally sweetened with blended dried fruit. They're also fluffy, dairy-free, need no resting time, and are ready in about 20 minutes.
Fluffy pancakes are one of my family's favorite things to eat on lazy Sunday mornings, but they are also easy enough for a weekday. They're light in texture like my Plantain Pancakes and will give you long-lasting energy all day long. Any leftovers make a perfect grab-and-go breakfast the next day or two.
More gluten-free pancakes and waffles? You might also like my Oat Flour Waffles or Buckwheat Apple Pancake With Bacon.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Light and fluffy: Baking powder gives these pancakes a soft, airy texture, while 100% oat flour adds a mild, nutty flavor.
- Quick: Ready in 20 minutes or less, with no resting time needed for the batter.
- Naturally sweetened: No refined sugar. Like my gluten-free brownies and oat bliss balls, they're sweetened with dried fruit.
- Gluten-free and dairy-free: Made with certified gluten-free oat flour and plant milk, making them an easy option for anyone avoiding gluten or dairy.
Ingredients & Notes
- Oat flour: Use store-bought, or pulse gluten-free steel-cut or old-fashioned rolled oats in a high-speed blender into homemade oat flour.
- Cinnamon powder: Adds warm flavor that complements the dried fruit. I use Organic Ceylon Cinnamon, which I find more aromatic and flavorful than Cassia.
- Baking powder: Creates a fluffier pancake. Use a gluten-free one.
- Dried fruits: What I love most about these pancakes is that they're sweet on their own and taste incredible even without toppings. I sweeten the batter with pureed brown raisins and (Turkish) apricots.
- Plant milk: Choose your favorite. I prefer cashew, oat, or almond milk.
- Eggs: Two large fresh eggs.
- Coconut oil: To grease the pan. Feel free to swap it for another oil or butter.
Note: The dried fruits aren't visible in the pancakes because they're blended into a sweet puree with the plant milk. The result is a fruity, sweet flavor with a hint of tanginess.
How To Make Oat Flour Pancakes
Blend, whisk, and cook. No resting needed.
Step 1 - Whisk the Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk the oat flour, cinnamon, and baking powder. Set aside.
Step 2 - Blend the Fruit Puree: In a high-speed blender, blend the raisins, apricots, and 1 cup of plant milk into a sweet paste. Start on low and work your way up to high.
Step 3 - Add the Wet Ingredients: Add the beaten eggs and fruit puree to the dry ingredients.
Step 4 - Add the Extra Milk: Combine the dry and wet ingredients and add the remaining ¼ cup of plant milk to make the batter a tad more runny.
Step 5 - Stir Until Smooth: Stir well until you have a smooth pancake batter with no lumps.
Step 6 - Cook the Pancakes: Warm a large skillet over medium heat and melt ½ teaspoon coconut oil. Drop in ¼ cup of batter per pancake, about three at a time. Cook until the edges firm up, bubbles form on top, and the bottom is golden, then flip and cook about 2 minutes more. Repeat, greasing the pan between batches.
Top Tips
- Whisk the dry ingredients: It distributes them evenly, fluffs up the flour, and removes any lumps.
- Don't flip too soon: Otherwise they'll fall apart. Wait until the edges firm up and small bubbles form on top.
- Preheat cast iron: If using a cast-iron pan, warm it for 5 minutes over medium heat so the pancakes brown evenly.
- If allergic to coconut oil: Use avocado oil, olive oil, or butter (not dairy-free).
- Buy oats in bulk: It's more cost-effective to buy oats in bulk and use them as flour for these pancakes or baked goods like oat flour doughnuts.
Variations & Substitutions
- Sweet fig bread: Make this cake with less sugar for something closer to a sweet fig bread. Use only half of the sugar and add ⅓ more walnuts and figs. You can also use bread flour for this version.
- Add thyme: Before baking, sprinkle the dough with dried thyme leaves, or work about 2 to 3 tablespoons of freshly chopped thyme leaves into the batter. The thyme adds a wonderful aroma and pleasant flavor.
