Meet my new favorite pancakes, buckwheat pancakes. I’ll admit they aren’t the sexiest pancakes around, but they make up for their humble appearance with wonderful flavor and texture. Buckwheat, a gluten-free relative of rhubarb, has a delicate, almost nutty flavor all its own.
Thanks to the buckwheat flour, these pancakes possess a light and airy consistency that quietly surrenders to the pressure of a fork and soaks up maple syrup like a sponge. The pancakes pair well with roasted strawberries, as shown here, or with a healthy swipe of peanut butter or almond butter.
This recipe was adapted from a fun new cookbook called Pancakes, by fellow food blogger Adrianna Adarme of A Cozy Kitchen. I visit Adrianna’s blog any time I need some creative recipe inspiration or a laugh, which is often.
Adrianna’s new (and first!) cookbook is bursting with 72 brilliant pancake recipes, half sweet (honey and oat, ginger pear, cinnamon-sugar popovers) and half savory (jalapeño corn cakes, goat cheese quinoa cakes, sour cream and chive latkes). If sky-high, fluffy pancakes are your jam, she offers a ton of options based on her buttermilk pancakes recipe. This book would be the perfect gift for the pancake/latke lover in your life. Congrats, Adrianna!
Gluten-Free Buckwheat Pancakes
- Author:
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 Pancakes
- Category: Breakfast
Buckwheat gives these pancakes incredible flavor. This buckwheat pancake recipe yields deliciously light and thin pancakes. For pancakes that are even lighter in texture and flavor, use half all purpose (Adrianna’s suggestion) or whole wheat pastry flour (my default). Recipe yields 8 pancakes (plenty for 2 people).
Ingredients
Pancakes
- 1 cup buckwheat flour (or ½ buckwheat and ½ flour of choice)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk, shaken*
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Butter, for the skillet
Roasted Strawberries
- 1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced into bite-sized quarters or halves
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
Instructions
- Roast the strawberries: preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, gently toss berries with the sugar and maple syrup/honey. Arrange the strawberries in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring halfway, or long enough for the berry juices to thicken but not burn (watch the edges in particular).
- Make the pancakes: in a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour(s), sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a liquid measuring cup, measure out the buttermilk. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
- All at once, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. The batter should have some small to medium lumps.
- Preheat your skillet over medium-low heat and brush with 1 ½ teaspoons of butter. Give the batter a light swirl with a spoon in case the buckwheat is starting to separate from the liquid. Using a ¼-cup measure, scoop the batter onto the warm skillet. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until small bubbles form on the surface of the pancakes (you’ll know it’s ready to flip when about 1 inch of the perimeter is matte instead of glossy), and flip. Cook on the opposite sides for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Transfer the cooked pancakes to a baking sheet and place in a preheated 200 degree Fahrenheit oven to keep warm. Repeat the process with the remaining batter, adding more butter when needed. Serve immediately.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Pancakes by Adrianna Adarme of A Cozy Kitchen.
*Make your own buttermilk with dairy-free option: combine 1 ¼ cups low fat milk (any variety of low fat milk should do—almond, soy, rice, low fat coconut) with 1 tablespoon + ¾ teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar and let it sit for 5 minutes before using.
If you love these pancakes: you’ll also enjoy my buckwheat crepes recipe and my other pancake recipes!
A note on fluffiness: I tried forcing some extra height into these pancakes by using half whole wheat pastry flour and even folded in whipped egg whites, but neither made a significant difference. Then I took another bite and wondered why I was trying to make these marvelous pancakes something they’re not. They’re perfect just the way they are.
Bev @ Bev Cooks
I seriously, seriously, seriously want that right now.
Magdalen
Oh, I love pancakes so much! I made a big batch of oat and pecan pancakes just this morning. I like to make a huge amount of pancakes, feed some to my family, then freeze the rest for my weekday breakfasts. I love to eat them with yogurt, honey, and banana slices. Those buckwheat ones are next on my list! :)
Kate
Your oat and pecan pancakes sound wonderful! I love freezing pancakes, too. I froze the leftovers of all three batches of buckwheat pancakes. I’ve been enjoying them for breakfast since I got back into town!
Katy @ Katy'sKitchen
Ever since I took my first bite of a buckwheat pancake I could never see pancakes the same way again. They are so delicious and I have them almost every morning. Roasted strawberries and almond butter are a fantastic idea for a topping. Coconut butter tastes amazing as well. I didn’t know buckwheat was a relative to rhubarb. Interesting!
Nicole
These look so good! It’s been too long since I’ve made roasted strawberries and yours are gorgeous. Beautiful photos!
Katrina @ WVS
I’ve never made anything with buckwheat before, and it’s SO silly because I know I would love it! I HAVE to try these!!
Jodye
I’ve actually never used buckwheat flour, but pancakes look like the perfect to use it. I love the deep color the flour imparts. These sound just delicious, especially with those beautiful strawberries!
Dan from PlatterTalk
Gorgeous photos and beautifully done post. Pancakes are without question an entity unto themselves. I’m sure these are as wonderful tasting as they appear in your pics!
Olena @ iFOODreal.co
Hi Kate. It’s my first time on your food blog and I love it! What a creative bio you have.:)
Beautiful clean photos! I have a question: have you tried to make your own buckwheat flour by grinding it in a food processor? I’m cheap and wondering if that’s an option.
I’m from Ukraine and was raised on buckwheat. It’s kind of like quinoa nowadays in North America. Was so popular. Many people have no idea how tasty and good for them buckwheat is. It’s nutritional values are even better than quinoa’s. And the taste…Love it!!! It’s so versatile too.
★★★★★
Cara
Hi! I’ve never ground my own buckwheat, but the buckwheat flour I have is not toasted or cooked, just ground buckwheat, so I’m sure you could make your own if you don’t have a cheap source to buy from! Happy baking.
Grandbaby Cakes
These are some seriously gorgeous pancakes!
Caitlin
they look delicious, kate! i’ve never made pancakes with only buckwhear flour, will definitely have to try!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
I haven’t had pancakes in forever but I think I just found my Saturday breakfast. Love the roasted strawberries!
Kathryn
I normally make buckwheat crepes rather than pancakes but I feel like I’ve been missing out. These look so delicious!
Carina
Yummm these look amazing!
Jeanine
yum yum! Of all the flour experimenting I do, I’ve yet to try buckwheat but that’s about to change.
That shot of cookie is so adorable!!
Sheena
We are going to have this for dinner! Yum! And love seeing Cookie in the pics. :)
Kate
Hope you enjoyed the pancakes, Sheena! Cookie says hi. :)
Lindsey
i agree, buckwheat is a delightful flour, perfect for pancakes! i usually use a combination of almond, oat, and buckwheat for my pancakes, but i will definitely give these 100% buckwheat pancakes a try :)
ami@naivecookcooks
Looks so good!!
Angela
You’ve just reminded me that it’s been WAY too long since I’ve had pancakes! And you’re right, they don’t always look as fluffy and gorgeous as traditional ones, but I don’t care – to me, they’re just as delicious!
Harriet
I LOVE buckwheat pancakes, and this recipe looks delicious! With roasted strawberries?! Yes please.
Mary // Chattavore
These look amazing! I’ve been dying to make buckwheat pancakes (how have I not done this yet?). I will be making these ASAP!
Tieghan
Whoa baby! I seriously want these for dinner right now!
Emily L
These look so fluffy! Do you make your own buckwheat flour (i.e. grind buckwheat grouts) or do you just buy the flour? I have some ripe fuzzy peaches and I can’t wait to try this with roasted peaches!!
Kate
Hey Emily! I bought Bob’s Red Mill buckwheat flour, which is super fine. I heard from another commenter that she grinders her own using buckwheat groats in a coffee grinder. Roasted peaches would be lovely!
Ashley
Strawberries. Pancakes. Buckwheat. I am SO in for all of this!! Love that first photo!
Joanne
I don’t think I’ve ever made ALL buckwheat pancakes before but I love that hearty nutty flavor. and yay for Adrianna’s cookbook! I follow her blog as well and can’t wait to get my hands on it!
Kate
I love the all buckwheat pancakes! They have so much more flavor than regular ol’ pancakes. I think you’ll love Adrianna’s cookbook, especially since you cook so many veggie burger/latke sorts of things!
