These oat milk pancakes are the ones we make most often – we always have homemade oat milk in the house, and while I prefer German pancakes, Graham is a thoroughly Canadian boy and likes fluffy pancakes like these. You’ll need only a handful of ingredients here and hopefully won’t feel too sleepy after a batch of these for breakfast.

This is a one-bowl recipe but needs an extra five minutes to sour the oat buttermilk. It makes enough for leftovers (depending on how many you’re feeding), and I highly recommend cold afternoon pancakes as a snack. They freeze well too.

If you need a vegan version, make these spelt pancakes instead. For something different, try topping your pancakes with lingonberry sauce, make some quick unsweetened applesauce, or rhubarb compote. For a waffle version, try dairy-free waffles made with whipped egg whites.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Flour: I always use spelt flour, either a mix of light and whole grain or all whole grain. Plain white flour or whole wheat flour can be used with no change to the amount needed. I haven’t tried making these gluten-free, and suggest something like banana buckwheat pancakes instead.
• Honey: use another liquid sweetener or sugar if preferred.
• Oat milk: I use homemade oat milk, but store bought will work too.
• Vinegar: this is to make your own dairy-free version of buttermilk, and adds extra lift to the pancakes.

Step by Step

Step 1: mix up the vinegar and milk, then whisk the wet ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Step 2: add the dry ingredients and mix to combine.

Step 3: add batter to a hot pan and cook until bubbles start to pop.

Step 4: flip and cook for another minute or so, until the centre is cooked through.

Recipe Notes

I only have a cast iron pan and haven’t tried making these in anything like a non-stick or steel pan. I’m sure they would work, but in my experience steel pans are a bit tricky with pancakes.

One of the most frequent mistakes when cooking pancakes is not to let the pan heat up properly. A cold pan will result in failed pancakes, so give it time to heat before you start.

How to Store

Storage: keep leftovers in a sealed container at room temperature for a day or two, or refrigerate for longer storage. The batter is best cooked immediately.

Freezing: transfer cooled pancakes to an airtight container and freeze for up to a month. Thaw at room temperature or toast in a regular toaster or toaster oven to warm through before serving.

Expert Tips

• Go easy on the oil: too much oil added to the pan will deep-fry your pancakes and can cause them to be a little flat and crispy. Go for a light coating.
• Don’t over-mix: stirring pancake batter for too long can result in tough, less fluffy pancakes. Mix until just combined and note that a few streaks of flour is fine.
• Look for bubbles throughout: not just around the edges, you should see bubbles appearing all over the surface of the batter when the pancakes are ready to flip.

More Pancake Recipes

Vegan Lemon Pancakes
German Baked Apple Pancake
Orange Pancakes
Einkorn Pancakes