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Chickpea pancakes are made with chickpea flour, for a naturally gluten-free and grain-free breakfast option. You can make them sweet, or savory (with no added sugar!), and I’ll share both ways below.
Benefits of Chickpea Flour
What makes chickpea flour healthy? It’s made from ground dry chickpeas, so it’s a good source of plant-based protein, while also being gluten-free.
Here’s why you’ll love it:
- Chickpea flour appears to have less acrylamide formation when heated, compared to other several other types of flours. Acryamide is a potentially carcinogenic substance to humans.
- Including chickpea flour in your diet may help lower insulin levels and leave you feeling more satisfied.
- Processing chickpeas into flour does not eliminate their benefits compared to whole chickpeas, according to this study, which observed chickpea flour lowering blood glucose levels better than whole wheat flour.
- Chickpeas contain resistant starch (just like uncooked oats!) that may help act as a prebiotic, feeding good bacteria in the gut.
- Chickpea flour has more protein (20 grams per cup!) than wheat flour or white flour, so it may help keep you feeling full longer.
What is chickpea flour good for? It makes an excellent substitute for wheat flour, even though they don’t weigh the same. This is possibly due to chickpea flour’s higher protein content? Chickpea flour does have a noticeable aftertaste, but you do get used to it, the more often you use it.
Check out my post on how to make chickpea flour for more details on using it as a substitute in recipes.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Chickpea pancakes are easy to make, calling for only 4 ingredients.
- Chickpea flour
- Water
- Baking powder
- Salt
For a sweet version, you can add a touch of maple syrup and vanilla, and for a savory version, you can add in any extra spices you like. Sometimes I’ll even add a few fresh herbs, like chopped chives, parsley, or cilantro.
How to Make Them
To make chickpea pancakes, stir together the ingredients and let them rest for 10 minutes. Chickpea flour will absorb the liquid better as it sits.
While you wait for the batter to hydrate, grease a skillet and heat it over medium-low heat. Splash a drop of water on the skillet; when it instantly sizzles and evaporates, you’ll know your pan is ready to cook the pancakes.
Use a 1/4 cup to scoop the batter, then pour it into the greased hot pan.
Cook until bubbles start to form in the center of the pancake, then slide a spatula under the pancake and flip it over to cook the other side.
Note: I don’t recommend taste-testing any batter made with chickpea flour. It’s very bitter! I find that the flavor becomes more neutral when you cook it, so the final cooked pancakes are much more palatable.
Repeat with the remaining batter. Unlike my other pancake recipes, chickpea flour pancakes do not bake well in the oven. They have the best taste and texture when you pan-fry them in a skillet.
Serve the pancakes warm with your favorite toppings. I like to top the savory version with sliced avocado and salsa, and I top the sweet version with fresh fruit and maple syrup.
Substitutions
These pancakes are so simple, there’s not a lot of substitutions you can make, but here’s my best guesses on what you might need to know.
Baking powder. Since baking powder can sometimes contain cornstarch, look for one made with arrowroot powder if you need a grain-free recipe. You can also replace 1 teaspoon of baking powder with 1/2 teaspoon baking soda + 1 teaspoon vinegar.
Need to use another flour? Try my Almond Flour Pancakes, Oat Flour Pancakes, Buckwheat Flour Pancakes, or Coconut Flour Pancakes, instead.
I hope you’ll enjoy these chickpea pancakes the next time you’re in the mood for a warm breakfast. I love how filling they are!
Ingredients
Savory Chickpea Pancakes
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour (60 grams)
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon water (88 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (3 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (2 grams)
- chopped green onions or fresh herbs (optional)
Sweet Chickpea Pancakes
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour (60 grams)
- 1/3 cup water (75 grams; 2.5 oz.)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (22 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (3 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (2 grams)
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Add the pancake ingredients to a large bowl and use a whisk to stir well, making sure to break up any lumps. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes.
- Grease a skillet over medium-low heat. When a drop of water sizzles and evaporates as soon as it touches the skillet, the pan is ready to cook the pancakes. Use a 1/4 cup to scoop the pancake batter and pour it into the center of the skillet. Cook until bubbles start to form in the center of pancake.
- If you'd like to add anything into your pancakes, you can sprinkle them in now, while the pancake is cooking on this first side. (Try a few freshly chopped herbs for savory pancakes, or a few fresh blueberries for sweet pancakes.)
- Slide a spatula under the pancake and flip it to cook the other side. It should only need 1 to 2 minutes more of cooking at this point. Repeat with the remaining batter. This recipe makes roughly 3 pancakes, which is enough for 1 person, but you can double or triple the ingredients to make more servings.
- Serve warm with your favorite toppings. I recommend using sliced avocado and salsa on top of the savory pancakes, and fresh fruit and maple syrup on top of the sweet pancakes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Reader Feedback: Have you tried chickpea flour before? What’s your favorite thing to make with it?
love the savory with garlic sautéed greens and a little cheddar on top. very satisfying. Thank you !
This is SO simple and so satisfying. I LOVE me a savoury pancake and this is the best I’ve ever had. I add 1/2 TSP of ground cumin, load them up with continental parsley and coriander before flipping (don’t worry about it spilling over – have you HAD fried parsley? YUM), and then top with avocado, tomato, grilled fresh asparagus and heaps of cracked pepper. Thank you for this – it’s in my top 10 favourite recipes EVER.
I’ve made this recipe twice now. I weigh my chickpea flour to get the right consistency. Both times I’ve made the sweet version. They don’t come out super fluffy but the taste is all there! Today I topped them with a sauce I made using nondairy yogurt, peanut butter, and maple syrup. I feel like this is the cleaned up version of the pancakes you would get at a diner. They feel guilt free and or something I think I can make regularly. I love the added protein from the chickpea flour also. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
This is really delicious. The batter cooks up well. I added stir fried mushrooms, shallots Italian seasoning and more salt. I sprinkled the pancakes with parmesan cheese. Next time I will add diced ham. Thank you for posting this. I am always looking for innovative and palatable ways to cook with alternative flours and whole ingredients.