I whisk these fluffy gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free pumpkin pancakes together quickly in one bowl. The warm pumpkin flavor and classic fall spices make them perfect for a cozy autumn breakfast!
I make these pumpkin pancakes for my whole family, whether they are gluten-free or not. Everyone likes them! Fresh from the frying pan or griddle, with melting butter (if you can have dairy) and pure maple syrup on top, they are an awesome way to start a fall weekend!
If you would prefer something more basic, try these Fluffy Gluten-Free Pancakes or Almond Teff Pancakes.
Ingredients for Pumpkin Pancakes
- Oat flour: If it's important for you to avoid gluten, make sure to use gluten-free oat flour. Most oats have come into contact with gluten unless they are specifically labeled gluten-free.
- Tapioca flour: This may also be called tapioca starch. You could substitute arrowroot flour.
- Brown rice flour: White rice flour would be an acceptable substitute here.
- Spices: For simplicity, use 2 teaspoons of Pumpkin Spice instead of the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves listed in the recipe.
- Pumpkin puree: This is simply canned pumpkin, NOT pumpkin pie filling, which has sugar, spices, and other ingredients added to it.
- Nondairy milk: Use almond, cashew, GF oat, or coconut milk that comes in a carton.
Pumpkin Pancakes Instructions
One of the great things about pumpkin pancakes is how easy they are to make. You just whisk all of the ingredients together in one bowl.
Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Whisk them all together.
Break two eggs into a well in the centre.
Whisk the eggs enough to break them up.
Whisk in the pumpkin puree.
Finally, add the nondairy milk and oil. Whisk everything together until the batter is smooth.
Pour batter, about ¼ cup at a time, onto a preheated, oiled surface. Flip to cook the second side when small bubbles begin to form.
Serve the pancakes with butter, if you like.
How to Cook Pancakes
How do you cook pancakes so they're done on the inside but not burnt on the outside? This is the dilemma of the novice pancake cook. The key is to have your temperature set at that sweet spot, which cooks them just right. If your heat is too high, your pancakes will burn. If it's too low, the pancakes will just take too long to cook and not flip over well.
I found that setting my induction cooktop burner to 250°F (120°C) cooked my pancakes slowly and completely without burning them. You'll need to experiment with yours. A cast iron skillet takes a while to heat up on an electric or gas burner. It heats pretty quickly on induction.
General wisdom is that the first pancake is always a test. It won't be pretty. You can plan on just eating that one before anyone else notices or feeding it to the dog!
I have found, though, that when I've cooked pancakes on an electric griddle, they all turned out perfectly the first time. You might try starting your griddle at 300°F (150°C), but watch it closely.
Practice with pancakes and experience with your stovetop or griddle will help you to determine the best temperature for cooking pancakes on your appliance.
Recipe FAQ's
Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) reacts with an acid in a chemical reaction. This creates carbon dioxide, a gas that produces air bubbles. The air bubbles make your pancakes puff up.
In these pumpkin pancakes, baking powder makes them rise and become fluffy. Baking powder is a combination of sodium bicarbonate and a powdered acid. When it comes into contact with moisture, the chemical reaction takes place.
When you use baking powder, you don't need to worry about having a suitable acid in the recipe. The two necessary components are included in this one ingredient.
Equipment
If you have a griddle, you can probably cook all of these pancakes at once. I like an electric griddle because you can easily control the temperature to get all of your pancakes just right.
If you don't have a griddle, a well-seasoned cast iron skillet is my second choice for pancakes. I like the even heat from the cast iron. In fact, if I were doubling* this recipe and feeding a small crowd, I would have two skillets going at the same time.
*You can double the recipe by clicking on the number of servings in the recipe and changing it!
Top tip
As this pancake batter is rather thick and pumpkin pancakes are moist, it's important that your heat not be set too high. That way, your pancakes will cook right through before burning on the outside.
More Gluten-Free Pumpkin Recipes
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Recipe
Pumpkin Pancakes
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup gluten-free oat flour
- ⅓ cup tapioca flour
- ⅓ cup brown rice flour
- 1 tablespoon gluten-free baking powder
- 2 tablespoons raw sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- ½ cup nondairy milk
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil plus more for pan
Instructions
- Combine all of the dry ingredients (oat flour through salt) in a large mixing bowl with a whisk.⅓ cup gluten-free oat flour⅓ cup tapioca flour⅓ cup brown rice flour1 tablespoon gluten-free baking powder2 tablespoons raw sugar1 teaspoon ground cinnamon½ teaspoon ground nutmeg¼ teaspoon ground ginger¼ teaspoon ground cloves¼ teaspoon xanthan gum¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Drop the eggs into this well, and whisk enough to break them up.2 eggs
- Whisk in the pumpkin puree. Finally, add the nondairy milk and oil, whisking the entire mixture until the batter is smooth.½ cup pumpkin puree½ cup nondairy milk
- Heat a griddle or cast iron frying pan over medium heat. Oil it lightly. Scoop about ¼ cup batter onto the hot surface, smoothing it out a little with the back of your ladle. As the edges begin to look dry and little bubbles start to form on top, flip each pancake over to cook the second side. When cooked through, remove your pancakes and serve.2 tablespoons avocado oil
Notes
- Shortcut tip: Replace the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves with 2 teaspoons Pumpkin Spice.
- As this pancake batter is rather thick and pumpkin pancakes are moist, it's important that your heat not be set too high. That way, your pancakes will cook right through before burning on the outside.
Chocoviv says
I love pancakes!
Cathy says
I'm happy for you! I do, too.