These Vegan Sweet Potato Pancakes are gluten-free and oil-free! They are also grain-free! Made with almond flour and potato starch for the richest, moist and fluffy pancakes ever! Just 7 ingredients!
*This post was originally published on 9-11-2014 and has been updated with better instructions and new photos.
VEGAN SWEET POTATO PANCAKES
If you love sweet potatoes as much as I do, then you will love these super fluffy vegan sweet potato pancakes! They are SO moist with no oil or butter. Yup, totally oil-free, grain-free and gluten-free! They are also only 7 ingredients, how easy is that?
I created this grain-free gluten-free flour combo many, many years back on my blog and have been using it ever since. It is my almond flour and potato starch combo.
This delicious vegan pancake idea came from my Vegan Sweet Potato Cinnamon Muffins, which uses the almond flour/starch combo. That recipe resulted in such a soft, light muffin that I had been wanting to try it as pancakes. So, I changed up my recipe a bit to turn it into a pancake recipe and voila, fluffy sweet potato pancakes.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
(Only 7 main ingredients needed. Full details and measurements on the recipe card below.)
- blanched almond flour
- potato starch
- baking powder
- lite canned coconut milk
- vanilla extract
- maple syrup
- cooked/mashed sweet potato
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN SWEET POTATO PANCAKES
Step 1: Cook the sweet potato, let it cool and then add to a blender or food processor. Blend with the coconut milk, syrup and vanilla until smooth.
Step 2: To a large bowl, combine the flour, starch, baking powder and salt and whisk well.
Step 3: Pour the liquids over the dry ingredients and stir until a smooth batter forms. Let the batter sit about 10 minutes, as this will yield more fluffy and better cooked through pancakes.
Step 4: Heat up a pancake griddle or nonstick pan using while the batter sits. I use a high-quality pancake griddle that requires no spray, but your pan may need some. Cook each pancake 3-4 minutes over medium-low (closer to low) heat until the top forms bubbles and the edges are dry. Flip and cook another 1-2 minutes. Lower the heat if they are cooking too fast.
The key to these cooking through is to cook them over the low heat. Serve with maple syrup and walnuts or fruit of choice.
MORE VEGAN PANCAKE RECIPES
- The Best Pancakes Ever
- Best Vegan Fluffy Pancakes
- Fluffy Vegan Blueberry Pancakes
- Vegan Gluten-free Buttermilk Pancakes
- Low-fat Vegan Gluten-free Corn Pancakes
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes
- Pumpkin Spice Latte Pancakes
*This post contains affiliate links. See my full disclosure policy here.
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Vegan Sweet Potato Pancakes (Gluten-free)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (60g) cooked, cooled & mashed sweet potato
- 1 cup (240g) room temp canned lite coconut milk, shaken (SEE NOTES below)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (40g) pure maple syrup
- 1 1/4 cups (140g) superfine blanched almond flour (very important it is superfine and not gritty)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (100g) potato starch
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 2-3 tablespoons (30-45g) mini dairy-free chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand) Optional
NOTE
- Always use a scale for accuracy following MY gram weights listed. You never need cups, just the scale and bowl and make sure to zero out in between each ingredient.
- I use this scale.
- I use this pancake griddle. It NEVER sticks.
Instructions
- I suggest cooking the potato an hour or the day before you will want pancakes, so the potato is completely cooled. Either roast or microwave the sweet potato (whole). Cool completely, peel and measure 1/4 packed cup. Weigh for best results
- Add the sweet potato, coconut milk, vanilla and syrup to a food processor or blender and process until completely smooth with no potato lumps remaining.
- To a large bowl, combine the almond flour, potato starch, baking powder and salt and whisk really well until no lumps remain. Stir in the chocolate chips, if using. Pour the liquids from the blender over the dry and stir until the batter is completely smooth. The batter will be thick, this is normal and do not add more milk. It should resemble a thick muffin batter.
