Yes, fluffy, egg free, gluten free chocolate pancakes are a real thing! I got you – you skeptic – you believer that all vegan/ gluten free pancakes must be gritty, flat, sad affairs. I’m here to tell you that you CAN have super fluffy, slightly crispy outside, moist, crumby inside, pancakes that are completely vegan and gluten free – ’cause that’s how we do it ’round here! This can be your next lazy Sunday breakfast, and if you just can’t wait until next Sunday ( I don’t blame you!), a quick and easy pancake dinner! For you do-gooders, out there, see my Cinnamon Blueberry Pancake recipe that is loaded with yummy, healthy blueberries! Ok, I admit that I am one of those, aforementioned do-gooders, that usually prefers fruit in pancakes over chocolate, but I’ve devised a work around! You see I live in a house full of chocolate lovers and if I were to set down a plate of blueberry pancakes, they’d be looking all around, knowing that I must have a big stack of chocolate chip ones hiding somewhere. So, I am sadly outnumbered around here. There is a perfect solution to that little issue. Serve these super fluffy, decadent stacks of chocolate chip pancakes dripping in syrup, with fresh strawberries! Problem solved, everyone VERY happy! I mean, chocolate + strawberries = match made in heaven right? So, a pancake this perfect must be hard to make right? No. Fancy starch, Nah. Crazy complicated gluten free flour blends that you need a degree in food science to make sense of, No Way! We are going to a very simple and readily available replacement for eggs, that you probably already have in your cabinet right now. So let’s get these super easy and delicious going right now!
Ingredients for fluffy egg free gluten free chocolate chip pancakes
Instead of eggs in this recipe, we’re going to use Aquafaba (translates as bean water). Aquafaba is the liquid that canned beans come packed in, and it can function like egg whites in most recipes, it’s really quite amazing! I used the aquafaba from organic cannellini beans in this recipe, but you can use any other light colored bean for this (like chickpeas, or white beans). You are going to whisk the aquafaba together with a little sugar and the cream of tartar until it gets foamy before you add it to the flour mixture, as it works better this way. I tried it without whisking it and the pancakes were not fluffy. 😉
Whisk the aquafaba together until it looks like this:
Make sure the aquafaba is foamy before adding it to the bowl…
After you mix all of the ingredients together (except for the chocolate chips), let it rest while you preheat your pan. After a few minutes of rest, the batter is thicker and looks like this:
At this point you can either stir your chocolate chips into the batter, or you can drop a few onto the pancakes after you scoop the batter into the pan.
Sorry, no pic of these pancakes cooking, but here’s a pic of my Fluffy Cinnamon Blueberry Pancakes in the pan…
Like with all pancakes, cook on one side until little air bubbles form and then pop, and then they are ready to flip.
I highly recommend servings these with maple syrup and fresh strawberries or other berries, but that’s just me… the rest of the bunch eat these with syrup and more chocolate chips on top. Which camp are you in? Fruit or more chocolate?
If you want to add some protein to this meal and really take it to the next level…. definitely make a batch of this smoky Tofu Bacon to go with your pancakes! It really puts your whole breakfast, brunch, dinner, WAY over the top! Mmmmmm, baaaacon (read in your best Homer Simpson voice)!!
Here’s the Recipe for the Tofu Bacon! (I should also mention that you can make some super bomb salads, like this one, with the leftover bacon, if you have any!)
I hope you enjoy this recipe, and that you’ll hang out here more often for more Vegan and Gluten Free recipes! You can make sure you get every post right in your inbox, by signing up for our email newsletter below! Also, you can connect via social media with the buttons above, under my pic. Thanks for reading! Love, Angel
PS- You won’t want to miss my next post – where I’ll be showing off a whole bunch of Vegan Dinners that you can make in under 45 minutes, from some of my talented fellow food bloggers! Keep in touch!
Super Fluffy, vegan and gluten free Chocolate Chip Pancakes, made with Aquafaba instead of eggs.- 1¾ C Gluten Free Oat Flour (such as Bob's Red Mill GF Oat Flour)
- 1½ T Baking Powder
- ¼ t sea or pink salt
- 1 t sugar
- ⅛ t cream of tartar
- 1 t vanilla
- 7 T aquafaba (bean brine from canned beans - I used Cannellini beans)
- 1 C non-dairy milk (I use So Delicious Unsweetened Vanilla Coconut Milk)
- 1½ T oil
- 1 C Chocolate Chips plus more for garnishing
- Fresh fruit for garnishing (opt.), such as strawberries
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl or small measuring cup, whisk together aquafaba, cream of tartar and sugar. Continue whisking for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture is foamy. Add oil, milk and vanilla to aquafaba mixture, whisk together and then add to flour mixture. Stir until blended and then let batter rest for about 5 minutes (batter will get thicker).
- While batter is resting, spray your griddle or wipe it down with oil, and begin heating it. I keep mine just under medium and I use a cast iron skillet. When griddle/pan is hot, scoop the batter by the ¼ C full into pan. Add a spoonful of chcolate chips. Cook until the outer rims of the pancake start to get firm, and some small holes appear in the top. When you can successfully slide a spatula under the whole pancake, it's time to flip - depending on your pan/temp, usually about 2 minutes. After you flip, cook another 1½ - 2 minutes, or until pancakes are browned to your liking.
- Remove from pan, repeat until batter is gone. Recipe should yield about 8 very thick pancakes.
- Serve warm with maple syrup and extra chocolate chips or fresh fruit for garnish. This recipe is great with my Tofu Bacon too!
Angel McNall is the author and photographer of High Vibe Lifestyle. For over 20 years, Angel has been teaching people how to live more vibrantly by eating a plant based diet, and using plant based medicine. 
Mmmmm love me some fluffy chocolate chip pancakes! Love that these use chickpea brine to make them fluffy!
These look so yum! I’ll have to get on this recipe over the weekend.
How long do beans save, once you’ve removed the water? Would they still be usable the next day?
Hi Zoe! Yes, the beans are good for at least a few days. If you remove them from the can and seal them in a air tight container, they’ll stay fresher. I hope you enjoy the pancakes! 🙂