Just another dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, free-this, free-that pancake recipe? Hardly! These light and airy pancakes are the perfect base for fresh berries or a berry compote and are anything but the ordinary. A family favorite in our home, these get requested for Saturday morning breakfast, but could easily be whipped up the night before and cooked on the griddle in 10 minutes time on a school morning.
What we Love about Almond Flour Berry Pancakes
We love how light these almond flour berry pancakes are, and the subtle vanilla and almond flavor that pairs so well with berries and maple syrup. The pancakes are not overly sweet and won’t spike your blood sugar first thing in the morning. In fact, the coconut sugar is lower on the glycemic index than refined sugar, making it a healthier choice to start the day with. Almond flour is also naturally sweeter than traditional flour, and once you add the berry topping and a drizzle of maple syrup, they are just as sweet as you’d expect from pancakes.
I like using almond flour because it’s lower in carbohydrates than traditional flour, much less processed and higher in nutrients and minerals like protein, vitamin E, healthy fats, manganese, magnesium, copper and phosphorous. Almond flour is simply blanched almonds with skins removed, ground into a flour, whereas traditional flour is heavily processed and refined, stripping the nutrients from the wheat. Traditional flour is then left with hardly any fiber or fats, and causes your blood sugar to spike. I consider traditional flour to be empty calories, meaning the calories aren’t providing much nutritionally, and are therefore a waste to consume.
Almond flour has a low glycemic index and is also supposed to help lower bad cholesterol and keeps blood sugar in check, making it a better choice for everyone but particularly for those suffering from type 2 diabetes.
I also love that this a breakfast without any animal products in it. So often, breakfast is made with animal milks and eggs, that it’s healthy to go vegan every now and then and choose plant-based instead. It’s scientifically proven that the more animal foods we consume, the higher our risk is for heart disease, diabetes and strokes. Processed breakfast meats like sausage and bacon, are particularly unhealthy to eat because they metabolize as toxins in our bodies. In fact, did you know that the World Health Organization (WHO) has determined that processed meats are carcinogenic? This means, they have been proven to be a major contributor to cancer based on sufficient evidence in studies. Consuming a few strips of bacon daily, actually increases your cancer risk by 18 percent! Perhaps you are choosing organic or grass-fed bacon or sausage, in an effort to be healthier. This is definitely a great way to avoid hormones, antibiotics and pesticides, but it doesn’t make your bacon or sausage any less processed. The process of salting, curing, fermentation and smoking are what classify these meats as processed, and are what make them so unhealthy to consume, per WHO data.
You don’t need to give up meat completely, but making an effort to eat plant-based more often, makes a significant difference in your overall health! Why not switch things up, and mix this vegan pancake recipe into your weekend breakfast rotation?
How to Make Almond Flour Berry Pancakes
These pancakes are egg-free and dairy-free, making them completely vegan. They are absolutely delicious this way, and you won’t miss the eggs or dairy one bit in the flavor! However, if you are a traditionalist, this recipe works just as well with substitutions:
2 flax eggs = 2 regular eggs
1 c coconut milk + 1/4 water = 1 1/4 c yogurt
The recipe for Almond Flour Berry Pancakes is pretty self-explanatory. I like to make the flax eggs first, so the mixture can sit and thicken while I prep the rest of my ingredients. I combine the ground flax seed and water in a small bowl and just let it rest off to the side. Next, I mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, and the wet ingredients in a small bowl so that when I combine them together, it takes minimal stirring. I want to note that the coconut milk I use in cooking, is the culinary variety. I like the full fat coconut milk and I simply stir it well before I add it to a recipe. Coconut milk adds more healthy fats and is nice and thick, but I cut it with some water so we don’t overdo the fat content in the overall recipe. Alternatively, you could use 1/2 c of coconut cream (even thicker than coconut milk), and 3/4 c of water.
When it comes to the fruit, use whatever you have on hand! It’s summer, so I’m all about using fresh, organic berries while they are at their peak flavor, but frozen organic berries work just as well. Another idea is to mix half of the berries right into your batter, reserving the other half as toppings.
Almond Flour Berry Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 c almond flour
- 1/4 c coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 c coconut milk, culinary
- 1/4 c water
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2 flax eggs: 2 tbsp ground flax seed + 5 tbsp water allow to rest for 10 minutes prior to using
- 1 c fresh berries
Instructions
- Make the 2 flax eggs and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and whisk.
- Combine all of the wet ingredients, including the 2 flax eggs, in a small mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly.
- Pour the wet ingredients onto the dry ingredients in the medium mixing bowl and stir gently just until combined.
- Set a griddle on 300 degrees, or warm a skillet over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
- Grease the griddle or skillet with 1/2 tsp coconut oil before cooking each batch of pancakes.
- Using a 1/4 c measuring cup, scoop batter onto hot surface and flip carefully once edges begin to set.
- Top with berries and maple syrup!
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