Mariam
Oh my yum! I wish strawberries where in season (and cheaper!) at my side of the world right now! Just a question, do you know of your buckwheat flour is raw or roasted? I usually grind my own buckwheat flour in my coffee drinker using raw buckwheat groats but I accidental bought roasted so was wondering if that’s what I should use!
Kate
Hi Mariam! Thanks for commenting. If it’s any consolation on the strawberries, these pancakes are also great with peanut butter or almond butter. I just checked my flour and it doesn’t say it’s made with roasted groats, so I’m guessing it’s raw? Really not sure. I’m glad to know that you can grind your own buckwheat flour in a coffee grinder, though.
Sofia
The pancakes might not be sexy but they sure look amazing and you can guess, taste amazing too!
Larry
For how “unsexy” these look, holy cow are they great! We tried them out this morning and are ABSOLUTELY adding them to the rotation!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Larry! I’m really glad to hear that you loved the pancakes!
Jamie @ GB&G
Buckwheat pancakes are the jam! I’ll have to give this a try.
dervla @ the curator
yay for Adrianna – love pancakes for breakfast and buckwheat is my fave too.
Alissa
Daaaang. I want these!!!! Pleeeeeeease.
Kate
I’ll have to make pancakes for girls night soon!
Distracted cook
I just made these with blue cornmeal instead of buckwheat on accident while cooking with my two children. I only realized what had happened after I ate a few. Using 1 cup blue cornmeal actually made fantastic pancakes! Next time, I’ll taste my bulk goods before using and give the buckwheat a shot.
Kate
Well, good to know! Cornmeal would be a great sub, now that I think about it. I’ll have to try that next.
Inés
Hi Kate :-)
I just made your pancakes and the strawberry “sauce” and it turned out fantastically!
I used cashew milk with lemon instead of the buttermilk, a cornmeal-and-carob-bean-gum egg and one half wheat flour / one half buckwheat flour.
I never before had a recipe that produced so easily flippable and bakeable pancakes! They were so easy to handle, really beautiful, very fluffy and they didn’t even stick together after being stacked :-)
I’m not sure whether I am that much into the buckwheat taste in combination with the sweet sauce, but in any case I was totally happy with the way your recipe turned out.
Thank you for sharing this :-)
Kate
Thank you, Inés! I’m so glad the pancakes turned out well for you. If you don’t love the strawberries with the buckwheat, the strawberries would be fantastic with ice cream or yogurt.
Inés
Hello Kate,
Yes, your srawberries are definitely heavenly! I made them again today with another pancake variation, as I reveived quite a lot of strawberries (for just one person at least) as a gift this week. They were as good as the last time :-) I only knew stovetop-made sauce before, but this is also a lot easier!
Lily
I love buckweat, but never before thought to use it for a dessert
sasha
just made these, lovely, put mixed frozen berries with lemon juice in a pan and warmed them up instead and added a spoonful of yoghurt for serving, would add a few leaves of mint next time, great pancakes thank you
★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Sasha! I’m so glad you enjoyed the pancakes. Yours sound terrific.
Erica
Kate, this recipe is great. The pancakes are very light and fluffy. Made for a very enjoyable breakfast with yoghurt, banana and maple syrup!
Thanks for sharing.
Erica
★★★★★
Quinn Graves
Hi Kate! I just wanted to let you know that my family made these pancakes about a week ago and they are so scrumptious! I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and you inspired me to create my own food blog. I just want to say thanks. So, thank you so much for your inspiration. Have a lovely day. (:
★★★★★
Patti
I made these pancakes with coconut milk and lemon for the liquid, and half rice flour and half buckwheat flour (to keep them truly gluten free) and they were delicious! I served them with real maple syrup and a few blueberries (since that’s what I had on hand…no strawberries). It was so so yummy! I was so glad I found your blog and the recipe makes nice fluffy buckwheat pancakes. I will be enjoying this one again! :P
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for commenting, Patti! I’m delighted that you enjoyed the pancakes. This weekend, I made Simply Recipes’ buckwheat waffles, which are delicious! You might like that recipe, too.
Heidi Schobel
It occurred to me tonight that a buckwheat pancake without sugar would make an awesome thin burger bun — yes!!!! I was right. Great recipe! Omitted the sugar and used a little olive oil in the batter. They came out amazing and now I can have a hamburger!!! I miss the bum part ao much!!!! Thanks!
★★★★
Kate
Heidi, I’m sorry I didn’t respond sooner. Your buckwheat buns are such a great idea! I love that you turned a sweet recipe into something savory and totally different.
Jen
Heidi, I love this idea! We are always searching for a good bun! How did you cook them, griddle, baking sheet in the oven maybe? Thanks! Jen (you can also email me incase I never see the response here Mamajenbarletta@yahoo.com)
ruby
thanks for posting this recipe, i had the midnught munchies and had a 3 little ones and saved the rest for brekkie tommorow. :)
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Ruby. I’m glad you enjoyed the pancakes!
Caroline
Thank you for posting this delicious recipe! I love buckwheat, but usually end up with drier baked goods when I sub it in. The buttermilk here sounds like the perfect remedy. I know what I am trying for breakfast this weekend!
Kate
Hope you love the pancakes, Caroline!
Pablo
Very nice. Will make these again! thank you!
★★★★
Susan Irwin
My kids just told me these were the best pancakes I’ve ever made. I often suck at it, so it’s high praise! I added a banana to the mix- so yummy! Thank you!
Kate
That’s great news! Thank you for commenting, Susan!
Loraine
Yumm! Just tried these this morning after coming across your blog and they are delicious! We had them with almond butter, agave nectar and raspberries and blueberries. Just delicious!
Kate
Thank you, Loraine! I’m so glad you enjoyed the pancakes. Hope you enjoy my other recipes, too!
Alicia
Made these this morning with half buckwheat and half oat flour to keep them GF – they were ah-mazing! Thanks for the delicious recipe!! :D
Kate
Great idea, Alicia! I’m so glad you enjoyed the pancakes. Thank you for commenting.
June Danger
I use this recipe weekly. Thanks!
Kate
Glad to hear it, June! Thanks for commenting!
Lindainohio
Kate and Cookie– Just beginning to drop wheat out of my diet for health reasons and was missing pancakes something awful. Your recipe for buckwheat pancakes is so delicious. I went traditional with butter and real maple syrup on top and feel that the taste was off the charts better than the pancakes I used to eat. Will definitely come back to your site for more inspiration!
★★★★★
Kate
Linda, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the buckwheat pancakes. You might also enjoy the banana oat and pumpkin oat pancakes!
Olivia
I tried this recipe, but added a bit of rice and tapioca flour to the buckwheat, and they came out so fluffy! Thank you for this recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Olivia! Glad you enjoyed the pancakes!
Linda
Made these this morning. They were soooo good. I’ve tried several buckwheat recipes, and let me tell you, this is the best!! They were surprisingly fluffier than expected. I did add cinnamon and ginger and subbed in Stevia instead of sugar. So excited to have a yummy pancake recipe for our gluten free family. Thanks!
★★★★★
Kate
Linda, I’m so happy you enjoyed the pancakes! Thank you!
Lauren
Hi Kate,
Thanks so much for this recipe. My oldest daughter has been having a lot of difficulty with allergies, and I’ve been struggling to find grains and seeds that agree with her. This was a winner both taste-wise and allergy-wise, so thank you! I’ve never been disappointed by a recipe of yours. :-)
★★★★★
Kate
Lauren, thank you! I’m so glad your daughter can enjoy these pancakes. They just might be my favorite pancakes!
Hope I
These look amazing! Would they work with a milk substitute such as almond milk?
Kate
Yes, I believe so! You will need to turn it into “buttermilk” by adding an acid. See my note with the asterisk for details.
Bonnie
Turned out yummy. Great with blueberries in them!
Kate
Glad to hear it! Now I want to try blueberry buckwheat pancakes.
brandi
Hi, I want to make these, but I can’t eat buttermilk. How could I use rice milk to become like buttermilk??
Advice much appreciated!
