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:
Wow – I made these last night and not only did these taste awesome, the house smelled awesome too! Only my second time using coconut flour (the other one was adding it as a 1/4 cup part substitute for almond flour for an almond flour chocolate chip cookie recipe) and coconut flour always makes the house smell good it seems. Have some extra ones from the half batch I made to take to work with me today. Thank you for this recipe!!! It’s a keeper!
@DJ Narvaez,
Made these again for the umpteenth time (mostly cut the recipee in half coz this makes a LOT of pancakes!) and is been consistently yummy! Today though I substituted honey with maple syrup and it was still yummy as ever!!! Thanks again for this recipe!!!
Although I am a white flour lover, I am beginning to convert to a grain-free lifestyle. These were very good in the context of not being regular pancakes. This is actually one of the best coconut flour recipes I have tried. I topped mine with a sprinkle of xylitol and cinnamon. They cooked up and looked like normal pancakes. Good substitute for the old kind!
Wasn’t a fan. Very strong egg taste and texture that is nothing even close to a pancake.
I tried this recipe step by step. My results did not come out like others. The batter was too runny and the pancakes came out too thin. As for taste, I was not too blown away. They tasted okay but it just was not as awesome as I expected. I will have to tweek this to get the results I want I guess.
These are SO good!!! I made coconut flour pancakes the other day from a different recipe and the results were very disappointing. This recipe yields delicious results however. I especially love how fluffy they are and how they smell like real pancakes š
Ok what went wrong? I followed the recipe, but the batter was very thin. I tried it anyway and they ended up thin like crepes.
I too have had this problem. I have been gluten free for 8 months and haven’t disliked something so much as these! I almost cried because I was so looking forward to them. I’m thinking it may have been the brand of flour I am using. It’s the only coconut flour I’ve tried so I don’t know.
These were delicious! Thanks for the recipe. I added nutmeg and cinnamon (3 dashes each) to the batter.
Will almond milk work?
Wow! Sooooo delicious. I tried other coconut and almond flour recipes and they were not as good as these! I used Thai Milk cocunut milk and honey and made sure to follow accurately the exact measurements since coconut flour absorbs liquids. Topped them off with peeled sliced sautƩed apples in cinnamon and honey. Thank you!
Oops, I used Thai Kitchen cocunut milk. And topped with 100 percent trader joes maple syrup.
What did I do wrong? These were disgusting! For starters, the batter was anything but thick. I had to double the amount of coconut flour, and it was still the consistency of liquid yogurt. On the skillet, they spread out like thin crepes, then fell apart into shreds when I tried to flip them. Then, because I’d doubled the coconut flour (and really it needed to be quadrupled to get normal pancake batter consistency), they just tasted like nasty coconut flour. I have been on the GAPS Intro diet for 4 months now and was really looking forward to these. Hugely disappointed. I nearly cried in front of my kids! I don’t know how you got a thick batter and such beautiful fluffy-looking pancakes : (
I made these today and they turned out great. I added cinnamon to the batter and made them very small so they would be easier to flip.
For those of you that had trouble with the batter being too thin…Did you beat the eggs until really frothy? You really need to get some air in the eggs to make sure the batter is fluffy. I just know from past experience. I hope that helps.
I agree about frothing the eggs really well. It’s a must ! If you have an immersion blender, use that on the eggs. Instead of 2 minutes, it took MAYBE 30 seconds for it to froth. I did continue for another 30 seconds. My batter is always thick.
Try these in a Belgian waffler. (Black & Decker at Walmart was only $20 locally.) I also added a scoop of protein powder. The texture was more waffle-like. They were really tender as well. I’m having trouble with mine being a tad too dry though. Has adding pumpkin puree or berries helped anyone’s ? I’ve also been using HWC. I wonder if using almond milk and letting the batter “rest” for 10 minutes would help the coconut flour absorb more moisture …
PS: After my waffles cooled completely, I put servings in Ziploc bags and froze. Reheated exactly as you would an Eggo, they were just fine. š YAY for make-ahead breakfasts !
beating the eggs is important. Also let the batter stand a few minutes so the coconut flour can absorb some of the liquid. I used heavy cream and beat it with the eggs and mine were thick and fluffy.
Right on, Carol!
These turned out very fluffy. The taste wasn’t horrible but it was a bit baking soda-y. I wonder if I measured wrong or if not using any sweetener other than a little juice was my downfall. Hmm.
Hmm, possibly :). Or maybe you literally don’t need that much baking soda and can cut it in half?
Cut the almond milk down to 1/2 cup and you’ll have a thick, delicious pancake. One cup of almond milk is too much and you’ll be left with a very runny batter that won’t make good pancakes.
I have found that the brand of coconut flour makes a difference. The first time I made these I used Wilderness Family, And they turned out thick and fluffy. The second time I used Aloha brand and they turned out thin. Tasted great both times but the Coconut flour made the difference between thick and thin. I’ve made low carb pancakes for years using Almond flour, but these are now my and hubbies favorite!
