These are the fluffiest vegan blueberry pancakes I’ve ever had – 100% plant-based! This recipe is easy to put together and is the perfect Sunday brunch with maple syrup.
Vegan Blueberry Pancakes made with basic ingredients and aquafaba are quite possibly the fluffiest pancakes I’ve had in a while. You can use the basic pancake recipe to switch things up and make any kind you like. But if I had to choose one favorite kind, it’d have to be blueberries, followed by chocolate chips.
I’ve made pancakes before, and while you can certainly make a good one without eggs, I’ve been experimenting with different combinations and egg replacements to nail that fluffy texture. This recipe is dairy-free and egg-free, and trust me, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
How to make Vegan Blueberry Pancakes?
The batter is pretty straightforward. All you need are flour, sugar, a pinch of salt, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, baking powder, and baking soda. The baking powder and vinegar react together to give the light and soft texture quintessential of a pancake.
Now, if you want to take these pancakes to the next level of fluff, then the magic ingredient is aquafaba – the liquid leftover from cooking chickpeas (garbanzo beans/chole). This liquid has a lot of protein, and when whipped with a pinch of cream of tartar, it resembles whipped egg whites. This adds airiness and fluffiness to the pancakes and I highly recommend not skipping this step.
Some tips to make these Vegan Pancakes –
- Do not overmix the batter – one of the most important tips while making any kind of cake of pancake is to work the batter as little as possible. You still need to mix to get a smooth batter, but over-mixing will lead to gluten development and make the pancakes chewy.
- Once you add the whipped aquafaba, do not mix furiously, or you’ll lose all the air. Use the cut-and-fold method to fold the aquafaba into the batter gently
- Use a small nonstick pan to cook the pan, and don’t spread it too thin. Cover the pan to accelerate the cooking process. Wait for bubbles to show up on top of the pancakes, and then flip
- To keep the pancakes warm, place them in the oven (at the lowest possible temperature) while you continue to cook the rest of the pancakes.
Here’s a video on how to make these vegan blueberry pancakes –
Vegan Blueberry Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup cold Aquafaba (thick liquid reserved from cooking chickpeas or from a can of chickpeas)* – refer note
- 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour (white flour)
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1/3 cup fine Sugar (or any sweetener of choice), adjust for taste
- 2 Tbsp neutral Vegetable Oil
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 cup plain Vegan Yogurt
- 1-2 cups Fresh or Frozen Blueberries
- Vegan Butter or Oil, to cook the pancakes in
Some Ideas for Toppings
- Vegan Whipped Cream
- Agave or Maple Syrup
Instructions
- In a cold bowl, add the cold aquafaba and cream of tartar. Using an electric whisk, whip the mixture until the liquid turns into stiff peaks. You can do this by hand too, but it will take a long time. Set aside.
- In a bowl, add the flour, salt, sugar, and mix well.
- Add the vanilla, oil, plain yogurt, apple cider vinegar, and mix to form a smooth batter. If the mixture is thick, loosen it with some vegan milk or water.
- Add the whipped aquafaba and gently fold into the batter using the cut and fold method. Be sure no to whisk vigorously: that will cause the air bubbles to deflate.
- Heat some oil or vegan butter in a nonstick pan. Pour a ladle (or two) of the batter on the pan. Add some blueberries all over the top of the pancake batter (while it is still wet and uncooked).
- Cover and cook on medium heat until you start to see bubbles all over the top. Then flip, press gently, and cook for a minute or two.
- Once the pancakes are done, stack them onto a plate. Keep them in a warm oven (at the lowest temperature possible) while you continue to make the rest of the batter, so that all your pancakes stay warm.
- Top off the pancakes with some maple syrup or agave, or some fresh vegan whipped cream and more blueberries. Enjoy warm.
Video
Notes
- You can reserve the liquid from canned chickpeas in the fridge for up to a week, and use it up in any recipe that calls for aquafaba
- You can also soak some dry chickpeas overnight, then pressure cook or cook with some water until the chickpeas are soft and tender. Once the chickpeas are cooked, reserve this water, and boil it for 3-4 minutes until it is a thick liquid. Once it cools completely in the fridge, you can use this as aquafaba.
- You can omit the aquafaba and cream of tartar completely from this recipe. The cream of tartar helps stabilize the proteins in aquafaba. And the whipped aquafaba acts like whipped egg whites: adding air into the batter making the pancakes fluffier.
- However, if you don’t have or want to use aquafaba, that’s okay. The vinegar, yogurt, and baking powder in this recipe is enough to make some soft and thick pancakes. They may not be as fluffy, but for a plant-based pancake recipe, they’re pretty good even without the aquafaba.
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