Brandi
Kate
Hey Brandi, that’s no problem. You can make your own buttermilk substitute by combining 1¼ cups rice milk with 1 tablespoon + ¾ teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar. Let it sit for 5 minutes before using it in the recipe as directed.
Dianne
I adapted the recipe by using soy milk and 1 1/2 Tablespoons white vinegar, let set 5 minutes and 2 tablespoons chia seeds ground in coffee grinder and 2 tablespoons of hot water mix until spongy. As my husband is gluten, dairy and and egg intolerant. They turned out very good. Will make again.
★★★★
Kate
Dianne, thank you so much for sharing your substitutions! I’m sure they will come in handy for other visitors.
Mary
I am just finding your blog. I tried these pancakes this morning. We eat buckwheat for health reasons and because we eat gluten free. Despite it’s name, buckwheat is gluten free! I used a half a cup of a gluten free flour blend. They were amazing! Thanks so much for sharing!
Kate
Mary, I’m so glad you enjoyed the pancakes! If you eat gluten-free oats, I think you would also enjoy my banana oat pancakes!
Trevor
Regarding fluffiness: I made the batter before I took a shower. So it sat for about 20 minutes on the counter. I could tell the batter was a little bubbly when I came back. I’m guessing the buttermilk/soda/powder started doing its thing. Even with all buckwheat flour, these were so fluffy and thick!
Kate
Interesting! Thank you for the feedback, Trevor. My pancakes never ended up thick, but I’m going to try letting the batter rest before I cook up my next batch and see if that does the trick.
sarah
Completely delicious and satisfying . . . I used plain greek yogurt, a bit thinned (1 c yogurt, 1/4 c water). All I can say is, they were fluffy, huge and wonderful. Thank you. :-)
Kate
Hooray! Glad you loved the buckwheat pancakes, Sarah. Thanks for commenting!
tamsin
Please could you tell me what kind of buckwheat flour you used? My pancakes looked very pale in comparison and I was so excited to achieve the dark pancakes you made… Im based in the UK so not sure if we have the same brands. any pointers would be great. LOVE love love your blog!
Kate
Hi Tamsin! That’s interesting that your pancakes were lighter in color. I’m not sure why that happened. I either used Arrowhead Mills or Bob’s Red Mill brand flour. I can’t remember which, I’m sorry!
Jolene
Hi, I noted your comment on the extra height – I seem to have a lot of fluffy height! I didn’t have buttermilk so I used natural yoghurt and almond milk – the batter was thick and the pancakes almost an inch thick! Fabulous!
Kate
Wow, I’m glad your pancakes got so fluffy, Jolene! Sounds like I should give them another try!
Malita
This is my go to recipe for buckwheat pancakes, delicious with sliced banana too! I never seem to have baking soda and mine come out a bit thicker and more fluffy so that may be what’s making yours thinner, just a thought
Kate
Thanks, Malita! I’m glad your pancakes turn out fluffy. I should try them again with my new buckwheat flour and see if I get different results.
Alexis
I’ve tried so many buckwheat pancake recipes and they haven’t been great, these are GREAT!
My substitutions:
– I used vanilla stevia instead of sugar – 2 drops
– Added frozen blueberries
– I never have buttermilk around so I used a combo of plain yogurt and unsweetened almond milk… still worked GREAT!
Thank You!
Kate
Thank you for sharing your substitutions, Alexis! So glad you enjoyed the pancakes.
Mike
What a great recipe – with fresh blueberries dropped in the batter after spooning it in to skillet. Delicious.
★★★★★
Kate
Your blueberry version sounds so good! Thanks, Mike!
Gail
I am just sticking my toe into the gluten-free water (in preparation for doing a 3-month gluten free trial). I love to bake, so I’m in a little bit of mourning! Bought Arrowhead Mills organic buckwheat flour and today went in search of a pancake recipe and this was the first one I found. Just finished my pancakes – they were incredibly good. What a relief. Easy to make. No problem with the texture, light and flavorful, no off-putting flavors. In terms of height or fluffiness? – the batter was pretty thick, but after scoping into pan it is easy to shake the pan side to side a bit which nicely flattens out the thick dollop of batter (or I’m sure you could do with a spoon). They are a little lacy on the edges and a nice lightness but with substance too. Perfect. I’m so relieved! The only change I made to the recipe was to substitute coconut palm sugar for the 1 T sugar in the batter. I look forward to trying the roasted strawberries. Thanks for this recipe.
★★★★★
Kate
Gail, thank you for the glowing review! I’m glad you found these pancakes. I also have some oat flour-based banana pancakes that you might enjoy!
Allison
I just made these – instead of buttermilk I used homemade kefir and they turned out delicious!
Kate
Awesome! Thanks, Allison!
ariel
Just made this vegan with flax egg (2tbsp ground flaxseed + 5tbsp water) and it came out delicious, especially with vegan chocalate soy spread and agave nectar syrup :) Thank you!
Kate
Awesome! Glad to hear they turned out well with flax eggs. Thank you, Ariel!
Ritu
Hi Kate, found your blog while searching for buckwheat pancake recipe. Tried your recipe for dinner tonight. They were delicious
Kate
Hi Rita! I’m glad the pancakes turned out well. Thank you for commenting!
Bee
These were delicious! Thanks for the recipe; we are trying to go gluten free for a while and this is a great addition to our menu. We added mini choloate chips for my son. Yum!
Kate
Thank you, Bee! Glad you all enjoyed the pancakes. You might also enjoy my oat-based pancakes! (Pumpkin, banana, yogurt, oh and oat waffles, too!)
Michelle
The batter works well in the waffle iron! Great recipe!
Kate
That is great to know! Thank you, Michelle! Can’t wait to try buckwheat waffles.
Tiffany
Ho-ly. Mo-ly. WOW! I woke up feeling like buckwheat pancakes, didn’t feel like looking for the simple recipe I had somewhere in my cookbooks, so googled one, and found and made these. INCREDIBLE!!!! They totally made my day. Thanks for the note on making your own butttermilk. I had some half-and-half and coconut milk. Used about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of that with water to thin it out. Added some thawed blueberries to the batter. They were friggin’ delicious!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Tiffany! That’s so great to hear!
Jenny Shih
WOW!! These pancakes are fantastic! I was worried at first because the batter was thin, but they got really crispy around the edges. I think they’re the best pancakes I’ve ever had. :-)
I used ghee to fry them and added a few dark chocolate chips in for a little extra yum. (No strawberries in the house this morning.)
Talk about a great way to start my day. I’ll be making these again and again! Thank you!
Kate
Thanks, Jenny! So glad you enjoyed the pancakes!
Christine
EXCELLENT! My autistic stepson pounded these, and picked up all the crumbs!! I was pleased that one recipe made just enough for 3 Will look over your other gluten-free recipes! I have already decided to give the ginger bread granola as Christmas gifts! I’m not vegetarian, but I am a veggie lover, and I will be sure to look over all your recipes. Love the web site!
Kate
Thank you, Christine! I’m glad you three enjoyed the pancakes. I have quite a few other gluten-free pancakes and waffles (just posted pumpkin waffles today)!
kelseauz
hello, we ground our own buckwheat and used it for this recipe, however, when we cooked it it came out cooked on the outside but not cooked inside. i noticed that other recipes use butter/oil in the batter whereas yours does not. any thoughts as to why our result was less than good? thanks
Kate
Hummm, that’s strange. I haven’t heard of that happening. Are you sure your baking soda and baking powder still work? I’m not sure why else that would happen. I don’t think it had to do with the lack of fat in the batter, though.
Luna
These are the best pancakes ever, thanks so much for sharing! I have used the bicarbonate of soda only – for a boy who can’t have baking powder – and they still taste wonderfully :)
★★★★★
Kate
Awesome, I’m so glad to hear it!
Courtney
Though I make adjustments I absolutely looove this recipe! In place of buttermilk I use full fat coconut milk. For my 2 year old son I sub out the sugar for Maple syrup (A few tablespoons) and sometimes sprinkle in some brown sugar. For me I use the sugar but it can go without just fine. It’s also good without the vanilla. I leave out the baking powder entirely. (I’m a minimalist baker ;) )
★★★★★
Kate
Awesome! Thanks, Courtney!
