Make restaurant-worthy fluffy pancakes with this Dairy Free Pancake Recipe! With several people in our life who can’t have dairy, we’re hyper-aware of what we’re serving when they come over. We have tested this recipe thoroughly (including having some of our DF family and friends do trials of it) to iron out the ratios and everything you need to know to make a great stack of homemade pancakes.
These oat milk pancakes will prove that you can make a rockin’ homemade pancake breakfast or host a dairy-free friendly brunch party for your loved ones! Our detailed steps and notes will have you enjoying a fluffy stack of dairy free pancakes in no time!
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Dairy Free Pancakes Recipe Ingredients
- Oat Milk – oat milk is a great non-dairy alternative to milk! It’s creamy, thick, and great for baking. I’ve used standard oat milk and barista blend oat milks in this recipe, both work well.
- Vegetable Oil (or Canola Oil) – using a neutral oil is key when making dairy free pancakes as this is what replaces melted butter! You can use whatever neutral oil you prefer, but I like to use vegetable or canola oil because I always have them in my pantry.
- Large Egg – unless you’re trying to make this into a vegan dairy free pancake recipe, don’t skip the egg! It adds great texture to your pancakes (and a little protein too, yay!). Whisking your egg until it’s light and fluffy before mixing in the rest of the ingredients helps to make extra fluffy pancakes.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Helpful Equipment
It’s easy to make a lot of pancakes at once with the use of a griddle! We personally love and use an electric griddle. Otherwise you’ll need a large frying pan to cook your pancakes.
Using a ¼ cup measure is helpful to get even sized pancakes. I usually just use a measuring cup that I’ve already used for measuring out ingredients for the recipe to minimize dishes.
Don’t forget a good spatula for flipping your pancakes! If you have non-stick cookware, be sure to use a spatula that won’t damage your griddle or pan.
How To Make Oat Milk Pancakes
Add the egg to a large mixing bowl and whisk until light and fluffy.
Then add the remaining wet ingredients (vegetable oil, oat milk, and vanilla extract).
Whisk until thoroughly combined.
Mix in the sugar and salt.
Slowly add in the baking powder and all-purpose flour.
Mix until just combined (a few small lumps and small steaks of flour are ok, do not overmix!).
Preheat a non-stick pan (or griddle) over medium heat.
Spray the pan with cooking spray and scoop ¼ cup sized portions of batter into the pan, leaving room between the scoops of batter.
Cook for 1-2 minutes until bubbles start to form on the top of the pancakes and the edges begin to form (they’ll look slightly raised/curved/dry). Then flip with a spatula to cook the other side for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Dairy Free Pancake Topping Suggestions
Looking for pancake topping ideas? Below is a list of some of my favorite pancake toppings that are also dairy free!
- Non-dairy butter substitute* and pure maple syrup.
- Plain or vanilla non-dairy yogurt, pure maple syrup, and fresh berries.
- Peanut butter and banana.
- Almond butter and pure maple syrup.
- Cinnamon apples.
- Pure maple syrup and toasted pecans or almonds.
- Dairy-free whipped topping and berries.
- Banana and chocolate chips* (or chocolate syrup).
- Fresh fruit compotes or syrups, like this homemade blueberry syrup.
*Note: if you are serving someone who cannot have dairy, be sure to check the ingredients of your toppings! Many butter alternative options (like margarines) and chocolate chips actually contain dairy.
Dairy Free Pancake Variations
- Add mix-ins: add up to ½ cup of your favorite mix-ins to your oat milk pancake batter for some extra fun! You can mix these items directly into your bowl of batter or sprinkle them onto your pancakes that are cooking in your pan. A few of my favorite mix-ins include:
- Chocolate Chip Pancakes – semi-sweet, milk, dark, or mini chocolate chips are all great options…use what you like best! Just be sure to check the label if you are serving these to someone who cannot have dairy as a lot of chocolate chips actually contain dairy.
- Blueberry Pancakes – frozen wild blueberries or fresh blueberries will both work. I personally love the wild blueberries because they’re smaller and have a larger pop of flavor and sweetness.
- Sprinkle Pancakes – use your favorite rainbow sprinkles for a super cute and fun breakfast. If desired, you could also try this homemade Funfetti pancake recipe with non-dairy milk too!
- Sub in some whole wheat flour. If desired, replace up to ¾ Cup of the white flour in this recipe with whole wheat. This is probably the most common substitution I make in my kitchen because I’m always try to get more whole grains into our meals.
- Try a different non-dairy milk. While oat milk is my preferred and recommended non-dairy milk for these homemade pancakes, you can definitely try another milk alternative if preferred!
- Use cow’s milk if you don’t need this to be a dairy-free recipe. If desired, you can use regular milk in this recipe too! You’ll still get absolutely delicious pancakes.
Possible Dietary Restrictions?
This oat milk pancake recipe is dairy free and vegetarian as written. One quick swap can make these into gluten free pancakes too! A few easy swaps can turn these into vegan oat milk pancakes as well.
- To make this into a dairy free gluten free pancakes recipe, replace the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour or gluten free all-purpose flour.
- *Please note: I have not tested this myself, but have used 1-to-1 baking flour in other recipes with success. Review the gluten free flour label for substitution ratios.
- To make these into vegan pancakes, a few substitutions need to be made:
- Replace the large egg with a flax egg, or egg replacer of choice.
