Vegan Whole Wheat Gingerbread Pancakes
These fluffy gingerbread pancakes are bursting with bold flavors and are entirely plant-based and loaded with fiber-rich whole grains! They’re the perfect holiday treat made a bit more nutritious while also tasting just as good (or probably better!) than any gingerbread pancakes you’ve tried.
I’m a self-proclaimed huge fan of pancakes, but admittedly, I can’t actually remember the last time I ate a “classic” pancake. With the endless flavor combinations out there (like blueberry cornmeal, pumpkin, lemon ricotta, banana teff (swap the honey with maple syrup to make that recipe vegan!)), it’s really hard to pass any of those up for “plain” pancakes! No offense to lovers of the simple traditional pancake out there, but let’s just say there’s a world of flavors you’re missing out on - especially if your only pancake experiences start with a trip to the pancake mix section of the supermarket.
While I had almost every season covered - lemon pancakes for the spring, blueberry pancakes for the summer, pumpkin pancakes for the fall, and banana pancakes - obviously - for whenever, missing from that list was a holiday-inspired flavor - namely, gingerbread. So of course I had to develop a gingerbread-flavored pancake to add into the repertoire! And because gingerbread is a powerful flavor, I knew these pancakes could be made with whole wheat flour while still tasting great! (Because if there’s something I love more than flavored pancakes, it’s flavored pancakes made with nutritious whole grains. 😉) And since there’s probably nothing I hate more than bland or underwhelming flavors, these pancakes are absolutely loaded with ginger, molasses, and warming spices to give them their super bold (and pleasant!) namesake gingerbread flavors! They’re truly delicious, not to mention also super fluffy and entirely whole grain. This is easily one of those pancake recipes that you’ll immediately fall in love with and find yourself craving again and again.
Why You’ll Love these Gingerbread Pancakes
Bold flavors. Because these aren’t just regular pancakes, they’re gingerbread pancakes - and they really taste like it! On top of warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, there are cloves and allspice for spiciness, molasses for that classic rich gingerbread flavor, and two forms of ginger: dried and fresh. The freshly grated ginger is what helps inject some freshness into the pancakes in order to lift up and enhance all those dark robust flavors (and, IMO, it’s the key ingredient that takes these pancakes from 9/10 to 11/10!).
100% whole grain. There’s only one thing better than pancakes, and that’s whole grain pancakes. You get all the delicious flavors and lovely experience of eating pancakes for breakfast, while the pancakes are also more nutritious as they pack in additional fiber, vitamins, and minerals from the whole wheat flour! And don’t worry, it won’t make them taste like cardboard - I promise the whole grain flour (specifically, whole wheat pastry flour) works great here.
Texture. Combining whole wheat pastry flour, which is much fluffier than regular whole wheat flour, with a vegan buttermilk and applesauce (more on this in the Ingredient Overview section below), yields incredibly satisfying fluffy pancakes! Read: these have the perfect pancake texture - on top of also nailing the flavor and packing in whole grains. Doesn’t get any better than that!
Easy to make. Pancakes are simple to make! You pretty much combine all your dry ingredients together, separately combine all your wet ingredients together, and fold the dry and wet ingredients together to make your pancake batter! That’s it. Just make sure to cook the pancakes on medium heat to prevent them from burning on the outside (this happens when heat is too high) or not cooking on the inside (the heat is too low).
Ingredient Overview
Whole wheat pastry flour. To make these whole grain pancakes, while also achieving a light and fluffy texture, these pancakes use whole wheat pastry flour (WWPF). Just like regular whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour is entirely a 100% whole grain flour, so it’s got all the fiber, vitamins, and minerals found inside the whole grain to amp up the pancakes’ nutrition! But unlike regular whole wheat flour, it’s milled much more finely, which helps yield much fluffier pancakes. So by using WWPF, we’ve got all the added benefits of whole grains in addition to that *perfectly fluffy* pancake texture. Can’t beat it!
Baking soda, baking powder, and salt. For rise and flavor balance.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and TWO types of ginger! The dried spices add that classic gingerbread spicing combination. But to really enhance those gingerbread vibes of the spices and molasses, we also add in some freshly grated ginger. That little bit of fresh ginger goes a long way to elevate the flavor of these pancakes to that next level! In fact, I think it’s what makes the pancakes.
Soy milk (or another non-dairy milk) + apple cider vinegar. Combined together to form a vegan “buttermilk,” which helps contribute to these pancakes’ fluffy texture! Any non-dairy milk works here, but I prefer using soy milk as it’s got a bit more protein and actually curdles when combined with the apple cider vinegar. Oat milk would be my second choice, but use whatever you like.
Applesauce. This primarily acts as an egg replacer to further help make these pancakes super fluffy, while adding a bit of sweetness and moisture at the same time.
Molasses. To add in those classic gingerbread flavors! There are three different types of molasses, 1) light or golden, 2) dark or robust, and 3) blackstrap. For the perfect gingerbread flavor in these pancakes, make sure to use the “light” or “golden” variety. The other two will be extremely overpowering!
Light brown sugar. Although molasses is a form of sugar, it’s also relatively bitter. By adding in a bit of light brown sugar into the batter, this helps balance the bitterness of the molasses and while balancing and bringing out those lovely gingerbread flavors. Please don’t be tempted to skip the sugar - a small amount makes all the difference in the flavor here!
Neutral oil. To add moisture! If possible, I recommend using avocado oil or “high-oleic” sunflower oil as these have a much higher content of monounsaturated fats (i.e. more healthful fats) than other neutral vegetable oils.
Vanilla extract. For warmth.
Let’s get into these pancakes! And if you’re craving more gingerbread goodies (and who isn’t?!), I think you’ll also love my gingerbread loaf recipe!
Whole Wheat Gingerbread Pancakes
Vegan
Serves 2-3
Ingredients
For the pancakes:
1 cup soy milk (or another non-dairy milk, but use 1 tablespoons less if not using soy milk)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
⅓ cup unsulphured “gold” or “light” molasses - I used Grandma’s Original (not “robust”/“full” or blackstrap molasses)
⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
1½ tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon neutral oil (i.e. avocado oil, sunflower oil, etc.)
1½ teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To serve:
Maple syrup
Pomegranate arils (optional, but delicious!)
Toasted pecans (optional)
Directions
In a medium bowl, combine the soy milk (or other non-dairy milk) and apple cider vinegar and set aside for 5 minutes to curdle and make a “buttermilk.” If you use a milk other than soy, note that it may not curdle as much - this is expected!
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground spices (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves).
To the bowl with the vegan “buttermilk” mixture, add in the molasses, applesauce, light brown sugar, fresh ginger, and vanilla extract and mix thoroughly until everything is evenly combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to fold the ingredients together just until combined to form a batter.
Meanwhile, preheat a skillet over medium heat or a griddle to 375°F and add some oil to lightly coat.
Scoop ⅓ cup of pancake batter onto the prepared pan/griddle and cook over medium heat until bubbles form and the outsides start looking “dry,” about 3-4 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until done, about 2-2½ more minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter, making sure to lightly grease the pan in between batches to prevent any sticking.
Serve the pancakes warm with maple syrup and any other toppings you like!
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