Yes, there is such a thing as healthy pancakes!

I've always been a huge fan of pancakes, waffles, and French toast, among other delicious sweet breakfast/brunch treats. Coupled with having a massive appetite, I would often order a savoury brunch dish such as eggs benedict, followed by a sweet one like pancakes! It was no wonder that my health suffered, and when I changed my lifestyle, my regular brunch habit had to go.

For many years, I did not indulge very often in sweet treats due to a whole host of food intolerances and a lack of healthy brunch options in restaurants. When I did attempt to make "healthy" pancakes at home, they usually stuck to the pan, fell apart or came out soggy and bland. My poor husband was disappointed too many times when I would promise pancakes, and he would receive a wrinkled-up, broken, burnt or gloopy mess on a plate, drowned in maple syrup in an attempt to camouflage the disaster.

Finally, after many years of disappointment and longing, I'm delighted to have a recipe for sugar-free, gluten-free, vegan pancakes that taste amazing! Brunch is back on the menu, as these bad boys are full of healthy ingredients, they are quick and easy to make, and they are delicious! They are made of 5 ingredients (flour, milk, banana, vanilla, oats) and take 5 steps to make! They turn out well with most gluten-free flours, and can be topped with lots of different ingredients. My favourites are berries, nuts, seeds and almond butter, although grilled pineapple or grilled banana, icecream (Nobo dairy-free for me), and plain old Maple syrup work equally well. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Gluten-Free Vegan Banana Pancakes

FInding substitutes for gluten and eggs can be difficult when baking, especially when you want to replace both. Milk and butter are easier to replace with nut, seed or plant milk and coconut oil, although sometimes you may lose some texture and creaminess without the dairy options. I love to use homemade brazilnut or almond milk, although any shop-bought milk will be fine too.

What I like about this recipe, is that most gluten-free flours works well in it. Brown rice flour, or a mixture of buckwheat, coconut or almond flour combine really well to give them a lovely fluffy texture and a dark colour. You can find most of these flours in supermarkets or healthfood shops. I've also used whole gluten-free oats in this recipe, as they add substance and make the pancakes very filling.

I usually use bananas or applesauce as egg replacements instead of flax eggs or chia seeds, and I have never tried the powdered egg replacers, as they generally contain potato starch, to which I am also intolerant (yes, it sucks to be me!). Bananas are my favourite egg substitutes, as I always have plenty of them in my kitchen, they are cheap and so easy to get, and they bring some natural sweetness to the finished product. I am still a child at heart, and love licking the wooden spoon clean after I'm finished using it, so not having egg in the recipe makes this safe to do.

Having a good pan for making pancakes is a great investment. There are several non-toxic cookware options on the market (see this link for more details), and as long as you avoid teflon, this is a good start.

Recipe

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Serves: 2 people

Ingredients

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup GF oats

2 cups almond milk

1 ripe banana (mashed)

1 tbsp vanilla powder (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

coconut oil (for frying)

Method

1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

2. Slowly add the banana and milk to the dry ingredients, mixing them in until you reach a smooth pancake batter. Depending on how you like your batter, this could be slightly more or less than 2 cups. Feel free to use a blender instead of mixing by hand.

3. Heat 1 tsp of coconut oil in a small pan on a medium-high heat.

4. Add about 1/4 cup of batter into the pan to make one pancake. Once the edges start to brown, and the pancake slides easily in the pan, flip it over. Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes, depending on your cooker. Add the pancake to a warm plate while you cook the rest. Repeat until all the batter is used.