- Replace the granulated sugar with a vegan friendly sweetener such as monk fruit sweetener, pure maple syrup, or a granulated sugar that is certified as vegan.
Tips for a Fluffy Dairy Free Pancake
Do not overmix your batter. Overmixing your batter can lead to tough, rubbery pancakes. You want to mix in your dry ingredients until just blended in (if you have a few little lumps, that is ok!).
Keep an eye on the heat. If your pancakes are coming out darker than desired, turn down the heat. Burned pancakes are no fun! If you’re worried, you can always do one test pancake to see how your heat is and adjust accordingly.
Do not overcrowd your pan when cooking. Make sure to leave room between your pancakes when cooking your batter. This will make sure your pancakes have enough room to puff up and rise, and you’ll have enough room to get your spatula in and flip your oat milk pancakes!
Storing Non Dairy Pancakes
Leftover pancakes can be enjoyed at a later date for a quick and easy breakfast!
Option 1: If you plan to enjoy your leftover pancakes soon, store fully cooled pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-days. Reheat pancakes in the microwave, starting with 1-minute (adjust the time to heat your pancakes as needed to reheat to your desired temperature).
Option 2: Freeze to enjoy at a later date! The best way to do this takes a few steps, but it’s worth it to make a future morning easier! Reheat frozen pancakes (from frozen!) for 1-minute. Option to then pop them into the toaster to crisp them up a little too.
How To Freeze Pancakes
- Step 1: allow pancakes to cool completely to room-temperature on a cooling rack.
- Step 2: do an initial freeze of your pancakes in a single layer on a baking sheet. This only needs to be for about 30-minutes, but this will help prevent your frozen pancakes from sticking together.
- Step 3: transfer pancakes to a ziplock bag labeled with the type of pancake and date made, and freeze for up to 3 months.
FAQs For Non Dairy Pancakes
Pancakes are ready to flip after they begin to puff up and bubble. Signs that your pancakes are ready to turn include bubbles throughout the batter that are beginning to pop, and edges that have begun to firm up. The bottom of the pancake will be golden brown.
Generally it will take about 2 minutes to cook the first side of a pancake, and about 1 additional minute to cook the second side (however, this will depend on your heat).
More Recipes You’ll Love
Fluffy Dairy Free Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (or canola oil)
- 1 + ¼ C oat milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 + ¾ C all-purpose flour
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, vegetable oil, oat milk, and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined.
- Add in the sugar and salt and whisk to combine.
- Slowly add in the remaining dry ingredients and mix just until a smooth batter has formed (a few small lumps are ok, don’t overmix!).
- Preheat a non-stick pan (or griddle) over medium heat.
- Spray the pan with cooking spray and scoop ¼ cup sized portions of batter into the pan, leaving room between the scoops of batter.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes until bubbles start to form on the top of the pancakes and the edges begin to form (they’ll look slightly raised/curved/dry). Then flip with a spatula to cook the other side for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Jess says
We loved these!!!
Have you ever made the batter the night prior?
Meredith says
So happy to hear this Jess!! I haven’t made this specific batter the night before, but generally you can prep pancake batter the night before and store it in the fridge. I believe that would work just fine with this recipe too!
Marge says
Best DF pancakes!
Meredith says
so glad to hear you love these too!
Alyssa says
Super easy recipe that turned out great! Very fluffy pancakes with good rise, and great with homemade blueberry syrup 🙂
Meredith says
Thank you so much for trying this recipe Alyssa, I’m so glad to hear you loved it!
Jill says
This one is another keeper! I altered the recipe using flax for the egg, gf flour and honey instead of the cane sugar…oh and I made them as waffles. So light, fluffy, and delicious.
ourlovelanguageisfood says
Glad you loved this one too Jill! And happy to hear it was still fantastic when modified to fit your dietary needs too. Thanks for making my recipe!
Vivienne says
My kids always liked pancakes more than I did but these will make me eat more pancakes. I am a fan of whipped cream and berries on top.
ourlovelanguageisfood says
Glad these oatmilk pancakes will help you keep up with your kids! Enjoy 🥞♥
Jill says
Oh my goodness, these pancakes are so light and fluffy! Not only are the great fresh of the griddle, but also reheated in the toaster. A new family favorite in our house.
ourlovelanguageisfood says
I’m so happy to hear that your family loved these too!! Thank you for giving these oat milk pancakes a try. 🥞♥
Victoria says
Made these for my DF grandson today and they were a hit! We like our pancakes a little thinner so we added a bit more oat milk, but the flavor was very good. Served with raspberries and blueberries and real maple syrup – mmmmmm – good!
ourlovelanguageisfood says
I’m so glad you enjoyed these, and that your grandson could enjoy them with you! Great job adjusting to your liking as well. Thank you for making my recipe 🙂
Ryden says
These pancakes are yumapalooza! I have never tried PB on my pancakes before, great combo.
ourlovelanguageisfood says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Ryden! And that you liked PB on them too – one of my favorite toppings for pancakes and waffles 🙂
Maggie says
I loved these with peanut butter and berries!! So good, highly recommend.
ourlovelanguageisfood says
always love PB on my pancakes too! glad to hear you enjoyed these.
David says
Made these this morning, you couldn’t even tell they were dairy free! Will definitely make these again!
ourlovelanguageisfood says
glad to hear you enjoyed these oat milk pancakes! thanks so much for giving my recipe a try.