Healthy Vegan Apple Pancakes

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My gluten-free and healthy vegan apple pancakes are the perfect weekend treat, with a sweet, fluffy texture, and ready in just 30 minutes. I make them with gluten-free flour, apple juice, warm spices, and a fresh apple compote that everyone will love.

Come fall, our family tradition is to visit an orchard, pick apples, and enjoy warm apple cider with homemade vegan apple crisp or apple pie. While at the orchard, I had the pleasure of tasting their apple cider donuts, which were AMAZING, so I hurried back home to recreate those classic fall flavors in the form of this healthy apple pancake recipe.

I use the same fall spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger, to make a light batter with apple juice and gluten-free flour and top them with a sweet apple compote. The combination tastes just like those apple cider donuts and pairs perfectly with my apple carrot smoothie for a healthy breakfast or brunch.

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🥘 Ingredients

My gluten-free apple pancakes require wholesome ingredients that I usually have in my pantry. Here is what I use:

For The Vegan Apple Pancakes Recipe

Flax Seeds and Water: To make an egg substitute, I combine ground flax seeds with water to form a flax egg. It provides structure for this eggless apple pancake recipe, just like an egg would. Ground chia seeds are a good option too. If using ground chia seeds, reduce the amount to 1 tablespoon.

Gluten-Free Flour: For best results, I use an all-purpose gluten-free flour that contains xanthan gum. My favorite brand is Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 All-Purpose Flour for its superb taste and texture. It also happens to be healthier than white flour. If you’re not gluten-free, replace it with white whole wheat flour, spelt flour, or all-purpose flour.

Baking Powder: Baking powder is essential for a fluffy texture! It helps the batter rise as it sits and then again once it hits the hot skillet.

Coconut Oil: I use coconut oil to keep the pancakes tender and moist. Vegetable oil or vegan unsalted butter works too!

Brown Sugar: For this recipe, I use brown sugar to add sweetness and a slight chew to the pancakes! White sugar or coconut sugar are great options too. You can also omit this for even healthier apple pancakes with no added sugar.

Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves provide warmth and spice to these fluffy pancakes! Sometimes I substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons of apple pie spice for the individual spices for convenience.

Vanilla Extract: I only use a touch of vanilla. But it makes the other ingredients shine!

Unsweetened Apple Juice: To give the pancakes a natural sweetness and apple flavor, I use unsweetened apple juice. In the fall, apple cider will do the trick!

Soy Milk: Any non-dairy milk is a great option. I prefer soy or almond milk, but oat milk works too! To make vegan buttermilk, add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to the soy milk. If you’re not vegan, whole milk can be used.

For The Cinnamon Apple Topping

Fuji Apple: I prefer Fuji because they are the most delicious apples, but other types, like Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or Granny Smith, will work too.

Maple Syrup: To give the compote a natural sweetness, I use maple syrup. White or brown sugar works too.

Unsweetened Apple Juice: I use apple juice to make the apples soft while cooking,

Vanilla and Cinnamon: For that something extra, I add a touch of cinnamon and vanilla to take this compote up a notch.

🔪 How To Make

To make vegan gluten-free apple pancakes, just follow my step-by-step instructions below!

Make the Flax Egg: First, I combine the ground flax and water, and let it sit for 10 minutes to thicken.

Sift the Flour: Then, I sift flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl.

Combine Ingredients: In another medium bowl, I combine the coconut oil, brown sugar, spices, vanilla, apple juice, and soy milk.

Mix Together: Next, I pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients along with the flax egg, and whisk until the mixture resembles pancake batter. Then let it rest for 5 minutes.

Make the Topping: For the compote, I add the compote ingredients to a small pot over medium-high heat and stir until the crisp apple mixture softens.

Cook Pancakes: To make the pancakes, I heat a large skillet over medium heat and lightly spray the pan with cooking spray or olive oil or drizzle in some vegetable oil. I scoop 1/4 cup of the batter onto the hot griddle / skillet and cook until small bubbles appear, then flip and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes. Repeat until all the batter is gone.

Serve Pancakes: To finish, I top the hot pancakes with the sweet apple topping and a drizzle of maple syrup. Enjoy!

📖 Variations

Being a creative cook, I always like to try different variations of my recipes, and these are some of my favorites for this healthy apple pancake recipe.

Oat Pancakes: For an oaty texture, I substitute 1/4 cup of the gluten-free flour with oat flour and stir in 3/4 cup of grated apples to make these apple oatmeal pancakes even better.

Banana Flavor: I replace 1/4 cup of the apple juice with 1/4 cup of mashed banana and top with diced banana in addition to the apple compote.

Make it with Blueberry: For a boost of antioxidants and color, I add 1/2 cup blueberries to the apple topping mixture, cooking down until it thickens, and then top with additional fresh blueberries! I also drop some blueberries into the pancake batter while it cooks.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

This eggless apple pancake recipe tastes delicious topped with apple compote, but one thing I like to do with pancakes is serve them with extra toppings so everyone can choose any combination of toppings they like. Here are some of my favorite options to serve with apple pancakes:

What’s an apple dessert without a generous drizzle of vegan caramel sauce? It’s such a simple caramel sauce to make, and it takes me just 15 minutes using 5 pantry ingredients that will add a luscious sweet flavor to the pancakes. Vegan honey is also another favorite I make for drizzling over waffles, pancakes, and toast. What’s great about this vegan honey is that I make it with apples and 4 other ingredients, so I can prepare 3 recipes with one bag of apples.

My kids, on the other hand, prefer to eat their pancakes smothered in vegan whipped cream with a healthy drizzle of caramel. Once you try this vegan whipped cream, you’ll be making it again and again! It’s so creamy and delicious. Another house favorite sauce is this silky, smooth homemade vegan chocolate sauce I make with 5 ingredients, which I guarantee you already have in the pantry. Two of them are water and salt.

🧊 Storage Directions

Refrigeration: To chill any leftover pancakes, I simply transfer them to an airtight container and pop them in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Freezing: When I want to store them longer, I wrap each pancake in plastic wrap and stack them in a freezer container or a freezer bag. They freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Reheating: I think the toaster is the best way to reheat these apple pancakes. The skillet over medium heat is another option, and also for 30 second in the microwave.

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