Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk Pancakes are light and fluffy and full of tasty vanilla flavor. These are dairy free pancakes that can be made with vanilla almond milk for extra vanilla flavor or plain almond milk. They are made in 1 bowl and are quick, simple, and a perfect breakfast for any morning. A delicious alternative to store bought pancake mix and those made with dairy milk.
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If you've ever wondered how to make healthy pancakes that are still just as delicious as the classic fluffy buttermilk pancakes, this recipe is it!
Almond milk pancakes are a dairy-free pancake recipe that is still super fluffy and delicious. You can make them with plain or vanilla almond milk. They can even be made with oat milk and are just as delicious.
These dairy free pancakes are an easy way for those on a dairy-free diet to enjoy an American breakfast staple. They are also perfect for those not on dairy-free diets but who want to cut back on dairy products where they easily can.
It can be difficult to avoid dairy altogether when used to the American way of eating. But making small substitutions for non-dairy ingredients is an easy way to eliminate some dairy if you'd like.
I first made the vanilla version of these pancakes when experimenting with ways to take our favorite foods and make them healthier and dairy free. My small children were stuck in their "only pancakes, waffles, or bagels for breakfast" phase.
But with me having lots of allergies and being told to eat whole and fresh foods and avoid dairy as much as I could, I needed to find a replacement for our most eaten dairy food: milk.
Plus, I hate to deny them their favorite foods. Instead, I increased the nutritional benefit and made dairy-free pancakes with 2 simple substitutions:
- Replacing cow's milk with almond milk.
- Eliminating butter and using olive oil.
They are super fluffy, full of vanilla flavor, and one of the best dairy free pancakes you'll ever make!
These pancakes have become our Sunday morning breakfast staple. They get my kids eating breakfast without complaint, and they're a little healthier than classic pancake recipes!
Making breakfast also gets my kids in the kitchen helping. Since they are made in 1 bowl, I give the little ones the job of adding in all the dry ingredients. Then I add the wet, they mix, and we all help ladle the pancake batter onto the griddle.
Making pancakes from scratch teaches kids how to bake and how ingredients come together to make an amazing product. Cooking is a valuable skill and I believe that if you grow up cooking alongside your parents, you'll love cooking for your own kids later in life.
So every weekend my kids and I take the time to have some fun making vanilla pancakes. I get to teach them valuable cooking skills, they get to feel important for helping, and we all get to eat the best fluffy vanilla dairy free pancakes on the planet!
Along with making pancakes together, my kids love creating charcuterie boards. Every weekend I surprise my kids with a different breakfast theme and they love it! They get so much joy out of seeing what foods are going to be on each week's board and helping to make it.
It is so exciting for them to be able to pick from the options and create their own plates. I use these vanilla almond milk pancakes on our pancake breakfast charcuterie board.
π₯ Almond Milk Nutritional Facts
If you're new to almond milk, you may have a few questions about it's nutritional content. These are understandable, so let's talk about some of the most common questions people have about almond milk.
Almond milk is completely dairy free. In addition to being lactose free, almond milk is soy and gluten free. It is also free from peanuts. This makes it a great choice for those who must follow gluten-free or lactose-free diets.
Compared to dairy milk, almond milk is slightly healthier due to its vitamin D content and other vitamins and minerals that cow's milk doesn't have (like vitamin E).
1 cup of unsweetened almond milk has only 30 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 1 gram of carbohydrates, and 1 gram of protein. Unsweetened almond milk has no cholesterol, trans fat, saturated fat, or added sugars. Keep in mind that these are the nutritional facts for unsweetened almond milk, whether plain or vanilla flavored. Sweetened will have a different nutritional profile.
Almond milk nutritional facts might also vary slightly by the brand. I use Lidl almond milk, which has no artificial colors, added sugars, casein, or artificial preservatives.
Almond milk has far fewer calories than dairy milk. Bare in mind that it's hard to compare the full nutritional facts of almond milk and dairy milk because of the varieties of dairy milk. For the sake of comparison, let's compare unsweetened almond milk to reduced fat dairy milk.
1 cup of reduced fat dairy milk has 130 calories, 13 grams of carbohydrates, 12 grams of sugar, 5 grams of fat, 20 mg of cholesterol, and 8 grams of protein. As mentioned above, unsweetened almond milk has only 30 calories, no sugar or cholesterol, half the fat, and virtually no carbs.
However, almond milk has vitamin D, which cow's milk naturally does not contain. Check out this helpful article for more information on popular milk alternatives.
In general, if you're looking for dairy free pancakes and also a way for how to make healthy pancakes, choosing almond milk instead of dairy milk is the way to go.
Overall I love almond milk as a replacement for dairy milk. With the uncertainty and debate over whether we really need to drink cow's milk at all and what could be in it (hormones), my family uses almond milk as much as we can. In addition to make healthy pancakes with almond milk, we use it in cereal, waffles, pancakes and in muffins.
We still drink cow's milk, just not a lot. And I still use it in recipes when it makes sense. But almond milk easily replaces dairy milk in most cases, and these vanilla almond milk pancakes are one of my favorite examples.
π Ingredients
To make vanilla almond milk pancakes, you'll need:
- flour
- baking powder
- salt
- white sugar
- unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or plain unsweetened almond milk)
- vanilla extract
- olive oil
- eggs
You may be wondering, are eggs dairy? No, eggs are not a dairy product. Dairy products are made from the milk of mammals. So this is a dairy free recipe.
