Fluffy Coconut Flour Pancakes
Edited to Add: You must check out the latest update on this recipe including tips and tricks.
When it comes to an easy breakfast I love pancakes. As you can probably tell from my soaked buckwheat pancakes and soaked, flour-free oatmeal pancakes. They are just so simple to cook – mix, ladle, flip, eat. No wonder our pioneer foremothers served them frequently on their trek out west.
But for those of us who don’t eat grains or are restricting our carbohydrates the smell of pancakes can feel a bit isolating. I’ve tried probably a half dozen coconut flour pancake recipes over the past year and have the same complaint with all of them – they are thin and eggy.
So I tweaked, tested, and tweaked again and finally came up with a pancake that is fluffy, not overly eggy, and pretty darn tasty.
My husband said these taste like donuts as he slathered them in coconut oil and honey. That’s coming from someone who does eat grains, is skeptical of coconut flour, and knows his way around a pancake. So when he said that I knew my recipe testing was over.
Finally, a coconut flour pancake worth eating.
Fluffly Coconut Flour Pancakes
Recipe Notes: Both cow and coconut milk work well in this recipe. You can also add cinnamon or fruit as desired. Just keep the pancakes small and watch them so they don’t burn.
Ingredients
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup milk (raw cow’s or coconut both work)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon honey or a pinch of stevia
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- coconut oil or butter for frying
Directions
- Preheat griddle over medium-low heat. In a small bowl beat eggs until frothy, about two minutes. Mix in milk, vanilla, and honey or stevia.
- In a medium-sized bowl combine coconut flour, baking soda, and sea salt and whisk together. Stir wet mixture into dry until coconut flour is incorporated.
- Grease pan with butter or coconut oil. Ladle a few tablespoons of batter into pan for each pancake. Spread out slightly with the back of a spoon. The pancakes should be 2-3 inches in diameter and fairly thick. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until the tops dry out slightly and the bottoms start to brown. Flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Serve hot with butter, coconut oil, honey, syrup, or fruit.
You can get coconut flour and coconut oil here:
For bulk orders of coconut oil we highly recommend:
These were fabulous and I will stop looking for a pancake recipe! I will scale back the salt just a touch next time, and I used raw milk cream instead of milk because it lowered the carbs but otherwise I made them as is.
They were a hit and we didn’t even use syrup. I buttered them….and ate them like that and then we tried them with a super thin layer of Trader Joe’s low sugar preserves (super thin) and I also spread a little cream cheese on them. They were a hit all three ways.
I would also agree that they weren’t easy to flip the first flip. I make them small because we frequently make sausage sandwiches or sausage and egg sandwiches and even that size, it wanted to pull apart when I wanted to flip when they were golden brown. I made sure they were small and it was fine. They were fluffy and PERFECT! Taste was great.
I am curious…..can I make waffles out of these? Any changes to do that?
I must have over mixed the wet and dry ingredients as mine were not fluffy at all. May try again but the egg taste was a bit overpowering.
I just tried these tonight for some “breakfast for dinner.” I’ve never used coconut flour, but my husband is eating Paleo, so I bought a few pounds to try out. This recipe was great. They smell wonderful, they taste yummy – I can’t wait to make them again with nuts and shredded coconut. Maybe sliced bananas on top, too.
I had absolutely no problems with thick or thin batter, or flipping or burning. They couldn’t have come out any better.
Changes I made to the recipe: Substituted baking powder for the baking soda (aluminum free), and since they were for Paleo, I didn’t use milk. I used 1/2 cup almond milk and 1/2 cup water.
We will definitely be having these again!
I can tell by the texture these are great. The texture looks perfect! Must try these soon! Yum 🙂
These didn’t work at all for me :(. The first batch I did just like you said in the recipe but they tasted like nothing but butter and they were definitely as thick as the ones in your picture. My boyfriend stepped in and said they were too thin and added lots more flour, but then it became like a puré. Both versions were impossible to flip :(. I don’t know what I did wrong.
Mine came out very thin. Wondering where I went wrong that they were not fluffy….any suggestions? Could egg temp be an issue?
These were great. I followed Andrea’s substitution of baking powder. And I used 1/2 c. canned coconut milk and 1/2 c. water. I made them in my waffle maker and they turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!
I absolutely LOVE these pancakes. They are perfect with maple syrup or agave. Even all my non-GF friends and roommates love when I make these.
