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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Sarah De la Cruz says
Ooh, these look fabulous! I'll have to see if I can master the flipping technique!
A Virtual Vegan says
Your boys would love to watch you learn!
Michelle Thompson says
Made these for the first time - they were great! Needed to thin the batter out a little, but that's the only tweak I made.
Nick says
Thanks for the recipe. I'm a Brit who doesn't do pancake day/Shrove Tuesday, but I DO love pancakes (with golden syrup...), so really happy. Also used the batter to make deep fried pineapple rings, this evening...wow...
A Virtual Vegan says
Oh now stop it.....I can't get Golden Syrup here in Canada and used to LOVE it when I lived in England. And pineapple fritters too? I have memories of getting them from the Chinese takeaway years ago and they were covered in golden syrup. Absolutely heaven. I bet homemade are even better. I'm jealous! So glad you enjoyed the pancakes and thank you for stopping by to leave feedback. I much appreciate it!
Christina says
Made this morning - delicious! The aquafaba really helps mimic the eggy/gummy quality of crepes made with eggs. I made them in a cast iron pan. I’m saving this recipe to make again. Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
You're welcome Christina. I'm so glad you enjoyed them. Aquafaba is my favourite ingredient of all time. I still can't get over how well it works in place of eggs. Thank you so much for stopping by to leave feedback. I really appreciate it!
Cadry says
I don't know how it happened, but I'd never heard of Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day until this week! It sounds like I need to make up for lost time with your pancakes. I love that the traditional toppings are a squeeze of lemon juice & sugar. That sounds right up my alley - much more than maple syrup!
A Virtual Vegan says
I don't know what happened either but you need to get on that pancake day train A.S.A.P!
Dianne says
I didn't know that English pancakes were different than American pancakes. It may sound weird, but I don't like cakey pancakes (although I do like cake!). These look like they'd be right up my alley, though!
A Virtual Vegan says
These would be so perfect for you!
Katie says
Gorgeous pancakes. We lvoed them!
Mary Ellen says
These were amazing!
Vikky says
I was sceptical about the chickpea water at first but these were deliscious and so easy to make. And so much like the pancake day pancakes I remember and crave. Didn’t have lemon so used the mystery citrus fruit in our yard - pomelo? with a scattering of crunchy sugar and they were perfect.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so glad you enjoyed them Vikky. That chickpea water is magical stuff. You will find it in lots of my recipes because it give such great results. Thank you so much for coming back to leave feedback. It's much appreciated!
Jenn says
I love how they are served simply with sugar and lemon juice. They were perfect!
Beth says
I think its so clever when recipes replace eggs with chickpea water! It worked perfectly!
Becky Striepe says
Oh wow! I've never had an English pancake before, but now I definitely want to try making them!
A Virtual Vegan says
You would love them Becky!
Amy Katz says
I know these aren't exactly like crepes, but they remind me so much of them with the lemon and sugar. I've never loved American pancakes, but I am so excited to try yours!
A Virtual Vegan says
I unfortunately love all pancakes! Ha ha. Hope you enjoy them!
Sharon says
These are delectable!! The texture is lovely.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Sharon. Glad you enjoyed them!
Cheryl says
I was wondering about using aquafaba in pancakes; you've convinced me! They were so good!
Cindi says
I have wondered for years if there was a way to make eggrolls without having to buy egg roll wrappers, and I'm wondering if these would work. I'm going to try them as pasta sheets too. Sounds like a great recipe to have in my back pocket. I love international recipes too. Isn't the internet great?!
A Virtual Vegan says
The internet is a wonderful thing! I bet they would work as egg roll wrappers minus the vanilla. Great idea!