Sugar-Free Pancakes
By Carine Claudepierre
Published on 10/14/2023
This recipe may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Do you want a quick and easy breakfast? Learn how to make Sugar-Free Pancakes with simple-to-follow instructions and basic ingredients.
Sugar-free pancakes are perfect for a quick and delicious breakfast. They are made with simple ingredients that you probably already have on hand, and they come together in just a few minutes.
Plus, they’re sure to please even the pickiest eaters. So gather your ingredients and get ready to whip up a batch of these delicious pancakes!
I love French crepes for breakfast, but my kids prefer pancakes, so I came up with this fantastic, easy, sugar-free pancake recipe that the whole family likes.
How To Make Sugar-Free Pancakes
These large, thin sugar-free pancakes are so easy to make that they will become a staple in your kitchen.
They are not thick, fluffy pancakes, but they are more like American café-style pancakes. Thin and buttery but with no added sugar!
Ingredients
All you need to make classic pancakes are a few simple ingredients that you probably have at home:
- All-Purpose Flour – I didn’t try the recipe with all-purpose gluten-free flour but I am pretty sure it will work. The texture will probably vary since gluten-free flour makes baked goods a bit more chewy and packed.
- Milk of Choice – you can use any milk you love to make pancakes. Keep in mind that the less fat and protein the milk contains, the dryer the pancakes will be. Best result are achieved with full-fat milk, or soy milk.
- Apple Cider Vinegar or lemon juice. It brings the acidic component necessary for the batter to rise.
- Baking Powder – Not baking soda.
- Eggs – Fresh, large, free-range eggs.
- Melted Butter – I prefer grass-fed unsalted butter over vegetable oil.
- Vanilla Extract – Because vanilla makes baking recipes so much better.
- Salt
- Cinnamon
You can make perfect pancakes in four easy steps. It’s easier and better than using a pancake mix and much tastier!
Step 1: Making Homemade Buttermilk
First, whisk the warm milk and vinegar for a few seconds in a mixing bowl.
Set it aside for 5 minutes to curdle. This is your homemade buttermilk. It makes the pancakes ultra tasty!
Step 2: Whisking Liquid Ingredients
Then, whisk in eggs, vanilla extract, and melted butter and combine them.
Step 3: Combining The Pancake Batter
In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
Whisk to incorporate the dry ingredients together and break any remaining flour lumps. Make a well in the center and pour the liquid ingredients.
Whisk to combine the liquid ingredients with the dry. The batter should be smooth and slightly thick but easy to whisk.
Step 4: Cooking Pancakes
Warm a pancake griddle or a large frying pan and use a piece of absorbent paper to rub the butter or oil over the skillet. Avoid adding too much oil that would fry the pancake batter and make the edges crunchy.
Pour 1/4 cup of pancake batter on the hot, lightly oiled griddle and cook the old-fashioned pancake for 2 to 3 minutes or until you can see bubbles forming all over the pancake.
Slide a flat spatula under the pancake and flip it to its other side. Cook for an extra minute until the pancakes are golden brown and set.
Tips For Perfect Pancakes
While making pancakes is one of the simplest recipe, perfecting them is an art form.
To help you make the best possible pancakes, here are my pro tips that I’ve gathered from more than 20 years of making pancakes with all possible ingredient combinations:
- Use room temperature ingredients. This will help the batter come together more easily and prevent the pancakes from hardening.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Overmixing tends to develop gluten in the batter, making the pancakes tougher instead of light and fluffy.
- Cook the pancakes over medium heat. This will help them cook evenly and prevent them from burning.
- Use a nonstick skillet. This will help prevent the pancakes from sticking to the pan.
- Flip the pancakes only once. This will help them cook evenly on both sides. If you double-cook one side, it will become hard and crispy, almost like a bread crust.
- Serve the pancakes hot with some of your favorite toppings below.
Add-Ons
Just after adding the 1/4 cup of batter on the griddle, you can sprinkle the following sugar-free ingredients:
- Blueberries
- Sugar-free Chocolate Chips,
- Chopped Nuts
- Shredded Coconut
Then, add some more batter to cover the berries or chocolate chips to avoid them sticking to the griddle when you flip the pancakes.
Keeping Pancake Warm
If you want to keep the cooked pancakes warm while cooking the remaining batter, preheat the oven to 175°F (80°C).
Place the cooked pancakes on a baking sheet and cover them with foil. Store in the oven while cooking the remaining pancakes.
Serving
These sugar-free pancakes are thin, wide, and better served as a stack of 3 or 4.
Top the warm pancakes with a piece of butter, fresh berries, and a drizzle of authentic maple syrup.
Other pancake topping ideas are:
- Jam or my Chia Jam
- Sugar-free whipped Cream
- Banana Slices, Fresh Strawberries
- Peanut Butter
Storage Instructions
There are two ways to store sugar-free pancake leftovers.
First, you can store the pancakes for up to 3 days in an airtight box in the fridge. Stack the pancakes in a container and keeps them in the refrigerator.
Next, you can freeze them. However, they tend to stick to each other after being frozen.
