These healthy oatmeal pancakes are made with whole grain oats and buttermilk 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 surprising well as the base in this recipe.
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 3/4 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 oat pancake 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 swap the buttermilk for 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!
Enjoy these other all oat flour recipes
Healthier Blueberry Blender Muffins
Skillet Ginger Peach Crisp for Two
Buttermilk Oat Flour Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups old fashioned oats (ground into flour)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon or more
- splash vanilla extract
- butter for cooking the pancakes
Instructions
- Stir the ground oats with the buttermilk. 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
Marisa