These healthy oatmeal pancakes are made with whole grain oats for a hearty, and delicious gluten-free breakfast. These oat flour pancakes don’t have any regular flour and take just 15 minutes to make from start to finish!
Pancakes are made for slow Sunday mornings. And these easy oat flour pancakes are a delicious way to switch up your oatmeal routine.
The key ingredient is oats. You can make these using whole oats and flour. But, using oat flour works surprisingly well as the base in this recipe.
Ingredients
Oats or oat flour
Eggs
Milk or plant milk
Baking powder
Cinnamon
Vanilla extract
Butter
Maple syrup and other toppings
If you want to make vegan oat pancakes, you’ll need to substitute ground flax or chia for the egg and swap in plant-based milk.
Tips for making homemade oat flour
Though you can buy oat flour at most supermarkets these days, I prefer to make my own. It’s cheaper and I always have oats in the pantry.
To make oat flour, start with a clean, dry blender. Add old fashioned (or traditional) oats and blend for a few seconds until the oats turn into a powdery flour as shown in the photo above.
NOTE: The oat flour yield will depend on how long you blend the oats and whether you get a coarse or fine grind. I generally get about ¾ cup oat flour per cup rolled oats.
How to make oat flour pancakes
To make these no-flour pancakes, you’ll need old fashioned oats, an egg, baking powder, milk, cinnamon, and a little vanilla extract.
The recipe comes together quickly. I used cinnamon to add flavor. Some recipes use a little sugar. I didn’t add it but you can feel free to do so if you prefer a sweeter base pancake.
The key to making these pancakes light and fluffy is time. Add the milk to the oat flour and let it sit for at least 10 minutes. If you’ll soak the oats longer than that, wait to add the baking powder until right before you’re ready to cook the pancakes.
After just 10 minutes, you’ll have a smooth pancake batter.
Buttermilk adds extra flavor and tenderness to the pancakes. But if you don’t have buttermilk, you can use regular milk or your favorite non-dairy milk.
This recipe makes about six 4-inch pancakes. I have honestly eaten three at once so see it as a hearty breakfast for two. You can stretch it out with just a couple of pancakes per person though and add breakfast sausage or other side items to complete the meal.
Make this recipe work for you
- Top your flourless pancakes with whatever you like. I like to add butter, fresh fruit, and syrup or a fresh fruit puree.
- To make vegan oat pancakes, simply use your favorite plant-based milk. Instead of the egg, add two tablespoons of ground flaxseed.
- If you’re looking to eat more protein at breakfast, I like this protein oatmeal pancake recipe from Pinch of Yum.
At the holidays, add a few more ingredients to make my gluten-free Gingerbread Oatmeal Pancakes!
Or make these Carrot Cake Oatmeal Pancakes for Easter – or anyday!
Enjoy these other oat flour recipes
Healthier Blueberry Blender Muffins
Skillet Ginger Peach Crisp for Two
Healthy Oat Flour Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups old fashioned oats (ground into flour)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon or more
- splash vanilla extract
- butter for cooking the pancakes
Instructions
- Stir the ground oats with the milk. Let sit 10 minutes to let the mixture thicken.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients.
- Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium, until small drops of water sizzle and evaporate within a few seconds. Swirl butter until it melts but doesn't brown.
- Drop two tablespoons of pancake batter onto the griddle. Cook pancakes – 3 at a time- in the hot pan until small bubbles form on the top. Flip once. The pancakes should be golden brown. Serve with butter, whipped cream and fruit or maple syrup. Enjoy!
Notes
- Don’t grind the oat flour too much. When making your own oat flour, it’s easy to make the flour too fine or to take it so far that it starts to get gummy. You’ll only need to blend the oats for a few seconds to get a light, flour-like texture.
- Let the oats soak in the milk for at least 10 minutes. This simple step will produce more fluffy pancakes.
- Use buttermilk if you have it. Buttermilk adds extra flavor and tenderness to the pancakes. But if you don’t have buttermilk, you can use regular milk or your favorite non-dairy milk.
Rick Jonie
I can’t wait to try this recipe out, but I do have one question. Do you think it would ruin the taste if I included some workout supplements into the mix? I trust your opinion which is why i’m asking you.
Marisa
Hi Rick. I haven’t tested it so I don’t know. You could maybe try 2 scoops per batch. I wouldn’t do more than 1/4 cup at a time without other changes. Let us know if you try it.
