Pancakes are one of those comfort foods that everyone loves. So now that we’re eating less gluten and grains, I thought it would be fun to try coconut flour pancakes, especially since there seems to be such strong opinions about what makes a great coconut flour pancake.
Well, in my humble opinion, the fluffier (and fruiter) the pancake, the better. And after making way too many batches, I’ve found that the key to fluffy coconut flour pancakes is two things: Separate your eggs, so you can fold well-whipped, fluffy egg whites into the batter, and keep the pancakes small – silver dollar size to be exact.
So if you enjoy the flavor and texture of coconut flour, we think you’ll find these pancakes quite tasty, especially with fresh organic blueberries added. They’re also delicious with fresh diced organic strawberries, or diced banana with a sprinkling of crispy walnuts. Mmm! Just see note below about how to properly add fruit to pancakes. Enjoy!
Whipping the egg whites is key to fluffy coconut flour pancakes!
The trick to perfectly flipping pancakes … wet your nylon spatula with a little water before flipping. It helps to keep the spatula from sticking to the pancakes. 
Adding fruit directly to the top of each cooking pancake (rather than adding it to the batter) ensures that the pancakes cook through evenly.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup organic coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup plain whole milk kefir (*see note below about substitutions)
- Fresh blueberries (or your favorite fresh fruit)
Instructions
- Preheat griddle over medium to medium-low heat.
- In a small bowl combine the coconut flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Next, separate the egg whites from the yolks. Place the egg whites in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Place the egg yolks in a large bowl and whisk in the melted butter. (Be sure the melted butter has cooled to touch before adding, otherwise you may end up with some cooked egg-yolk bits.) Next, whisk in the maple syrup, vanilla and whole milk kefir.
- Then, add the dry mixture to the egg yolk mixture, whisking well to thoroughly combine, making sure there are no lumps in the batter.
- Using a clean large wire whisk, whisk the egg whites rapidly until very foamy (about two minutes).
- Then, use the whisk to fold the whipped egg whites into the batter; by gently turning the batter over and over again, until well combined.
- Grease preheated griddle with butter (or coconut oil).
- Ladle a spoonful of batter onto the griddle to form a silver dollar size pancake (about 3” in diameter).
- Top each pancake with a few fresh blueberries, if desired (see note below). Cook for a few minutes, until the tops begin to dry out and the bottoms are a golden brown. It’s important to keep a careful eye on them as coconut flour pancakes burn easily. (I like to take a little peek under one of the pancakes to check, before flipping.)
- Carefully flip and cook another few minutes until done, but not over-browned.
- Serve hot off the griddle with butter, pure maple syrup and a medley of fresh berries. (Recipe inspired by Nourishing Days.)
Notes
Fabulous Fruity Pancakes: To make fabulous fruity pancakes, do not add fruit directly into the pancake batter. Instead, once you ladle out the batter onto the hot griddle, add a small amount of fresh whole blueberries (or other diced fruit of your choice) to the top of each pancake prior to flipping (see photo below). This ensures that the pancakes cook through evenly. It's also best to use fresh fruit, since frozen fruit tends to be excessively moist and may result in a soggy pancake.
*Note about Substitutions: For best results, use whole milk kefir, it really is fantastic in this recipe. However, if you don't have access to whole milk kefir, you can substitute with whole milk yogurt. Either way, it's the higher fat content in whole milk kefir (or whole milk yogurt) that contributes to the fluffiness and flavor of the pancakes.
If you're dairy-free, eliminate the butter and substitute the kefir with one cup of organic unsweetened real coconut milk. For best results, do not use "lite" coconut milk, or coconut milk beverages. (Note: Native Forest brand canned organic unsweetened coconut milk is BPA-free.)
Time Saving Tip: Make a double batch and allow extra pancakes to cool on wire rack. Then place cooled pancakes on baking sheets and place baking sheets in freezer. Once pancakes are frozen, remove from baking sheet and place frozen pancakes in freezer-safe container. Store in freezer for up to one month. No need to thaw, simply reheat frozen pancakes in toaster oven (at 275 degrees) for a quick, healthy breakfast.
