Whip up a cozy plate of gluten free pumpkin pancakes for a seasonal breakfast! These soft and fluffy little cakes are packed with plenty of fall flavor thanks to pumpkin puree, warming spices, and maple syrup.
Here's a perfectly autumnal recipe for pumpkin pancakes made with gluten-free oat flour, a mix of cinnamon and ginger, and a bit of maple syrup for natural sweetness and flavor. Reminiscent of gluten free pumpkin waffles, but a worthy contender for the breakfast table in their own right, these wonderfully fluffy little cakes are deliciously easy to throw together.
Dress them up with whipped cream and a drizzle of salted caramel sauce, try homemade blackberry jam, keep the pumpkin theme going with slices of gluten free pumpkin coffee cake alongside, or swipe them with your favorite nut butter for a filling, on-the-go snack. Inspired by a King Arthur Baking recipe, these beauties are one of my favorite fall breakfasts!
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Pumpkin Pancake Details
- A wee bit different. Look, I love gluten free buttermilk pancakes and oat flour pancakes as much as everyone else, but sometimes you want to (literally) spice things up! These pancakes are just out of the ordinary enough to satisfy my wish for something different.
- Easy. A quick whisk and stir, and the batter comes together without any stress.
- So flavorful. Pumpkin + spices = sweetly fragrant pancakes that you won't forget anytime soon!
- Just one flour is needed. And of course, it's my favorite: oat flour! This whole-grain flour works wonderfully in this simple recipe, and I know you'll love it.
For more oat flour inspiration, browse all my oat flour recipes.
Ingredients Needed
Here's a look at the simple ingredients that make up this recipe. Scroll down to my recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full ingredient amounts and instructions!
- Oat flour - Use certified gluten-free oat flour if needed, or try a gluten-free flour blend (like my homemade gluten free flour blend) if you don't have any. For an oat-free option, try brown rice flour.
- Maple syrup - I love adding maple syrup to the batter for a hint of natural sweetness. You could also try brown sugar.
- Baking powder
- Spices - A mix of ground cinnamon and ginger.
- Salt - Fine sea salt or table salt works.
- Milk - Use whole or 2% milk, or try non-dairy milk.
- Pumpkin puree - I always use plain pumpkin (my homemade pumpkin puree works great!) and not pumpkin pie mix, which is already flavored.
- Butter - Swap coconut oil or non-dairy butter if needed.
- Egg - I used a large egg.
Variation Ideas
- Chocolate chips - Stir in ½ cup of mini or regular chocolate chips to make pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes.
- Nuts - I love chopped pecans or walnuts in the batter or used as a topping.
- Coconut - Add a little extra sweetness with ½ cup of shredded coconut.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Follow along with the photos below to get an idea of how to make these pancakes.
1. Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
2. Mix wet ingredients: In a medium bowl, stir together the milk, butter, pumpkin puree, and egg.
3. Combine: Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir well to combine. Rest the batter for 15 minutes.
4. Cook: Heat a griddle or pan until hot, then cook the pancakes for 2-3 minutes per side.
Pancakes Tip: Rest the Batter
As always with gluten-free batters, it's so important to let the batter rest before baking or cooking. But did you know that you should always do this with pancake and waffle batters, regardless of the type of flour? Yep! Pancake batter really benefits from a short hydration period so that the flour can soak up the liquid; the pancakes will turn out super fluffy and extra delicious. Try to let it rest for about 15 minutes before frying the pancakes.
Tips & Recipe Notes
- Heat the pan thoroughly. Set the pan over medium heat, let it heat for a few minutes, then flick a few drops of water on the surface. If they sizzle and disperse, the pan is ready for the pancake batter. If the pan isn't hot enough, the pancakes will cook unevenly.
- Grease the pan well. Don't skimp on greasing the pan! This will help the pancakes to flip easily. I love using butter, but oil works, too.
