When most people find out they need to follow a gluten-free diet they start to think of all the foods they love that they’ll no longer be able to eat. Pancakes are often on the list, but the goods news is that you can easily make gluten-free pancakes, so you don’t have to give up this breakfast favorite.

These are actually healthy gluten-free pancakes that you can feel good about eating. Because my husband loves them so much these gluten-free buckwheat pancakes have become a staple in our home. Despite what the name implies, buckwheat is naturally gluten free; it’s actually not even a grain, but instead related to rhubarb. Keep in mind buckwheat has a distinct flavor, but it works well in pancakes. I find myself using less maple syrup on these pancakes because the ripe mashed banana helps adds moistness and sweetness to this recipe.

Switching to a gluten-free diet can be challenging because we are surrounded by foods containing gluten and we are taught how to use some version of wheat flour for all of our cooking and baking. But on the positive side, one of the benefits of living without gluten is that you can explore other interesting gluten free flours, like buckwheat.

Whether you have celiac disease or not you can enjoy this recipe. These gluten-free, casein-free pancakes are also vegan, so they are great for a variety of dietary needs, even people trying to eat foods that will reduce the risk of developing chronic inflammation. This GFCF recipe can also be slightly modified to keep things interesting or to fit your taste; see the options listed below.

Ingredients

• 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup fine grind cornmeal or corn flour
• 1/2 cup brown rice or soy flour
• 1 tablespoon flax meal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 1/4 cups soy, almond, rice or coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• Oil for cooking pancakes

Instructions

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl (buckwheat flour, cornmeal, rice flour, baking powder and salt).

In small bowl whisk together milk of choice, oil, maple syrup, and mashed banana.

Add wet ingredients to large bowl with dry ingredients and stir until lumps are dissolved.

Spoon 1/3 cup of batter onto lightly oiled, warmed skillet on medium heat. Spread batter with spoon to even it and create a nice, round shape.

Cook about 2-3 minutes on each side watching the bottom as they can easily brown. They don’t bubble quite the same way as traditional pancakes, but you can usually tell when they need to be flipped.

These pancakes freeze well, so you may want to make a larger batch and freeze some for a quick breakfast option later in the week.

Options

You can add your favorite fruit or nuts to these pancakes for variety and added nutritional value. Blueberries are especially good in these pancakes, but I also like chopped walnuts in them.

If you don’t have fine ground cornmeal you can use medium grind, it will just make them a little more grainy (I actually like them with medium grind cornmeal). You can use either yellow or blue cornmeal; blue cornmeal can enhance the already slightly blue color of the buckwheat. This may make them more intriguing for kids.

You can replace the brown rice flour with soy, sorghum or amaranth flour. If you can tolerate soy, using soy flour helps add more protein without adding as many carbohydrates.

Note

To make fresh flax meal, grind flax seeds in a coffee grinder. Freshly ground flax meal is easy to make if you have a coffee grinder and it has more nutritional value because it doesn’t have much time to oxidize before you use it. Flax adds healthy essential fatty acids, fiber and even some protein to the mix.

I hope you enjoy these gluten-free buckwheat pancakes as much as we do!