Personally, I’ve never had any trouble with the batter being too thin. Always perfect.
These were pretty good! I had a hard time flipping them and they were more dense than fluffy. My picky kids ate them without one complaint so that is a bonus.
I made these this morning and I am in love!
I did make one change. Instead of 1 tsp baking soda I used 1/2 tsp of baking soda & 1/2 tsp baking powder.
I see someone mentioned they had to use a mixer to beat the eggs, I hand beat my eggs with a fork just until they were combined, not until frothy or anything.
I used the Bob’s Red Mill organic coconut flour, and 4 medium sized eggs. I mixed the wet with the dry and let it sit while the griddle pan heat up. It was thick batter, thicker than normal pancake batter. I think those with thin batter may be using large or extra large eggs? I used Honey for the sweetener.
I used the tablespoon measuring spoon to put my batter in the pan, so each pancake used one heaping tablespoon, I swirled it a little with the back of the measuring spoon to spread them, they were silver dollar pancake size, roughly 2 inches wide.
It made 16 pancakes, and after entering the recipe in the lose it app it calculated each pancake to be the following.
66 Calories
4.6g Fat
3.5 Sat Fat
3.8g Carbs
1.3g Fiber
1.3g Sugar
2.3g Protien
53.8mg cholesterol
152.9mg Sodium
I will definitely make these again!
where do you buy coconut flour — a health food store??
Made these this morning, used honey and coconut milk. My batter was a very thin consistency so I set my electric griddle to high and forged ahead. Firstly, the smell of these pancakes when they hit the heat is divine! They ended up more like crepes, but hey nothing wrong with that, and the taste was delicious, distinct coconut flavour with none of the eggy-ness. Will make again!
Oh my word! I am cooking these as I write and they’re awesome!!! Thank you SO much!! 😀
These were tasty, fluffy and easy to make and a nice switch from traditional pancakes. I have been helping a friend who was just diagnosed with a gluten allergy to find tasty recipes that he can eat. These will be made again and again.
I substituted 2 of the eggs with 2 Tablespoons soy flour mixed with 2 tablespoons water. I have tried other recipes and they were too eggy for me so I made this substitution.
These were very fluffy but thick. The soy flour also wicks up the moisture so you may have to add a bit more water or milk to get a consistency that you like.
Our new family favorite! Excellent taste and texture! Top with fresh Blueberry Syrup (blueberries and liquid stevia) and it is out of this world! Thank you SO MUCH!
Thank you for posting this recipe. I would like to ask what brand of Coconut Flour you used? We tried this recipe this morning…and ours came out rather grainy…hard to swallow. Other than that the taste was good. If you know of a super fine coconut flour I think that would make all the difference here for us.
Thanks,
made these today… I used almond milk instead of coconut milk because I just ran out… they were a little too thin. Gonna make them again with coconut milk after I get to the grocery store. Yummy none the less with agave lightly spread over them
Made these for our Paleo Sunday brunch. Compliments across the board! First thing people said,”they’re so fluffy!” I used only 1/4 tspn of salt and added 1/2 tspn of cinnamon. My boyfriend insisted we have these more often too 🙂
Just made these. Absolutely amazing. My wheat-loving boyfriend said he liked these BETTER than normal pancakes! Made bacon and cooked up the second round of pancakes in some of the bacon grease. YORM.
Tried these this morning, and they came out great! My boyfriend and I both loved them. I didn’t have coconut milk or dairy milk on hand, so I substituted 1 cup unsweetened almond milk and added 2 tsp melted coconut oil to the wet ingredients, to compensate for the fat that is in coconut milk and dairy milk. We topped ours with some sliced banana and Greek yogurt (whipped with a touch of Splenda, some vanilla extract, and a bit of almond milk), for some extra protein in the meal.
It’s so nice to have a grain-free, low-carb coconut pancake recipe; I’ll be sharing this with a friend who has multiple food allergies and gestational diabetes, and I hope she likes it too — it would be so good for her to have another breakfast option!
Love the idea; it was too eggy for me. Putting honey on top helped cover up that flavor though. I’m going to play around with this recipe. It’s a good starting point.
I made these for dinner last night and LOVED them. They weren’t too coco-nutty and very moist. I had to remind myself to chew before swallowing because I kept wanting to shovel another bite in! I will definitely make them when I want a treat for breakfast (or dinner). Yum 🙂
The texture of these were so perfect, the only problem was that I could taste the baking soda. I will try them again, but this time with the powder substitute. Had them with a yummy blueberry syrup made with 2/3 cup blueberries and a couple tsp of maple and a bit of water. So yummy!