That’s why you should put a piece of parchment paper between each pancake or keep them in individual freezer bags.
Allergy Swaps
Below are suggested allergy swaps if you can’t use some of the ingredients listed in the recipe below:
- Dairy-Free – You can replace melted butter with melted coconut oil, canola oil, or avocado oil. For the milk, pick your favorite plant-based milk, like oat milk, almond milk, or coconut milk.
- Gluten-Free – The recipe should work with a good quality 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. Make sure your baking powder also is gluten-free.
- Egg-Free – I didn’t try the recipe with egg replacers, but I am confident that two flaxseed eggs would work. Stir two tablespoons of flaxseed meal with 1/3 cup of lukewarm water. Set aside for 10 minutes and use as an egg replacer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are the answers to your most frequent questions about making pancakes.
Yes, you can freeze sugar-free pancakes. The best is to freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet for 1 or 2 hours. This is called flash freeze.
The pancakes are half frozen and hard enough to be transferred to zip-lock bags.
Make sure you slide a piece of parchment paper between each pancake as you stack them in the bag or airtight container.
This prevents the pancakes from sticking to each other and it gets easier to thaw them later.
The day before, bring the frozen pancakes on a plate in the fridge.
The next day or 4 hours later, they should be back to their regular texture and ready to be rewarmed and eat.
You can rewarm pancakes in a warm pancake griddle.
It’s also possible to pop the pancakes in a bread toaster on medium heat for a few minutes minutes. Another option is to air fry pancakes for about 1 to 2 minutes at 260°F (130°C).
To turn this recipe into fluffier pancakes, use one tablespoon of baking powder and reduce the milk to 1/2 cup to thicken the batter.
More Pancake Recipes
Here are more homemade pancakes recipes for you to try.
Did You Like This Recipe?
Leave a comment below or head to our Facebook page for tips, our Instagram page for inspiration, our Pinterest for saving recipes, and Flipboard to get all the new ones!
Sugar-Free Pancakes
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk milk and vinegar. Set it aside for 5 minutes until it curdles and forms a buttermilk texture.
- Whisk in melted butter, eggs, and vanilla.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, optional sweetener, and cinnamon. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the well.
- Whisk all the ingredients together until a smooth pancake batter forms. It's ok if a few lumps remain.
- Warm a pancake skillet over medium-high heat. Grease with oil using a piece of absorbent paper to rub the pan – avoid adding too much oil, or it will fry the pancakes.
- Scoop out 1/4 cup of pancake batter on the warm griddle, the batter will expand quite a lot, and that's normal. Cook for 2-3 minutes on one side or until it forms bubbles and dries out on the sides.
- Flip the pancake to the other side and cook for an extra minute.
- Repeat until all pancakes are cooked.
- Serve warm as a pancake stack with butter and maple syrup.
Storage and freezing
- Store leftover pancakes in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze them for up to 1 month in zip-lock bags. Make sure you add a piece of parchment paper between each pancake before freezing, or they stick to each other. Thaw in the fridge the day before.
Notes
Want My Kitchen Equipment?
About The Author
Hi, I'm Carine, the food blogger, author, recipe developer, published author of a cookbook and many ebooks, and founder of Sweet As Honey.
I have an Accredited Certificate in Nutrition and Wellness obtained in 2014 from Well College Global (formerly Cadence Health). I'm passionate about sharing all my easy and tasty recipes that are both delicious and healthy. My expertise in the field comes from my background in chemistry and years of following a keto low-carb diet. But I'm also well versed in vegetarian and vegan cooking since my husband is vegan.
I now eat a more balanced diet where I alternate between keto and a Mediterranean Diet
Cooking and Baking is my true passion. In fact, I only share a small portion of my recipes on Sweet As Honey. Most of them are eaten by my husband and my two kids before I have time to take any pictures!
All my recipes are at least triple tested to make sure they work and I take pride in keeping them as accurate as possible.
Browse all my recipes with my Recipe Index.
I hope that you too find the recipes you love on Sweet As Honey!
Posted In:
Disclaimer
The recipes, instructions, and articles on this website should not be taken or used as medical advice. The nutritional data provided on Sweetashoney is to be used as indicative only. The nutrition data is calculated using WP Recipe Maker. Net Carbs is calculated by removing the fiber and some sweeteners from the total Carbohydrates.
You should always calculate the nutritional data yourself instead of relying on Sweetashoney's data. Sweetashoney and its recipes and articles are not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose, or treat any disease. Sweetashoney cannot be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or advice found on the Website.
Share this post!
If you enjoyed this post, share it with your close ones!
Leave a comment
5 STAR RECIPE!! I can’t say enough good about this recipe. I did add 2 tablespoons of honey to sweeten.LEmon juice worked just fine instead of vinegar. Next time I will double the recipe and freeze some!
Thanks, this is the best pancake recipe by far, I agree with the other comments
These are the best, best, best, best pancakes!!!!
I make these almost every week end, so I felt like I had to let you know :):)
I’ve tried the dairy-free version for a DF family member and it was still delicious!