Vegan Quinoa Pancakes

What a perfect way to spend the weekend.

A morning run in the fresh air followed by a plate of gorgeous vegan pancakes smothered in maple syrup and tart fresh berries. I feel like I have fallen straight out of the Cosmo lifestyle section...

These pancakes are vegan-friendly, gluten and dairy free but still keep that familiar light fluffiness of their traditional counterparts. Win-win right?!

Now I decided to use quinoa flour in my batch purely because I hadn't tried it in a pancake batter before and I'm going to be honest, if you aren't used to the taste you may want to swap in some buckwheat, oat or other type of flour or use a blend to ease yourself in. Its not a bad taste necessarily but it does retain a more earthy/grainy flavour that is more subtle in other types of flours out there and if you are jumping straight from the processed wheat flour to a gluten free option it might be a bit of a palette shock. But hey, if you try it out and aren't such a fan, there is nothing a good dousing of maple syrup or honey and a fist full of fresh berries can't fix!

I also used mild EVOO as the fatty component but you could use grape seed, canola, coconut or whatever other oil you like. Usually I would go for a flavourless oil in this sort of a batter but I couldn't detect any olive-y taste so as long as it isn't a strong flavoured oil you should be fine whichever way you go.

**ALSO! I did a quick little recipe video down below the recipe so check it out and let me know what you think! **

Vegan Quinoa Pancakes

Serves ~2


1 cup quinoa flour (or another variety if you prefer)
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract/essence)
1 cup almond milk
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large tbsp applesauce
 

Combine your dry ingredients in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the wet ingredients and whisk to combine until the batter is smooth and there are no lumps. 

Heat a fry pan over a medium heat with a little oil and cook your pancakes for about a minute each side or until lightly browned. 

Finish with your favourite choice of toppings! I went with a squirt of fresh lemon, a generous drizzle of maple syrup and some fresh blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. A nice dollop of whipped coconut cream would have been great though... maybe next time!