- Let the batter sit about 10-15 minutes, as this will yield more fluffy and better cooked through pancakes. The batter will thicken more.
- Heat up the pancake griddle or a nonstick pan using while the batter sits. I use a high-quality pancake griddle (linked above) that requires no spray, but your pan may need some. Use an ice cream scoop or heaping 1/4 cup of batter and cook each pancake 3-4 minutes over medium-low (closer to low) heat until the top forms bubbles and the edges are dry. Flip and cook another 1-2 minutes. Lower the heat if they are cooking too fast.
- The key to these cooking through is to cook them over the low heat to allow the centers to fully cook through. These can be very finicky and not cook through if you cook them too fast or high of a heat. Leave the pancakes to sit 5 minutes or so before eating, as they will fluff up more as they cool a bit. These pancakes are even better the next day, as potato starch based recipes get even fluffier as they sit!
Notes
- Coconut Milk: I highly recommend the Thai kitchen brand, it’s super creamy and high quality. Do not use the Polar brand, it is mostly fillers and will ruin the texture.
- Almond flour: As noted above, a superfine flour is really important here. I've tried brands that aren't very fine and the pancakes are much more dense. I recommend the King Arthur Flour, Honeyville, Wellbees, Nuts.com brands the most.
- I originally wrote this recipe in 2014 and made them with a 4.5 inch cookie cutter, which makes perfectly round and super tall/fluffy pancakes. I don't do that anymore, to save time, but it is a great way to get amazingly extra fluffy "cakes" if you want to give it a try. Just make sure to spray nonstick spray on the inside of the cookie cutter before adding the batter, otherwise, it will stick badly. Wait until the tops are looking dry before flipping, and use tongs to lift up the cookie cutter.
Wanted to let you know that my family LOVES these pancakes! I’ve tried a LOT of different gf pancakes, and these are by far the best. My daughter has sensitivities to gluten, dairy and eggs, so recipes like these are gold! She’s also sensitive to potato, so I subbed arrowroot flour for the potato starch and they came out perfect! I saw that you recommended NOT subbing with this (arrowroot) to someone else, so just wanted to let you know that for us it worked out nicely. I also used 2T of xylitol in place of the maple syrup and they taste great. I’ve made many batches and stock them in the freezer.
Thanks again!
Oh, I’m so glad to hear it worked out well for you Staecey! That is wonderful. SO happy you loved these! Thanks so much for the feedback!
I made these with ground up sunflower seeds instead of the almond meal and they turned out fantastic! Thank you so much!
Made this today and wow I’m so glad I did! Soft and delicious and really, no toppings needed! I didn’t have chocolate chips so I used cacao nibs instead. Also I don’t have a cookie cutter or non-stick pan but they still turned out amazing and fluffy using a normal pan with little coconut oil. Yummy, easy to make and bake = me likey!
Hi! These pancakes look incredible! I was wondering if i could use all purpose flour instead of almond flour, i can’t find it in Spain!
Thank youuu 🙂
Hi Teresa! No, unfortunately the almond flour is a must here, as that is the main flour and what yields so much moisture, since I don’t use oil in my recipes. All purpose flour would yield a completely different pancake. I would suggest making these instead. Can you find spelt flour? That’s what I use in this other pancake recipe and they are wonderful and fluffy. Spelt is best, but you can use regular flour if you can’t find it, but I would use 2 tablespoons less since it tends to soak up more liquid and you can always add another tablespoon or so of milk if necessary to the batter. Here is the recipe: https://thevegan8.com/2016/02/01/fluffy-vegan-spelt-blueberry-pancakes/ Let me know if you try those and drop me a line on that recipe!
Oh. My. LANTA!!!!!! I think that about covers it. These are the hands down, best pancakes I’ve ever, EVER had.
I didn’t even use syrup, they were so lightly sweet and fluffy. These will be amazing for company, brunch, lazy Sundays…anytime!