Wow! These are great pancakes and I enjoyed them immensely. I used half and half for the milk (lower carbs). They turned out perfect!
Im saving this recipe fo future use!
A tip for pancakes (and mayonnaise)-the secret is the eggs. They MUST be room temp and you must beat them for the 2 minutes. These came out amazing (my dough-loving husband was very impressed). Thanks for posting!
Just made these. They fluffed up fine, but the texture was super grainy and bland, even though I seasoned the batter with cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla, and a little honey! I added some blueberries and that helped, but overall not what I was hoping for from the gorgeous pictures above. Not enjoyable unless eaten with LOTS of honey & butter.
These pancakes came out great! I had opposite problem, batter was too thick and needed to thin with extra cocnut milk. Funny though…just realized I left out baking soda and they didn’t need them.
We used half & half and they turned out awesome! Hubs declared these one of the best faux recipes we have tried yet! New weekend treat for us. Thanks for doing all the testing for us š
Made these today and they were just-okay for me. They are a tad mealy and bland even after adding cinnamon and vanilla. My picky two-year old loved them and ate quite a bit without any syrup or honey.
I followed all of the suggestions – frothing the eggs, resting the batter, etc.- and I still found them to fall apart and be too thin to flip. I ended up lowering the heat and “baking” them with no oil in a non-stick pan. Those turned out much better. I will definitely make them again because I”m not a fan of scrambled eggs and have trouble finding gluten-free breakfast ideas we like.
This is a great recipe thank you for sharing, I am enjoying them as I type. I am new to a Starch Free Diet and this is perfect for my weekend breakfast. Thanks again š
I just made these pancakes and they’re delicious! I read ALL of the comments before hand and followed some of the advice given. Like making sure to get the eggs frothy and make sure they were room temperature. Like another review, I needed to add extra milk because the batter was too thick. I used coconut milk. Anyway, my family loved them. Especially my 2.5yr old! He said ‘mmm yummy!’ as he rubbed his belly š
Very thick. I’m dropping on griddle like a loose cookie dough! I added more liquid but didnt want to keep adding especially if I ended up not liking. HOWEVER their taste and texture was surprisingly good. Even my hubby who isn’t GF/DF liked them. I used a coconut almond milk and 10% sorghum flour 90% coconut flour. I’ll def use this recipe again.
The secret is spending the time to foam the eggs first and let the coconut flour incorporate. Reminds of the taste of French toast!!! They were fluffy and very tasty. After three weeks of paleo zone, these hit the spot! (only had one to stay close to the zone)
Made these this morning… oh so tasty… but a few helpful tips.
– make sure eggs are at room temp. instead of adding wet to dry i added dry to wet. ( using my kitchen aid mixer)
– first i beat the eggs. added, honey and vanilla.
– then i added dry ingredients
– then i added about 3/4 cup of milk and let sit for 5 minutes. I allowed the coconut flour to absorb the liquid. If you want thinner pancakes add more liquid… they were fluffy and had a nice crispy edge!
thank you
!
I’m wondering about the coconut milk. Did you use the ‘real thing’ or the kind you can buy in the dairy case these days…Silk or So Delicious both make a coconut substitute for cows milk. They’re good, but much thinner and lighter than the real coconut milk. I’m thinking this difference could be the culprit behind the disappointing outcomes some have had. I think I’ll try both types of milk and see what difference it makes. Will post results. Thanks!
Hi Carol- did you use 1 c of hwc or cut it down? Thanks!
I made a few changes and they came out great. I swapped the baking soda for baking powder and added about 1 tablespoon of melted butter. I also separated the eggs and whipped the egg yolks until they were thickened and added the rest of the ingredients. It was too thick so I added some more almond milk. Then I whipped the egg whites until they were super fluffy and folded them into the batter. Making small pancakes does help. They were yummy!
These are possibly the best pancakes we have ever had. Separate the egg whites and fluff them thoroughly and fold them into the mixture last(you can also fluff the yolks for safe measure) to solve any fluffiness issues you might have.
Thanks for the great recipe! I made these for lunch, and they were delicious. We’ve been on the GAPS diet for a little over three months, so we haven’t had anything close to a real pancake for a while – these were very satisfying!
There is something wrong with this recipe taste wise. Awful taste, good texture, but too many eggs I guess.
I got the perfect consistency by using only three eggs. The rest of the ingredients I followed to the letter. The pancakes smelled delicious, but unfortunately, the taste was way too eggy for me! :o(
These were great! I will definitely make them again. I smothered them with Blueberry Simply Fruit instead of syrup! Even my aunt who is a very picky gourmand baking hobbyist liked them! Very filling too!
Just finished eating my first batch. They were good! Different-but-good. I’ll make them again. Perhaps a bit more vanilla next time.
YUCK. WAAAAY too much salt in this recipe. It’s all I could taste!! I had to just throw away the batter š Pancakes are not supposed to be this salty, but I decided to trust the recipe. Next time I will leave the salt out, because other than that, they had a great pancake-y consistency and taste.