How many calories in a serving? What’s the serving size?
Hi, Melissa. My recipe plug-in doesn’t include calorie counts, but I’m sure that there are probably some online sites that will help you do this. The yield is 16. So you could calculate the calories for all ingredients used and divide the sum by 16 to see how many calories there are per pancake. Blessings, Kelly
Thanks so much!
wish I could be more help!
Well, I love all your recipes so much that I thought I’d try this one too. Your advice about silver dollar size is right on, this makes it much easier to flip. You should also caution that if you try to flip too soon then the pancake will fall apart (speaking from personal experience). The taste was different, not what I expected….maybe the yogurt or the coconut flour as this is my first venture with it. While I probably won’t make this one again especially given all the dishes it created, I will say the little ones really liked them and gobbled them right up. Thanks for all the creative recipes you continue to provide.
Thanks, Liz, for taking the time to comment. You are right that you have to give the pancake adequate time to cook before flipping. I like to take a peek at mine first before flipping to make sure the bottom is nice and golden. And apologies about all the dishes this creates, but it’s essential to whip those egg whites in order for these to achieve that nice fluffiness. Personally, I enjoy my blanched almond flour pancakes better, so you may want to give those a try. You’ll still have dishes to deal with, but I think almond flour combined with buttermilk creates more of that light, authentic pancake flavor that most people are looking for, while still enjoying the benefits of a high protein, low carb GF pancake. Thanks again for your honest feedback! Blessings, Kelly
I prepared this panckaes today,I didn’t want to follow the tip of adding the fruit after you flip once so it was a little harder to turn the pancakes, but they tasted very good, specially to my husband since he doesn’t like to eat bread or anything that taste or looks like it, but he loves coconut so he gave it a try and he love it! Thanks for your recipes and for this website. I was looking for a website like this and I found it! Thaks again. God Bless.
So glad you and your hubby enjoyed these! Appreciate you taking the time to leave a kind note! I’m so glad you found my site too! Blessings, Kelly
I just tried your coconut recipe today because I’m out of almond meal. I actually found the taste reminded me of french toast (a rarity in our GF household). The smaller size, full browning and greased griddle are definitely helpful for flipping. I also found that the pancakes were fluffed up nicely until I flipped them, then they dropped. These still tasted alright and we have a couple leftover for tomorrow’s breakfast.
I absolutely love your meal plans and have downloaded the spreadsheet. Thanks so much for making that available. It is really necessary to be organized and prepared when you can’t (and don’t want to) eat anything that comes out of a box. I’m glad I have your site as a resource. Thanks for the time you put into it!
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful and kind note, Jennifer. I am so happy to hear you’re finding my site helpful! Yes, you are so right about meal planning being essential to being able to prepare healthy meals. It truly is the foundation of making any healthy diet changes because it empowers you to stay focused and on track with your health goals. Many blessings to you and your family, Kelly
The kids loved a chocolate chip version of these! I found them to be more satisfying than traditional pancakes. I was wondering do you ever use all purpose gf flour? And do you make any gf bread? I’m not good at experimenting
Hi, Paula. I don’t use GF blends because they tend to be full of starches, which I don’t do well with. But I do have a wonderful friend, Erin at The Humbled Homemaker who does create GF blends at home and bakes bread. You can find her GF flour blend favorites here: http://www.grainmillwagon.com/using-a-wondermill-to-make-gluten-free-flours/ and her family’s favorite GF bread recipe here: http://www.grainmillwagon.com/easy-allergy-friendly-sandwich-bread-recipe-gluten-egg-and-dairy-free/ Hope this helps! Blessings, Kelly
I made your fluffy almond flour pancakes last week and enjoyed them, so I was hesitant to try these. I have to say that I like these coconut flour ones better. The only change I made was to use whole fat greek yogurt (as you suggested) as I didn’t have milk kefir on hand. I made 20 pancakes which ends up being 200 calories for four pancakes.
Hi, Jenn. I really like these coconut flour ones too!
But the almond flour ones are great for those who don’t care for the taste of coconut – my oldest son (LOL). Thanks for taking the time to leave a kind note! Lots of blessings, Kelly 