Thank you SO much Elyse for such incredible feedback! I agree, these are the best I’ve ever had as well and do not even need syrup because they are so moist! Thank you so much, so glad you enjoyed them!
Hi Brandi! I enjoyed reading your post very much and love all the amazing ideas for ingredients in your recipes! After researching about vegan diets a few months back, I learned so much about the various substitutes that one can use in the most popular recipes, such as pancakes in your example. I am so surprised about how fluffy you were able to get your pancakes and just looking at your amazing photography makes my mouth water! Already having tried your simple vegan chocolate ice cream recipe using sweet potatoes, I fell in love with the idea of using sweet potatoes in various dishes. I cannot wait to try this recipe!
Such a sweet comment Saini, thank you so much! I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipes! I hope you love these pancakes! They are my favorite and the cookie cutter makes them super fluffy! Thank you so much for the compliment on my photos too!
Can’t wait to try! Do you think I could use full fat coconut milk?
Hi Kelly! No, I wouldn’t suggest full fat because it has a very high amount of fat in it and would make the pancakes too dense. I would suggest the “lite” coconut milk, cashew milk or soy milk should all work similarly. 🙂
I used full fat coconut milk (so delicious that comes in the little carton) I just used less of it & added some water to thin it down
Wonderful!! I’m so happy to hear you loved these pancakes so much and they are now your go-to!!
Brandi,
Lovely to make your acquaintance. Love discovering you thru Pinterest.
The pancakes are every bit as awesome as everyone claims.!
I did, however, change a few things.
I didn’t have lite coconut milk so I had to add a smidgen more liquid by using full fat.
I did cut back the maple syrup by half because I don’t do sweet, however, I also cut the vanilla in half and added half of almond extract (yum!)
I switched out the chocolate chips with raisins (made up for the smaller amount of maple ayrup)
I also added a little cinnamon and a little ground clove (love my seasonings.) WOW!
I also used a cast iron pan on the lowest setting I could get with my camper gas range…AND…
Instead of a metal cookie cutter, I used a silicon egg circle that has a metal stem with a silicon know on the end. Nothing sticks to silicone and the cast iron pan is well seasoned so nothing sticks to it either.
I also put a lid on the pan to ensure more even cooking.
Tiny modifcations.. but they were still fabulous. Thank you SO much. I will be following you from now on (I have a bunch of allergies and these didn’t get ANY reactions… phew!)
Yes, such tiny modifications, so I’m glad they worked out and I’m so happy you loved them Helen! Thank you so much for the feedback!! I will have to look out for that kind of silicone cutter! I make all my pancakes on a griddle now, no longer a pan, so it makes for wonderful, fast weekend breakfasts!
These were the best pancakes I’ve ever had. Wow! I would have never thought to blend in sweet potatoes in my pancake mix. My friends absolutely loved these.
I highly recommend to anyone with a sweet tooth!
I will definitely be making these again and will try more of your recipes
Cheers,
Steve
Thank you so much Steve for such awesome feedback! I’m so very happy to hear you and your friends loved these pancakes, they are my favorite too! Thank you!
These are up there with best pancakes ever! Filling and delicious.
Yay! Thank you so much! So glad you loved them so much! Thank you for the feedback!
Hello! These look amazing! I tried to look through the comments(So many…congratulations), to find a substitute answer but got overwhelmed by all of them. I live in Mexico and it is very hard to find some specialty items. Is there anything I can sub for potato starch? We get Bob’s Red Mill, but not a huge variety. Thank you!
Hi Christina! Thank you. The best sub is cornstarch, it will not make them as fluffy though, but it is the best sub there is for potato starch. Hope that helps!
Thanks!
Good day I am so thrilled I found your blog page, I really found you by error, while I was searching on Yahoo for something else,
Anyhow I am here now and would just like to say thank you for a tremendous post and a all round exciting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t
have time to read it all at the minute but I have book-marked it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I
will be back to read a lot more, Please do keep up the great b.