For egg and dairy free pancakes, you can substitute the eggs for flax eggs. While I do this a lot when baking muffins, I have no yet tried it in these pancakes. If you do, let me know how it goes!
Make sure to use unsweetened almond milk instead of sweetened. Otherwise you will be adding hidden sugars into your recipe and making it less healthy. There are many types of almond milk, including plain, vanilla, and chocolate. As a substitution for dairy milk, always use unsweetened plain or vanilla.
This recipe also uses olive oil instead of butter. This simple swap lessens saturated fat. Olive oil is known to be a healthier fat, being better for the heart than butter. I use it often to replace "bad" fats.
πͺ Instructions
This recipe is made in 2 simple steps.
I do not separate my dry and wet ingredients into separate bowls when making pancakes. Why wash unnecessary bowls? Making a hole in the center of your dry ingredients and putting the wet ingredients in that hole works just as well as using 2 bowls, but with less mess!
This recipe makes roughly 10-15 pancakes, depending on how big you make them. You can make mini pancakes for babies so they are easier to hold or use pancake stencils for even more pancake making fun! These are especially cool during holidays and birthdays. π
To make your pancakes:
- Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients, mixing until just smooth.
Next, fill a soup ladle halfway with batter. Pour it onto a buttered griddle and cook on each side until they are light golden brown.
The first batch or two will be lighter in color. The pancakes will darken after a couple batches.
That's it! The only thing left is to sit back, relax, and enjoy!
π Recipe
Vanilla Almond Milk Pancakes (Dairy Free Pancakes)
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups vanilla almond milk
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp 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 almond milk, oil, vanilla, and eggs. Mix until smooth.
- Melt 1 tsp 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, butter, yogurt, or fruit.
Notes
Nutrition
π² Serving and Storing
My favorite way to serve vanilla almond milk pancakes is topped with plain homemade yogurt and mixed fruit, like raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries.
Some other incredibly delicious ideas that are healthier than butter and syrup are:
- honey and berries
- pure maple syrup, bananas, and blueberries
- pumpkin and ricotta spread
- sprinkled with cinnamon
- bananas and chocolate syrup
If you loved these healthy vanilla almond milk pancakes, please leave a comment and let me know! I'd love to hear what you thought and about your favorite pancake topping.
While you're here, make sure to check me out on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest recipes!
π₯ Related Recipes
- The Best Substitute for Milk: 8 Dairy Milk Alternatives
- Pancake Bites with Almond Milk Pancake Batter
- Green St. Patrick's Day Breakfast Pancakes
- How To Make A Pancake Breakfast Charcuterie Board
- Everything Bagel Bacon Egg & Cheese Croissant Ring
- Pumpkin Ricotta Pancake & Waffle Topping
- Oatmeal Flax Muffins
- Almond Milk Chocolate Chip Muffins
I love the flavor of these! So good.
Loved the recipe! I substituted the sugar for stevia!
Looks delicious! Planning to make these this weekend!
Oh my! I know what my breakfast will be tomorrow morning now. Kids will be delighted π!
I love American pancakes! I used chocolate soya milk instead. They were lovely
Delicious! I cant wait to try
I am so putting my daughter on pancake duty with this recipe! She loves making them but always looking for a recipe that's extra fluffy! Nothing like a nice family breakfast that's delicious and easy to make!
Oh gosh! This seems so delicious! Canβt wait to try! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
These sound delicious! I only use almond milk or oat milk so this is perfect. Thank you!!
I love pancakes. Will try this recipe too!
This recipe is very similar to my pancake recipe that I make! Your looks very delicious! Iβll have to try it out. π
These are great!
So yummy, quick & easy to make on a Sunday morning! Much healthier than store bought mix, had all the ingredients on hand. Will make these again!
I am glad you enjoyed them! My favorite pancakes π
I was wondering about substituting the flour flour a healthier version such as coconut and almond flour?
Hi Brenda,
You won't be able to make an easy swap for coconut or almond flour. For almond flour, use the same amount you would as white flour but you will need to use more egg. Almond flour requires an increased binding agent (the egg), otherwise the pancakes likely crumble. Coconut flour can make a baked good dry if you don't use enough egg. Coconut flour can replace white flour with a 1:4 ratio. For every 1 cup of flour the recipe calls for, use 1/4 cup coconut flour. You need to use 1 egg for every 1/4 cup of coconut flour. But coconut flour and almond flour can be tricky to work with if you're not familiar with them, or if you're using them in a recipe for the first time. But with the right ratio of ingredients, I am confident you can make it work! Good luck, and let me know how they turn out!
-Kristina
Is the batter supposed to be thin?
Yes, the batter is on the thinner side. It wonβt look like a thick muffin batter, but it also shouldnβt be too watery.
Great recipe! Fluffy delicious pancakes. May I suggest blending banana in the almond milk - yum!
That sounds delicious!! Glad you enjoyed them.
Made these this morning. Was super simple and came out great!
Excellent! So fluffy and easy. Next time I would add a bit more vanilla though.
These are the best almond milk pancakes I've had by far! I made them with the vanilla milk and regular almond milk. Vanilla milk is better.