Both of these Nut Free and Paleo Pancakes are big, soft, tender, and fluffy. One is made with coconut flour and one is made with cassava and coconut flour.
I have been obsessed with making paleo pancakes lately. I’ve been making them every single Sunday morning for the past 4 or so months trying to perfect my recipe. But I have not only 1 recipe, but TWO for you today- YAY! Both of these nut free and paleo pancakes are big, fluffy, soft, and absolutely delicious. One is made with coconut flour and one with coconut and cassava flour. Have you heard of cassava flour? It seems to be the upcoming Paleo craze, so I’m going to get sidetracked a bit and review cassava flour – if you’re not interested just skip to the last subheading 🙂
cassava flour
I had never heard of cassava flour until I recently started seeing it pop up in some Paleo recipes so I decided to do some research. And after reading up on it, it almost sounded too good to be true. They claim that it can be used as a 1:1 replacement for wheat flour, is Paleo, nut free, and AIP compliant – WWHHAAT!?!
Ottos Cassava Flour
I had to try this out for myself, so I decided to buy some. I went ahead and bought some from Otto’ s Naturals, because they claim that they make their flour differently than other brands and theirs isn’t gritty and doesn’t have a strong taste, even though it was $18 for a 2 Lb bag! But if their claims are accurate, I can justify spending the money. Plus, they now sell it at my local health food store so I don’t have to pay shipping – YAY!
So you might be wondering, “Is it all it’s cracked up to be?” Well — yes and no. Yes because I really like the flour and I think it’s a great Paleo option, and no because I don’t think all their claims are accurate. Let me explain. When I first got it I couldn’t help but notice that it had the look, texture, and feel of regular flour, that was a plus. But how would it taste, and can it be used just like wheat flour as a 1:1 replacement? While it does taste like regular flour, the taste is noticeably stronger. It’s not necessarily bad, just stronger and noticeable. And what about using it just like wheat flour?
can it be used as a 1:1 replacement for wheat flour?
In most of the recipes that I tested I had to add additional liquid because it was really absorbent! Then I found out that you can only use the cassava flour as a 1:1 substitute if you are talking in terms of weight, and I usually only cook by volume. When measuring by volume – the way I usually do – there can be a significant weight difference since cassava weighs more than wheat. 1 Cup of wheat flour weighs around 120 grams and 1 C of cassava flour weighs around 140 grams. When converting a recipe I like to start with 3/4 C of cassava per cup of wheat and go from there.
Also, since cassava doesn’t have gluten it doesn’t have the same stretch as wheat flour. For that reason, I like to add either coconut or tapioca to the recipe to give it some stretch and softness and sometimes even ground flaxseed to help give it a “bready” flavor and add even more stretch, depending on what I’m making.
But with that being said, I would still give the flour an ‘A’ because I think it could be used to create some fantastic recipes! And even though it might not work as an exact substitute for regular flour in every instance, it’s pretty close and still easy to use.
Now with that out of the way, back to pancakes!!!!
These paleo pancakes taste like something you would get at a good pancake house or small town diner. They are big, soft, fluffy, and taste amazing. The only problem is deciding which recipe is my favorite and which one to make next. What about you? Have you tried cassava flour? Which pancake recipe do you like best?
*Note on cassava flour pancakes as of 3/17:
Cassava flour seems to be very effected by the weather, the way it’s measured, the brand, etc, so I’ve update the recipe to include coconut flour to ensure a perfect, fluffy pancake every time. Then, just use milk as needed to thin it out to a good pancake consistency. The amount of milk needed varies greatly from person to person.
Looking for more breakfast recipes? Check out my Paleo Waffles, Paleo Biscuits, Paleo Crepes from Elana’s Pantry, and my new Keto Breads Cookbook
Pancakes - Paleo & Nut Free
For grain free baking powder, mix together 1 part baking soda with 2 parts cream of tartar and 2 parts starch (tapioca, potato, or arrowroot).