- Double up. This recipe easily doubles or even triples if you wish to make a larger batch of pancakes to feed a crowd or to have enough for leftovers later in the week.
- What size for the pancakes? I always reach for a ¼ cup measure to scoop out the batter, but you could make them larger or smaller as you like.
- Flour substitutions: If you don't do oat flour, try an equal swap of brown rice flour, sorghum flour, buckwheat flour, or an oat-free 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose baking flour.
- Vegan: Omit the egg (the pancakes will be slightly denser but will still hold together), and use non-dairy butter and milk.
- Pumpkin pie spice. Swap 1 ½ teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice for the mix of cinnamon and ginger.
Serving Options
- Lots of maple syrup - My favorite, and it goes so well with pumpkin!
- Melted butter - I do love a little salted (or unsalted) butter drizzled over pancakes.
- Whipped cream - Dress up a pile of pancakes with softly whipped cream for a treat!
- Nut butter - I love snacking on pancakes that are spread with a little peanut or almond butter.
- Jam - I love jam on pancakes (my blackberry jam is featured above), or try seasonal preserves like apple jelly or persimmon jam.
How to Store and Reheat Extras
Make sure to cool the pancakes completely before adding them to a bag or container so that they don't get soggy! They make great leftovers.
- Fridge - Place leftover pancakes in a sealable bag, with a piece of parchment between each pancake, and store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer - Place the pancakes in a freezer-safe, sealable bag with a piece of parchment paper in between each pancake, and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before reheating.
- To Reheat - Reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds per pancake.
More Gluten Free Pumpkin Recipes
Happy baking! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know. Please leave a comment below, reach out with any questions, and tag me on Instagram @Cucina Nicolina ❤️
Recipe
Gluten Free Pumpkin Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups oat flour (150 grams)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup milk plus a bit more if needed
- ⅓ cup pure pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted, plus more for the pan
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the 1 ¼ cups oat flour, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, and ½ teaspoon fine sea salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the 1 cup milk, ⅓ cup pure pumpkin puree, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, and 1 large egg.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring just until evenly moistened. You may need to add a few more tablespoons of milk if the batter is very thick. Let the batter stand for 15 minutes before cooking.
- When ready, heat a large pan over medium heat until a few drops of water sizzle on its surface. Lightly grease the pan with butter or oil.
- Use a ¼ cup measure to scoop the batter onto the pan. Cook for about 2-3 minutes on the first side, until the edges start to look dry. Flip and cook on the other side until the bottoms are lightly brown, about 2-3 more minutes.
Notes
- Rest batter: As always with gluten-free batters, it's so important to let the batter rest before baking or cooking. But did you know that you should always do this with pancake and waffle batters, regardless of the type of flour? Yep! Pancake batter really benefits from a short hydration period so that the flour can soak up the liquid; the pancakes will turn out super fluffy and extra delicious. Try to let it rest for about 15 minutes before frying the pancakes.
- Heat the pan thoroughly. Set the pan over medium heat, let it heat for a few minutes, then flick a few drops of water on the surface. If they sizzle and disperse, the pan is ready for the pancake batter. If the pan isn't hot enough, the pancakes will cook unevenly.
- Grease the pan well. Don't skimp on greasing the pan! This will help the pancakes to flip easily. I love using butter, but oil works, too.
- Double up. This recipe easily doubles or even triples if you wish to make a larger batch of pancakes to feed a crowd or to have enough for leftovers later in the week.
- What size for the pancakes? I always reach for a ¼ cup measure to scoop out the batter, but you could make them larger or smaller as you like.
- Flour substitutions: If you don't do oat flour, try an equal swap of brown rice flour, sorghum flour, buckwheat flour, or an oat-free 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose baking flour.
- Vegan: Omit the egg (the pancakes will be slightly denser but will still hold together), and use non-dairy butter and milk.
- Pumpkin pie spice. Swap 1 ½ teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice for the mix of cinnamon and ginger.
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