Bonnie
Hi, I made these just now and found them quite good. This may have been the first time I used almond milk for my buckwheat pancakes ( which I have eaten for years). I have been cutting most dairy out for a few months and actually most grains,but decided since I was off the wagon thru the holidays I would do a gluten free pancake this am. I did the cider vinegar in the milk and used maple syrup for the sugar (not quite a tablespoon). They were quite fluffy as I think the vinegar reacted with the baking soda. They had a bit of a different taste but that might have been the almond milk ( the taste is never quite the same as cows milk). Some buckwheat flours taste a little different because I have not been able to reproduce the flavor of what I used to use. I think this batch is bobs red mill, but I have tried grinding some my self as well. I’m not sure what brand I used to use, but it was alittle more distinctive tasting than what I have had the past few years. I wish I knew what the difference was. I did not do the fruit but it did look lovely. Thanks.
Nikki Fahey
Do you have the nutrition on these or any of your recipes? they look really good!
Kate
Hey Nikki, I’m sorry, I don’t provide nutrition details. They vary widely depending on serving size, actual ingredients used, etc. I would hate to provide inaccurate information to my readers.
You can look up the recipe on myfitnesspal.com if you’d like to see their estimates. If you do, please feel free to share your results in the comments section for the recipe!
Nikki Fahey
Thanks Katie! no worries have a great day:)
Edward Howell
I’m a pancake lover, and this recipe makes the best pancakes ever, and even better, gluen-free! Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! Thanks, Edward!
Ilknur
I just made these pancakes. They are far better than regular pancakes and turned out very fluffy. I used whole milk and made my own buttermilk with vinegar. I also used some Nutella and orange zest and they were delicious! I will make again and again! Thank you for this amazing recipe I can finally eat pancakes too
Kate
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the pancakes!
Tiffany
I have tried a lot of Buckwheat pancake recipes and this is one of my favorites! Instead of milk, though, I added 1 cup non-fat yogurt and 1/4 cup milk. The yogurt adds some fluff to these delicious pancakes!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Tiffany! Your version sounds great.
Ed Orcutt
Tried these today with almond milk/vinegar substituted for buttermilk. The batter stemmed awfully thin. I found it impossible to cook more than one at a time since the batter would spread out so much. I ended up adding additional buckwheat flour to thicken the batter. Relative to other pancake recipes I’ve tried, this seems to call for a greater volume of liquid. I don’t see other comments of a similar nature. They turned out fine but I remain bothered. Is the batter really supposed to be thin?
Kate
Hi Ed, I’m not sure what happened with your pancake batter, but it doesn’t sound like the batter I remember and the batter that the other commenters have made. I’m sorry, not sure what happened there. Sometimes it helps to let the batter sit for a few minutes so the flour can absorb some moisture.
Nell
At a cabin in the woods today with limited provisions and decided to bake. Googled buckwheat pancakes and found yours. They were wonderful! Sour cream and milk substituted for the buttermilk. Served them with butter and pure maple syrup. Perfect. Thank you.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Nell!
Salome
Oh my goodness!!!!!! I can’t believe how good they taste! I’m a vegan, so I made the “buttermilk” the way you described it (with lemon juice) and I used egg replacer. Also, I used strawberry jam, since strawberries are out of season here.. Nevertheless these pancakes are absolutely fantastic. Thank you so much!!
★★★★★
Kate
Awesome! Thanks, Salome.
Ashley
I have made these with whole milk and buttermilk, and both times they were wonderful! Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great to hear, thanks Ashley!
Amanda
Oh.my.AMAZING!!!
I can’t believe how much I love these pancakes, thank you for sharing this recipe. Breakfast Perfection.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Amanda!
Amanda
Just tried this recipe and it was awesome with some maple syrup and peanut butter! Next time I’ll try it with half wholemeal flour and see how that turns out. Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
Glad to hear it, thanks Amanda!
Anita
I made these buckwheat pancakes on Good Friday and they were delicious! The whole family loved them and they were so quick and easy. I served them with a syrup I made from homegrown quinces, strawberry guavas and rose hips. There’s a photo on my FB page (I don’t use Instagram, sorry): http://goo.gl/Ox3paF. Thanks for a great recipe! I think I’ll make some more today, actually!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Anita! I’m so glad you all enjoyed the pancakes. They looked marvelous!
Gabriela
Hey Kate,My name is Gabi, I am from Poland. I woke up this morning and thought i need something Warming up for breakfast something hearty and delicious, I was looking for recipes in internet and I saw this one,decided to cook bucketwheat pancakes…. I LOVE them, they are on my plate right now waiting for me to eat them and enjoy them:)
I really like your recipes, I started being interested in bucketwheat,millet, corn flours month ago, and it is a hudge benefit to my health
Xo Gabi
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for saying hello, Gabi! So glad you’re enjoying the buckwheat pancakes. I use lots of healthy, whole grain flours, so you might enjoy some of my other recipes, too!
Marian
So delicious, easy and versatile – thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
Glad you like the pancakes! Thanks, Marian!
Caroline
My husband and I LOVE these pancakes. This is my go-to recipe for pancakes now. :-) Thank you, Kate!
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray, thanks Caroline!
Jenny
Hi Kate
We tried these for the first time this morning and we’re so impressed. I used almond milk with a squeeze of lemon and added lemon zest and cinnamon to the batter. Perfection! I agree that they’re great the way they are – no extra fluffiness needed!Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
Kate
Thanks, Jenny! So glad you enjoyed the pancakes!
max
I make two beautiful versions with no salt and no sugar.
1. Soury version: buckwheat flour, feta gout cheese, garlic and sparkling mineral water. All mixed well. Garlic and cheese to your taste. Use non stick pane with just a bit of organic coconut oil.
2. Sweet version: the pancake is not sweet but it is used with sweet feelings like honey and crashed nuts ( use your imagination ).
Ingredients are the same as for 1. but cheese and garlic replace with some full cream organic milk.
And if you are skillful enough they can look beautiful also.
Best regards.
Max.
Kate
Thanks for sharing, Max! I never would have thought to change up these pancakes like that. Great ideas.
Jo
Hi Kate,
Do you know if I can make my batter the night before and if the batter can be stored? :)
Thanks so much!
Jo
Kate
Hi Jo! I think you would be better off storing the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately until you’re ready to mix and serve. Baking soda starts bubbling right away, so I think the bubbles would be gone by the next day and you would probably end up with flat pancakes.
Stacy
I just made these for my family this morning and they were a hit. I’ve been gluten free due to lyme disease for about 7 months now. I have tried other pancake recipes and they were a big fail. But not this one. My husband and I loved the roasted berries, and my 9 year old just ate them plain! I left the sugar out (since sugar is a no-no too) and hoped for the best, and it was all good. I plan on making these many times this summer rotating the roasted berries as they come into season!
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Stacy! I’m so glad you enjoyed these pancakes. If you eat oats, you might like my GF oat-based pancakes, too!
Diane
Hello Kate,
Thanks fro sharing this recipe. It’s been a while since I bought buckwheat flour and was resting there on the shelf. I did the pancakes this morning. They are great :)
Kate
Glad you enjoyed them!
Shareena
Hi there,
I loved these pancakes! They were fluffy and tasty. I added blueberries :) Thank you for sharing such a great recipe. One question: do you know what the nutritional content is per serving?
Thanks!
★★★★★
Meg
Ahhhh! What did I do wrong?? I followed the recipe and subbed buttermilk with almond milk the way you explained. My pancakes are so thin and break apart when o flip them. So sad! Any thoughts?!
Kate
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that, Meg! I haven’t heard of any other reports of falling apart pancakes. I don’t think it had to do with the buttermilk. Are you sure you didn’t forget the egg? And you used 1 cup of buckwheat flour? I’m really not sure what happened. :(
Meg
Tried them in a non-stick pan and worked fine. Seems like my issue was making them in the skillet.
Kate
Glad that worked for you!
Dee
This recipe works great, but to make it a tad healthier and fruitier, I made the following modifications:
3/4 C buckwheat flour
1/2 tsp each baking soda and baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon power and/or 1 tbsp raw cacao powder (optional)
1 medium-sized ripe banana
1 small egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
1/2 C buttermilk (I use 1/2 C unsweetened soy milk with just over 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar)
1 tbsp honey (optional) – skip this if you are eating the pancakes with something sweet, like maple syrup or jam
Frozen blueberries
A small amount of coconut oil for cooking
1) Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
2) Combine buttermilk with banana, egg, vanilla, and honey, and blitz in a blender.
3) Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and mix well.
4) Grease non-stick frying pan with a little bit of oil and add tablespoon-full amounts of pancake batter. Sprinkle 3-4 frozen blueberries on top, evenly spaced. Cook on low-medium heat. Turn after a few minutes. Each side should be a nice, caramel brown colour. Be careful not to burn or undercook them! It might take a few tries to get it right.
Enjoy! :)
★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Dee!
Veronica
All the way across the other side of the world I just made this with agave sugar and had the pancakes with strawberries and cream. Yum! We don’t use buckwheat flour a lot in Australia but I now will be.
Kate
Thanks, Veronica! So neat to know you made them on the other side of the world. :)
Hazel
They were brilliant! I bought some in a cafe yesterday and they were terrible so I wanted to try making them myself. Using your recipe was a dream. Thanks so much for sharing!
★★★★★
Kate
Well, I’m so glad these were better! Thanks, Hazel!
Ann
These pancakes were absolutely amazing! I just had one concern, the batter somehow managed to thicken in the time it took me to hear the skillet and by the third pancake I was practically scooping cookie dough, is it supposed to be like that? And if not, then a reason why that happened?
Kate
Hi Ann, good question! That’s just what happens when the baking soda reacts with the buttermilk, nothing to be concerned about! The reaction is responsible for all those little air bubbles that make your pancakes nice and fluffy.
Debby
I came across the recipe for Buckwheat pancakes when I was looking for a way to make them myself. I used all buckwheat that my husband had just ground for me and no flour. These were great! Had some left over so I thought I would give our dogs some and they even loved them too kept wanting more. This is a Keeper!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Debby!
Ali
These pancakes are great! Even with full fat coconut milk. Light and fluffy – just what I ordered ;-) Thanks so much, this is my go-to recipe from now on.
★★★★★
Ali
Oh, and I swapped the sugar for honey.
Kate
Thanks, Ali!
W. Brown
Cleaning house for company is a good way to loose things like an old favorite Buckwheat Pancake recipe.
Your photos looked like the Buckwheats I used to make, thin but dense with flavor. And having read your concern for fluffiness I was expecting the same thin cake as I got before.
I stirred in half a chopped peach to my first batch and to my surprise my first one came out thick and much fluffier than my old recipe.
Your recipe produces a cake that more closely resembles my concept of a pancake.
Yours easily replaces my old recipe.
Thanks for publishing it!
Kate
Well, hmmm! I don’t know what was up with my batch (shown here), but it sounds like most people’s pancakes are nice and fluffy and for that I am glad. :) Thanks you for commenting!
James Sklar
Hello,
Can I sub almond milk and stevia in this recipe?
Thanks
Kate
Hi James, almond milk will work, but see my recipe note on how to turn it into “buttermilk”. Stevia, I’m not sure about. Pancakes typically contain a small amount of sugar, which I’ve heard helps prevent the outsides from burning against the griddle. You could definitely replace the sugar with maple syrup.
Karin
I’ve just made these – blooming delicious, thank you! I love your blog, too
Kate
Hooray, thanks Karin!
zoe
egg is vegan ???
Kate
No, it’s not! I’ve heard from readers that these pancakes turn out well with flax eggs, though, and you *might* be able to get away with skipping the egg altogether, which has worked well for me in another recipe but I’m not sure about this one, given that it’s gluten free.
Laura
Made these this morning and I loved them! Substituted Truvia and almond milk and they still turned out lovely.
Kate
Thanks, Laura! Glad to hear it!
Sara
Delicious!
Kate
Thank you!
m
Because of a certain diet I’m on, I’d like to use nonfat milk only and not turn it into a “buttermilk.” Will that still work? I don’t mind if it alters the taste and texture, I’m sure it will, but just want something that will still be held together and cook up okay.
Kate
Hi M, nonfat milk shouldn’t be a problem. However, the baking soda needs the acidity of buttermilk (or milk combined with vinegar or lemon juice) or it will taste very bitter. If you can’t do buttermilk, I’d say try omitting the baking soda and upping the baking powder to 1 1/2 teaspoons. That’s my best guess.
Jenny
Hi Kate! I love buckwheat pancakes and those look fantastic. I can’t handle the cuteness of your blog and dog:) Furry companions are the best!
Janet
These buckwheat pancakes were absolutely delicious! I will never go back to plain flour pancakes. I substituted one tablespoon of honey for the sugar and it turned out great. Thank you!!
Kate
Thank you, Janet! Happy to hear it!
Jeanie
I made these for my 2 year old yesterday (and again today!) and she loved them. I used 1/2 buckwheat and 1/2 Pamela’s gluten free pancake mix the first day, and 1/2 buckwheat and 1/2 Pamela’s all-purpose GF flour and both worked well. Also, since I didn’t have buttermilk on hand, used 3/4 c plain, full-fat yogurt mixed with 1/2 c water. The pancakes turned out amazing. Light and fluffy–just perfect!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Jeanie! I’m glad you both enjoy these pancakes!
roselyn
Hi Kate, I have some buckwheat flour in the freezer and was looking for recipes to make it with because it is nearing its best before date. I chanced upon your pancake recipe and I gave it a try. I am new to the taste of buckwheat as it is not normally part of our diet here in the Philippines but some specialty stores stock up on these and other healthy flours. Anyway, I loved the pancakes the first time I tried your recipe. This morning, I used greek yogurt because I have some on hand. I thinned it with milk in equal proportions. The pancakes turned out thick, just like the results of the commenters who swapped yogurt for buttermilk. Either way, they tasted the same which is amazing. Thanks for the recipe!
Kate
Awesome! I’m glad to know that yogurt turned out well for you. Thanks, Roselyn!
ZsofiN
This is the best pancake recipe ever!! Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray, thank you!
kiersten garrand
So delicious! I made mine with the almond milk recipe you provided, but I can’t imagine how wonderful these must be with actual buttermilk. I have been dying to find a good recipe for gluten free pancakes, and these did not disappoint. So filling too.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Kiersten! So glad to hear it.
Ebbing kilner
Just tried these pancakes and they were fantastic with blueberries, lemon juice and xylitol.
Doing a candida cleanse and it fits the bill for a delightful treat, thank you!
Carol Berman
I just tried these pancakes for the first time this morning for a birthday breakfast and they were fabulous with a few substitutions: Not having buttermilk on hand, I soured 2% milk with lemon and vinegar. To the batter, I added about a 1/2 cup of toasted walnut pieces. I put = amounts of oat flour with the buckwheat flour. Since we were out of strawberries, I made a sauce to go on top of the pancakes, heating 2 cups of frozen mixed berries with a 1/4 c of sugar and mixed in a slurry of 1 &1/2t of cornstarch, 1T water and 1T fresh lemon juice boiled for a minute and added 2 t of cherry liqueur.My husband and I adored the pancakes. Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Carol! Your pancakes sound great!
Carol Berman
Can’t wait to try some of the other recipes!
Kate
Thank you, Carol! Hope you love them!
alina
These are delicious!! I substituted liquid stevia for the sugar and they were still wonderful!
Kate
Thank you, Alina!
Maureen
Went looking for a buckwheat recipe to make for Shrove Tuesday tomorrow. I was raised Catholic in Maryland but we always walked up the hill to the episcopal church for buckwheat pancakes, sausage, and applesauce on Shrove Tuesday. It was a fundraiser for them. Good excuse to make these tomorrow night!
Savannah
So very tasty! I made these for valentines today and added 1/4 c cocoa powder and a mashed banana (adds sweetness and makes them extra moist) ! I also used almond milk since we don’t do dairy. Served with strawberries blueberries and coconut whipped cream.
Thank you !
★★★★★
Lisa
Hi Kate! With 215 comments, you already know this recipe is amazing, but I had to add another. I’m moving my family toward paleo due to some grain sensitivities. I was sad about losing our favorite cookie and kate pancakes and waffles. Silly me! This recipe…my children exclaimed, “These are the best pancakes I’ve ever eaten”. That is straight out of the mouths of kids, regarding buckwheat. I can’t wait for strawberry season so I can try them with roasted berries. Thank you so much.
