A very nice way to use pumpkin at this time of year, these vegan pumpkin pancakes are light, soft, and match perfectly with maple syrup. You don’t need eggs or dairy for this recipe, or any replacements – pumpkin acts as a good binding agent. This recipe uses whole grain spelt flour.

Recipe Rundown: Vegan Pumpkin Pancakes

• Texture: light, soft, and fluffy, very American-style pancakes. Baking powder and soda provide enough leavening here so you get tall pancakes without egg white.
• Flavour: a bit sweet, with a fairly subtle pumpkin flavour and some warmth from the spices.
• Difficulty: easy! It’s a one-bowl recipe with minimal clean up. Even easier if you use canned pumpkin puree.

Ingredients

• Pumpkin puree: use canned or homemade, but note that I’ve only tested with homemade (we can’t get canned) so it might change the flavour slightly. I prefer to use a denser winter squash type like hokkaido (red kuri) to make puree.
• Flour: the pancakes pictured were made with whole grain spelt flour. You can use sifted spelt if preferred for an even lighter pancake, or use whole wheat or all-purpose flour. I haven’t tested these with a gluten-free alternative but I think buckwheat should work based on my banana buckwheat pancakes.
• Spices: use a mix like pumpkin pie spice instead if you’d like. The picture should say ‘spices’ not just cinnamon because nutmeg is added too.
• Honey: while honey isn’t strictly vegan, I choose to use it because it’s the most environmentally friendly choice (local to me – so no shipping needed – and organic, packaged in reusable glass jars, no additional energy needed for processing). Honey, if from a good source, is overall much better for animals than something like agave if you live in the global north. If you’re very strict you can use maple syrup instead.
• Milk: I always use homemade oat milk. For vegan recipes like this one, you can usually use water without noticing a difference, if you don’t have any milk on hand.

For more vegan pumpkin recipes using puree, try my chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls, and pumpkin pie smoothie.

Step by Step Photos

Step 1: whisk the pumpkin with the other wet ingredients until smooth.

Step 2: stir in the dry ingredients until just combined. You can see here a few small lumps.

Step 3: preheat the pan and cook until bubbles form around the edges.

Step 4: flip and cook for another minute.

How to Store

Storage: keep in a sealed container at room temperature for up to three days. Toast leftovers to reheat or pop them in a frying pan to warm through. (I like them cold, too, as a snack.)

Freezing: cool fully, then transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature and reheat as usual before serving.

Expert Tips

• Preheat the pan: the most common mistake when cooking pancakes is to start before the pan is fully preheated – that’s why you often hear than the first pancake is always a flop. Give it enough time to heat up before starting.
• Don’t over-mix: whisking the batter until completely smooth will result in pancakes that don’t rise as well and can make them tough and chewy. A few lumps are fine.
• Go by feel: these pancakes look a little more brown that pancakes without pumpkin will, and that’s normal. They’re not burnt but you do have to keep an eye on them since you can’t rely on the colour as much to know when they’re properly cooked.

More Vegan Pancake Recipes

Spelt Pancakes
Khorasan Pancakes
Lemon Pancakes
Gluten-Free Banana Pancakes

If you make this Vegan Pumpkin Pancakes recipe or any other vegetarian breakfast recipes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.