Gluten-Free Lemon Blueberry Pancakes (grain-free, vegan, 1 bowl)

These sweet and zesty lemon blueberry pancakes are gluten-free and grain-free, yet they’re so light and fluffy! You are not going to believe that these almond flour pancakes are gluten-free!

I love pancakes when they are hearty and not just carriers of maple syrup 🙂 These gluten-free lemon blueberry pancakes are my latest pancake-making adventure and use almond flour that make them a satisfying breakfast. They’re packed with sweet blueberries and have a great, tangy flavor from lemon juice and zest. They have a perfect texture and flavor — no one will guess that they are both gluten-free and grain-free!

You can make them even more fluffy by adding a little bit of club soda to the batter instead of the non-dairy milk. I use non-dairy milk for this recipe, but as you have seen in my other gluten-free recipes, like my gluten-free cakes, I usually add club soda as one of the rising agents. Adding some air to gluten-free batter before cooking or baking it helps it rise and get fluffy, and reduces the chances of gummy result.

If you like these pancakes, don’t miss my other vegan pancake recipes, like my sheet pan pancakes, banana oat pancakes, and cinnamon streusel pancakes! These are all either gluten-free or include an option for making them gluten-free.

Why You’ll Love Lemon Blueberry Pancakes

• SO light and fluffy with sweet-tart blueberries and zesty lemon
• easy, 1-bowl batter
• gluten-free, grain-free, and soy-free
• 30-minute vegan breakfast

More Lemon Blueberry Goodness

• Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
• Lemon Blueberry Waffles
• Blueberry Lemonade
• Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

• blanched almond flour – Blanched almond flour will give you the best looking pancakes. If you can’t find blanched, it’s OK, but the color will be different. See substitute options in recipe notes.
• tapioca starch – This is your binder. Tapioca starch gives the best results, but if you don’t have tapioca starch, you can use a mix of cornstarch and another starch, like potato or arrowroot.
• baking powder, baking soda, – To leaven the batter.
• lemon juice and zest – For that zesty, lemony flavor!
• vanilla for classic pancake flavor
• non-dairy yogurt – Adds moisture and tang. salt balances the sweet flavor
• maple syrup – Adds more moisture and natural sweetness.
• oil – Adds moisture and helps the pancakes brown.
• non-dairy milk – For more moisture! Use club soda instead of even fluffier pancakes.
• blueberries – Sweet blueberries are so good with this lemony batter!

Tips

• When you mix the dry ingredients, make sure to break up the almond flour lumps as much as possible, because it will become very difficult to do that after you add the wet ingredients to the bowl.
• The batter should be slightly thicker than pancake batter after mixing and then letting it sit for 5 minutes in the bowl.
• Covering the pan while cooking is key. It traps the steam, which helps the pancakes come out so perfectly moist!
• These pancakes are fluffiest and softest when they are fresh, so serve immediately.

How to Make Gluten-Free Lemon Blueberry Pancakes

In a bowl, add all of the dry ingredients — that’s the almond flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest — and mix really well. Press and mix to break all the almond flour lumps, because once you add the wet ingredients, those lumps will be really hard to break down into a batter.

So press with a spatula or a fork to break all the almond flour lumps, and mix them in. You can also sift the almond flour, if you like, but because the flour is not as fine as all-purpose flour, you want to use a bigger sifter. I usually just press really well, and it works out just fine.

Then, mix in the non-dairy yogurt, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla and oil. 

Add 2 tablespoons of the milk/ club soda and mix in, and see if the mixture is like a pancake batter consistency. Otherwise add another 1 to 2 more tablespoons of the non-dairy milk, and mix in.

Once you mix, it should be like a pancake batter. Let it sit for five minutes to thicken a little bit, and that’s the consistency we want. We want it to get a little thicker than pancake batter. 

Preheat a skillet over medium heat, and let the skillet get nicely and evenly hot. Since we’re using almond flour, we don’t want to cook it at really high heat, so be sure to cook it over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, add a little bit of oil and spread all around. Ladle 1/4 cup of the batter onto the skillet and spread it out a little bit. Then, top it with some blueberries, and repeat for as many pancakes as will fit into your skillet. 

Cover the skillet with a lid. Covering the skillet allows the heat to be trapped in the skillet and also adds a little bit of steam and more moisture to the pancakes, which is essential for gluten free pancakes, as they can dry out really quickly.

Once the pancakes are rising and the edges are starting to set, open the lid, and flip them. Cover again with the lid, and continue cooking for 2 minutes or more, until the pancakes are golden on the other side, as well. 

Repeat for all the pancakes, and serve them with some vegan butter and maple syrup, as needed, or some more fresh fruit on the side.

Frequently Asked Questions