★★★★★
Brittany
Like Lisa above me stated, you already know how amazing these pancakes are but I just had thank you for such a great recipe! My boyfriend and I make them all the time for ‘brinner’ (bfast for dinner) but this last time we got caught up in the side dishes and let the batter sit out on the counter for at least an hour before griddling them up… Turned out to be a tasty mistake. They were fluffier than ever.
Anyway, thanks to you and Cookie for all the research you do! (In the name of science and health obviously ;))
P.S. I always fold in some sort of fruit to the batter at the end. Bananas, blueberries sometimes even Pineapple, allllll good.
★★★★★
Laura B
Just made these and they are quite tasty. I used almond milk and half buckwheat half oat flour. They are soft and light and melt in your mouth. Flavor-wise they are a bit bland, BUT that’s actually positive: they can be made into sweet, savory, or anything in between. They are a great blank canvas so to speak. I added some mini chocolate chips and put some coconut spread on them, but I could see using them as a sub for English muffins in an egg sandwich, or even making a sort of crepe and filling with eggs and veggies. Will definitely make these again!
★★★★
Debra L. Sanderson
I have wanted to cook with buckwheat flour for a while now. I found the pancake recipe in your blog this afternoon. I used almond milk with the lemon juice. The pancakes were very tasty! My husband and I both thought they had a fragrance reminiscent of chocolate. We enjoyed them very much. I can’t wait to make them again and experiment with yogurt. I read in a few of the comments that the yogurt makes the pancakes more fluffy. I also want to try using half buckwheat flour and half Better Batter flour blend (gluten-free). Besides taking the bitterness of the soda out of the batter, I think buttermilk or sour milk makes the pancakes more tender. I will be reading more or your blog to get more tasty recipes for my family. Thank you!
★★★★
Ann
Super easy . . . . added a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch to the cup measure before measuring the buckwheat flour, and a rough tablespoon of melted butter to the batter, as well as some cinnamon. The results: fluffy buckwheat goodness eaten shamelessly with warm maple butter. Can’t belive there are any left. Will try dairy free option next. Thank you Kate :-)
Rosie
These are just brilliant, thank you. Have made them twice now and the whole family loves them. Just had them w spiced glazed pears with honey. Tell me though – when you freeze them, how do you reheat them? We don’t have a microwave – is that the trick?
Kate
Hi Rosie! So glad you’re enjoying them. I have best luck reheating them in the microwave but you can also [carefully] reheat them in the toaster.
Rose
I just made these pancakes for the third time – love them! Unfortunately, my brain was temporarily AWOL and I forgot to put the egg in. Guess what? They still turned out great! Only with Kate’s recipes can you make a mistake like this and STILL end up with food that tastes amazing!
Frances
+Leave out the sugar for diabetics. Also ok to use skimmed milk. Also good with a squeeze of orange and lemon juice.
★★★★★
Deb Schmidt
I had buttermilk left over from another recipe and decided to make these for Sunday morning breakfast. I used all buckwheat (did not do the half & half buckwheat/regular flour) and was a bit concerned that the batter was so thick. I was afraid they’d turn out to be rocks. No need to worry, however; they were perfect and delicious! My husband, a true (traditional) pancake connoisseur, really liked them. They are very light in texture and delicious. They are also very filling — those left over will make excellent snacks. Thank you for this recipe.
★★★★★
Heling Higgins
It’s delicious ! Finally found fluffy gluten free pancake recipe. Thank you for this !
Judy Harpur
Just made the buckwheat pancakes. What a pleasant surprise! I actually managed delicious, light, crispy pancakes made from scratch. I used sprouted buckwheat flour and curdled almond milk following proportions given in recipe. Thank you for a recipe that works for me!
★★★★★
Jayne
Hi Kate, and Cookie too! I made these buckwheat pancakes moments ago and they are delicious… I am so happy with this recipe and I added fresh strawberries from my garden as well. I made the buttermilk with almond milk and your vinegar formula, and just added some cinnamon and nutmeg on top before I ate them. Yum !! Great recipe thank you!
ora
Great! Also used for waffles as my husband loves them and I am a pancake lover. Will keep recipe as a staple. Thanks!
Millie
I made these pancakes without the sugar and had them with creamy garlic mushrooms – they were absolutely delicious!! They felt sooo nutritious too! Thank you for this brilliant recipe, it’s definitely going to be a regular for me!
ora
Hi Kate,
Thanks for the recipe! My husband and I love these! I am allergic to wheat and had and old recipe for buckwheat pancakes I made in a drawer. When we moved I missed placed it. This is wonderful and very similar to my lost recipe. I do add a tablespoon of oil to the batter as this was in my old recipe. My husband uses the batter for waffles and they work wonderfully. Today I added a half cup of almond flour as you suggested we could to half cup of buckwheat. It turned out great. Maybe a bit more crisp. Good news less carbs this way. Many thanks for the recipe. A staple in our home.
Theresa
These are my favorite buckwheat pancakes I have made so far… Thank you! Even my 5 year old loves them!
Crystal E
I’ve made these pancakes several times now, with the dairy-free buttermilk option (I use almond milk) and half buckwheat flour, half AP flour. They’re perfect! I’ve tried so many dairy-free pancake recipes, and few have I ever made more than once. I like it with a cinnamon banana compote, with a bit of apricot jam for acidity. Seriously, these are perfect! Thank you!!!!
★★★★★
Kate
Woohoo, thanks Crystal! Happy to hear it
Martha
Blended half rice flour w buckwheat flour and substituted whole milk yogurt for buttermilk. Delicious with bananas and maple syrup too. Made many happy tummies, thank you!
Georgia
Not sure if this little change made the difference, but I did 3/4 cup buckwheat and 1/4 cup coconut flour. Used a combo of coconut milk and almond milk with vinegar to make buttermilk and used stevia in place of sugar…. my pancakes were SUPER fluffy! About 1/2″ thick.
★★★★★
Kate
Awesome, thanks Georgia!
Megs
Kate! Thank you for this recipe. I’ve eaten a pancake today after years. Oh the joy! I didn’t change a thing. So good x x
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Megs! I’m so glad you enjoyed these. :)
Ivy
Just made these this morning, used whole buckwheat and ground it in the food processor, not as good as the fermented ones that we traditionally eat, but super good when you want something instant and so filling and delicious and i am so happy they are gluten free.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Ivy!
Sarah
Hi Kate! So I was wondering if these are sour at all? Where I live in West Virginia, we have a Buckwheat Festival every year, which is actually wrapping up today The Buckwheat cakes that they make here, though, are sour and I can’t stand them. I bought an entire bag of buckwheat flour from one of the vendors because my husband wants me to make them. He, like me though, doesn’t like the sour taste that they have. Any input would be helpful and appreciated! Thanks
Kate
Hi Sarah! Hmmm, I would describe buckwheat as nutty, but not sour. I can’t say that I’ve ever thought that these pancakes are sour, so I wonder if the festival cakes are intentionally made to be sour. I hope you enjoy these!
Sarah
My husband is on the board that organizes the festival. He said they let the batter sit for a day or so. I’m assuming this is what makes them sour (a lot of people that come to the festival love them…yuck!), so I just wanted to make sure that they wouldn’t be the same, even if they didn’t sit out. Thank you for the help and the recipe! :-)
Kate
Ohhh, that makes sense! So they are like sourdough pancakes. These will not taste that way. Hope you love them!
Laura
I love these! Thank you! But I switch out the buttermilk with organic goat milk yoghurt and that DOES make them fluffier. Secret I learned while living in the French Basque country-any yoghurt will do. I also use stevia instead of sugar because I’m hyperglycemic. But thank you for giving me back pancakes after not being able to eat them for so long!
★★★★
Kate
That’s a great tip, thanks Laura!
madmadjudy
It’s 11pm and I just finished frying up these buckwheat pancakes for my 8 month old daughter’s breakfast tomorrow. Neither of us has had buckwheat pancakes before, so I thought I’d give these a whirl and have a shared new experience! Not knowing much about the flavour profile of buckwheat, I did half buckwheat, half AP flour and subbed whole plain yogurt thinned with milk in place of the buttermilk. I tried the first one that came off the pan and they are sensational! Hope she likes them as much as I did. Thanks so much for the recipe!
