Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes

These Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes are citrusy, nutty and perfectly sweet! They're soft and fluffy, and covered in a gorgeously tangy lemon syrup. They're easy to make, come together in one bowl, and are refined sugar free too. A delicious breakfast, brunch, snack or dessert!

Tips for cooking with lemons

• For optimum lemon flavour, I would recommend using fresh lemons (not ones that you've had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible.
• You have to be careful when cooking with lemon juice, as the acidity and lemon flavour can really vary depending on the lemons you use.
• I would recommend tasting the lemon juice you're using and adjusting the amount of lemon juice you use accordingly.
• For the lemon zest, make sure you use unwaxed lemons.

How to make the pancakes

• Mix together all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.

• Heat up a tiny bit of oil in a frying pan (non-stick is best) and add a few tablespoons of the pancake batter.

Tip: Control the amount of oil you use by using a spray-on oil or rubbing a piece of greased kitchen paper over the bottom of the frying pan - too much oil will make the pancakes ragged at the edges, and too little will make them hard to flip over.

• Cook on a low-medium heat for a few minutes until the bottom of the pancake comes away easily from the pan.

Tip: Use a non-stick frying pan so that the pancakes don't stick to the bottom of the frying pan!

• Flip over and cook for another few minutes, until golden brown and crispy on both sides.

Tip: Use a spatula to flip over the pancakes.

• Repeat for the rest of the batter - makes around 8 pancakes.

How to make the lemon syrup

• Mix together the lemon juice and maple syrup in a small bowl.

• Pour over the pancakes just before serving!

Substitutions you can make to this recipe

• You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc.
• You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
• You can replace the ground almonds with ground walnuts.
• For a nut-free version: replace the ground almonds with ground sunflower seeds or use 30g (¼ cup) coconut flour instead of 150g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds, and use a nut-free plant-based milk.
• You can use any type of oil to fry the pancakes: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil.
• You can replace the gluten-free flour with plain flour or spelt flour if you're not gluten-free.

Ingredients you can add to the batter

Fresh or frozen berries, such as raspberries or blueberries.

Serving suggestions

If you don't want to use the lemon syrup, other options are:

• Lemon sauce - from this Lemon Pudding recipe.
• Lemon curd.
• Maple syrup.
• Fresh berries.
• Vegan yogurt.
• Vegan whipped cream.
• Ice cream.
• Blueberry sauce.

How long do these pancakes keep for?

These pancakes taste best when fresh, but leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days - reheat in a dry frying pan.

Can they be frozen?

• They can be frozen and last for about a month in the freezer. 
• I would suggest wrapping them separately in cling film or keeping a layer of baking paper in between each pancake if you want to take them out of the freezer one at a time, otherwise you'll end up with a solid block of pancakes! 
• Either reheat in a toaster straight from frozen or leave to thaw at room temperature for about half an hour then reheat in a dry frying pan. 

More gluten-free vegan pancake recipes

• Oatmeal Pancakes
• Coconut Flour Pancakes
• Banana Pancakes
• Buckwheat Crepes
• Oat Flour Pancakes
• Cornmeal Pancakes
• Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
• Crepes
• Buckwheat Pancakes
• Quinoa Pancakes
• Flaxseed Pancakes
• or browse the whole collection!

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I'd really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes

These Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes are citrusy, nutty and perfectly sweet! They're soft and fluffy, and covered in a gorgeously tangy lemon syrup.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: gluten-free lemon poppy seed pancakes, lemon poppy seed pancakes, vegan lemon poppy seed pancakes

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 pancakes

Calories: 131kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

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Ingredients

• ▢ 230 ml (1 cup) unsweetened almond milk (or sub any other plant-based milk)
• ▢ 3 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
• ▢ 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• ▢ 85 g (⅔ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
• ▢ 85 g (⅔ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons poppy seeds

For frying:

• ▢ Coconut oil (or sub vegetable oil)

For the lemon syrup (optional):

• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 4 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)

Instructions

• Place all the ingredients for the pancake batter in a bowl and mix well (no need to sift the flours).
• For best results, let the batter sit at room temperature for about half an hour before making the pancakes - I found this made the pancakes super fluffy, but if pressed for time the recipe still works without this step.
• Heat up a tiny bit of oil in a frying pan (non-stick is best) and spoon or ladle in a small amount of the pancake batter.
• Cook on a low heat for a few minutes until you see little bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake.
• Use a spatula to flip it over and cook for another few minutes, until golden brown on both sides.
• Repeat for the rest of the batter - makes around 8 pancakes.
• Leftover pancakes keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days - reheat in a dry frying pan or in the toaster!

For the lemon syrup:

• Mix together the lemon juice and maple syrup in a small bowl.
• Pour it over the pancakes just before serving!

Notes

*You can alternatively use almond flour.

• For optimum lemon flavour, I would recommend using fresh lemons (not ones that you've had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible.
• You have to be careful when cooking with lemon juice, as the acidity and lemon flavour can really vary depending on the lemons you use.
• I would recommend tasting the lemon juice you're using and adjusting the amount of lemon juice you use accordingly.
• For the lemon zest, make sure you use unwaxed lemons.

Nutrition Facts

Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes

Amount Per Serving

Calories 131 Calories from Fat 63

% Daily Value*

Fat 7g11%

Saturated Fat 0.5g3%

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.4g

Sodium 76mg3%

Potassium 96mg3%

Carbohydrates 16g5%

Fiber 3g12%

Sugar 6g7%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin A 1IU0%

Vitamin C 5mg6%

Calcium 129mg13%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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