Kevin Lee Jacobs

Gardening, Recipes & Home Décor Tips

Perfect Gluten-Free Pancakes

BY Kevin Lee Jacobs | 78 Comments

Last updated on April 17th, 2014

SURE, I’m a wheat-eating, gluten-loving foodie. But I love garbanzo bean pancakes.  These soft, perfectly-textured breads are gluten-free. They are guilt-free, too, because they contain loads of fiber. And they are knock-your-socks-off delicious.  Here’s the recipe:

You can buy organic garbanzo bean flour at better supermarkets (read: not mine), health food stores, “odd lot” outlets, and from online sources. Unlike many other gluten-free products, it is not expensive. I paid $2.99 for the 22 oz bag pictured above. Besides its use for pancakes, garbanzo bean flour is the main ingredient for Cecina —  a delicious Tuscan flatbread.

Pour a cup of garbanzo bean flour into a large bowl.

Add a teaspoon of baking powder…

And a quarter teaspoon of kosher salt…

And whisk them all together.

Now pour a cup of milk into a medium bowl.

Add one large, organic egg…

A tablespoon of olive oil…

And a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract…

And beat them to smithereens with a wire whisk.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry…

And whisk them together just to combine. Don’t worry about a few lumps here and there. Instead, worry about how, exactly, you are going to tell your family that their breakfast contains ground garbanzo beans.

Heat up your skillet or griddle, and then spray it with non-stick spray*. I heated my electric skillet to 350°F.

*At least one reader has scolded me for using non-stick spray. If you’d prefer to grease your pan with butter, vegetable oil, or something else, then by all means do so.

Pour the batter by the quarter cupful onto the hot surface. Using my electric skillet, I was able to do cook 4 pancakes at a time.

When little air bubbles form at the edge of the pancakes, flip ’em over…

And brown the other side.

You’re looking at pancake perfection, baby.

If I were you, I’d top the stack with a pat of butter…

And a generous drizzle of pure maple syrup.

Think you’ll try these guilt-free, gluten-free, Garbanzo Bean Pancakes? You can let me know by leaving a comment. As always, I cherish your words.

Lily the Beagle, seen here on New Year’s Eve, loves hearing from you, too.

Need a copy and paste version of the above deliciousness? Here goes:

Guilt-free, Gluten-free, Garbanzo Bean Pancakes
Kevin Lee Jacobs (www.kevinleejacobs.com)
Ingredients for 8 4-inch diameter pancakes
1 cup garbanzo bean flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup milk
1 large, organic egg
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat a skillet or griddle over a medium flame, or warm an electric skillet to 350°F.

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a medium bowl (or a one-quart measure), whisk together the milk, egg, oil and vanilla.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and beat them with the wire whisk just to combine. There should still be a few lumps in the batter.
4. Ladle, by the quarter-cupful, the batter onto the hot surface. When air bubbles appear along the edge of the pancakes, flip them over, and brown the other side.

If you are not going to serve the pancakes right away, keep them warm on a cookie sheet in a 200°F oven.

Serve with butter, pure maple syrup, or other toppings that float your boat.

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Related Posts:
Cecina: Gluten-free Tuscan Flatbread
Thyme & Wine Beef Stew
Cranberry-Almond Tart

Comments

  1. 1

    Diana says

    Thanks, Kevin. You inspire me and make me laugh. I’m going to try this soon. I bought garbanzo bean flour a while back and couldn’t remember why…must be for pancakes!

  2. 2

    Marjean says

    OMG, Kevin! You’re killing me here! Now I have to run out and get garbanzo bean flour. In addition to the almond flour I already have on my list. Did you know that Costco is now carrying almond flour? At least they are in my area. And my local Mennonite store also has interesting wheat flour substitutes so maybe I’ll try there first before I hit the Bob’s Red Mill website. Sigh…

  4. 4

    Lisa Grandstaff says

    Oh happy day! I have chickpea flour on hand… bought at the Indian grocer, besan or gram flour as it is also sold. I never thought of making pancakes with it, but have made zucchini [skillet] cakes with it… doh! Thanks, Kevin. And if Lily loves them, then there’s no time to waste… the weekend is coming right up on us. I think I’ll try one with pure maple syrup, then one with hickory syrup. Yowsa! Happy New Year!

