Did I get enough “-frees” in that title?? It made me giggle. I just hand to spell it all out. Anyway, so glad you dropped in today! As you might know, I’m a diet controlled Type 1 Diabetic (1 year and counting!). My diet is the Autoimmune Protocol plus a few reintroductions: almonds, wine (in small, infrequent amounts), chocolate, fruit and seed-based spices, beans with edible pods, and seed/nut oils. Yes, this diet is restrictive, but I choose to live the happiest, fulfilled life even when on this diet. Want to know one silly thing my fulfilled life must have? Pancakes. It’s taken some time, but I have created Paleo Vegan Almond pancakes that fit into my diet AND treat my kids. Let me share it with you today.
A little back story is needed here. I once read a story about a mom who made pancakes for her family every Saturday morning. I don’t remember much about the story other than she wasn’t a terribly good cook and often burned the pancakes. Yet she kept doing it because she wanted her family to be the kind of family that eats pancakes together every Saturday morning.
Maybe you hear that and think “so hokey!” I get that. However, I’m with that mom. I want my kids to have fond memories of traditions from their childhood. Whether its a once-a-year thing like Christmas books every day of December leading up to Christmas or a seemingly mundane tradition like pancakes every Saturday. I like traditions.
To keep this tradition alive this last year, I’ve had to learn how to make pancakes first without gluten, then without dairy (similar, I used the regular Fluffy Pancake recipe from her cookbook). Truly those were a breeze. Dairy makes many things possible, and almond flour is easy to cook like wheat flour. What is really hard? Eggs. Baking without eggs is extremely tricky.
When I started the Autoimmune Protocol in February, that ended our pancake Saturdays for a while. I just couldn’t figure out how to make pancakes without seeds, nuts, or eggs. Once almonds and seeds were successfully reintroduced, it was game on! Let’s figure out pancakes!
Egg Substitute
Flax seed eggs are my egg substitute of choice for this recipe. The ratio I’ve found best is 1 Tablespoon of ground flax seed to 1.5 Tablespoons of water. There are a lot of flax seed egg recipes out there with a 1:3 ratio. In my humble opinion, that is flat wrong. It doesn’t gel; I’ve tried. The best ratio for a flax seed egg is 1:1.5, 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed to 1.5 tablespoons of water.
I did not try chia seed eggs or other commercially available vegan egg substitutes. If you do try those, let me know how it goes!
Flour Ratios
This recipe uses almond flour and coconut flour. Non-gluten flours spoil quickly, so I store them both in the freezer. Almond flour tends to freeze in clumps so I prefer to measure out my flours using a kitchen scale as getting my clumpy flour to measure correctly into a cup is quite difficult. For best results, weigh the flour, but I have provided volume measurements that are approximate.
Time
The rest period written into the recipe is crucial. It cannot be skipped! The rest time allows the coconut flour to absorb the almond milk creating a sticky, thick dough. If the dough does not have time to rest and thicken up, it will all fall apart on the hot pan. Trust me, let the dough rest.
Another comment on time, this recipe is a labor of love. I make them because I want my kids to have pancakes. I want the memory of pancake Saturdays to be a part of their childhood. That being said, the dough has to rest and the pancakes take a while to cook. So have your patient pants on when you begin this recipe. Start to finish will be about an hour. Also, don’t turn up the heat to cook the pancakes faster, you will end up with burnt outsides and mushy insides. Take your time.
Form the Pancakes
As mentioned earlier, the dough is very thick. You might be tempted to thin it out with more almond milk or water before cooking, don’t do it! I’ve tried, and the pancakes will not hold together from a thin dough.
Use a spoon to scoop mounds of dough onto the pan then use the spoon to form into a patty. Or use your hands to form the patty then gently lay on the hot pan. I prefer to form the patty in my hands before putting it on the pan. The resulting pancakes are more uniform that way.
Other Tips
Since there is no gluten or eggs in the recipe, the pancakes are fragile. Use a nonstick pan and a flexible plastic spatula to turn over the pancakes. Get the pancake fully on the spatula before flipping. It will rip easily!
While my kids do top these with traditional maple syrup, I like to think outside the box too. Almond butter, homemade jelly, fresh fruit, coconut whipped cream, dried fruit, and nuts are all fair game in our house. Let your kids decide how to top their pancakes; they will love it!
It thrills me to no end to be able to serve my kids pancakes on Saturday morning. These Paleo Vegan Almond Pancakes are a family favorite. If you have leftovers, make sausage gravy the next morning and pour it over the pancakes. Yum. Hope you enjoy these!
What traditions to you keep with your kids? Which are your favorites and which do your kids love?
Paleo Vegan Almond Pancakes
Egg-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, and grain-free pancakes. The perfect breakfast recipe for those with gluten, egg, or dairy sensitivities!
Ingredients
- 5 Tbsp. flax seed ground
- 7.5 Tbsp. cold water
- 150 g almond flour ~1.5 cups
- 100 g coconut flour ~1 cup
- 1.5 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 2 Tbsp. coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1.5 cups almond milk
- olive oil for cooking
Instructions
Flax Seed Eggs
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Mix ground flax seed and cold water in a small bowl and set aside to gel.
Pancake Batter
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In a large bowl, weigh the almond flour and coconut flour. Add baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, coconut sugar, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla, Stir to combine.
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Once coconut oil is incorporated, stir in the almond milk and flax seed eggs. These are mixed in last so the coconut oil doesn't firm up into hard balls.
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Let the bowl sit on the counter, untouched for 20 minutes. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.
Cook the Pancakes
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Warm up a large flat nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan.
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When the pan is hot, spoon pancake batter onto pan and press into pancake shape. Either do this with a spoon after batter is on the pan or scoop some into your hand, form a patty, then lay the patty on the pan. The batter will be very thick and unlike other pancake batter so will form easily in your hands.
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Let pancake cook until brown on one side, about 4-5 minutes, then flip and cook until brown on the other side, about 4 minutes.
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These pancakes cook slowly so I usually have two pans cooking at the same time with 4 pancakes in each pan. The recipe makes 16, 4 inch pancakes, so each pan only has to be reloaded once.
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