This is my go-to recipe for the best gluten-free pancakes. They come out light and fluffy—with hardly any work required. It’s a simple one bowl recipe. Stir the batter together, let it rest for a few minutes, and then cook them on a hot griddle. That’s it!
Looking for a gluten-free and grain-free pancake recipe? Try these fluffy almond flour pancakes or these cute coconut flour pancakes.
Ingredients Explained
Here’s what you need to make a batch of these pancakes.
- Gluten-Free Flour. Gluten-free flour blends vary from brand to brand. This recipe was developed with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour blend. Using a different blend might change the results.
- Sugar. A little granulated sugar adds a touch of sweetness and helps with browning.
- Egg. One egg does a lot! It adds structure, flavor, and helps with the rise.
- Milk. Use your favorite milk. Both traditional and dairy-free milk work.
- Oil. Oil works great and it’s what I usually use. If you prefer a buttery flavor, use melted butter. Just remember to let it cool a little before adding it to the batter.
- Vanilla Extract. The vanilla adds a nice flavor. Almond or lemon extract can be used too.
- Baking Powder. Makes the pancakes nice and fluffy.
- Salt. Use table salt. It blends easily into the batter.
Variations
If you love blueberry or chocolate chip pancakes, you can use this recipe to make them! For an extra pop of flavor, make a batch of blueberry-chocolate chip pancakes. The two flavors go great together.
- Blueberry Pancakes: Stir ½ cup of fresh or thawed blueberries into the batter.
- Chocolate Chip Pancakes: Replace the granulated sugar with light brown sugar and sprinkle a few chocolate chips onto the batter immediately after you spoon the batter onto the griddle. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.
How to Make Gluten-Free Pancakes
This recipe is so easy you can make a batch while still half asleep. Grab a bowl, whisk everything together, and cook. That’s it! No whipping egg whites. Just light and fluffy pancakes that gluten-free eaters will gobble up.
Step One: Make the Batter.
First whisk the dry ingredients together. This evenly distributes the sugar, baking powder, and salt within the gluten-free flour, ensuring that each pancake rises and browns uniformly.
Then add the wet ingredients. Mix until the batter is smooth. You might see a lump here and there. That’s fine.
Run a spatula along the bottom and sides of the bowl. If you see any dry flour, stir it gently into the batter.
Step Two: Let the Batter Rest.
After you mix it, let the batter rest (sit on the counter) for between 5 and 15 minutes. This helps the gluten-free flours and starches fully absorb the liquid.
Since it thickens a little during the rest, give the batter a stir right before cooking. If it’s too thick to drop from a spoon, stir in a tablespoon or so of milk.
Step Three: Cook on a Hot Griddle.
The key to great gluten-free pancakes is to cook them on a hot greased griddle. Oil your pan with a light brush of oil or a spray of nonstick cooking spray.
When your pan is hot－but not smoking－spoon about a ¼ cup of batter onto it.
Cook the pancakes for about two minutes. When you see a few bubbles on the surface of the pancake, it’s time to flip them. Then cook for another minute or so.
How to Flip a Pancake
There’s a bit of an art to flipping a pancake. Here’s how to do it.
- Heat and grease the griddle. If you cook pancakes on a cold pan, they won’t brown or rise nicely. And if your pan isn’t nicely greased, they’ll stick. Nonstick and cast iron griddles are perfect for gluten-free pancakes! If you’re using an electric griddle, heat it to 350℉.
- Leave space. First, remember that it’s hard to flip a pancake on a crowded griddle! Leave about an inch between each pancake.
- Wait for bubbles. Look for the batter to lose a little of its shine and for bubbles to appear on the surface.
- Use a the right spatula. The best spatula for flipping a pancake is a large one with a thin edge. If the spatula is too small, it’s hard to get under the pancake to flip it.
- Take a peek! I like to gently slide the spatula under the pancake and carefully lift the edge. I give it a quick peek to see if it’s brown. If it’s still pale, I let it cook for another minute or so.
- Flip gently. Lift the pancake a little. There’s no need to lift it very high off the pan. Then, using your wrist, quickly flip the pancake. Think of it more like a turn, than a flip.
- Cook until brown. After you flip, the pancake only needs a minute or so more to cool. You can gently tap the top to make sure it’s set and not soft.
