Weekend breakfast is so much more delicious with these vegan oatmeal pancakes! They are tender and packed with yummy oats and cinnamon. The eight-ingredient batter comes together in a blender or food processor, making both prep and cleanup easy. The pancakes are gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free.
Table of Contents
Vegan oatmeal pancakes
My family can't get enough of pancakes on weekends. There's nothing like a stack of vegan pancakes, vegan sourdough pancakes or vegan sheet pan pancakes to get breakfast off to a rolling start. But of late we've been grooving on these yummy oatmeal pancakes which are, in a word, perfect.
They are ultra simple and extra tasty with the goodness of rolled oats and the aroma of cinnamon. Creamy oat milk and a bit of cornmeal bring the batter together in a food processor - definitely one of my favorite parts! It all happens so quickly, you might surprise yourself when you sit down at the breakfast table, not a hair out of place, with a stack of the most golden, delicious pancakes you just cooked up.
Oats are not only an incredibly healthy food to include in any diet, but they also cook up quickly, which makes these pancakes perfect for a busy day. The batter has no added oils, and they are gluten-free and soy-free.
Recipe card
Vegan Oatmeal Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1½ cups oat milk (or almond milk or soy milk or any non dairy milk of choice)
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral oil (or cooking spray)
Instructions
- Soak the oats. Place the oats and the milk in the food processor or blender and let them sit for at least 15 minutes so the oats soften. You can also leave them overnight.
- Place remaining ingredients except the oil in the blender.
- Process until a batter forms. I like a few bits of oats in there for crunch but you can make the batter smoother for smoother pancakes. Don't overprocess, however, as this might make the batter gummy and the pancakes dense. Turn off the blender as soon as the texture of the batter is to your liking.
- Make the pancakes. Heat a cast iron griddle or non stick griddle and coat it with oil or cooking spray. Pour out the batter in rounds using a ¼ cup measure. Cook pancakes until bubbles appear near the center and the edges are dry, about two minutes over medium-high heat. Flip over and cook the other side.
- Serve hot.
Notes
- If you like your pancakes to have a smoother, less rustic look, you can cut down the quantity of oats to 1 ½ cups and add ½ a cup of oat flour to the blender. Or use all purpose flour or whole wheat flour or any gluten-free flour of your choice.
- Instead of cornstarch, use a banana to bind the pancakes and to give the pancakes a banana oat flavor. Blend the banana into the batter and voila! Oatmeal Banana Pancakes.
- Try using a different spice to flavor the pancakes. Cardamom or cloves or pumpkin spice would be really lovely.
- Refrigerate: Place leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.
- Freeze: Flash freeze pancakes and then place them in a freezer-safe container or bag. Store for up to four months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before eating.
- Reheat: Reheat pancakes on the skillet or griddle or in the microwave or toaster oven until warmed through.
Nutrition Information
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How to make vegan oatmeal pancakes
- Soak the oats. Place the oats and the milk in the food processor or blender and let them sit for at least 15 minutes so the oats soften. You can also leave them to soak overnight.
- Place remaining ingredients except the oil in the blender.
- Process until a batter forms. I like a few bits of oats in there for more crunchiness, but you can make the pancake batter smoother for smoother pancakes. Don't overprocess, however, as this might make the batter gummy and the pancakes dense. Turn off the blender as soon as the texture of the batter is to your liking.
- Make the pancakes. Heat a cast iron griddle or non stick griddle over medium high heat and coat it with oil or cooking spray. Once hot, pour out the batter in rounds using a ¼ cup measure. Cook pancakes until bubbles appear near the center and the edges are dry, about two minutes over medium-high heat. Flip over and cook the other side.
- Serve hot.
Serving suggestions
- Vegan butter. This is a matter of personal preference: I don't butter my pancakes but Desi and Jay love to. It does add nice flavor.
- Maple syrup or any syrup of your choice. These pancakes are not sweetened so it's important to add something sweet on top and nothing hits the spot like a generous drizzle of maple syrup. You can also try the apricot walnut syrup from my vegan crepes recipe.
- Fruit. I love piling sliced bananas on top of these oatmeal pancakes, because oatmeal and bananas are such a nice flavor combination. Especially with the cinnamon. You can use other fruit, like strawberries or blueberries or peaches.
- Vegan whipped cream or chocolate syrup. Kids, especially, go ga ga for these toppings. A few sprinkles don't hurt either. 🙂
Variations
- If you want the pancakes to have a smoother, less rustic look, you can cut down the quantity of oats to 1 ½ cups and add ½ a cup of oat flour to the blender. Or use all purpose flour or whole wheat flour or any gluten-free flour of your choice.
- Instead of cornstarch, use a banana to bind the pancakes and to give the pancakes a banana oat flavor. Blend the banana into the batter.
- Try using a different spice to flavor the pancakes. Cardamom or cloves or pumpkin spice would be really lovely.
Vegan oatmeal pancakes FAQs
Cook the oatmeal in 1 ½ cups of milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook two minutes or until the oatmeal is almost completely soft. Turn off the heat, cool and then mix in the remaining ingredients before forming pancakes.
A serving of two pancakes has 274 calories (if made with oil), eight grams of protein and five grams of dietary fiber. You also get good quantities of nutrients, including vitamin A and calcium. If you are looking for a healthy vegan breakfast recipe, this is as good as it gets.
Tapioca starch is a good substitute. You can also use bananas and the resulting vegan banana oatmeal pancakes will be delicious. Add a whole, very ripe banana to the blender or mash it up and add it to the oatmeal. You might need to reduce the quantity of milk. Keep in mind that the sugar in banana will cause the pancakes to caramelize and brown faster so keep an eye on them.
Karyn says
I love being able to pop a pancake from freezer to toaster to plate in the morning. Banana? Yes please! Thank you!
Vaishali says
Awesome, me too!
Simone says
Everybody loved them! I made them with a rather small banana, but forgot your comment about the liquid - and you are right 🙂 So I added 2 tbsp flour and it got a lot better. The first batch didn't hold when flipped, then they did.
Usually we don't do pancakes often and one reason are all the dishes, but also that they aren't that healthy. Not so with these 🙂
My sons (1 and 6) loved them - so did the adults. We will definitely make them again!
Vaishali says
So nice to hear you and your family loved them! Thank you for letting me know. 🙂