Healthy oat milk pancakes with egg or no egg! This fluffy pancake recipe uses oat milk to make it dairy free! Enjoy your oat milk American pancakes with butter or topped with fresh berries! And for more breakfast goodies, try my Banana Carrot Muffins, my Sweet Potato Pop Tarts, and my Mango Overnight Oats!
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Can I substitute oat milk for milk in pancakes?
So what is a good substitute for milk in pancakes? Oat milk! Oat milk is the perfect non-dairy substitute for milk in any pancakes recipe! It has the perfect creamy texture and slightly sweet taste to complement these healthy oat milk pancakes perfectly. And if you love buttermilk pancakes, you're in luck -- in this fluffy pancake recipe, oat milk combines with white vinegar to create a buttermilk substitute that makes these pancakes light and fluffy, and adds the same tang as buttermilk without the dairy!
Healthy Oat Milk Pancakes Recipe
These healthy oat milk pancakes are not just dairy free -- they're also a great breakfast choice. They're made with whole wheat flour, which has more fiber to keep you full and can help manage digestive health, heart health and blood sugar. They're made with maple syrup instead of refined sugar, which contains several minerals and antioxidants. (Nutrition Disclaimer)
What is the trick to making fluffy pancakes?
Buttermilk pancakes are fluffy in part thanks to the reaction between the acid in the buttermilk and baking powder. So as I mentioned above, we're making a dairy-free buttermilk substitute using white vinegar so that our fluffy dairy free pancakes can have that lift! Make sure that your baking soda and baking powder are fresh and active.
Another trick for a fluffy pancake recipe with oat milk is to make sure all your ingredients are room temperature before adding them into the batter. That helps them to mix together more evenly and get even fluffier while cooking! You'll also want to make sure not to over-mix your batter so that you don't activate the gluten in the flour -- there should still be small lumps in the batter.
Finally, it's important to let your batter sit for at least 15 minutes to let the gluten rest, let all the ingredients absorb the liquid in the batter, and allow the baking soda and vinegar to thicken the batter slightly.
Healthy Oat Milk Pancakes - No Egg Version
If you like, you can make these dairy free pancakes without egg! Just omit the eggs in the recipe, increase the baking powder to 2 teaspoons, add increase the vegan butter or oil to 3 tablespoons to replace the richness of the egg yolk. Then enjoy your fluffy vegan pancakes!
How do you make pancakes with oat milk?
- whole wheat flour - I like using whole wheat flour for this oat milk American pancakes recipe, but you can use white whole wheat flour or just use all-purpose flour.
- baking powder & baking soda - make sure your leavening agents are fresh and active!
- ground cinnamon - this is optional, but i love adding a little bit of spice to this recipe!
- salt - to bring out all of our flavors.
- oat milk - make sure your oat milk is room temperature before mixing your batter. Just let it sit out for about an hour or heat it in the microwave for a few seconds.
- white vinegar - we're adding vinegar to create a buttermilk substitute to give our pancakes even more lift and a slightly tangy flavor!
- maple syrup - adding maple syrup to the batter keeps these fluffy dairy free pancakes refined sugar free!
- eggs - we're making these healthy oat milk pancakes with egg for added richness and lift. If you want to make them without egg, see the note just above! Like your oat milk, your eggs should also be room temperature.
- vegan butter - I love making these oat milk pancakes with butter -- I used Earth Balance, olive oil, grapeseed oil, or any oil you like (or even regular dairy butter)! Just make sure that whatever fat you use is melted and cooled to room temperature.
- vanilla - be sure to use a high-quality pure vanilla extract. Or better yet, check out my post on how to make vanilla extract at home with just 2 ingredients!
- cooking spray or butter - to grease your griddle or pan.
Equipment Needed
I love using a griddle pan for this dairy free pancakes recipe -- here's the griddle pan I use! You'll also need a spatula to flip your pancakes! Here are all the tools I love for this pancake recipe!
Oat Milk Pancakes Calories
Three of these dairy free pancakes have 362 calories, with 12 grams of protein and 7 grams of dietary fiber. (Nutrition Disclaimer)
Tips and F.A.Q.
Yes! Oat milk is unique among many plant milks because it mimics the thick and creamy texture and slight sweetness of full-fat dairy milk. It works well in cakes, 
Milk provides a thickness to the batter that you can't get with water, and a thicker batter yields a fluffier pancake. If you really want a fluffy pancake, use buttermilk! Or in this cake, our oat milk buttermilk substitute!
