Breakfast just became 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.
We love our vegan pancakes and our vegan sourdough pancakes for a yummy weekend breakfast, but of late we have been cheating on them with these amazing and guilt-free vegan oatmeal pancakes.
It's easy to love this recipe: it's super simple to make, and the batter comes together entirely in the food processor or blender (if you don't have either, see FAQs below). It's also a gluten-free pancake, so if you lean that way we've got you covered.
Oats are an incredibly healthy food to include in any diet. They are heart-healthy, loaded with fiber and they cook up quickly. You will use rolled oats in this recipe, not steel cut oats or quick-cooking oats, and that's all the grain you need. These are no flour pancakes so there's no need to add any flour (you need some corn starch to replace the eggs and act as a binder).
Do try them and let me know! It's sure to become one of your favorite breakfast recipes.
Why you will love this vegan oatmeal pancakes recipe
- They taste so yummy. Oats and cinnamon are such a gorgeous combination (try this oatmeal bread next, where they work magic together!) They infuse these pancakes with nutty warmth. The little bits of oatmeal add complexity and texture.
- They are healthy. There is no added oil in the batter and the pancakes are made simply with clean ingredients, including oats, oat milk, cinnamon and apple cider vinegar. It couldn't be simpler, or healthier.
- The batter comes together in the blender or food processor. I love recipes where you can leave the hard work to your kitchen gadgets. 😉 Just throw everything needed for this vegan oatmeal pancake recipe into the blender bowl and press a button.
- Everyone can eat them. The oat pancakes have no gluten and they are soy-free and nut-free.
Frequently asked questions
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.
Ingredients
- Rolled oats. Not steel cut oats nor quick cooking oats. You need rolled oats for the right texture.
- Leavening: baking soda + baking powder.
- Flavor: ground cinnamon. Cardamom is a nice substitute.
- Binder: corn starch. Can use a banana instead.
- Liquid ingredients: oat milk or any dairy free milk + apple cider vinegar (this with the milk helps create a vegan buttermilk effect, improving texture and rise).
- Vegetable oil or cooking spray for cooking pancakes.
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.
For serving the pancakes
- 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 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.
- Try using a different spice to flavor the pancakes. Cardamom or cloves or pumpkin spice would be really lovely.
Storage instructions
- 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.
More vegan pancake recipes
Vegan Oatmeal Pancakes
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
- Cast iron skillet or non stick skillet
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 vegetable 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.
Recipe 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.
Karyn
I love being able to pop a pancake from freezer to toaster to plate in the morning. Banana? Yes please! Thank you!
Vaishali
Awesome, me too!
Simone
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
So nice to hear you and your family loved them! Thank you for letting me know. 🙂