Lemon Pancakes

One-bowl lemon pancakes are the way to go if you love fluffy, American style pancakes but want a slightly lighter way to start the morning. They won’t bog you down or leave you feeling sluggish, as they’re dairy free, made with spelt, and have minimal added sugar and oil.

These are even easier to make than normal egg and butter pancakes, with no beating of eggs or melting the butter. Just whisk it up, cook, and serve! If you can have two pans on the go you’ll be done in a few minutes.

I topped with winter citrus fruits as they’re currently in season, but at other times of year I recommend strawberries or raspberries. Alternatively, quickly cook some frozen berries and serve as an easy warm topping – or go for classic plain maple syrup.

Ingredients

• Spelt Flour: light or white spelt for the lightest pancakes, but whole grain works just as well (just slightly less fluffy).
• Arrowroot Flour: this helps to bind the pancakes and improves the texture.
• Baking Powder: a full tablespoon makes ultra fluffy pancakes.
• Baking Soda: lemon juice and baking soda create a reaction that increases lift.
• Oat Milk: I always use oat milk as I make it at home, but any unsweetened non-dairy milk will work.
• Maple Syrup: or honey, if they don’t need to be vegan.
• Oil: use a neutral oil if preferred, or melted coconut oil. I usually use olive oil.
• Lemon: both zest and juice – try to use organic, unwaxed lemons since you’re using the skin.
• Vanilla: extract, powder, or paste.

Method

Add the flour, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine and break up any lumps.

Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add the milk, oil, maple syrup, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Stir until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Set aside.

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Heat a frying pan over medium heat with a little coconut oil. I recommend brushing a small amount of oil over the base of the pan with a heat-safe brush.

Once the pan is hot, start to cook the pancakes. Mine are 3-4 tablespoons of batter per pancake. Cook the first side for about 30 seconds, or until golden, before flipping and cooking another 45-60 seconds. Don’t wait for bubbles to pop before flipping.

Continue until all of the batter has been used, brushing a small amount of coconut oil onto the pan each time. Serve hot.

Tips and Notes

Leftover lemon pancakes make a great snack as is, outside of breakfast time! But they can be frozen and stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a month. Either thaw and eat at room temperature, or toast on the lowest setting until warm.

This recipe makes about two dozen pancakes, so it’s a pretty big batch – if you don’t want to make so many, or don’t have a group to feed, the recipe can easily be halved.

This is a fairly thick batter, and should be flipped more quickly than a thinner batter would be. At medium heat for me it’s about 30 seconds. Don’t wait for bubbles, but flip as soon as you can get a spatula beneath the pancake.

Substitutions

Use cornstarch or tapioca for the arrowroot.

Any kind of non-dairy milk can be used in place of oat milk. If you don’t need the pancakes to be vegan, regular whole milk will work as well.

Regular wheat flour can be used 1:1 in place of spelt, either white, whole wheat, or whole wheat pastry flour. I haven’t tried making these gluten free but I think a good GF blend would work.

There’s a recipe for gluten free banana pancakes on OE, as I’m always a little worried about gluten free and vegan pancakes without an extra binding agent like mashed banana.

These would make great chocolate chip pancakes, too. Add in a handful of dark chocolate chips once the batter is mixed.

If you don’t have vanilla, cardamom is a good substitute, or leave it out.

More Great Breakfast Recipes

Dairy Free French Toast with strawberries
Sugar Free Brownies (sweetened with dates)
Sourdough Waffles
Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Vegan Baked Oatmeal with Pears

More Lemon Recipes

Lemon Elderflower Loaf Cake
Honey Lemon Curd
Elderflower Lemonade
Lemon Rhubarb Cake
Dairy Free Lemon Ice Cream

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This recipe was originally published in April 2018. It has been updated as of January 2021 with improvements to the text and recipe and new photos.