Andrea
I’m making them right now. I Noticed the proportions makes the batter much thicker than what I’m used to, But I think this is a good thing because many of the recipes are very runny and I have add extra flour to get the right consistency. But they’re coming out too thick and almost hard. I need to add more buttermilk. Could the problem be that I used an oatflour I bought already ground? Maybe it’s too fine.
Marisa
Hi Andrea, THanks for the question. This batter is a bit thicker especially the longer it sits but I haven’t experienced what you describe.
Regarding packaged oat flour… it is possible as the measures can be thrown off with a finer flour. Were you able to add a bit more milk to get the right consistency?
Jan T
I had the same problem although I used old fashioned oats I ground in the blender. A “bit” thicker” comes nowhere near the really thick batter I ended up with- I had to push it off of the spoon. It was so sticky and thick I couldn’t even spread it with a knife when it was in the pan. My oat flour was rather coarse, with half-cut oats and a coarse meal in a one-to-one ratio. The first cakes were only 2.5″ across and were like moist firm cookies. I ended up adding at least a 1/2 cup more buttermilk to get something resembling the batter that looked pourable in the pourable. Once I added the extra it went very well and the pancakes were very good. So I’m still giving it 5 stars. I would just recommend adding more buttermilk as needed to make a batter. Once we tasted them I added about 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar to bring out the nutty taste. We’ll make them again!
Jasmin Turner
I made these and they were great, but I ended up with 12 pancakes no idea how I managed it, but hoping the calorie count was the same!
Libby
These were perfect for Sunday morning! And thanks for the courage to make them in my cast iron! Crispy edges and all- they were delicious!
Marisa
So glad you enjoyed them! And that this recipe pushed you to pull out the cast iron. Makes a huge difference!
Erin
Thanks so much for the tip about letting the oat flour have time to soak up the milk. I’ve never been happy with the texture of oatmeal pancakes until now. So pleased!!!
Tina
This was awesome- is awesome. I used it to make waffles and it was, must I say it again, awesome. I think it made around 6 mini waffles.
Ashley
I’ll have use this for waffles, great idea!! Were the waffles crispy?
anna
amazing ! tastes great and filling.
Sarah
Can the batter be frozen? Or can the pancakes be frozen? I made too much batter and I don’t want it to go to waste!
Love the recipe 🙂
Marisa
I would cook then freeze the pancakes! Be sure to let them cool completely before freezing and for good measure you can even add parchment or wax paper in between to keep them from sticking together.
Cynthia
Made these today. I needed extra buttermilk to have the batter thin enough and I added about a teaspoon of the Splenda sugar blend to sweeten the batter a bit. I sprinkled blueberries in on the pancakes when I flipped them and served them with a little maple syrup. They tested great! I really like the cinnamon in the batter. Yummy!
Marisa
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! And thanks for the reminder. I need to add a note because buttermilk viscosity varies a lot and may affect the consistency for sure.
Isha
Sooo delicious!!! Topped mine with some fruit and maple syrup- it also made the perfect quantity!
Marisa
So glad you enjoyed them, Isha! They are easier than regular pancakes to me and I just love that I’m getting oats in pancake form!
Isha
Just made these pancakes and they were so delicious- love this recipe!!
Caro-Lee
I love this recipe! I tried it this morning and it worked so well with bacon and eggs. Later today, we had the leftovers with a little bit of peanut butter and honey. I love that I’m eating oats in a different form and enjoying pancakes (because I LOVE pancakes) in a healthy way. Thanks Marisa!
Marisa
So happy to hear it! And I love the leftovers with the PB & Honey. I’m definitely doing that next time!
Christa DeVo
Great recipe! I used it to make waffles. I added pumpkin spice and olive oil to the mix! Turned out great. Thanks!
Fabi
How many pancakes does this make/how many pancakes is 1 serving? Is 313 calories for both servings or just 1?
Marisa
The calorie count is per serving. I set that at 2 servings for the recipe. I typically get about 6 small pancakes total from the recipe. You can make your pancakes larger – so the number depends upon how you dole out the batter.
Steph
I love this recipe! Unfortunately today I didn’t have milk so I used water, thinking it would work. Sadly it didn’t. Plain pieces of oatmeal flour is what I ended up with. 🙁
Traci
Does this taste very similar to a regular pancake? Have a very picky toddler and I’m hoping he’ll make the switch! Trying to get us both eating more healthy:)
Marisa
Hi Traci! While the shape may entice him to try, these are not as fluffy as a regular pancake. They definitely taste like oats not regular flour 🙂 But if he likes plain cheerios… maybe he’ll also like these?