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Ingredients
Coconut Flour Pancakes:
- oil for greasing pan
- 4 large eggs large
- 3 Tbsp coconut oil melted
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 3 T honey
- 1/4 C tapioca flour
- 1/3 C + 1 Tbsp. coconut flour
- 1/4 C non-dairy milk
- 1/4 tsp. distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. grain free baking powder*
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
Cassava Flour Pancakes:
- oil for greasing pan
- 1 Cup cassava flour stir before measuring
- 1/4 Cup coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp. grain free baking powder*
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 2 Tbsp. honey
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 Cup + 1 Tbsp. Non-Dairy Milk + more as needed (see notes below)
- 1 tsp apple cider or white vinegar
- 3 Tbsp. coconut oil melted
Instructions
Instructions for both pancakes:
- Heat a griddle or pan over medium-low heat.
- Melt the coconut oil and set aside.
- Mix the non-dairy milk with vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- In another bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients (including the milk mixture) except the coconut oil, so it doesn't solidify.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, then stir in the coconut oil. Batter should not be lumpy and will be thick but creamy. If batter is too thick, add additional non-dairy milk 1 Tbsp. at a time until desired consistency. Batter tends to thicken over time as the flour absorbs the milk.
- Add about 1/2 - 1 tsp. of oil and swirl around pan until it melts to grease pan.
- Pour 1/4 C of batter into the preheated skillet and slightly spread out the batter with the back of a spoon so it's not too thick. Cook until the edges look dry and the bottom is a nice golden brown.
- Flip and cook until cooked through. Set aside and repeat with remaining pancakes.
Notes
Nutritional information is approximate and may vary.
Pin Paleo & Nut Free Pancakes For Later:
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Really good. In fact, I forgot to put the coconut oil in my first batch and they still turned out great. Obviously the batter was too thick so I just kept adding water & coconut milk until I was happy with it. I used coconut milk for the liquid part and coconut syrup instead of honey. I also added a few blueberries just before the first flip. Leftover pancakes are awesome with a little cheese melted on top as well, for those of us who can tolerate dairy.
Just made these and they were excellent! I added blueberries because I have been craving blueberry pancakes. I also added 4 tbls of collagen peptides to give it some protein. That way the cassava won’t raise my blood sugar as fast (a draw back of cassava). Think I’ll try to used a gelatin egg for an AIP recipe next time.
I have tried many healthy recipes for pancakes and my goodness these are some tasty pankcakes. I do keto so I cooked them woth bacon grease and made a butter honey sryup. The pancakes alone are right there with the King Arthur gulten free pancakes. Thank you for taking tje time to share with is this lovely recipe. I have never ate pancakes that were gulit free until recently!
Cassava pancakes came out great. In fact, they were the best tasting gf or any gluten pancakes i’ve ever had. They were firm and tender at the same time and held together nicely. Used Bob’s Red Mill cassava flour. Like others, had to keep adding almond milk which amounted to about 1.5 cups. Also added raisins to the batter.
The cassava flour pancakes were quite tasty, but like Tim, I had to keep adding almond milk to get it so a consistency that I could spread on the skillet – it never got to a “batter” consistency and I probably added 2 cups of the almond mild (I didn’t measure, but used significantly more than half of a bottle of Malk (our favorite almond milk). Next time I will try half the coconut flour, and probably about 3/4 cup cassava. I’ll see how much liquid it takes for that.
Great pancakes the recipe needs to be adjusted the recommended 1/3 cup of coconut milk wasn’t close. I used about 1 & 1/3 cups of various milks including ccoconut, almond, walnut and hazelnut . It was one of those whatever I had, lol! But it worked. Added blueberries and had a nice Sunday morning breakfast
These are the only paleo pancakes I’ve made so far that taste like real pancakes! Highly recommend. I made the cassava flour recipe but swapped the coconut flour for tapioca flour (because that’s what I had). It still turned out great!