Thank you so much Susanne! I hope you love the recipes!
Very interested in trying this recipe. Can the batter be poured into a sheet pan and baked?
Made these this morning for my daughter who can’t have wheat, oats or dairy & limited eggs. These check all the boxes but are so good! I have not had good luck with grain free pancakes in the past, & can’t use my go to oat flour pancakes anymore. I actually liked these better than the oat ones! And my daughter loves them, she said they taste like french toast. I left out the syrup in the batter, and subbed applesauce for the sweet potato bc that’s what I had handy. I also added blueberries instead of choc. chips. They really are delicious thanks for the recipe!
I’m so very happy to hear that, thank you so much for the feedback!
HI!! I was curious how much this recipe made? I am cooking just for one. thanks!!
This makes 6 large pancakes using about 1/4 cup batter for each one 🙂
thank you so much!! Ps. Is ener-g egg replacer simliar to potato starch?
While they both are starch, the ener-g egg replacer has leavening and also tapioca starch and gum in it, which will make it act much more like glue and binding, so it’s not going to give the same fluffy, light results as potato starch. It would make the pancakes very tough and like glue.
Wow! I feel like you are changing my life with vegan cooking:) Thank you so much! I plan to make these wonderful pancakes this weekend and will post on my social media and tag you. I loved your cashew alfredo sauce. Cant wait to make this!! 🙂
Aww that is the best compliment Francesca, thank you! I can’t wait to hear what you think of these, as well!
These are INCREDIBLE! My favorite of your pancakes that I’ve made. Love these! You named these perfectly.
Yay!! So happy to hear that Jessica, these are my favorite too! Thank you so much for letting me know you made them!
These came out perfect! We have made them with great success from 3-day leftover batter, with and without chocolate chips. A couple things I learned are: 1. Keep the heat fairly low. We don’t want the outside to burn before the fat inside cooks through. Although they taste good even when they aren’t cooked through, and no raw egg to worry about! The three minute cooking time is essential. 2. I ran out of lite coconut milk in the middle of cooking one morning so I used in addition 3/4 cup So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk, the kind from the carton. Mine happened to be vanilla flavored so I went light on the vanilla. Made no difference! 3. I went to four stores and could not find a large round cookie cutter, so I ended up buying a 4 inch egg frying thing at Bed Bath and Beyond. It works perfectly! And I don’t have to use tongs to remove it because it has its own built in wooden handle. 4. Spreading on coconut oil with a brush or silicone brush works just as well as spraying oil. I didn’t want to go out and buy a spray oil just for this recipe, so I’m pleased that worked out as well.
Thanks so much for the stellar vegan, grain-free recipe Brandi! This is like the ONLY one on the internet. I am so grateful.
So awesome to read this Stacy, thank you so much for the amazing feedback! Really appreciate it!
All I can say is “SO FLUFFY, I’M GONNA DIE!!”
well, I have more to say 🙂 These pancakes were so delicious! I made a small one to taste test before I made more for the kids and OH EM GEE, I was making little ones as I made theirs and eating them while theirs were cooking! I did not use a cookie cutter and they turned out just as fluffy. These are satisfying with out feeling Blah, they are high in nutrition and ideal for sports snack which I love. Thank you for another flippin fantastic recipe!
Awww, yay Tami! Thank YOU so much for this amazing feedback, it truly made my day and I really LOVED your photos of it on Instagram! They look magical and perfect! Thank you for this glowing review!
All I can say is that you make the absolute best pancakes! These look amazing, my gosh. I’m really enjoying the recipes on your site. I’m printing this one out to make. 🙂
That is such a sweet compliment! Thank you so very much!
Wondering if you ever put them in the freezer. Started to look through comments to see if any one did but way to many comments to go through.
I have health issues so when I cook or bake I do extra and freeze it for the bad days.
I am definitely going to try these.
Thanks