Who said that you can't have some decent vegan pancakes? These Vegan "Buttermilk" Pancakes are so good and fluffy, you would never know they are plant-based.
I love a good pancake. In fact I have always made pancakes, even when they weren't really a big thing in Italy. I remember being exposed to pancakes when I purchased a cookbook by the Italian-based American food blogger Un' Americana in Cucina. She was the one that taught me that I could make buttermilk pancakes even without buttermilk (YES!), by simply swapping yogurt and milk to the original recipe. It worked a treat, and pancakes became a Sunday morning favourite in my household.
Since then, I have developed my own pancake recipe off the back of that first, amazing recipe. And I have been experimenting too: I had ricotta pancakes, some healthy banana and oat pancakes, lemony blueberry pancakes and even a disastrous attempt at peach pancakes. So it was only natural that I would have a go at making some vegan pancakes. In fact, they were actually long overdue.
You guys know that I LOVE experimenting with vegan alternatives. In a way, I love the challenge. I like to make vegan food that tastes as good if not even better than their non plant-based counterpart. Sometimes I like make food which is just plant-based and hasn't really got a meat or dairy alternative to be compared with. I just like the taste. Plus it's better for us, for the environment and for the animal. All in all, it's a win win situation.
So Vegan Buttermilk Pancakes were definitely on the list. I decided that I would use my own ratio to substitute buttermilk (the one that I use when making my everyday American-style pancakes) with vegan yogurt and milk. And then use vegan butter, of course. And the result? Completely undistinguishable from my buttermilk pancakes. My boyfriend even said that, had I not told him I was making vegan pancakes, he would have never been able to tell. They were mind blowing!
So many times, I find that people make vegan food with the mindset of making something very healthy, possibly refined-sugar free and gluent-free. That's great, it really is. But I also love to focus on taste. And I firmly believe that we could all use some indulgence from time to time. These pancakes are just that. Yes, they are vegan. But they are not automatically healthier. They still use a good helping of fats, But they taste perfect, and everyone will be able to enjoy them. That's goals right there.
Now, I know we are all in lockdown still and some products might be difficult to find. So here are some substitutions for the trickier bits.
Soy yogurt: I like plain soy yogurt because it's the one that I find most reassembles dairy yogurt. If you don't have it, though, any plant-based yogurt will do. You could even simply use coconut cream. I haven't tested that personally but I can't imagine it would go wrong. It will just taste coconutty.
Soy milk: again any plant milk will do. I love cashew and oat and they would work just as well.
Vegan butter: any vegan margarine will do here. If you really don't have it you can sub for vegetable oil even though I find it makes for crispier and less fluffy pancakes. I believe coconut oil will also do, but again, unless you have odourless (refined) coconut oil, your pancakes will taste of coconut - which is not a bad thing in itself but you might not be a fan.
Before I leave you with delicious vegan recipe, let me just add a few words of caution. When making these pancakes, watch out for two things:
Patience: you want to use a medium heat. Don't be tempted to turn the heat up to have 15 pancakes in seconds. You will have a crispy outside and a raw inside - yuk! Cook your pancakes for a minimum of 1 1/2 min on one side and about 1 min on the other. The first ones will probably need 2 to 2 1/2 on the first side.
Butter your pan: please, don't be shy with the (vegan) butter. Yes, you are using a non-stick pan. But you still need to have enough fats to surround your pancake and making it golden, fluffy and delicious. So don't skip on that!
Ingredients:
Makes 7-8 medium pancakes and 10 small ones
160 gr plain flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
35 gr vegan margarine + more for the pan
130 gr soy yogurt
120 ml soy milk
2 tbsp lemon juice
Toppings:
Soy yogurt
Berries
Maple syrup
Method:
To a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and mix well.
To a medium, microwave safe bowl, add the margarine. Melt it in the microwave for about 30 to 40 seconds.
To the same bowl with the margarine, add the soy yogurt, soy milk and lemon and mix until combined.
Transfer the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and mix roughly, just until a few lumps have gone. You don't want to have a totally flat batter with no lumps, as that will yeld flatter pancakes.
Heat a non-stick pan on a medium heat. Grease the pan with some margarine and then spoon about two heaped tbsp of the pancake batter into the pan. Spread it with the back of a spoon until you get the size you want for your pancakes and cook it on one side for about 2 to 2 1/2 mins. Flip it and cook on the other side for about 1 minute, or until golden.
Repeat until you have cooked all the pancakes. You might notice that the last few pancakes only need 1 minute or so per side, as the pan will be hotter at that point.
Serve with plenty of maple syrup, berries and some soy yogurt.
Enjoy!
Did you try this recipe? Have you got any questions? We'd love to hearfrom you! Let us know by leaving a comment below! Xx
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