Quinoa flour pancakes are nutrient-dense gluten-free pancakes that can be put together in less than 15 minutes. They’re light and fluffy and tend to be easier on the digestive system than pancakes made with refined flour. See just how easy it is to make these pancakes below!
Quinoa Flour Pancakes
Looking for a gluten-free pancake recipe? These quinoa flour pancakes are the perfect solution. They’re made the same way normal pancakes are making it an easy healthy swap.
This base recipe lends itself easily to additional flavors – you can add spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, fresh blueberries, mashed banana, or even chocolate chips. Then add your favorite toppings (butter, maple syrup, berries, coconut cream, greek yogurt, etc) for a delicious and easy breakfast.
Why Should You Use Quinoa Flour?
Quinoa flour is a gluten-free flour made from quinoa. It’s famous for being one of the only plant-based foods that is a complete protein, including all essential amino acids (1). Not only that, but it’s also high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Choosing a whole grain flour versus a refined white flour (or even whole wheat flour) is a healthier choice because the protein will help slow the digestion process. This is important to help regulate blood sugar levels.
Refined flours are absorbed in the body very quickly leading to a blood sugar spike. High blood sugar results in an increase in insulin production. If this happens too often it may result in insulin resistants and type 2 diabetes. Studies have also shown that eating too many refined flours can be tied to weight gain (2) and even depression (3).
It can be very hard to completely eradicate refined flours from our diet – especially if you’re eating out often. But when you make food at home, you can control the nutritional value easier. This is why I like to share a variety of recipes on the blog using quinoa flour, chickpea flour and oat flour – all of which are gluten-free flours.
Ingredients You’ll Need (Including Substitutions):
- Quinoa Flour – You’ll need 1 ½ cups of quinoa flour. Not sure where to buy quinoa flour? You can usually find it at local health food or organic grocery stores. Check the bulk food section first as it tends to be a bit cheaper there than a pre-packaged version. If you’re unable to find it locally you can order it online.
- Maple Syrup – I used 100% real maple syrup for this recipe. You can also use honey, monkfruit sweetener or stevia.
- Egg – You’ll need one egg for this recipe.
- Milk – You can use dairy milk or non-dairy milk including almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk, hemp milk etc.
- Baking Extras – You’ll also need baking powder, baking soda, and vanilla.
- Toppings – The toppings are optional. But you can add fresh or frozen berries, mashed banana, 70% dark chocolate chips, or even sprinkles to the pancake batter. For toppings you can use maple syrup, honey, butter, coconut oil, plain greek yogurt, coconut cream and more fresh berries.
How To Make Quinoa Flour Pancakes
Quinoa flour pancakes are cooked the same way normal flour pancakes are. Here are the basic steps for pancakes:
- Mix dry ingredients – add quinoa flour, baking powder, baking soda to a bowl and whisk together.
- Mix wet ingredients – Beat egg in a bowl, then add milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Mix together then stir into dry ingredients. If batter is too thick you can add more milk 1 Tbsp at a time until you reach a desired consistency.
- Cook – Add the batter to the frying pan over medium-high heat. Flip when bubbles start to form on the surface with a spatula.
Note: You can find the full instructions and ingredients list at the bottom of this post – just scroll to the bottom.
Tips For The Best Pancakes
- Pancake batter should be a bit runny – This will make the perfect pancake shape. If the batter is too thick, you can add a bit more milk or water.
- Use a ¼ cup measuring cup for the batter – This will give you pancakes that make the perfect stack!
- Flip when you see bubbles – You’ll know when to flip the pancakes when you start to see bubbles forming on the batter. Take a spatula and flip to the other side. Cook an additional 1-3 minutes.
- Lower the heat as you go – If you don’t have an ultra fancy frying pan (I don’t have one either) then you’ll probably have to turn the heat down as the frying pan begins to get too hot. This will cook some of the pancakes too fast – keep an eye on them as you go. You might need to flip sooner.
Pancake FAQs
Quinoa flour has a very neutral flavor, making it easy to add additions like blueberries, bananas and chocolate chips. However, quinoa flour pancakes are a different texture than regular pancakes. There is a fine grain to the flour that you can notice when eating them. I don’t find this bothersome, nor does my husband. Especially since we know how much more nutritious these are. Once you add your toppings it’s much less noticeable.
You can treat these pancakes the same way you would regular pancakes. Here are a few ideas… Add mashed banana, cinnamon and nutmeg (or sprinkles!) to the pancake batter. Add blueberries or 70% dark chocolate chips to the batter in the frying pan while cooking. Then you can add your favorite toppings once cooked including 100% pure maple syrup, greek yogurt, coconut cream, nut butter or seed butter, fresh berries and slices of banana. So yum!
More Gluten Free Recipes To Try
- Flourless Banana Chocolate Muffins – Flourless muffins make a great school snack, but you don’t have to save these just for the kids! I love grabbing one of these muffins in the afternoon when I’m craving something sweet.
- Carrot Cake Bites – This recipe smells incredibly delicious and tastes just like real carrot cake! These bites are healthy, gluten free, nut free, dairy free, and oil free.
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp – Strawberry rhubarb crisp is one of the easiest desserts made with delicious fresh rhubarb, strawberries, gluten-free rolled oats and sweetened with coconut sugar.
- Gluten Free Cake With Whipped Cream – This gluten-free cake is made with two layers of white cake and topped with fresh whipping cream and berries. I made this cake for my dad’s birthday – he is diabetic and gluten-free.
- Chocolate Baked Donuts With Sprinkles – These donuts are addicting and will be gobbled up the same day you make them.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups quinoa flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup - honey, or monkfruit sweetener
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk - dairy or non-dairy
Instructions
- In a bowl combine dry ingredients, quinoa flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In a smaller bowl, add the egg and beat with a fork.
- Add in maple syrup (or other sweetener), milk and vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with a bit of oil. Add 1/4 cup of pancake batter and cook until bubbles form and begin to pop. Flip pancake to the other side and cook until golden brown.
- Serve with your favorite toppings. I like to use maple syrup, plain greek yogurt, coconut cream and fresh berries.
Recipe Notes:
- Pancake batter should be a bit runny – This will make the perfect pancake shape. If the batter is too thick, you can add a bit more milk or water.
- Use a ¼ cup measuring cup for the batter – this will give you even pancakes that make the perfect stack!
- Flip when you see bubbles – You’ll know when to flip the pancakes when you start to see bubbles forming on the batter. Take a spatula and flip to the other side. Cook an additional 1-3 minutes.
- Lower the heat as you go – If you don’t have an ultra-fancy frying pan (I don’t have one either) then you’ll probably have to turn the heat down as the frying pan begins to get too hot. This will cook some of the pancakes too fast – keep an eye on them as you go. You might need to flip sooner.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is an estimate and is per serving.