Keeping Pancakes Warm
Place a parchment-lined baking sheet into the oven before you mix the pancake batter. Heat your oven to 225°F. As you make the pancakes, transfer them to the warm baking sheet. Pancakes keep for about 30 minutes in a warm oven. After that, they start to dry out.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
If you’ve got leftover pancakes, lucky you! They’re great for a quick gluten-free breakfast.
Store the leftover pancakes covered at room temperature for a day. They tend to dry out. So I recommend freezing leftovers.
Freezing
Place cooled pancakes into a freezer bag or container. If you’re going to stack them, put a piece or waxed or parchment paper between them.
They keep for about two months in the freezer.
Reheating
When you’re ready to eat, you’ve got options!
- Microwave. Place frozen pancakes in a single layer on a microwave-safe plate. Heat on medium-high for one minute. Flip the pancakes and heat for another 30 seconds or until warm. The reheating time will vary depending on your microwave.
- Air Fryer. Place the frozen pancakes in a single layer on the tray of your air fryer.
- Oven. If you need to reheat a lot of pancakes, the oven is the best method. Heat the oven to 325℉. Place the frozen pancakes on a baking sheet. Heat until warm, this usually takes about 10 minutes.
Note: This recipe was originally published in 2017. It has been updated to use a gluten-free flour blend. Here is the link to the original gluten-free pancake recipe.
Fluffy Gluten-Free Pancakes
These gluten-free pancakes are incredibly light and fluffy. For the best texture and rise, let the batter rest for at least five minutes before cooking. A hot, greased skillet ensures the pancakes don’t stick.
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten-free flour (Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour recommended) (5 ounces; 142 grams)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (1 ounce; 28 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup milk (6 ounces; 170 grams)
- 1 large egg (2 ounces; 56 grams)
- 2 tablespoons oil or melted butter (1 ounce; 28 grams)
- ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
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Whisk the gluten-free flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the milk, egg, oil, and vanilla extract. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes. (Batter can rest up to 30 minutes.)
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Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly grease the griddle with oil or butter.
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Spoon about ¼ cup of batter onto the skillet. Cook until the edges look set and bubbles appear all over the surface of the pancake, about two minutes. To check for doneness, lift the edge of the pancake with a spatula. It should be golden brown.
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Flip the pancake and cook until golden brown, about two additional minutes.
Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve with butter and syrup.
To Keep Pancakes Warm
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Before making the batter, place a parchment-lined baking sheet in the oven. Heat oven to 225°F.
Transfer cooked pancakes to the baking sheet. Don't overlap the pancakes. Keep warm for up to 30 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Ingredients and Substitutions
Gluten-Free Flour. For best results, use a gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan or guar gum. If your blend doesn’t, whisk in ¼ teaspoon. The recipe was tested with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend.
Milk. If you want to make gluten-free and dairy-free pancakes, use dairy-free milk.
Egg. Use a large egg. If you’d like gluten-free and egg-free pancakes, use an egg replacer and follow the directions on the package for replacing one egg. Please note: I tested the recipe using Bob’s Red Mill’s egg replacer and a flax egg. Both work. The pancakes made with Bob’s egg replacer turned out a bit lighter than those made with the flax egg. Both were a little heavier than pancakes made with an egg. Since egg-replacers vary from brand-to-brand, use your favorite.
Oil. Any neutral oil, like corn or canola oil, works. Melted butter may also be used. After melting the butter, let it cool for a few minutes before adding it to the batter.
Freezing and Reheating
Place pancakes in a freezer bag or container. To keep them from sticking, place a piece of waxed or parchment paper between each pancake.
To reheat in the microwave: heat on low power for one minute. Flip and heat an additional minute as needed.
To reheat in the oven: Preheat the oven to 325℉. Place frozen pancakes on a baking sheet. Heat for about 10 minutes.
For additional information, including air fryer and toaster directions, see above.
Sherri says
I have been looking for a good GF pancake and this is it! I used a LARGE egg from my ladies and I also added lemon juice to the milk. I did fry up on stainless steel for the first time, but that couldn’t have made this much of a difference. Very nice!
Anne from Kentucky says
The best gluten-free blueberry pancakes we’ve eaten! Thanks for a simple recipe with ingredients I always have. I did have to keep adding milk as the batter kept thickening while I was cooking the pancakes. They didn’t even need butter! We used real maple syrup and they were delicious!
Lauren says
Love this recipe.