Thanks Anne, I’m so excited you liked them!!! And thanks for letting me know tapioca flour works in place of the coconut flour 🙂
-Cassidy
[…] pre-mixed all the dry ingredients for Coconut Flour Pancakes and Ranger Breakfast Cookies {Paleo & Nut Free} to make at the room. For the […]
[…] used cassava flour which is quickly becoming my new favorite flour! I did a full review of it in my pancake post, but in short, it has a similar taste and texture of wheat flour and is a good 1:1 substitute when […]
My first time making baking powder, and using about half the ingredients listed. But delicious! I had to add triple the amount of liquid given to get the right consistency. I also used ghee, which made them extra buttery tasting., although I did use refined coconut oil for the fry pan. I want to try thinning it out even more, adding more eggs, and making crepes. I like my graininess & nuttiness in pancakes, so next time I’ll substitute ground flaxseed for some of the cassava four, and wondering what it might be like to use sunbutter or tahini for part of the liquid.
Hi Cassidy, I’m looking forward to trying your Cassava Flour Pancakes and am wondering if the vinegar is necessary, or if there’s a substitute for it? What does the vinegar do? I don’t seem to tolerate vinegars. Thanks so much for your feedback!
Hi Amneily! The vinegar reacts with the baking soda to help the pancakes rise, but since there’s also baking powder they should still rise at least a little bit. Or you could use apple cider vinegar or lemon juice as a substitute if you prefer 🙂 Hope that helps!!!
-Cassidy
Love this recipe – have made it multiple times for myself (Paleo) and another who cannot eat solids for a while. Cooked slowly while not developing a crust, it literally melts in the mouth and is perfect conduit for butter, maple syrup, etc.; I cook mine a bit longer on low heat also, for a more usual pancake texture. Delicious, and what I love about pancakes.
We love these! Thank you!
Hi Cassidy, I have only been gluten free for about 6 months so am still learning.
I love it that you combine different flours. My granddaughter and I made pancakes
using coconut flour and they were delicious but hard to flip. So I can’t wait to try your recipe !
Thanks for such a great choice of baked item recipes !
Oh, and also, do you think you can sub sorghum flour for some of the almond flour ?
Thanks Cathi! Sorghum flour and almond flour are quite different so I don’t think it work as a 1:1 replacement. When using almond flour I usually add more than other flours and have to decrease the oil because almond flour has a higher fat content than other flours. I’m sure you substitute sorghum flour with a little tweaking though 🙂 Hope that helps!!!
-Cassidy
I’m making another batch right now.
These are wonderful (cassava four selection); I find cooking them at a lower heat setting allows the center to cook and still have a nice texture on the outside. Keeping them warm in a 200 degrees F also helps. I’ve made them several times and never disappointed. My non-paleo husband also loves them. Thanks for an awesome recipe.l
Thank you for the nice comment – and thanks for the tips 🙂
XO,
Cassidy
I made these pancakes today with butter instead of coconut oil. The temp seemed low because it would take me 10 minutes to get one done on medium-low temp, so I turned it up to medium-high and it worked better. However, the pancakes would get crispy and brown on the outside but the inside would not finish cooking. I tried turning it back to medium-low, and that didn’t work either. I also tried thinning the batter more. My pancakes ended up like crackers on the outside and wet inside, and I COULD NOT get them to cook well. I loved the taste and they went well with a little honey, but I wanted light, fluffy pancakes and I’m sad they didn’t work out. :~(
I’m so sorry these didn’t cook well 🙁 Unfortunately this could be due to a lot of factors including the humidity, altitude, or the brand of coconut flour – as some absorb more liquid than others. Next time if they aren’t cooking through add additional flour because that means that the flour isn’t absorbing enough liquid. So sorry!!!!
These were fantastic! I used almond milk, maple syrup and apple cider vinegar. Heavenly!