These gluten-free pancakes get nutty flavor from whole-grain sorghum flour, tangy buttermilk, and a splash of vanilla. With tender, fluffy middles and crispy edges, these pancakes are easy to whip up for breakfast or brunch. See the recipe for dairy-free, vegan, blueberry, and other options.
I've been working to develop the perfect gluten-free pancake recipe for two years (!) After making (and eating) batch after batch, making tiny tweaks each time, I'm finally 100% happy with the recipe. I'm so excited to finally share my favorite gluten-free pancakes with you! I've also developed dairy-free and vegan versions that are every bit as good.
I like to make a double batch of gluten-free pancakes on Sunday and store the extras in the fridge for a quick breakfast during the rest of the week. They make a nourishing canvas for all of the amazing late-summer fruit in season right now.
The Quest for the Best Gluten-Free Pancakes
This recipe began with one that I found on Food52 back in 2016 for extra-fluffy buttermilk pancakes. The trick, they said, was to separate the egg and stir in the egg white at the end. I was skeptical, but I swapped in gluten-free flours and took the recipe for a spin. I wasn't sure the technique would work with gluten-free flours. But the resulting pancakes were DELICIOUS – largely thanks to a whopping 10 tablespoons of butter!
I wiggled ingredients up and down to make the recipe work gluten-free as well as it could. Not that I have anything against butter, but even I couldn't pour quite so much into breakfast, so I took the butter down by 40%. And when I was happy with the results, I tried a batch with and without the egg separated. Turns out I couldn't detect a difference after all!
But these pancakes cook up thick and fluffy regardless. Their outsides are crisped in ghee, the centers are tender and delicate, and the salty/sweet levels make these gluten-free pancakes super flavorful.
Healthy Gluten-Free Pancakes with Sorghum Flour
These gluten-free pancakes taste similar to a classic pancake recipe – mild, slightly sweet, and with a bit of tang from buttermilk. But they're a bit healthier than most.
This healthy pancake recipe starts with whole-grain goodness from sorghum flour, which is high in antioxidants, fiber, and minerals. Sticky sweet rice flour holds them together, meaning these pancakes are made without xanthan gum or starch. These sugar-free pancakes are sweetened with just a touch of maple syrup. Sorghum flour, egg, and buttermilk all add protein, which helps you feel satisfied long after breakfast.
I like to top a small serving of pancakes with a pile of fresh fruit, a scoop of Greek yogurt, and a sprinkle of hemp seed and maple syrup. This balances the decadence of pancakes with nutritious components I can feel good about eating anytime.
GF Pancake Ingredients
Many gluten-free pancake recipes start with a premade gluten-free all-purpose flour or pancake mixes. But I prefer creating my own flour blends for each specific recipe. This allows us to:
- experience the unique tastes and textures of gluten-free flours
- minimize and/or eliminate gums and starches
- skip the search for a specific flour brand
- avoid making a mega batch of flour mix that you may or may not like
Just two flours are needed for this GF pancake recipe, plus a handful of other ingredients:
- Sorghum flour makes up the majority of this recipe. In addition to sorghum flour's health benefits listed above, it boasts a mild, nutty flavor that reminds me of Cream of Wheat.
- Sweet rice flour a.k.a. glutinous rice flour is made from a sticky type of rice and helps these pancakes hold together without any additional starches or gums.
- Maple syrup sweetens these pancakes, making the recipe free of refined sugar. You can also use sorghum syrup if you happen to have any on-hand for some double sorghum action.
- Buttermilk moistens the batter and adds a bit of tang and tenderness. If you don't have any on hand you can thin yogurt with milk.
- Egg adds proteins that help fluff up the batter as the pancakes cook and create structure.
- Baking soda promotes spreading and browning.
- Baking powder helps the batter rise.
- Salt sharpens the flavors.
- Vanilla adds sweet, floral complexity.
- Butter adds richness and promotes browning.
How to Make Gluten-Free Pancakes
These easy gluten-free pancakes are super simple to make, with a few mixing tricks turning out the fluffiest pancakes.
- First, whisk or sift together the dry ingredients: flours, leavening, and salt. I like to sift because my leavening is always clumpy and I shudder at the thought of biting into a chunk of baking powder or soda. [Insert scream emoji]
- Next, gently whisk together the wet ingredients except for the butter: buttermilk, egg, maple syrup, and vanilla. Try not to over whisk the egg; keeping the proteins in the white in tact help fluff up the pancakes.
- Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and stir a few times until they're halfway combined: about 8-10 stirs.
- Add the butter and stir until just combined and no flour or butter streaks remained. You want the batter thick and lumpy for the fluffiest cakes.
- While the batter sits for a few minutes getting extra thick, heat a wide skillet or griddle over medium heat. These pancakes like to cook low and slow, so decrease the heat to medium-low or low once the pan is hot.
- I prefer ghee for cooking pancakes because it has a super high smoke point, but another high-heat cooking oil will work too. Coat the pan with a thin film of ghee or oil. Drop scoops of batter into the oil and cook until the bottoms brown. Flip gently to keep them as fluffy as possible and cook until golden on the second side and cooked through.
Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Pancakes
These gluten-free pancakes can easily be made dairy-free too. Just swap out the butter for plant butter (I like Miyoko's Creamery best). In place of the buttermilk, use a plant yogurt (I like Forager cashew yogurt) thinned with plant milk (I prefer fresh almond milk or oat milk). See the recipe notes for measurements!
Gluten-Free Vegan Pancakes
Update: These pancakes can be make vegan too! Use the dairy-free substitutions listed above and in the recipe notes. In place of egg, use 1/4 cup aquafaba (the liquid from canned or jarred chickpeas or white beans). Or use 1/4 cup Just Egg, which is an egg substitute made from mung bean plus some other ingredients.
Buttermilk Substitutes
I don't recommend using the lemon juice + milk trick here as the result is not as thick as buttermilk and will produce thinner cakes. Instead, thin yogurt with milk until it's the consistency of heavy cream or buttermilk. You can use a European-style yogurt, which you won't need to thin as much. Or start with a thick Greek yogurt and add extra milk.
Substitutes for Sweet Rice Flour and Sorghum Flour
Look for both of these flours with other gluten-free flours at health food stores or order them directly from Bob's Red Mill. Sweet rice flour aka glutinous rice flour can often be found at Asian markets.
In place of sweet rice flour, you can use Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. This is based on sweet rice flour. Or try regular rice flour mixed with a small amount of tapioca flour.
In place of sorghum flour, use an equal amount of oat, teff, or buckwheat flour – measure by weight for the best results as all of these flours weigh differently. Be sure your flours are certified gluten-free if you're highly sensitive.
How to Make Uniformly-Sized Pancakes
I like to use a spring-loaded ice cream scoop to easily scoop my batter into the pan in equal-sized globs. It makes quick work, plus it's tidy, and it ensures pancakes that are the same size. I used a heaping #24 scoop to make these.
Gluten-Free Pancake Bliss
Top these pancakes with your favorite seasonal fruit: berries in the spring, stone fruit in the summer, sauteed pears or apples in the fall, and citrus in the winter. I prefer a scoop of yogurt on my pancakes since there's enough butter in there already. A flurry of hemp seed makes a pretty finish. And don't forget the maple syrup.
Looking for more gluten-free pancake recipes or waffle recipes? Try these:
- almond flour crepes (paleo & grain-free)
- grain-free pancakes with almond flour, citrus, and poppy seeds
- gluten-free banana buckwheat pancakes
- gluten-free ricotta pancakes (sweet)
- gluten-free ricotta pancakes (savory)
- gluten-free waffles with berries and honey butter
- gluten-free cheese blintzes
Got extra buttermilk? Try these recipes:
- gluten-free chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting
- gluten-free banana cake with cream cheese frosting
- lemon buttermilk pie
- berry buttermilk popsicles
- buttermilk ice cream
- gluten-free pumpkin buttermilk pie
- miso buttermilk salad dressing
Got extra sorghum flour? Try these recipes:
- gluten-free dutch baby with sorghum & buttermilk
- gluten-free coffee cake
- gluten-free sorghum pecan pie
- gluten-free chocolate zucchini cake
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this gluten-free pancake recipe, I’d love to see. Tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Fluffy Gluten-Free Pancakes with Sorghum Flour & Buttermilk {dairy-free option}
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Pancakes:
- ¾ cup (90 g) sorghum flour (or try millet or oat flour by weight)
- ½ cup (75 g) sweet white rice flour (or try GF AP blend such as Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup (235 ml) well-shaken buttermilk (add 2-4 more tablespoons if you want more thin, crisp pancakes)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) maple syrup, plus more for serving
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons (45 g) butter, melted
- ghee or neutral high-heat vegetable oil (such as sunflower), for cooking
For serving:
- maple syrup
- seasonal fruit
- Greek yogurt
- hemp seed
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk or sift together the sorghum and sweet rice flours with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a measuring pitcher or bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, maple syrup, and vanilla.
- Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and quickly stir with a flexible spatula until halfway combined; 8 to 10 strokes. Pour in the melted butter and quickly but gently mix until the batter is just combined and no butter or flour streaks remain. Some lumps are ok. Take care not to overmix the batter or it will become thin and the pancakes will cook up flatter and more tough.
- Set the batter aside for a minute or two to thicken. Meanwhile, preheat a wide skillet or griddle over medium heat. I prefer well-seasoned cast iron or ceramic nonstick. When the pan is hot, lower to medium-low or low.
- Coat the hot pan with a thin layer of ghee or oil. Drop the batter by ¼ - 1/3 cups into the hot oil. Cook on the first side until the bottoms are golden, 2-3 minutes. Gently flip, taking care not to deflate the pancakes. Cook on the second side until the bottoms are golden, 2-3 more minutes.
- Remove the pancakes to a wire rack. When you’re ready to serve, reheat any cooled pancakes in the hot pan. Alternatively put them in a low oven while you cook the remaining pancakes.
- Serve with your favorite toppings. I like mine piled high with fresh seasonal fruit, a big dollop of Greek yogurt, a sprinkle of hemp seed, and a drizzle of maple syrup.
- Pancakes can be made ahead and warmed in a hot skillet or toaster oven when ready to serve. They will keep for up to 4 days airtight in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
Madeline Taylor says
Are there awards for food photography? Because this post should definitely win one! Gorgeous! :)
Alanna says
Aw thanks mom! I had so much fun shooting this one. :)
Becky Winkler says
I am SOLD on these pancakes! Off to buy sorghum flour.
Alanna says
Yay!! Let me know how you like them. :D
Jay Doane says
These were amazing, but alas there are none left in the fridge. I CAN HAS MOAR PLZ?
Alanna says
Coming right up! ;)
Paige Cassandra Flamm says
These look incredible! I need to try them asap!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Alanna says
Aw thanks! Let me know if you give them a go!
April says
These were lovely! They cooked up nicely and tasted great.
I did a vegan variation with the following substitutions:
-2 tbsp flax meal with 3 tbsp water in place of the egg
- 1/2 c so delicious coconut yogurt (that's all I had)
- 1 c oatly milk
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
I also subbed Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten free flour for the sorghum and rice flours, as that is what I had on hand.
Alanna says
I'm so glad that variation worked out! Thanks a bunch for the note.
Dana says
damn girl - these look NUTS! Bravo!
Alanna says
That means the world coming from you! <333
Lena says
These pancakes were delicious...I made some plain and added blueberries to the remaining batter. Photos are stunning!
Alanna says
Aw I'm so glad you enjoyed them!
Cindy says
I really enjoyed these pancakes! I made a plant-based version but didn't have aquafaba so used Bob's Red Mill egg replacer. Just curious though...my gf pancakes are almost always a little bit raw in the middle - what is the secret to getting fluffiness all the way through?!
A says
Sounds like you need less liquid and potentially more baking powder. For fluffy things like pancakes/cupcakes/muffins, generally you have 1Tbsp baking powder per cup of flour. For pancakes you generally additionally have 1c wheat flour per 1c ‘milk’ liquid + an additional 1/4 c liquid fat + ~2 Tbsp liquid from your binder (e.g., flax egg, aquafaba, etc), + 1-2 Tbsp sugar. For extra fluffiness, you can add 1/2 tsp white or cider vinegar to your ‘milk’ to simulate buttermilk and give a little extra lift to your baking powder. If you use those ratios and still have problems after gently folding 1-2 Tbsp more flour into your batter (for GF flours like in this blog’s recipe you might need a little more than that), your pan temperature could be too low as well, or your pan heats unevenly / doesn’t retain heat well.
Alanna says
Thank you A so much for the tips! My apologies to Cindy for not responding sooner. I've never tried egg replacer so I'm not sure how the consistency affects the batter. A's tips seem solid to me! Cindy please let me know if you experiment some more. :)
Laurel says
These were the best pancakes I've ever made! The malty, buttery flavor reminds me of diner pancakes :)
Alanna says
Aw what a sweet compliment! I'm so glad you enjoyed them. :)
Kate says
I made the vegan version: 3/4 cup coconut yogurt, 1/4 cup Ripple milk, 3 TBSP avocado oil, and 1/4 cup aquafaba. (I did cook them in ghee, as our problem isn't dairy, but more of casein).
