Grain-free Pancakes
gluten-free | grain-free | dairy-free | tree nut free
by Alexa Lehr | The Pioneer Chicks | February 29, 2024
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Light, fluffy, and insanely delicious…. these amazing grain-free pancakes are sure to be a modern pioneer breakfast favorite! I love making pancakes, and I also love eating pancakes. They are a special occasion breakfast at my house, and they are a staple breakfast on camping trips. The simplicity of this pancake recipe may actually make them a more regular occurrence because of how quickly this recipe comes together! The light and fluffy texture totally surprised me and I was thrilled to finally have a grain-free pancake recipe that was actually like traditional pancakes! Top with your favorite toppings and these pancakes are sure to not disappoint!
Pioneer Recipe
Pancakes are a pioneer recipe! While they come by many names, including flapjacks, hot cakes, or hoe cakes, they all share the same delicious, simple qualities. The early pioneers would make their pancakes using simple ingredients that they would have on hand, such as fresh ground flour, milk, sometimes eggs, homemade butter, and occasionally a leavening agent. Since they could be whipped up quickly and easily cooked over an open fire, pancakes were also a popular food on wagon trains or cattle drives.
I love the fact that pancakes have such a heritage history! Making this pioneer recipe into an allergy-friendly, modern pioneer edition was fun and easy due to the simplicity of the ingredients. I had tried many grain-free pancake recipes previous to creating this one. However, they never turned out as good as I wanted them too. Some were too dense, others had a stretchy, gummy texture, and still others just didn’t taste right. Finally I came up with just the right ingredient combinations to make the best grain-free pancakes I have ever had!
These easy modern pioneer pancakes are….
- grain-free
- gluten-free
- dairy-free
- tree nut free
- coconut free
- corn free
- refined sugar free
Looking for another fluffy gluten-free pancake recipe? Look no further than my gluten-free banana pancakes recipe!
How to Make a Pancake Bar
One of my favorite things about having pancakes for breakfast (or lunch… or dinner) is the fact that there are so many topping options! These pancakes have a delicious but mild flavor that pairs well with a variety of different toppings. Whether you choose to serve just a few simple toppings with your hotcakes, or decide to go with a full on pancake bar, the topping options are nearly endless!
As a pioneer recipe, the more classic pioneer topping would be a syrup or natural sweetener, like honey. The early pioneers would use sorghum or molasses to sweeten a lot of their breakfast cakes or sweet desserts. Homemade butter or home harvested maple syrup may have also been popular toppings of the early homesteaders. Personally, I like to use pure maple syrup or raw honey to top my cakes with!
Here are some more pancake topping ideas to include in a pancake bar breakfast!
- 100% pure maple syrup
- raw honey
- organic peanut butter
- homemade jam or jelly
- dairy-free whipped coconut cream or Cocowhip
- homemade caramel
- allergy-friendly chocolate chips
- fresh fruit (banana, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc…)
You can also include these easy grain-free waffles in your pancake breakfast bar!
How to Cook Grain-free Pancakes
Cooking Tools– When it comes to cooking pancakes, all you really need is a hot, flat surface! However, I also recommend that surface be clean and food-friendly! My favorite pancake cooking tool is a cast iron skillet. Whether I’m cooking these cakes over the open fire, over my stovetop, or even over the grill, I’m always using a cast iron skillet or cast iron griddle to cook my pancakes on.
However, there are also other modern pioneer kitchen tools you can use to cook your pancakes with. If you have an electric frying pan or griddle, then you can easily make your pancakes using that instead. Using an electric skillet versus cast iron will produce slightly different pancakes. The light fluffy texture will still be the same, however, the browning will be different on the tops and bottoms of the cakes.
Browning– If you like a more even, golden browning on your cakes, then the electric skillet or frying pan will produce that kind of pancake. If you like the more rustic, splotchy browning appearance of pancakes, then use a cast iron skillet! I used a cast iron skillet to cook all the pancakes in the pictures that accompany this recipe.
Open Fire & Grill– When cooking over an open fire or a grill, you just want to make sure the pan, skillet, or griddle is hot enough before you start cooking your pancakes. You also want to make sure the pan doesn’t get too hot and scorch your cakes! A little more heat control and monitoring is needed when cooking over the fire or grill.
Serving & Storing Grain-free Pancakes
Serving and storing these grain-free pancakes is pretty straight forward. I think I already covered some ways that you could serve them as far as pancake toppings go. However, if you are looking to make a meal or brunch out of your pancakes, then I have some more ideas for you!
Serving– When we have pancakes as a camping meal, we always have them with a side of bacon. At Buck Camp every fall, pancakes are a staple menu item and we always serve them with eggs and bacon as well. Scrambled eggs or fried eggs go well with cakes to make for both a sweet and savory meal. Homemade breakfast sausages would also pair well!
Or maybe if you want to stick to the sweet side of things, you could serve these cakes with homemade granola. You can also make these cakes into a variety of shapes! I love making reindeer pancakes at Christmas time! Use cookie cutters or free-form the cakes into whatever shapes you want!