★★★★★
Yana
These are the best pancakes ever! I have celiac disease and miss foods that I used to eat. I have now converted a whole troop of people to this recipe and we do not eat any other pancakes. These fill you up without giving you a disgusting post-pancake feeling. We follow the recipe as is and it is perfection every time. Thanks for this awesome recipe.
Melanie
Can we do pizza dough like this?
Txmom
Hi, these look great. I am in the middle of making them. The batter is really runny. What did I do wrong? I did forget sugar until after I combined everything else but it’s still runny. I can only get two pancakes on a double burner griddle. I would think more would fit. Thanks!
★★★
Katrina
Me too!! They were like paper and I could not do anything with them
★
Karen
I just made there and they are delicious! I recently started on a GF, low carb diet and every once in a while wish for a bit of bread. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Nigel
Maybe you should put a side note where you say “half a cup of flour of your choice” that coconut flour definitely does not work.
Suzanne
I made these pancakes this morning. I just found out that I need to follow a low histamine diet for a while, and I was looking for an easy, gluten free recipe for pancakes. I used 1/2 cup of buckwheat flour, 1/4 cup of sprouted brown rice flour, and 1/4 cup of rice protein powder (provides satiety and evens out blood sugar levels). I also only added 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to my dairy substitute. The pancakes turned out delicious!
★★★★★
Gabrielle
I love these pancakes!! So flavourful and very easy to make. BUCKWHeat is my favourite flour these days.
Stephen Mason
I love this recipe! Great as is, but I have cut down on the baking powder and baking soda (1/2 tsp. each) to reduce the sodium and added another egg, separated eggs and added beaten whites after dry ingredients.
This is a simple recipe, but what a revelation to me! I didn’t conceive you could make pancakes so good without wheat flour. Terrific! Thanks Kate.
★★★★★
Bayan Abuzinadah
Followed the exact recipe.. added one table spoon of hemp seeds! Perfection! Thank You!
★★★★★
Melody
Hi! Would this recipe work with some kind of dairy free milk instead of buttermilk? I’m allergic to dairy but this recipe looks so fabulous!
<3 Melody
★★★★★
Melody
never mind- saw you’ve thought of dairy free buttermilk recipe already! haha thanks :)
Kate
No worries! Happy you found what you were looking for. Let me know how it works.
Charlotte
I wish I could agree with the other posts. I made these exactly as directed and couldn’t get over the grainy texture of the pancakes. I also had a aftertaste that lasted. For me, cutting the buckwheat with another flour would be a must. That being said, the overall look and presentation of the pancakes is as expected. For me, unfortunately, they looked a lot better than they tasted. I am sorry!
★
Kate
Bummed these weren’t to your liking, Charlotte. Let me know if you decide to cut with another flour; I’d recommend whole wheat pastry flour for you, which will make the overall product a lot fluffier, texture-wise. As always, thank you for the feedback.
Cleaning out my kitchen
These were magnificent. A little kitchen organization unearthed some forgotten ingredients, including a bag of buckwheat flour. I used all buckwheat, 1/4 cup of milk + water, didn’t have strawberries so subbed pomegranate molasses — another treat stocked, then too long forgotten.
★★★★★
Kate
Ooh, those sound like *great* discoveries :)
Mona
Really love these pancakes. I halved the recipe today and they were still awesome. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Mona!
Rosy
Thank you for this recipe Kate! I’m an avid follower of your blog :) I just made these for my brunch today and I created a soy milk buttermilk and also used flax egg instead; while they were cooking I threw on a few frozen blueberries! They turned out really good. Thanks so much again :)
★★★★★
David
Love the buckwheat pancakes. We add a teaspoon of vanilla and one of cinnamon
Kate
Yum :) Sounds great, David.
Debbie
I made buckwheat pancakes using a mixture of precooked buckwheat and flour. It worked well
★★★★
Kate
Great! Wonderful to hear that, Debbie.
Emme
I used 1/2 buckwheat and 1/2 brown rice flour because I wanted to use up some of the rice flour (no food waste in this kitchen!) They came out SO fluffy – like, almost too fluffy. I added more liquid because the batter was just this fluffy ball. I also used hemp/coconut milk blend + ACV to make buttermilk. Still very tasty, and very earthy, which I tend to like! A great low FODMAP pancake :)
Kate
I’m glad this worked with just a little experimentation!
Janessa A.
So we ran outta baking soda the night before I made these(doggy clean up project on a favorite rug–actually works well!)…and quite honestly, only adding baking powder to these pancakes turned out well. I’ve made these before w/both soda and powder as the recipe calls for but find they taste a bit too soapy/bitter when you add both for our liking. I know the intent is to help make the batter more fluffy, but adding only powder made a perfectly tasting, only slightly less fluffy pancake. I suggest trying w/o the baking soda, for flavor. I also used Tbsp of honey instead of sugar.
Kate
Thanks for the tip, Janessa! And baking soda should be in every dog-owner’s toolbox, for sure!
Katy
This has been my go-to pancake recipe for a few years now. I use almond milk and apple cider vinegar instead of the lemon juice/white vinegar, I find it makes them fluffier. I have tried so many variations of this recipe, from orange gingerbread to lemon rosemary and it never lets me down. Thanks Kate!
Kate
Thanks for the tips, Katy! These are all super helpful.
Cara
This is my go-to pancake recipe for my low-gi diet. I’ve used it maybe half a dozen times, and I think I’ve perfected it in multiple forms. So, I use almond milk instead of buttermilk, and the tip about adding vinegar is super helpful. My tip is to prepare it in a jar so you can shake it up instead of stirring it, as I think it helps the milk thicken and not curdle (which doesn’t ruin the pancakes). Then, I think it’s really necessary to use a whisk to mix the egg into the milk, and then combine the dry and wet ingredients to cut down on lumps. I’ve also found recently, which I’m really excited about, that a great way to get fluffy pancakes, much more like traditional white flour pancakes is to add 1/4 cup cocoa powder to this recipe! I’m not sure if it’s simply the change in the ratio of dry to wet ingredients, or if the cocoa powder tends to react like flour in baking, but I absolutely love the pancakes with the added cocoa. They don’t end up with too much of a chocolate flavor because there isn’t any added sweetness, but it does add a nice complexity to the flavor of the pancakes and gives them that thicker texture, for anyone desperate to make these as much like “normal” pancakes as possible. *Love* this recipe! Oh! And my favorite spread, since I don’t do syrup with low-gi, is to mix some cream cheese with cashew butter, drizzle with honey, and top with some sliced bananas. It makes an amazing breakfast, dessert, and I also shamelessly admit to having had them for dinner at least twice. So good!
★★★★★
Kate
Girl, there is no shame in that breakfast-for-dinner game! Thank you so much for such a thoughtful comment– I sometimes struggle advising readers who have specific dietary needs, so I love that there is a conversation happening around different variations for different restrictions. Thanks, Cara!
LIZ
We made these and they were delicious. If I could suggest something it would be to make a double batch. They go too fast. Also we added chocolate chips and they didn’t even need syrup.
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful! Thanks, Liz.
Jennifer
Love!!! Didn’t have strawberries, so used banana and another time used my own walnut butter on top w maple syrup. My new fav. pancakes, thank you!!
★★★★★
Kate
Yum! Sounds delicious, Jennifer.
elizabeth hamre
Hello dear Kate… Thank you for this information… I have replaced the buttermilk with almond milk and used buckwheat honey… I was truly surprised with the wonderful flavor of the pancakes… hehehe…and forget the sexy look which can fool you most of the time because the ”look” appearance is only on the surface so the ordinary pancakes might look better in appearance but the reason we think -believe that those golden cakes look better because we are made to believe by general agreement that is the was the pancake should look.
So, my dear, thank you again and do have a lovely day! By the way, you also made my day!
Elizabeth.
★★★★★
Lisa
The first time I made the pancakes, I was out of milk so I used a cup of vanilla yogurt and enough water to make 1 1/4 cups. Turned out great. Love the recipe.
★★★★★
Kate
Great thinking, Lisa! I’m so glad it turned out well.
