The best Vegan English Pancakes! Foolproof, quick & easy to make & perfect for dessert or brunch. They are beautifully freckled and so good straight from the pan, served glistening with fresh lemon juice & sugar!
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"We are English and have really missed traditional English pancakes since becoming vegan. We've tried and tested LOADS of different recipes over the years. This recipe is by far the best! We are happy pancake loving people again! Thank you!" - Jessica ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ More reviews →
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I could not let Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day as it's more affectionately known, go by without sharing my recipe for traditional Vegan English Pancakes.
I have lots of vegan pancake recipes here on AVV but as a Brit I think it's time I shared the pancakes I grew up eating every year, without fail, on Pancake Day (and any other day my Sister and I could persuade my Mum to make them).
Of course I've veganized that recipe and it's just as good (if not better) than the non-vegan version...Beautifully soft, tender and freckled with those characteristic little golden brown spots, and perfect crispy lacey edges!
How Are English Pancakes Different To Crepes & American Pancakes?
English Pancakes are very different to American Pancakes. They are flat (not cakey and fluffy), much bigger and do not use any raising agent.
English pancakes are also different to French crepes. The batter isn't as rich (traditional crepes are made with butter and cream, English pancakes are not), and whilst they are quite thin, they are not as paper-thin as a crepe where a crepe spreader is used to spread the batter paper-thin over the surface of a crepe pan.
Ingredients
Here is exactly what you need to make this recipe along with some notes so you know why we are using each ingredient:
- Flour - This should be white flour. Plain flour in the UK or all-purpose flour in North America.
- Aquafaba - This is the liquid that you find in a can of chickpeas and it is our egg replacer in this recipe. Do not use any other vegan egg replacer as a sub. It will not work in the same way. If you aren't using the chickpeas from the can right away they store fine without any liquid in a sealed container in the fridge for 3 days or the freezer for 3 months. Or make my reader favourite chickpea lentil curry to use them up!
- Baking powder - Although traditionally English Pancakes do not use raising agent, they do have egg in the batter and eggs provide a little leavening action. That is why in this vegan English pancake recipe I use aquafaba (liquid from a can of chickpeas) and a little bit of baking powder. They both work together to do what eggs would otherwise do in a non-vegan recipe.
- Dairy-free milk - Any plant milk such as cashew milk, soy milk, oat milk, or almond milk will work in this recipe but I recommend trying to use an unsweetened and unflavoured variety if you can.
- Oil - You need some for the pancake batter and some for cooking the pancakes. Any mild neutral oil will do such as vegetable, canola, sunflower, light olive oil, or refined avocado oil.
- Vanilla - This isn't a traditional ingredient in English pancakes but when removing eggs we lose some richness and flavour. A touch of vanilla helps make up for that making these pancakes extra delicious.
- Salt - Just a touch is important for enhancing flavour.
How To Make Vegan English Pancakes
Vegan English Pancakes are really easy to make. Here's how:
- Mix all of the ingredients together to make a thinnish batter then leave it to rest for at least 10 minutes.
- Heat a large non-stick frying pan/ crepe pan over medium high heat and once it's really hot add some oil and brush it around the pan.
- Wait for it to glisten, then quickly pour in enough batter to cover the whole base of the pan and swirl it around to coat evenly.
- Leave for a minute or or so then turn/flip the pancake over to cook on the other side.
- Remove and repeat.
Watch me cook them so you can get your technique just right:
It is completely normal for the first pancake you cook to be a bit of a flop. Subsequent pancakes will cook much better.
That first pancakes job is to season the pan. It helps the oil to fill the porous parts of the pans surface creating a smooth foundation, and it encourages the heat to distribute evenly across the pans surface.
It is compulsory for the chef to stuff their face with the first flopped pancake while they are cooking the rest of the pancakes ;O)
Flipping Pancakes
To flip or not to flip...that is the question...It's traditional to flip the pancake in the air to turn it over just like I do in my video. I have witnessed far too many pancakes accidents though, so if you're not confident your pancake won't meet its death on the kitchen floor then I recommend using a turner!
I'll let you decide...Just don't blame me if it all goes wrong! 🤭
How To Serve English Pancakes
The traditional (and best) way to serve English Pancakes is with fresh lemon juice and sugar. Sprinkle the sugar all over the pancake, squeeze lemon juice over it, then roll it up and sprinkle a bit more sugar on the outside. I know I'll get comments all over about the refined flour and the sugar. Unfortunately they aren't the healthiest thing in the world but they are so good and a great treat every once in a while.
If you don't want to be quite so traditional there are all sorts of different ways to serve Vegan English Pancakes. My son's favourite way to eat them is with vegan chocolate syrup, berry compote, roasted strawberries or jam spread all over them then rolled up. You could do the same with homemade vegan lemon curd.