  6. 6

    Tammy says

    Looks like a simple and good recipe! I keep garbanzo bean flour in the house all the time because my dogs love the dog biscuits I make with it. Now they’ll have to share the flour with the humans.

  7. 7

    Cary Bradley says

    Dear Lily, You are quite fetching in the above New Year’s Eve party hat! Please be sure to ask Kevin to share a garbanzo bean pancake with you. I’m heading to the pantry to check supplies. If Kevin has none left to share, please join me for luncheon pancakes promptly at 1 p.m. today. If your back is bothering you, please call and we’ll send the car to collect you. Cheers! 🙂

  10. 10

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    Hi Rosiland – Lots of supermarkets carry “Bob’s Red Mill” garbanzo bean flour in the “health food” aisle. It is also available in certain “odd lot”-type stores, online from Amazon. Unless so many other GF products, it is not expensive.

  12. 12

    Carol Murry says

    Thanks for telling us where to get the garbanzo bean flour – I have never noticed it before (although I’ve never looked for it). Can’t wait to try these!

  13. 13

    Maggie says

    Oh Kevin! Looks like you’ve done it again! These pancakes look better than the wheat flour pancakes. I have to try this and am sharing the recipe with friends (as well as your site).

    Maggie

  14. 14

    Elizabeth B says

    Made them this morning and they were so delicious. I did not put in the vanilla, I did put in dill and chives. Savory. I had no idea I could use chick pea flour. Yum.

    I had no idea your partner was THAT author. Please enter me in the raffle!

  16. 16

    Carole says

    What a perfect picture of the syrup hitting the pancakes. I couldn’t believe it wasn’t a stock photo until I saw that the grilling pattern on the preceeding pancake picture was identical…lol. Also can’t believe Lily kept her hat on long enough for you to take a picture. Ours won’t tolerate any such adornment for more than a split second.

  17. 17

    Karen says

    Garbanzo bean or chick pea flour, aka besan or gram flour in East India recipes, is a wonderful new addition to my pantry. I bought it after you posted the flat bread recipe that called of it. I’ve Googled lots of other gram flour recipes and find I can use it as a batter base when frying things like squash, okra, or onions. Thanks for posting this recipe. Can’t wait to try it!

    BTW, there are many international markets in my area of NC that are beginning to carry this flour. The trick is knowing it’s many names. There are two types of chick peas. One is smaller. Some of the names refer to this particular pea. It’s confusing but maybe this info will help.

  19. 19

    Kay H says

    King Arthur flour has come out with a wonderful gluten free flour that I can use for everything!!!

  20. 20

    Wendy Ashton says

    Hi I live in the United Kingdom love your page but sometimes find it difficult to find our alternative to some of your ingredients . Want to try your pancakes so can you tell me our alternative to your bean flour .thank you

  21. 21

    Jo says

    I’m excited to get this recipe. I know my family will like it. Lily’s a cutie. What was her New Year’s resolution?

  22. 22

    Linda says

    They look delicious, and well worth trying! I think I’d go the misto spray route with oil, after reading about possible butane propellants in PAM.

  24. 24

    gary says

    I’m REALLY VERY disappointed in the “…spray it with non-stick spray..” remark.

    For someone so health conscious, and with a strong voice of opinion and leadership, I find it incredibly sad that not only do you post that comment, but you show the corporate sponsor’s can.

    What’s what you said? You’re NOT sponsored by PAM? well then I am even more saddened by your encouraging people to use a chemically toxic material such as that garbage. let’s investigate the ingredients of PAM shall we?

    tsk tsk tsk. I am also likely to see this post go unanswered….but a guy can hope.
    gary
    PS. I’ll keep reading, and i’ll keep following, but I’m just saying, we need to be better than this.

  26. 26

    Allison says

    Kevin, I made your Cecina a few months ago and loved it. Today I used some of the left over garbana bean flour and made the pancakes. They are amazing! Even my two boys (8 and 10) loved them. Thank you!

