These carrot cake pancakes are soft and fluffy, filled with the warming, Autumnal spiced flavours of carrot cake. These dairy free pancakes are perfect for the Easter long weekend or any cosy Sunday breakfast, and are best when topped with Greek yoghurt, crunchy walnuts and a generous drizzle of maple syrup.
Every time I make these pancakes I can’t help but wonder why we don’t eat carrot cake year round. I love this recipe for the Easter long weekend, but also I think we should be making fancy pancakes as part of a Sunday reset / self-care day.
There is nothing better than starting the day with a really good, delicious breakfast and this one is perfect for those slow mornings. The pancakes are thick and so light and fluffy just like you would expect from a café, and are filled with the warming spices of cinnamon and mixed spice reminding you that Autumn has arrived.
But my favourite part of these pancakes is that they have the surprising texture and crunch of walnuts. The addition of nuts in my favourite carrot cake recipe is so good in my opinion and I love that we can get that same carrot cake experience just in the different format of a stack of pancakes.
Once you make these pancakes for your family or friends, they’ll be requesting them time after time as they simply are that good.
Key Ingredients
Like my blueberry buttermilk pancakes, the ingredient list of this recipe is a little long but don’t let that turn you off. Every single addition helps to create the most incredibly soft and fluffy, full of flavour pancakes that you’ll ever eat. It’s so worth the extra effort!
Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Dairy-free milk – I usually use either almond milk or oat milk, but soy milk or any milk you prefer will work here.
- White vinegar – this is added to the milk to create our vegan buttermilk substitute. You can use apple cider vinegar or lemon juice instead.
- Plain flour – also known as all purpose flour. You can substitute with a 1-1 gluten free flour instead.
- Baking powder and bicarbonate of soda / baking soda – it’s important to use both in this recipe to ensure the correct reactions happen when cooking as this is going to give us that soft and light, fluffy pancake.
- Spices – we are using a combination of ground cinnamon and mixed spice to give the pancakes that classic carrot cake flavour. If you don’t have mixed spice, you can use all cinnamon instead.
- Brown sugar – not only for the sweetness that is giving us that cake-like taste, but also by using brown sugar instead of white sugar, we add moisture which keeps the pancakes soft and delicate.
- Egg – helps bind the pancakes together and prevents them from breaking apart as they are quite light and soft. I haven’t tested this recipe with a flax-egg as a vegan option but let me know in the comments if you try!
- Canola oil – any light tasting vegetable oil will work. Coconut oil will work but keep in mind that it will add a subtle coconut taste to the pancakes.
- Vanilla – always use vanilla extract not vanilla essence for the best flavour.
- Carrot – otherwise these are just cake pancakes…
- Walnuts – adding that essential crunch, you can opt to leave them out if you’re not a fan, or substitute with chopped pecans.
- Toppings – this is completely optional and up to you but I like some Greek yoghurt, maple syrup and maybe a sprinkle of a few extra walnuts.
How to make carrot cake pancakes
To make these pancakes, we need to start with the base pancake batter. You’ll need three bowls, a whisk and a medium non-stick frying pan.
First, in a small bowl make your ‘buttermilk’ by mixing together the dairy-free milk and white vinegar. I love to use almond milk but feel free to sub your favourite here such as oat or soy. The milk will start to curdle depending on what you use but that’s totally ok and normal.
In your second bowl, gently whisk together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt.
Finally, in your large mixing bowl whisk together the brown sugar, egg, canola oil and vanilla. Add the milk mixture and continue to whisk to combine. Slowly add the dry ingredients and whisk until a thick batter forms.
Add in your grated carrot and chopped walnuts and fold through with a rubber spatula until combined.
You’ll see the batter start to puff and bubble as the bicarbonate of soda and vinegar react with each other (which is what is going to make these pancakes so thick and fluffy). Set the batter aside for about 10 minutes to rest before cooking.
Resting the pancake batter is essential to allow the gluten to relax and therefore result in a lighter pancake that will cook much more evenly so do not skip this step.
Also if you want to read more about why I use buttermilk (or in this cake a homemade, dairy-free buttermilk substitute) instead of regular milk, then definitely read my post before the blueberry pancake recipe.
Heat your pan and spray lightly with canola oil. Add ¼ cup of the pancake batter to the pan and once bubbles have formed on the surface, flip the pancake and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Repeat until all of the batter has been used.
I like to serve these carrot cake pancakes with some dairy free coconut Greek-style yoghurt (because it’s still breakfast), and of course a drizzle of pure maple syrup (because it’s still pancakes). A little dairy free butter, whipped plant-based cream, or cream cheese and fresh fruit would also be delicious!
So whether you are looking for a fun family breakfast for the Easter long weekend, or you’re just wanting to transform your home into a fancy bunch spot, this is the perfect recipe.
Storing and Freezing Pancakes
If you don’t eat all the pancakes at once or you would like to prep a batch ahead of time, you can store the cooled pancakes in the fridge for 3-4 days.
If you’d like to keep them for longer, they freeze really well. It’s easiest if you freeze them on a baking sheet first so that they aren’t touching each other and then transfer the frozen pancakes into a large ziplock bag to store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
The initial freezing step ensures that they don’t stick together and you can just grab as many as you want to eat.
When ready to eat, simply put the frozen pancakes onto a plate and microwave for 30-60 seconds until warm and then add your toppings.
More Easter recipes:
Carrot & Coconut Layer Cake
Easter Sugar Cookies
Easy Rocky Road
Classic Hot Cross Buns
Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Carrot Cake Pancakes
Ingredients
- ¾ cup dairy-free milk
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon mixed spice
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup grated carrot about 2 carrots
- ¼ cup walnuts chopped
Instructions
- In a small bowl, make the ‘buttermilk’ by mixing the vinegar with the dairy-free milk and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spices and whisk to combine.
- In another bowl, whisk together egg, canola oil, brown sugar, vanilla and milk mixture. Add wet ingredients to dry and whisk until a thick batter forms. Fold through the grated carrot and walnuts with a spatula. Set aside and rest for 10 minutes.
- Heat a non stick frying pan and lightly spray with oil. Add ¼ cup of batter per pancake to the pan. Once bubbles have formed on the surface, flip pancake and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter, wiping out excess oil with a paper towel between batches.
- Serve pancakes with your favourite toppings such as Greek yoghurt and a drizzle of maple syrup.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
This post was originally published on the 29th March 2021 and has been republished to include better instructions, more helpful information and new photos.
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