Terry
I made this recipe and found that there is too much baking soda in the recipe, I would reduce the baking soda to 1/2 teaspoon. I thought that the baking soda might be too much when I made them so I did not add salt, thank goidness, or they would have been very salty. Also, almond milk does not coagulate with acid so a “buttermilk” is not created. The batter was runny so I will reduce the liquid to 1 cup next time.
Kate
Sorry this one didn’t work out for you, Terry.
Ruth morley
I found your recipe to be just what I wanted and needed! I’m assembling all my dehydrated meals to have sent to me when I thru-hike the whole Appalachian Trail, but lacked pancakes. Since I’m gluten and dairy free, I can’t eat the ones offered at cafes in the trail towns I’ll pass through. And I’ll NEED pancakes after weeks and months on the trail!!
I made up a test dry mix today at home, using your recipe. I substituted the buttermilk with powdered goats milk (which works for me), and the eggs with dried egg powder by OvaEasy. I also eliminated the vanilla since it was a liquid and non-portable. I just added water before cooking. Yum!
So my plan is to have individual servings of the dry mix in small ziplocks sent to me with my other food and ask the cooks at cafes to cook my pancakes up for me, to accompany my purchased tea, bacon, juice and fruit salad order. Now I won’t have to sadly watch my fellow hikers scarf down pancakes without me!
Kate
Wow, Ruth! What an amazing undertaking. I’m so glad that my pancakes worked for what you needed! All the best on your hike. I hope it’s beautiful and fulfilling, and that you get home safely.
Jackie Bouchard
Ooo, these are so good. Have been making these often for my GF hubby. Have also tried a variation, substituting 1/3 of the buckwheat w/ PB2 powdered peanut butter. So tasty! Thanks for the recipe!
Kate
Great! I’m glad both versions worked out for you, Jackie.
Laura
Today I learned that I am either a terrible cook or not a fan of buckwheat. I went to the health food store and bought fresh locally sourced ingredients. Clearly, with all of the wonderful reviews that this recipe has received, I messed it up big time. My pancakes will now be fed outside to the birds. Hopefully, they will appreciate my cooking! Lol.
★★★★
Kate
Oof, sorry this one didn’t work out so well, Laura!
Betty Masters
Wonderful and light. Added blueberries and some pumpkin pie spice! Yum!
★★★★★
Sarah
I made this recipe (multiplied by 8!) for a large gathering of friends last weekend. I made adjustments, of course, but this is such a simple and flexible recipe that adjusting it is a pretty easy thing to do. I had 8 cups of flour, about 80% of which was buckwheat. The remaining 20% was a mixture of left over coconut flour and almond flour. I threw them in to make an even amount (and because those little baggies of expensive flours that aren’t enough for anything else just needed to be used!). I added a dash of hazelnut extract, in addition to the vanilla. And, finally, the store I went to only had one quart of buttermilk, but I needed 2.5 times that much for all the pancakes. So, I used cashew milk and lemon juice for the rest of the liquid. With all of these adjustments, the batter was pretty thick (I think coconut flour just absorbs so much more than I account for), but it was delicious. The pancakes were a hit, with a marvelous rich flavor. They weren’t super fluffy, as you said, but they were still light. We used up a lot of the batter, but there will be buckwheat pancakes in my freezer for many breakfasts to come! Thanks :)
★★★★★
Brynalee
I used homemade hazelnut milk, but otherwise did not vary the recipe. They were tasty, but the batter was far too thick. I had to add extra liquid. Next time I would try with 1/2 cup or 3/4 cup buckwheat flour instead. Also I didn’t use butter, I used coconut oil in a cast iron pan.
Rhona Weiss
Instead of the buttermilk could I use yogurt?
Kate
That might work. It’s hard to say since yogurts vary so much in consistency. If you want to give it a try, I would use a runny plain yogurt. Please report back if you do!
Joanne
I did the 1/2 buckwheat flour and 1/2 gluten free all purpose flour. These were the lightest pancakes I have ever eaten. They were like eating ‘air’…I will definitely make these again! Thanks.
Kate
Thanks for your comment, Joanne! If you would want to leave a star review since you really liked them, that would be great!
Angela
The texture certainly is different… I went to have these with strawberry jam and cream but my jam had begun to grow mould so I had to have just butter… Can’t help thinking if I’d had them with jam I might have liked them better. I will keep trying them to see if I can become accustomed to the texture of buckwheat but yeah… It’s a bit different to normal flour that’s for sure
Kate
Buckwheat does provide a different texture and can take some getting use to. I am happy you tried them! Yes, with the jam helps to balance and provides a nice sweetness and texture.
Maggie
I made the recipe as written, with 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour. These have a great texture, but the baking soda measurement seems to be way off. They tasted so strongly of baking soda that they were virtually inedible. Maybe there’s a mistake in the proportions?
★★
Kate
I am sorry to hear that, Maggie! The 1 teaspoon is correct. Sometimes if the baking soda is expired, it can change the taste. Also, make sure you buy aluminum free baking soda. That can be the strong flavor. Hope this helps!
Kristin
I made these this morning and they are delicious! I’ve been looking for a good GF buckwheat flour pancake recipe for a long time. I used about 2/3 C buckwheat flour and 1/3 C toasted almond flour. I topped them with cinnamon apple compote, wild blueberries, and maple syrup. Yum!
★★★★★
Kate
Those toppings sound delicious, Kristin! Thank you, for your comment and review.
Jan
Delicious. Even without the strawberries… I replaced sugar with vanilla bean extract paste and used almond milk instead of buttermilk. Still delicious!!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for sharing your variation! I appreciate the review, Jan.
liz silverstein
My daughter and I just finished eating these pancakes. YUM!!!! Best gf pancakes I’ve ever had!!! Thanks Kate
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful! I like that you posted immediately after eating. That’s a win. :)
Donna James
Have started the RAD eating plan and didn’t know how I could cope without an occasional brunch with pancakes and some sort of fruity topping on a weekend. Didn’t have strawberries so topped these with banana, California walnuts and maple syrup. I eat GF and DF so added rice wine vinegar to my almond milk. These were so fluffy and thick, no lack of height, cooked easily and quickly and looked fabulous. I loved the nutty flavour and can’t wait to try them with other berry toppings. They also absorb the maple syrup wonderfully! Thanks for yet another fabulous recipe making my new way of eating a great experience.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m really happy to hear they worked with your food needs! Love that. I appreciate your comment and review, Donna. :)
Tim
These pancakes were fantastic! Simple, without any crazy ingredients makes this a great Sunday morning breakfast for the Basic Dad.
They were fluffy enough for me, too. Of course, it could never get as fluffy as white flour pancakes.
I used full buckwheat and did the milk with vinegar to make buttermilk (we never have buttermilk around). That was the only thing we did outside of the recipe. It made more than enough for two adults plus an 18 month old. I didn’t make the strawberries, cause I’m not that dedicated. Peanut butter and honey did the trick.
Thanks so much!
★★★★★
Kate
Peanut butter and honey sound like great additions, Tim! I like to sometimes just defrost frozen berries and gets to be a nice jam-like topping. Thanks for sharing!
Trent Woodward
Oh my God, the flavor is unbelievable!! I used only buckwheat flour, and I made the recipe vegan (at first). I used nut buttermilk (almond-hazelnut-pecan) and a chia seed egg. The issue I had was that the first pancake was crumbly, so I added another chia seed egg tohe rest of the batter. Still crumbly. Then, I put half a chicken egg in the remaining batter. That solved it. But then I looked at a vegan buckwheat pancake recipe and realized that I forgot to grind the chia seeds before putting water in! So make sure to do that if you’re making a vegan version. Thanks for the recipe :)
Trent Woodward
Oh and to add to that, I found that putting the chicken egg in masked the buckwheat flavor–I prefer the chia seed egg. And I found that the middle of the pancakes stayed pretty soggy while the outsides were crispy. Probably I need to reduce the heat and cook I cook longer next time, right?
Kate
Thank you for sharing your variation and approach!
louise Allard
I love buckwheat crepes. But your pancakes are delicious.I just ate them with butter and mollasses. Next time I will try the roasted strawberries. I am sure it will be very tasty. Thanks
Kate
Thank you!