It's easy! Simply heat your oven to 200°F, then place an oven-safe skillet or baking dish in the oven while it warms. As you finish cooking each pancake, place it directly into the baking dish in the warm oven. Carefully remove the baking dish when all your pancakes are cooked and enjoy perfectly warm pancakes!
If you try this recipe, I would love it if you could leave a rating and comment below! It’s so wonderful hearing your feedback! And don’t forget to share your creations with me by tagging @chenee_today on Instagram!
More Dairy-Free Recipes You'll Love
- Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Coconut Cake
- Dairy Free Banana Bread
- Vegan Olive Oil Cake with Lemon and Pistachio
- Peach Sorbet
Equipment you may need
Ingredients
- 1 ⅔ cups (394 ml) oat milk - or milk of your choice; room temperature
- 2 tablespoon (30 ml) white vinegar
- 2 cups (240 g) whole wheat flour - or all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon (6 g) baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon (6 g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (1 g) ground cinnamon - optional
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) salt
- 2 large eggs - room temperature; see below for substitutions to make these oat milk pancakes with no egg
- 2 tablespoon (30 ml) maple syrup - plus more for topping if desired
- 2 tablespoon (28 g) vegan butter - melted and cooled to room temperature; I use Earth Balance Organic Spread; you can also use grapeseed oil or light olive oil
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
- Oil, vegan butter, or cooking spray - for greasing the pan
- Topping options: maple syrup, vegan butter, dairy-free Greek yogurt, fresh berries
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together oat milk and vinegar. Set aside.1 ⅔ cups oat milk, 2 tablespoon white vinegar
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until well combined. Set aside.2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt
- Return to the oat milk mixture and add eggs, melted butter, vanilla, and maple syrup. Whisk well until fully combined. Mixture may be a little foamy.2 large eggs, 2 tablespoon maple syrup, 2 tablespoon vegan butter, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Gradually add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and gently whisk until combined. Do not overmix – batter should still be lumpy.
- Once mixed, let batter rest at room temperature 15-30 minutes, or you can refrigerate it, covered, for up to an hour.
- Heat a griddle or nonstick pan over medium high heat. Grease pan and add ¼ cup of batter for each pancake.Oil, vegan butter, or cooking spray
- Cook pancakes until the bottom is golden brown, the edges are slightly dried out, and bubbles form at the surface. Then flip and continue cooking until the other side is golden brown – about 2 minutes per side.
- Serve warm with desired toppings.Topping options: maple syrup, vegan butter, dairy-free Greek yogurt, fresh berries
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Tristin
These were some yummy pancakes! They came out super fluffy and my kids loved them!
Chenée Lewis
Thank you so much! That's always the best endorsement!
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer
Oh my sweet pancake goodness! First the pictures are STUNNING! They look so light and fluffy! Heading to the store just to buy the ingredients to make these for brunch!
Chenée Lewis
Thank you so much!! I hope they were a hit for your brunch!
Cathleen
These pancakes are everything!! I am so excited to make this for my Sunday morning brunch. Pinned for tomorrow!
Chenée Lewis
Hope you enjoyed them! 🙂
Amanda Mason
I recently started using oat milk in my coffee to substitute creamer but had no idea on how else to use it. When I came across this recipe I was excited that it called for oat milk!! I think the oat milk makes these pancakes way more moist...along with the acidity level in the white vinegar. Excellent recipe!
Chenée Lewis
Thank you so much! I agree -- oat milk is so creamy and perfect for pancakes!
Sharon
These oat milk pancakes are a great way to have a big stack of pancakes without the dairy.
Chenée Lewis
Absolutely! Thanks so much!
Tammy
These are so incredibly fluffy! It's a better-for-you option too which I love. Perfect weekend treat 😀
Chenée Lewis
Thanks! They're definitely a great way to start a weekend morning.
Amy Liu Dong
I tried this recipe, and it is so easy and delicious. Even the kids love it!
Chenée Lewis
Wonderful! That's definitely a ringing endorsement!
Leslie
I'm stupid excited about this recipe! I'm totally obsessed with oat milk and will try it with anything!
Chenée Lewis
You'll love it in pancakes! Enjoy!
Jessica
Delish pancake recipe! I'm not dairy free, but these looked a bit heartier and healthier than normal pancakes, which I love. They cooked up evenly too 🙂 Thanks!
Chenée Lewis
So glad to hear that! I also love the hearty texture of the whole wheat flour!
Mikayla
After waiting for my ingredients to come to room temperature as you suggested, these came together very well. You are correct they were very fluffy and delicious! I will use the room temperature trick often now.
Chenée Lewis
Lovely! So glad you liked the recipe! 🙂