Lisa
Beautiful, GF & easy. everyone loved them
Tim
I too found this batter to be very thick and did not brown up like the picture. Taste was ok. Better than using buckwheat.
Aidan
These were pretty good, but haven’t solved the issue of oat flour pancakes being too dense. Maybe it comes with the territory of oat flour. After letting the oats and milk sit for 10 minutes, the batter was very thick. I had to mix in 1/2 cup of water at the end for easier pouring. I also added a pinch of salt to the batter too.
Sarah
These are the only pancakes I make now. I usually add chia seeds for extra protein, sometimes also flax. I also usually add cooked apples. I have added peanut butter and chocolate chips too, which both turned out well. You can also make them with plain yogurt if you don’t have milk. Or any milk alternative. I think the recipe is super versatile (obviously) and healthier than your standard pancakes. And oat flour is so easy to make and cheaper than other flour alternatives, so another plus.
I make these every week!
STANLEY CARTER
Turned out great! I added 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 cup maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg and a little coconut oil! dropped blueberries in the batter on the skillet, Thank you for the recipe! I have to stay away from wheat and got a huge bag of oat flour! Turned out amazing!
Vanezza
I’m loving it! It’s better tasting than the Bob’s Mill whole wheat flour. I recently searched that whole wheat is FAT. I substituted the egg for 2 tbsp of flax seed meal and it’s so yummy in the tummy! Thank you so very for the recipe.
Marisa
Glad you enjoyed the recipe, Vanezza! Though just for clarity, whole wheat flour doesn’t contain a significant amount of fat.
Katie
I tired these out and they turned out super dense. Not sure if I did something wrong or what. Not fluffy pancakes.
deb
Surprisingly tasty and light! The later cakes were the lightest, which makes me think that letting them sit again after adding the egg, etc. might be a good idea? Thank you so much for this!
Jamie
Excellent recipe!!
Irma
This is a great healthy pancakes base recipe! I cut a little on the cinnamon and added ginger powder, and they came out delicious! I have to point out that, as other people, the mix came out too thick after the 10 min wait, but I added a little more milk and voila! I cannot wait to tweak it a little adding fruits and other healthy ingredients to the mix! Thank you for sharing!!!
Ashley George
I have made these twice already! These pancakes are delicious, easy, and guilt free. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Eve
Hi, I haven’t tried this yet but I am going to tomorrow. Can you convert the measurements to ml and grams please? And also, is 313 calories per pancake? Even if they are made smaller? Please and thanks
Marisa
Hi. The metric conversions are 120 grams oats and 236 ml milk.
Bridget
Texture was not good and had no taste.
Marisa
Sorry to hear these didn’t work for you, Bridget.
donna friedman
YUMMMM. Made these into waffles and LOVED them
Joanna
Excellent. Slight changes: I used store bought oat flour 1 cup and half a cup of plain white flour. I used whole milk and a flax egg. I added a pinch of salt and tripled the amount of baking powder (they were fluffy) and I added a tablespoon of coconut sugar to the batter too. Served with butter and maple syrup and they were very much as delicious and almost as fluffy as regular pancakes.
Crystal
These were delicious.
I did alter the recipe. I added some plain greek yogurt, baking soda, chocolate protein powder and chocolate PB & Me.
So good and filling
Mary
These are great, definitely not typical pancake but a lot healthier. Kids ate them too! I’d add a half tsp of salt to give some flavor and bring out the natural sweetness.
Sandy
I made these for breakfast for the two of us. I cook from scratch daily and am retired. I used my VitaMix blender to drop from top 1/4 cup at a time the old fashioned oatmeal. In a 4 cup glass measuring cup, I added 1/2 c pecan flour, 1 beaten egg, much more cinnamon and 1 1/2 c. Oatmeal creamer in place of milk. Let it sit after all mixed for 20 min. Added vanilla paste and 1.5 T sugar. Then, realized it needed more liquid to make pancakes. I added 1/2 c. 2% milk and 2 T. buttermilk pancake mix. It was Perfect with lots of flavor. Topped with homemade blueberry syrup.
Jennifer
You don’t have to make the oatmeal into flour. They cook up great and taste great as is. Now if you are looking for a pancake consistency, grind them.
Sally
I enjoyed these. I took hints from others and added more cinnamon and a pinch of salt. I also made them in the blender, worked great 🙂
Ingrid
Delicious!