Wow! Amazing! I added two tablespoons of all natural peanutbutter, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and some chopped banna. It was amazing topped with a little sugar free syrup!
any suggestions on replacing the 4 eggs?
Christine,
Somebody above replaced a couple of the eggs with soy powder and water. I’m sure some people would use that Ener-G stuff.
If your looking to go completely egg free tho, I would probably not replace all 4 eggs with one thing. In other words, replace 2 eggs with flax meal (1 T flax meal & 2 T hot water per egg) and 2 eggs with applesauce or mashed banana (1/4 C per egg).
Unfortunately for people with egg allergies, the more eggs you are trying to replace, in any recipe, the less likely it is to turn out right.
thank you for responding, i definitely we trying this weekend with my little ones 🙂
Great pancakes! Made them for the first time today. The “fluff” factor was right on the money. I melted some butter, a teeny bit of cream cheese, strawberries and blueberries. I ate two and that kept me full well after lunchtime time. Thanks for sharing!
Made these for breakfast yesterday and WOW! Amazing! Used Trader Joe’s Light Coconut Milk and some clover honey. Fried them in coconut oil on a cast iron pan. Because of the nature of coconut flour though, these soak up any and all oil, so towards the end I was dry-cooking them just to cut down on the oil I’d be consuming. Super fluffy and moist. No issues with tasting the baking soda. The batter tasted like cake. 2 of us gorged on the batch and couldn’t even think of food again til late in the day.
i was so hoping that I could substitute the 4 eggs but the pancake just could not hold together. Then, I put a small amount of the leftover batter into muffin tins. Even though the muffin broke into 2, they were delicious!!!
I may need to try these! I love our millet pancakes recipe that my kids really like, but I am always looking for something more to do with coconut flour! My son has an egg allergy, but I’ve been able to have success with combining egg replacer and chia for as many as 6 eggs. I may have to try that combo with these too! It’s definitely worth a shot, as it doesn’t use up much coconut flour!
When people call for coconut milk in recipes how do you know if they mean the kind in the can or the kind you drink? I almost never see recipes that specify. Which one did you mean? Thanks!
Emily – I am referring to the canned variety.
I tried doing this recipe egg-free this morning. I seriously do NOT recommend an Ener-G type replacer unless you like crispy-coated goo=(
I replaced 1/2 of the eggs with the homemade version of Ener-G, and the other half with ground chia seed. I have currently spread the remainder of the batter on parchment paper as thinly as possible, and stuck it in the oven, hoping to salvage it. I won’t give up until I make this work! lol. I’ll probably try a fruit puree next, instead of the Ener-G, and keep the chia meal. I’ve used it successfully in other pancake recipes.
Pancakes?! Gluten-free?! I WILL be trying these this weekend! Thank you for another amazing recipe!
I haven’t tried this recipe, but know a bit about food science. For those of you that said your pancakes were very thin (not fluffy): Let the pancake mixture sit for a few minutes before cooking. The baking soda needs time to “marry” with the other ingredients, which will make the pancakes fluffy.
So disappointing… not sure what was different with my try, but 1/2 cup coconut flour couldn’t remotely handle the cup of milk. Less ‘batter’ more ‘liquid that just squirts all over when it hits the griddle’ regardless of how hot it was. Ended up adding almost another cup of coconut flour, but then the taste was pretty overwhelming. Pretty disastrous. Any ideas what went wrong?
Nice recipe, i just had these and they were nice and fluffy – American style, but very dry. Maybe overcooked by me. Used baking powder as that’s what’s available here, maybe that was it….?
@ Kohhal – I used Baking Powder as well but you need 3 teaspoons not 1 and you can also reduce the salt when you use Baking Powder 🙂
Made these this morning! Great recipe- thanks. Mine came out a little darker, and they were next to impossible to turn until I used non stick cooking spray. Here’s a link to a picture: http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/s320x320/540176_10150806955314188_666149187_11869685_1413147150_n.jpg
I think the key…for those who are struggling with thin pancakes, is to let it sit for 5 min. Coconut flour has to absorb the liquid and does so…rather slowly.
Mine turned out awesome!!! I halved the recipe and froze the ones we didn’t eat. AWESOME!!!!!