Unfortunately I have to use a milk alternative as my son has a allergy to cows milk. So I use gf oats milk but I’ve found it to be abit more runny, I presume that’s why cows milk is use? I haven’t tried with the cows milk, as I’m the only celiac in the family no one else will try gf…
If I I’d make them with cows milk I’d probably scoff the lot haha.
Is there anything else I can do to add into the mix? I’ve tried extra flour but that doesn’t seem to help. I’m in the UK
Thanks!
Lauren
Belinda says
I tried this recipe today, fluffy, great taste, batter not runny and I used almond milk. Excellent recipe!
Naomi says
I also used almond milk too, they turned out fluffy and tasted great! Best pancake recipe i have used yet!
Sarah says
Thank you for an easy GF pancake recipe! Depending on the gf flour I use, some flours required less baking powder. When using Schar Universal flour, it needs less salt. We are overseas, so the flours are different. We love this recipe and tweak it to our preference.
Lexy says
I never comment on recipes, but this one I absolutely had to. These are the best gluten free pancakes I have ever had or made!! Often I have found online recipes can be hit or miss, or only work with their very specific special gluten free flour blend that you either have to buy or make yourself for that one recipe. But this one was perfect first try and happened to be using Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 flour blend I use myself that’s readily available at stores here for a more affordable price. I didn’t change anything in the recipe, I followed it exactly using weight for measurements and used melted vegan butter. Only thing is that I doubled the recipe and still only got 6 pancakes, but I think my pancakes were much larger (and still amazing!). With my pancakes being big, I found just 2 pancakes was very filling. Seriously recommend trying the recipe, its awesome!
Busybizzybee says
I’ve been cooking GF for my husband for decades. So many wheat-based foods are difficult to duplicate as GF. This recipe actually makes BETTER pancakes than any wheat-based pancake I’ve ever tasted! Thank you so much for providing this recipe!
Lynn says
Total fail for me, maybe it was the flour. It was so thick, I kept adding milk but still too thick to cook in the middle.
Elizabeth says
Bummer. The batter shouldn’t be that thick. What type of flour did you use?
Jason Evers says
Not just gluten free but the best pancakes I’ve ever eaten. Yummo
Alex says
Great recipe my girlfriend and i loved them. Would never know they are gluten free! Thanks for this recipe
Charlene Estes says
Very fluffy and great flavor! I used almond milk and oil.
Hope Minner says
My granddaughter and her mother are GF and I need recipes I can use for them at my house.
Annie says
Thanks for the recipe. I usually use Bob’s Red Mill flour 1:1 so I had all the ingredients. Used A2 cow milk.
threebakersisters says
so good! we made these for 4th of July in red white and blue and soooooo good!
Renee says
Followed exactly and it was wayyyy too thick
Elizabeth says
That’s an odd result. What gluten-free flour did you use?
Jellybeanz says
DELICIOUS, quick, easy fluffy gluten and dairy free pancakes made with regular GF self raising flour and oat milk and it was the BEST!! Just what i wanted on a cold rainy irish summer morning. Thanks
Elizabeth says
You’re welcome! Glad you liked them.
Jolene says
I have very little faith in the “google and pick one,” method but I guess I picked the right recipe. These pancakes were so easy and delicious!! Much better than the premade King Arthur or Red Mills mixes. I’m impressed.
Elizabeth says
You have no idea how you just MADE MY DAY! Thank you! Glad you liked the pancakes!
Julie says
Best gluten free pancakes ever.. I used lactose free milk and a only one tablespoon sugar and coconut oil.. amazing thank you x
Vicki McConnell says
I chose to go GF yesterday. I’m a baker so my first thought was bread and pancakes. I made this pancake recipe this morning, and my husband and I were soooo surprised. He said he couldn’t tell the difference from regular pancakes. And yes, they were very fluffy! Just wanted to say how pleased I was to find your recipe. The only thing I changed was using half milk/half buttermilk. Next time I’m adding blueberries. This recipe gets 5 stars! Thank you!
Elizabeth says
Ah! Awesome! I’m so glad you liked them!
Billy says
Fantastic. My new go-to recipe for GF pancakes. My wife ate half of mine as well😂
Wanda says
New to Gluten Free, but was very happy with this recipe. We made waffles and very pleased. It’s a keeper for us. Thank you
Elizabeth says
Glad it worked for you!