Gingerbread Pancakes
Gingerbread isn’t just for dessert anymore! Enjoy the festive flavors of the winter holidays for breakfast with these fluffy Gingerbread Pancakes that are egg and dairy free!
Table of contents
We love our pancakes especially since there are so many different things we can do with them. Make classic buttermilk pancakes or spice it up and add some oatmeal and cranberries to the batter.
These are fun winter themed pancakes that are made without eggs, milk, or butter so they are vegan friendly and a little healthier! Don’t worry, they are still fluffy and packed with spices for a wonderfully comforting breakfast.
Although you may not be following a vegan diet, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy meals that are vegan. We’ve been making the effort to eat more vegetarian and vegan meals. It’s great for our health and our budget.
With many of our loved ones following these diets, eating them more regularly at home means we are also more comfortable cooking and eating that way with them!
Ingredients
Eating vegan doesn’t mean you need a bunch of unusual ingredients. These ingredients are all mainly pantry staples. If you don’t have some of the ingredients on hand, check the substitutions section for what you can use instead.
Pantry staples
- flour
- date sugar
- baking powder
- baking soda
- ground cinnamon
- ground ginger
- ground cloves
- ground nutmeg
- salt
- vanilla extract
- apple cider vinegar
Grocery list
- applesauce
- oat milk
- molasses
- cashews
Substitutions
Date sugar might not be a pantry staple for you and that’s okay. You can swap it for regular sugar or brown sugar although that would make it no longer vegan. If you aren’t worried about that proceed on.
You can also make your own brown sugar pretty quickly if you are out and don’t want to run to the store.
Oat milk can easily be swapped for other dairy free milk options like soy, almond, or coconut milk. If none of those options work, you can use regular milk, although that again makes it not vegan.
Molasses is definitely one of those ingredients that you either seem to have a ton of or none of. If you don’t have any and don’t want to end up in the ton of category you can swap it out for maple syrup or honey (not vegan).
Top tips
Since there is no eggs in this recipe, the process is a little different than you might be used to.
- Don’t overmix the batter as this can limit the rise of the pancakes.
- Allow the batter to rest to give time for the vinegar and baking soda to react.
Tips for perfect pancakes
To get those perfect looking pancakes it all comes down to the way you cook them. Overcooking them on the first side means that they won’t rise as well on the second side resulting in flat, uneven looking pancakes. The pancakes are ready to flip when you start to see bubbles forming on the top of the pancake.
How to store leftover pancakes
Pancakes will keep for a few days in the fridge. Keep them in a ziploc bag or an airtight container. To reheat the pancakes, microwave them for 60-90 seconds until warmed through. If they seem a bit dry, you can wrap them in a damp paper towel before microwaving.
Freezing pancakes
For longer storage you can place pancakes in the freezer.
The best way to freeze pancakes is to lay them out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Then place the frozen pancakes in a ziploc bag.
Alternative method:
I freeze my pancakes in stacks with a square of waxed paper cut to be about the same size as the pancake in between and then place them in a freezer Ziploc bag. They are generally pretty easy to pull apart and negate the need to freeze them on cookie sheets before stacking which I do not have the room for.
To eliminate the waste I throw those squares into a ziploc bag and keep them in the freezer for the next time I make pancakes.
Syrup tips
The cashews will blend easiest if they have been soaked in water before hand. For best results, soak them overnight but if time is short an hour will work.
You can also pour boiling water over the cashews to soak them. This can speed up the process a little bit more.
How long will the syrup be good for?
Store the syrup in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. You can re-blend it if any separation has occurred that doesn’t get smoothed out by just stirring.
Other holiday recipes you might like
Recipe
Ingredients
Gingerbread pancakes
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 3 Tablespoons date sugar or sugar of choice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoon ginger powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons molasses
- ¾ cup oat milk or milk of choice
Maple Cashew Syrup
- 1 cup cashews soaked
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup oat milk if cashews and maple syrup mixture gets too thick
Instructions
For pancakes
- Place all the flour, date sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl and mix.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the applesauce, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, molasses, and oat milk.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry slowly as you mix. Mix well but do not over mix as this may cause less rising or the pancakes.
- Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes to allow the apple cider vinegar to react to the baking soda to create small air bubbles that will result in a fluffy pancake.
- Heat a frying pan or gridle up on medium heat and if it is a non-stick pan lightly coat with oil.
- Use a 1/3 measuring cup to pour the batter into the pan. When bubble are forming on the surface flip over to the other side. Approximately 2 minutes per side.
- Remove the pancake from the pan, place on a plate and cover with a dishtowel to keep them warm. Repeat until all the batter is finished.
For maple cashew syrup
- Take the soaked cashews and place in a blender. Add the maple syrup and vanilla and blend well until smooth.
- If the mixture becomes too thick add some of the oat milk to thin out so it is pourable. Pour onto pancakes and enjoy!
Yummy! I like the flavors of gingerbread more and more each year. These would be such a fun holiday breakfast.