You could also fill them with fresh fruit, fruit compote, chocolate spread, banana and chocolate, coconut cream or drizzle them with maple syrup. You can even omit the vanilla from my recipe and use savoury fillings. I've made a lasagne type dish with them instead of pasta sheets. Use your imagination and have fun!
Storing Leftovers
Layer leftover pancakes up between sheets of parchment paper then slide them into a freezer bag or container. They will keep in the fridge for a couple of days or the freezer for up to 3 months. Simply defrost and reheat in a lightly greased frying pan for a minute or two.
Recipe
Vegan English Pancakes
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
- 210g (1½ cups + 3 tablespoons) all purpose flour , plain flour in the UK
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 9 tablespoons aquafaba , (liquid from a can of chickpeas)
- 2 tablespoons oil , plus extra for frying (a neutral oil such as mild olive oil, vegetable, canola or sunflower oil)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 420mls (1¾ cups) unsweetened plant milk
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add the flour to a large mixing bowl along with the salt and baking powder. Whisk to combine.
- Add the aquafaba, oil, and vanilla to the bowl, then gradually add the milk whisking as you go to work out any lumps. Once all the milk has been added and the batter is pretty much smooth, set aside and leave to rest for at least 10 minutes. DO NOT use a blender to mix the batter. Over-mixing will affect the texture of the pancakes.
- Heat a large non-stick frying pan or crepe pan (mine is 10 inches wide - if you use a smaller one you will get more pancakes, a larger one a few less) over a medium high heat until very hot, then add a drop of oil and swirl it around the pan to coat.
- Pour a steady stream of batter into the middle of the pan (enough to coat the bottom of the pan). In my large 10 inch pan I use about ½ a cup. You need to do this very quickly, then lift the pan off the heat and swirl the pan so the batter coats the entire bottom surface of the pan.
- Leave the pancake to cook for between 30 seconds to a minute. When the top is starting to look quite dry turn back a little outside edge to look under and flip or turn it when lots of nice brown spots have appeared. Cook for a further 30 seconds to a minute until that side is spotty too, then remove from the pan.Please note that it is completely normal for the first pancake of the batch to be a bit of a flop. It never turns out as well as the rest and often falls apart or sticks a bit. Its job is to season the pan and it is compulsory for the chef to stuff their face with it while they cook the rest of the pancakes ;O)
- Repeat until all of the batter is used adding a little oil before cooking each one. I wipe the oil around my pan carefully with a piece of kitchen paper (be sure not to burn your fingers).
- You can feed the pancakes to the waiting hoards as you cook them, or you can keep a plate in a very low oven and place each pancake in a pile as you cook them so they keep warm until you are all done.
NOTES
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Mai-Li says
Best vegan English pancake recipe and we’ve tried many! I made 2 batches, 1 with vanilla to have with cinnamon sugar and 1 without to have with curried soya mince. The batch with vanilla seemed to get thicker somehow, as time went on. Will it work if we add a bit of soy milk as we go to thin the batter out again?
Maria says
I wonder what milk you use? I usually go with soya milk but I've only got oat milk on hand today. Do you find differences depending on which milk you use? Could I go with canned coconut milk? Thanks
Melanie McDonald says
Any unsweetened and unflavored regular dairy-free milk will do. Soy or oat are fine. I don't recommend canned coconut milk though. That has very different qualities to regular milk. It's much thicker, tastes of coconut, and has a high fat content. That's not what you want in this recipe. Hope that helps!
Nicola says
I've just made your recipe for a perfect pancake day! Absolutely amazing. They turned out just as I remember. In the traditional British manner, I'm scoffing the lot (nobody else likes pancakes) all to myself then will fall into a pancake coma and repeat the process again every year. Thank you so much for sharing.
Melanie McDonald says
You don't need to share??? I'm jealous! So pleased you enjoyed the recipe Nicola!
Deborah Lynch says
I have made these fantastic pancakes several times. Takes me back to my British childhood and how pancakes used to taste. Light, fluffy, delicious. The only reason i don’t make them more often is I can’t be trusted not to eat every one.
Maria says
Hi Mel, I absolutely loved these pancakes. I would never have thought that aquafaba could make such a huge difference. These are the best vegan pancakes I've ever tried. Thanks so much.
Mark says
Added a tiny bit of tumeric for colour, but otherwise follows the recipe meticulously and ended up with delicious pancakes. Mine, however, looked more like a crêpe or a dosa IE very attractive. Will be doing crêpes Suzette very, very soon. Thank you
Jane says
Thank you so much for this recipe. I have missed these since going vegan and they were perfect.
Melanie McDonald says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed them Jane!