- How to serve the bread version: It has just a hint of sweetness and tastes lovely with butter, a compote, fig jam, fig preserves, or apple butter.
Healthy Topping Ideas
These pancakes are already plenty sweet, so they don't rely on syrups or toppings. But here are a few favorites:
- A drizzle of maple syrup with fresh berries is our favorite.
- Sliced bananas and extra chopped dried apricots with almonds or walnuts.
- A dollop of creamy (vegan) fruit yogurt.
- A spoon of (homemade) jam or chia jam.
- Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Spread.
- Something savory, like your favorite cheese.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To reheat, set a small pan over low heat and flip the pancakes until warm. It only takes a few minutes and heats them nicely without any fuss. You could even add cheese at this point and let it melt slightly. I prefer this over the microwave, which makes them soggy.
More Breakfast Recipes To Try
Made this? Tell me how it went in the comments and leave a star rating below. I love to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe to my monthly newsletter! - Mariska
📖 Recipe
Oat Flour Pancakes (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
Mariska RamondinoEquipment
- 1 high-speed blender For the dried fruit puree (and homemade oat flour).
- 1 large non-stick skillet or cast-iron pan: I prefer cast iron.
- 1 whisk
- 1 Kitchen scale Handy if you blend your own oat flour, since the card includes weights.
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cups oat flour (gluten-free)-see note 165 grams
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder (gluten-free)
- ½ cup black raisins 70 grams
- ½ cup dried apricots 85 grams
- 1 ¼ cups plant milk, divided 296 ml
- 2 eggs, beaten
- Coconut oil to grease the pan
Instructions
- Combine the oat flour, cinnamon, and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside.1 ⅓ cups oat flour (gluten-free)-see note, 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder, 2 teaspoons Baking Powder (gluten-free)
- In a high-speed blender, Blend the raisins, apricots, and 1 cup plant milk into a puree, starting low and working up to high.½ cup black raisins, ½ cup dried apricots, 1 ¼ cups plant milk, divided
- Add the puree and eggs to the dry ingredients. Stir until smooth with no lumps.2 eggs, beaten
- Stir in the remaining ¼ cup plant milk to loosen the batter.
- Warm a large skillet over medium heat and melt ½ teaspoon coconut oil.
- Drop in ¼ cup batter per pancake, about three at a time.
- Cook until the edges become solid and the surface starts forming bubbles, and the bottom is golden.
- Gently flip and cook the other side until golden brown (about 2 minutes).
- Repeat with the remaining batter, adding ½ teaspoon coconut oil per batch.
- Serve warm with your favorite toppings and maple syrup (optional).
Notes
- Cast iron: If using, warm the pan for 5 minutes over medium heat to brown the pancakes evenly.
- Whisk the dry ingredients to fluff the flour and break up any lumps.
- Naturally sweet: These pancakes don't need much maple syrup (or other syrups).
- Savory pairing: They also taste delicious with a salty topping like cheese, or slightly cooled down.
- Plant milk: Use almond, cashew, or oat milk.
- Oat flour: I usually pulse 1 cup of gluten-free steel-cut oats in a blender to get 1 ⅓ cups of oat flour. You can also use store-bought oat flour or blend rolled oats (about 1 ½ cups of rolled oats gives you a little over a cup of oat flour). If you blend oats as needed, I suggest using a food scale; the weights in the recipe tell you how much oat flour you need.
- Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat in a small pan over low heat.
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Nutrition (% Daily value)
Disclaimer: This nutritional data is calculated using third party tools and is only intended as a reference.
Donna says
Very good, pancakes turned out well. I used oats and ground them up in blender, combined with unsweetened almond milk. Substituted dried cranberries for raisins and added orange extract. Light, fluffy and flavourful. Thank you.
Mariska Ramondino says
Thank you, Donna. And I love how you made it your own. Love the orange extract, great idea and thank you for sharing here so other readers can try it as well;)