Homemade Oat Milk Pancakes are a light and fluffy dairy free pancake. They are made with olive oil instead of butter and oat milk instead of dairy milk. Oat milk pancakes are made in 1 bowl, are quick and simple and are flavored with vanilla extract. This recipe is a healthy alternative to store bought pancake mix. Serve with pure maple syrup, yogurt, and fresh berries for a complete, wholesome breakfast.
Pancakes are a celebrated breakfast on weekend mornings— when there's time to waste and nowhere to be. They elicit a comforting, homey feeling on days when it's okay to stay in your pajamas all day long.
Oat milk pancakes are a dairy-free, nut-free, and soy-free alternative to classic American buttermilk pancakes. But that childhood lazy weekend feeling remains the same.
They can easily be made vegan or gluten-free with minor ingredient changes.
With this from-scratch recipe, you can enjoy perfect light and fluffy homemade pancakes in no time at all— and spend the rest of that well deserved lazy time on the couch with your family.
Whether you're looking to make dietary changes due to a food allergy, wanting to be more mindful about how your food choices impact the global community, or simply looking to make healthy changes to the foods you love without going on a strict diet, oat milk pancakes are a great recipe to try.
This recipe is one of our go-to breakfasts, along with vanilla almond milk pancakes and cottage cheese waffles, when we're looking to indulge in a cozy breakfast but keep things a bit on the healthier side!
Ingredients
Oat milk pancakes are made with:
- Oat milk: use original or extra creamy oat milk. Planet Oat extra cream oatmilk is what I always use, but original will do just as well. You can also use vanilla oat milk if wanting to make vanilla flavored pancakes.
- Olive Oil: a heart-healthy fat compared to butter, which is why it's used here. But you can make a 1:1 swap for melted butter if you prefer.
- Eggs: eggs are not dairy, but if you have an egg allergy, you can still enjoy oat milk pancakes by using flax eggs instead.
- Vanilla extract: optional (it only adds a hint of vanilla to the pancakes), but I do recommend using it if you want to get the most flavor into this recipe.
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar: white, coconut, or stevia
- Salt
- Baking powder: required to achieve a high rising pancake. Leave it out and you'll end up with a flat pancake. This recipe calls for 4 teaspoon of baking powder. While this may seem like a lot, it is necessary and will not alter the flavor of your pancakes.
How To Make Oat Milk Pancakes
Make this recipe in 3 easy steps and in less than 20 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Make a hole in the center and add the oat milk, oil, vanilla extract, and eggs. Mix with a whisk or fork until smooth.
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat on a griddle. Fill a soup ladle halfway with the batter and pour onto the griddle. Or, make smaller pancakes for children.
- When bubbles begin to form, flip with a spatula. This takes about 2 minutes. Cook on the other side for about 90 more seconds, or until both sides are golden brown.
Transfer to a plate and serve with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
Make it Vegan
Oat milk pancakes can also easily be made vegan or gluten free if you have dietary restrictions or preferences.
Turning this oat milk pancake recipe into it's vegan version requires only 2 simple ingredient changes— sugar and eggs.
Use unrefined or organic white sugar that is not made with bone char. Sugar made with beets is also a vegan option. Sugars that are vegan include: Sugar in the Raw, organic whole cane sugar, Trader Joe's, Florida Crystals, and Now Foods Beet Sugar.
Replace the eggs with flax eggs or bananas. I have not yet tried making these with bananas, so I cannot speak to how they will turn out. However, I love how baked goods turn out when using flax seeds. Many muffin recipes turn out even better than they do when using eggs.
The main ingredients—white flour and oat milk—are both vegan.
Make it Gluten Free
Oat milk pancakes can be made gluten-free by using a gluten-free flour in place of the white flour. All other ingredients are naturally free of gluten.
Why Choose Oat Milk?
Why choose oat milk instead of traditional dairy milk when making pancakes and other baked goods?
Oat milk is a creamy, sweet milk alternative that's used to give this oat milk pancakes recipe an extra fluffy and super moist texture.
When deciding whether using oat milk in your recipes is a great fit for you, consider these commonly asked questions about pancakes and oat milk.
Yes, oat milk can be substituted for dairy milk (or any other milk alternative) in pancakes and most other baked goods. Use a 1:1 ratio when substituting pancake recipes with oat milk. Use original, extra creamy, or vanilla oat milk as a dairy milk substitution.
While pancake recipes made with milk can be made with water instead, the pancakes will lose some of their flavor. Because milk contains fat, pancakes made with milk will have more moisture and be fluffier than those made with water.
While it is not required that you let pancake batter sit and rest (it does not need to rise), pancakes will actually be lighter and fluffier if the batter sits for at least 30 minutes before being cooked. Even better, let the batter rest overnight in the fridge.
1 cup of unsweetened oat milk has approximately 90 calories. It is low in fat and sugar, at 1.5 grams and 4 grams per cup respectively. You'll get about 25% of your daily vitamin A, vitamin D, and calcium from oat milk. However, oat milk is high in carbohydrates, with 19 grams per cup.