They cooked up nicely, gaining a kind of crisp top and bottom, softer in the middle. My son gobbled these up, but I wasn't so much a fan. The texture was a bit too fine in the middle for me, and it had a strong toasted rice flavor, which I don't really want in my pancakes. Would be curious to see how it would taste if tried other flours other than the rice, like millet or a combo of starches .... I may go experiment a little. Thanks for the recipe!
Alanna says
Thank you for your honest opinion and for trying my recipe. I'm surprised that you found the rice flour strong-tasting - I taste the flavor of the sorghum much more prominently. I'll be curious what you experiment with, so please come back and let me know!
Kate says
Okay, I have a new recipe, but it's a bit much - as in, a lot of ingredients. Gluten free and vegan (except for the ghee that I cook it in). I make a huge batch so I don't have to make breakfast for several days, so pardon the large measurements.
Night before, soak 2/3 cup raw cashews in water. In morning, start with wet ingredients: rinse nuts, dump in blender and fill with water to just under the 4 cup line. Add 3 bananas, 3 tsp vanilla, and 5 TBSP avocado oil. Blend smooth.
Dry ingredients: Whisk 1.5 cup almond flour, 1.5 cup oat flour, 1/2 cup potato starch, 1/4 cup tapioca flour, 1/4 cup ground flax, 3/4 cup sorghum flour, and 3/4 cup millet flour with 6 tsp baking powder and 1.5 tsp salt.
Whisk wet into dry and cook in ghee. You get a soft pancake that has the inner texture you can't get with rice flour. Nice flavor, crisp edges from the ghee. Delish and pretty darn healthy :)
Alanna says
Thanks for sharing!
amy says
Hi. I don't have sweet white rice flour on hand, but do have white rice flour. Do you think it would still work out if I just used white rice flour?
Alanna says
You can definitely try that. White rice flour isn't as fine or as sticky as sweet rice flour, so the batter may be more runny and the cakes more thin. You could try adding a little tapioca flour in if you have any, or using a GF all-purpose blend. Pancakes are pretty forgiving though, so whatever you try, it's likely to be delicious. :)
Corinne says
I've been gluten-free for 6 years and have made countless pancake recipes-- this recipe is the best. The pancakes exceeded expectations, which is saying something as I've made a lot of wonderful things from this website. The only sub I made was avocado oil for butter in the recipe, as I was low on butter and needed to save some to slather on top. I made a double batch and couldn't be happier! Thank you.
Alanna says
Aw this means so much to me! I worked really hard at developing the recipe and I'm thrilled that you love it! That's great to know that avocado oil works well as a butter substitute in the recipe.
David says
Thanks so much- great recipe. I came across it about a month ago and we've been eating it every weekend since. My daughters absolutely love it!
Today I got a hankering for gingerbread pancakes I once had at a restaurant- subbed 6T. Molasses for vanilla and maple syrup and added 1t. ground ginger and 1t. ground cinnimon- It turned out great. I look forward to checking out more of your recipes, thanks again.
Alanna says
Mmm that sounds delicious, thanks for sharing your gingerbread version! I'm so glad you and your daughters like the recipe!
Jonathan Linn says
Hi. I have made these pancakes twice in the last month and both times they turned out dry. Any idea on what I might be doing wrong?
Alanna says
Hm, that's odd! Dry like there wasn't enough liquid in the batter? Or dry like overcooked? If it's the first one, you can try adding a few more tablespoons of liquid to loosen up the batter. If it's the second one, maybe try cooking them a little less, or cooking them over higher heat so that they brown before they dry up in the middle. Hope that helps and that you give them another go!
jamie says
Would you have a suggestion for a sorghum or teff flour substitute? I am okay with gluten and do not have either of those on hand, but have everything else! Thanks!
jamie says
whoops, never mind..just saw the footnote!
Izzah says
Have made these multiple times with multiple variations and they're always perfect..What a solid recipe! I use a blend of yogurt and milk in place of the buttermilk and it works perfectly! Thank you, Alanna!
Alanna says
Aw I'm so glad you like the recipe Izzah! Thanks for the sweet note and for sharing your variation - brilliant!