Storing– While I’m pretty sure these grain-free pancakes will get devoured pretty quickly, I do have a few storage tips for you. You can easily make these cakes up ahead of time and keep them stored at room temperature, store them in the fridge, or even freeze them for later. Whatever you end up doing, make sure they are completely cool before you store them and store them in an airtight container.
These pancakes can be stored for 1-2 days at room temperature, 4-5 days stored in the fridge, or for up to 6 months when frozen.
Pancake Recipe Tips
Grain-free pancakes are super easy to make! They are a one-bowl recipe that requires minimal dishes and are an easy clean-up recipe. The most time intensive part is cooking them in a skillet or frying pan. If you have a large griddle, then the process goes faster. Here are a few recipe tips:
- Dairy-free Milk– I get the best texture results when using oat milk or almond milk. Coconut milk beverage will also work but the texture of the cakes seems a little more dense.
- Batter Consistency– The batter consistency should be thick but pourable. It should be slightly thicker than traditional pancake batter but still be easy to pour.
- Oil Substitutes– You can use liquid coconut oil, olive oil, or melted butter in place of the avocado oil in this recipe.
- Thickening– If the batter seems too think, let the batter set for 5-10 minutes as it will thicken up as it sets.
- Thinning– You may have to add more dairy-free milk or water as you continue to cook the pancakes since the batter will thicken up as it sets.
- Cooking Heat– Make sure your pan isn’t smoking hot when you go to cook the pancakes. If the pan is too hot the outside of the cakes will look done before the inside finishes cooking. However, the pan should be steaming slightly when you go to pour the pancakes in order to get nicely browned tops on the cakes.
- Blueberry– To make blueberry pancakes, throw a few fresh or frozen blueberries into the pancake batter prior to cooking the cakes in the skillet!
These grain-free pancakes are absolutely the best grain-free pancakes I have ever had! The batter mixes together quickly and simply. The cakes are amazingly light and fluffy! The flavor and texture is amazing and won’t make you miss traditional pancakes at all!
Grain-free Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cassava flour
- 2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 2 large organic, pasture-raised eggs
- 2 T. avocado oil
- 2 T. maple syrup
- 1 3/4 cups dairy-free milk
Instructions
- Start preheating a 10" cast iron skillet over low heat with a 1/2 tsp. of butter, ghee, bacon fat, or coconut oil in the skillet. Spread the oil around once it has melted.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cassava flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the eggs, oil, and maple syrup. Add 1 cup of the milk and begin to whisk the batter. As you are whisking slowly add the remainder of the milk until a smooth batter has been achieved.
- The batter should be thick but pourable when you go to make the pancakes. Your cast iron skillet should be hot but not steaming when you start cooking the pancakes.
- Batter Notes: If the batter seems too thin, let it set for 2-3 minutes to thicken. If it seems too thick, whisk in more milk or water 1 T. at a time. You will need to add more milk or water to the batter as you are making the pancakes since the batter will thicken as it sets.
- Start making the pancakes. Pour or spoon the batter into the hot pan to make cakes of your desired size/shape. Bubbles will form on the tops of the cakes and they will look 'set-up' when they are ready to be flipped. Each side will cook for about 2-3 minutes.
- The pancakes should be browned when they are flipped. Continue to adjust the heat and thin out the batter as needed as you cook the pancakes.
- Serve with your favorite toppings or save the pancakes for later!
- Once cool, you can store these pancakes in an airtight container at room temperature, in the fridge, or you can freeze them.
Where to Find the Ingredients
- Otto’s Naturals cassava flour
- Pacific oat milk
- Pacific coconut milk
- Otto’s Naturals baking powder
- Redmond sea salt
- Pure maple syrup
- Chosen Foods avocado oil
- Supplies: 10″ cast iron skillet, stainless steel spatula
These grain-free pancakes are a pioneer recipe that is sure to please modern pioneers of all ages! Have them for breakfast, fix up a pancake bar for brunch, have leftovers for lunch, or whip up a batch with eggs and bacon for a sweet and savory dinner. These pancakes can be used for any meal and are so versatile! I love to snack on the leftovers! Top your pancakes with your favorite toppings and enjoy an allergy-friendly but insanely delicious meal of grain-free pancakes on the homestead!
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Isabel Pena
December 23, 2021 12:02 pmI tried making these pancakes and the batter was never thin enough to pour.. very disappointed with all the grain free products they are not as they are lend to believe. There is never a good consistency in the dough or batter. Don’t waste your money!!
ThePioneerChicks
December 24, 2021 9:53 amHi Isabel! Thank you for your feedback and we are sorry to hear you had problems with the pancake batter! If it was too thick to pour then you probably need to add more coconut milk or coconut yogurt. Sometimes the brand of flour you use will affect how absorbant the batter is. I will troubleshoot this recipe again and make sure it is turning out right! – Alexa