Both oat milk and almond milk have high nutritional profiles, containing many vitamins and minerals. Both are low in calories, fat, and sugar. They are similar in their healthiness factor and are both gluten, soy, and lactose free. While almond milk is peanut free, it is made with tree nuts so is not a good choice for those with nut allergies. Oat milk is completely nut and peanut free, and therefore is a better option for those with nut allergies.
Serving
Oat milk pancakes are incredibly delicious without any toppings at all. Believe it or not, my kids' preferred way to eat these pancakes is plain— straight off their plates without even using a fork.
But for those of us who love topping pancakes, some suggestions are:
- yogurt and fruit (try this homemade Greek yogurt)
- pure maple syrup
- Nutella spread with blueberries and bananas
Oat milk pancakes are best stored at room temperature for 2 days. After that, they will begin to lose moisture and become dry.
How To Store
Pancakes are freezer-friendly for around 6 months. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or use a freezer storage bag. Defrost them overnight at room temperature.
That's all there is to making these delicious pancakes. I hope you enjoy them and they become your go-to pancake recipe.
If you've made oat milk pancakes I'd love to hear what you thought. Please leave me a comment below!
If you enjoyed this recipe, make sure to give it a star rating and let me know what you thought in the comments! And follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for more delicious recipes!
Recipe
Thick and Fluffy Oat Milk Pancakes
Equipment
- soup ladle
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoon sugar white or coconut
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups oat milk
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
- Make a well in the center and add the oat milk, oil, vanilla extract, and eggs. Mix until smooth.
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat on a griddle. Fill a soup ladle halfway with batter and pour onto the griddle.
- When bubbles begin to form, flip with a spatula (about 2 minutes). Cook on other side for about 90 more seconds, or until both sides are golden brown.
- Serve with maple syrup, yogurt, or fruit.
Claire
These pancakes were so delicious, light and fluffy I never would have guessed they didn't have dairy! Can't wait to make this a regular part of our breakfast line-up.
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer
These were great for Sunday brunch! So light, fluffy, and delicious! Definitely a keeper!
Jessica
So interesting about letting the batter sit...they really did turn out light and fluffy. I loved the mellow oat milk flavor as well. The perfect pancake!
Jacqueline Debono
Love the idea of making healthy pancakes like these. Planning to try them this weekend! I learnt something new from this post. I didn't know that refined sugar isn't vegan! Will keep that in mind when cooking for vegan friends and family. Thank you!
Colleen
I made these pancakes with gluten free flour and they turned out amazing! Thanks for this recipe!
Jenny Graves
This dairy free oat milk pancakes sound both delicious and healthy. Can’t wait to sink my teeth into them. Pass that pure maple syrup please.
Jill
So good and fluffy! great recipe!
Maggie
Delicious! The combination of the oat milk and olive oil gives the pancakes such a wonderful taste..
Christina Perucci
My sister-in-law made these for us on vacation and they were delicious! The only change she made was beating the egg whites separately until fluffy, the. Folding them in. Will definitely be making again!
Kristina
I'm glad you like them! They are my family's favorite 🙂
Amy Roskelley
It's SO helpful to have dairy free options!! Thanks so much for these pancakes!
Chef Dennis
I am so excited to have this for breakfast!
Sangita
Perfect fluffy and light pancakes recipe. A must try!
Anna Walsh
These were perfectly fluffy and moist, great recipe!
Biana
These pancakes look amazing, love how fluffy they are! Perfect to serve with some berries.
Eliza
Great recipe for delicious, healthy pancakes. Thank you for sharing all of the information about oat milk, too.
Lisa | Garlic & Zest
I love all the variations for making these healthy oatmilk pancakes. We have lots of allergies in my family and you've addressed them all!
Jess
I love that these are made in one bowl and the berries on top are the ultimate topping!
Laura
Great dairy-free alternative! I think they turn out better than my regular pancakes.
Liz
I just bought some of Chobani's new oat milk and I've been looking for new ways to use it! This is perfect!
Claudia Lamascolo
those looks like a fabulous dessert breakfast and right up my alley of loving every bite!
Kay
Brilliant, my daughter has a dairy intolerance, so tries to avoid too much dairy! She loves this recipe!
Charla
What perfect pancakes, I also love that you included gluten free and vegan options, both of which are suitable for my lifestyle.
SHANIKA
Wow! These pancakes are so fluffy! I love using oat milk, so I definitely need to try this recipe!
Michele Peterson
Very handy tip on beating the eggs until frothy. I've never done that when making pancakes and wow - it makes a big difference in how fluffy the pancakes are! Thanks!
Michal
That looks so yummy! Love pancakes
Addison
So thick and fluffy! Yum!
Lindsay Howerton-Hastings
These look like the ideal basic pancake recipe to make again and again! YUM.