Gluten-Free Buckwheat Pancakes

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Delicious buckwheat pancakes made from 100% buckwheat flour. These pancakes are light, fluffy and easy to make! They're naturally gluten free, too.

Updated byKathryne Tayloron August 30, 2024

Ever tried buckwheat pancakes?Sure, they aren’t the prettiest pancakes around, but they make up for their humble looks with wonderful flavor and texture. Buckwheat, a gluten-free relative of rhubarb, has a uniquely nutty flavor all its own.

Thanks to the buckwheat flour,these pancakes are naturally gluten free!They have a light, airy consistency that quietly surrenders to the pressure of a fork and soaks up maple syrup like a sponge. I just love them.

This recipe was originally adapted from a fun cookbook called Pancakes, by fellow food blogger Adrianna Adarme ofA Cozy Kitchen. I visit Adrianna’s blog any time I need creative recipe inspiration or a laugh, which is often.

It’s been eight years, so I’m revisiting this recipe to update the photos. I also tweaked it a bit to work even better with 100 percent buckwheat flour—I added another egg and a smidge more flour. Hope you’ll give them a try soon!

What is buckwheat flour?

Buckwheat flour is often categorized as a whole grain, but technically it’s not a grain at all. It’s a pseudocereal likequinoaand amaranth. Buckwheat flour is milled from the seeds of buckwheat, a flowering cover crop.

Buckwheat is nutritious, offering a good source of minerals like manganese, copper, magnesium, iron and phosphorus.Food52notes that buckwheat flour offers more protein, dietary fiber and B vitamins than an equal weight of whole wheat or oat flour.

Buckwheat has a distinctive earthy flavor you might recognize fromsoba noodles, blinis or crêpes. If you enjoy buckwheat, don’t miss my recipes forbuckwheat wafflesandbuckwheat crêpes.

Buckwheat Pancake Tips

For thicker, fluffier pancakes,Adrianna suggests substituting half whole wheat or all-purpose flour for the buckwheat flour. Granted, your pancakes will no longer be gluten free, but the fluffier texture and lighter buckwheat flavor might be perfect for you.

Be sure to properly preheat your cooking surface.It’s ready when a few drops of water sizzle immediately on impact. Don’t start too soon, or your pancakes won’t brown and will be difficult to flip.

Gently stir the batter before using, every time.Buckwheat flour tends to separate from the liquid, so give the batter a gentle stir before each batch to evenly distribute the ingredients.

If you’re cooking on the stovetop, you may need to dial back the heat a bit over time.Your temperature is too high if the pancakes are browning too quickly on the outside before they’re done on the inside.

The pancakes are ready to flip when about 1-inch of the perimeter has turned from glossy to matte.Better to be patient than end up with a doughy mess.

Serving suggestions:Buckwheat pancakes pair beautifully with fresh berries and sliced ripe banana. I love them with a drizzle of maple syrup, of course, and a generous swipe of peanut butter or almond butter for extra protein.

Watch How to Make Buckwheat Pancakes

More Gluten-Free Pancakes to Enjoy

Please let me know how your pancakes turn out in the comments!And browseeven more pancake recipes here.

Gluten-Free Buckwheat Pancakes

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Buckwheat gives these pancakes incredible flavor. This recipe yields deliciously light and thin pancakes. For pancakes that are even lighter in texture and flavor, use half all-purpose flour (Adrianna’s suggestion) or whole wheat flour (my default). Recipe yields 12 medium pancakes, or enough for 2 to 4 servings.

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Recipe adapted fromPancakesby Adrianna Adarme ofA Cozy Kitchen.

*Make your own buttermilk with dairy-free option:Combine 1 ¼ cups milk of choice (almond, soy, rice, low fat coconut) with 1 tablespoon + ¾ teaspoon vinegar and let it rest for 5 minutes before using.

Make it dairy free:See buttermilk alternative above, and lightly brush the skillet with melted coconut oil instead of butter.

Roasted strawberry topping option:(From original recipe.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, gently toss 1 pint strawberries (hulled and sliced into bite-sized quarters or halves) with 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 tablespoon maple syrup or 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).

Recipe edits 5/27/21:To make this recipe work even better with 100 percent buckwheat flour, I added an additional tablespoon of buckwheat flour and one additional egg.

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