Easy Vegan Carrot Cake Pancakes
Easy Vegan Carrot Cake Pancakes
Welcome to my new favorite springtime breakfast recipe: Easy Vegan Carrot Cake Pancakes with all of the toppings!
Despite being dairy-free, egg-free, and full of healthy fiber and fats, these pancakes are decadent and so fun to make and eat. They're a family-favorite meal and a great way to get kids in the kitchen.
Plus, these festive carrot cake pancakes make the most of seasonal veggies and warming spices. Add any of your favorite toppings for a festive holiday breakfast (perfect for Easter!), or enjoy them as-is for a healthy morning meal that you can even take on the go.
How to Make Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
This vegan recipe isn't fussy or difficult to make. In fact, you probably have all of the ingredients at home right now!
Ingredients
Here's what you need to make healthy carrot cake pancakes for breakfast:
- All-purpose flour. I love the organic flour from Bob's Red Mill.
- Grated carrots. Use fresh carrots grated on a box grater or in a food processor. These add fiber, vitamins, and texture to every bite.
- Baking powder. This is the key to making fluffy, light-as-air pancakes.
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. This trio really makes these pancakes taste like freshly baked carrot cake. Not to mention your whole house will smell delicious!
- Flaxseed meal. Mix flaxseed meal with warm water and let it gel for a few minutes. It will turn into an egg-like texture that's the best vegan egg replacement for baking.
- Almond milk. Feel free to use different plant-based milk if you like.
- Vanilla extract. Pure vanilla extract has the best flavor!
- Maple Syrup. This is the classic pancake sweetener. You can also swap maple syrup with agave, date syrup, coconut sugar, brown sugar or cane sugar. If you're not vegan, honey will also work.
- Vegan butter. If you are soy-free, make sure to read the ingredients on your vegan butter. You can also use vegetable or coconut oil instead of vegan butter.
Toppings for Carrot Cake Pancakes
At my house, we love piling vegan pancakes high with crunchy, sweet, and fun toppings. For these carrot cake flapjacks, try:
- Coconut whipped cream or canned coconut cream
- Vegan yogurt
- More shredded carrots for extra vitamins
- Fresh mint
- A drizzle of pure maple syrup
- Chopped walnuts
- A pat of plant-based butter
Can I Make Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Pancakes?
Yes! This recipe is already naturally vegan, dairy-free, and egg-free. It's also nut-free if you use nut-free milk like oat, hemp, or soy milk.
To make it gluten-free, simply substitute the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. I love the blend from Bob's Red Mill! If the batter is too thin, simply add more flour, ¼ cup at a time, until it becomes a pourable, but thick consistency.
Can I Store Carrot Cake Pancakes?
Yes, this is surprisingly a great make-ahead recipe! simply make the full batch of pancakes and let them cool fully on a cooling rack.
Then, transfer the cooled vegan pancakes to an airtight container or bag and freeze for up to four months. You can quickly reheat frozen pancakes directly from the freezer on a hot skillet or in the microwave in 30-second intervals.
Tips for Making Vegan Pancakes
Before you start making these healthy carrot pancakes, read these tips to make sure they come out perfectly:
- You want to grate the carrots pretty finely so they mix into the batter well. You want some texture n the pancakes, but not so much that they don't hold together.
- Be sure not to overmix the batter, which can cause your pancakes to become tough.
- Let the flax eggs hydrate for at least five minutes. This helps bind the pancakes together without any eggs.
- Be sure to grease your skillet well with oil or spray oil. Otherwise, your pancakes might stick!
- I like to gently press down on the pancake after clipping. This helps it cook evenly.
- These are best enjoyed hot of the griddle, so dig in ASAP!
More Favorite Pancake Recipes
Try these other healthy and sweet breakfast recipes next:
- Flourless Apple Pancakes are naturally gluten-free and perfect for fall.
- One-Bowl Fluffy Vegan Oreo Pancakes have the right amount of decadence despite being fully vegan!
- Easy Vegan Pumpkin Poppyseed Pancakes are full of warming fall flavors and crunchy poppyseed.
MADE OUR RECIPE(S)?
If you choose to make this Vegan Carrot Cake Pancakes recipe or any other recipe from us, be sure to tag us on Instagram at #Orchidsandsweettea so that we can share the love!
Easy Vegan Carrot Cake Pancakes
Ingredients
PANCAKES:
- 2 cups organic all-purpose flour
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 Tbsps flaxseed meal + 4 Tbsps WARM water (This makes 2 'flax eggs')
- 1 ½ cups Almond milk + more if needed! (You can use your fave plant-based milk!)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 Tbsps pure maple syrup
- 2 Tbsps vegan butter, melted + 1 tablespoon for cooking
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:
- Coconut whipped cream
- Shredded carrots
- Fresh mint leaves
- Pure maple syrup
Instructions
TO MAKE THE PANCAKES:
- Add the flaxseed meal and water together in a small bow, stirring together until combined and letting it sit for 5 minutes until it becomes "paste-like".
- In a large bowl, add the flour, carrots, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt together and whisk until well combined.
- Make a small well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add in the milk, flax eggs, maple syrup, vegan butter, and vanilla, stirring gently (using a spatula) until just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX! NOTE: If the batter is way too thick and hard to stir, add additional milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until more smooth, yet still thick enough.
- Next, warm a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes. Then, using a paper towel, add vegetable oil and grease the bottom of the pan.
- Add 1 tablespoon vegan butter to a heated skillet over medium-high heat and wait until fully melted. Pour ⅓ cup of pancake batter unto the surface of the skillet and cook for about 1-2 minutes (until batter begins to bubble) and gently flip pancake to it’s opposite side, cooking another 1-2 minutes. NOTE: Be sure to gently press down on pancake to ensure that center cooks through.
- Once cooked and lightly brown on both sides, remove pancake from heat and repeat steps until all batter is used.
- To serve, stack pancakes onto one another and top with coconut whipped cream, grated carrots, mint leaves, and lightly drizzle with maple syrup, if desired.
- Bon Appetit!
Tips & Tricks
- GLUTEN-FREE VERSION: To make these pancakes GF, I recommend using a GF Flour Blend (Bob’s Red Mills has a great version!). **NOTE: If the batter is too ‘thin + runny’, simply add additional GF flour, ¼ cup at a time.**
- SWEETENER: If you choose to opt out of maple syrup, you can always substitute with pure Agave, date syrup, coconut sugar, brown sugar, or pure cane sugar.
- OIL: Instead of melted vegan butter, you can use vegetable oil or coconut oil, if preferred.
Nutrition
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