  27. 27

    Mamie says

    I first bought garbanzo bean flour after the cecina recipe was posted. Love the cecina! And garbanzo bean flour is pure GF bliss. A real solution to provide a reasonable, healthy alternative to the expensive GF mixes. I can’t wait to try these pancakes! I’ll admit, I started making savory little pancakes with the cecina batter. Add whatever spices, and fry them in olive oil. I use a small cast iron frying pan– time consuming to make one at a time, but worth it. Make them thin, like crepes. Heaven! I stack them torte style with sautéed or roasted veggies and cheese (sometimes ricotta, sometimes grated parmesan or cheddar). Paired with a salad or cup of soup, they make a really nice lunch or dinner. Also, I developed a really nice pumpkin bread with the garbanzo bean flour, egg, pumpkin, spices, milk, olive oil. It needs to be baked more flat, like sheet cake or brownies, but it has a wonderful bready texture, and is really delicious.

  29. 29

    Holly says

    Lily is simply adorable. These little critters are so much fun aren’t they? The pancakes look amazing. I have a nutrimill which I use to mill flour for bread baking. The product information says I can mill beans and all sorts or crazy things. I couldn’t imagine what I would use garbanzo bean flour for BUT now I know. Looking forward to giving them a try. Thank you for the recipe.

  31. 31

    Carole says

    I’ll give this a try. I like that the recipe calls for oil instead of butter and love garbanzo beans. We always include them in our salad.

  34. 34

    Connie says

    Garbanzos do not have to be made into flour to be used for baking–why take the liquid out and then add liquid back in?
    Google “garbanzo bean chocolate cake”
    I’ve made this several times!

  36. 36

    Jean says

    Kevin, I love everything about your website! Thanks for sharing ALL your tips and for the great photography, too. We have Red Mill products available in the Ocean State Job Lot stores and I will put in a supply. I also make dog biscuits but usually with a combination of wheat flour and white flour. Will absolutely make them with garbanzo bean flour next time.
    A great big hug to Lily!

  37. 37

    Dori says

    The pancakes look beautiful and it is great to have them guilt free. But I would feel guilty about the butter and maple syrup, without which a pancake just isn’t a pancake.

  38. 38

    Tiffany says

    Can’t wait to try this. I usually (every Sunday) fix King Arthur Pancake Mix adding Cinnamon, Vanilla and Almond Extracts. I fry them in Coconut Oil in an electric skillet as you do but NOT using Pam (Coconut Oil works a whole lot better and the best is available from Tropical Traditions dot com with no coconut flavor and is just a great oil for your body and your cooking of any sort). The pancakes cooked in coconut oil come out with “crunchy” edges that our family loves and visitors as well. Will try these Garbanzo Bean Flour Pancakes.

    To the comentors: You can go to Bob’s Red Mill website and click on Gluten Free (in far l left panel) and this flour plus loads of others will appear in a huge listing. Made the Tuscan Bread and it was a whole lot better than I thought it be. That inspired me to use Garbanzo Bean flour as a breading of sorts and that worked out really well too. Still haven’t tried to de-glutenize your pie crust recipe but it is on my list of new recipes to try.

    Happy New Year Lily and Kevin

  40. 40

    Arden Rembert Brink says

    Made these this morning and they were great, even though I made a couple of alterations — one intended, one unknowingly. I’d already promised them to the family and got the dry ingredients all ready when I discovered we had no milk. Yikes. Okay, made a cup of buttermilk from powder and that seemed to work fine. Then I totally spaced on adding the oil at all but they still turned out fine. So, good to know that it’s not only a yummy recipe, it’s a pretty forgiving one! And with garbanzo flour having twice the protein (generally speaking) of regular flour, you can even feel almost-virtuous eating them! Thanks for another great recipe.

    –arden–

  41. 41

    Naomi Shelton says

    Yum, yum! I have a recipe for gluten-free pancakes using Pamela’s flour mix, but I’m gonna try this one, too. Another fabulously yummy pancake I make with buckwheat flour which is gluten-free. If you want, I’ll send you the recipe. Can’t ever have too many pancake recipes, right?

  42. 42

    Janet G. Metzger says

    Thank you!!!!!

    For those who are egg free, substitute 1T chia seeds and 3 T water for the egg.

    I’m not sure what to do about the milk. I can barely do rice milk!

    Any other suggestions for a Milk substitute?????

    I can’t wait to give this a try. Will buy the garbanzo bean flour in the morning!

  43. 43

    Mary Anne says

    I had some of this flour and didn’t know what to do with it. Tried these this morning and they were delicious – I added blueberries and a little cinnamon. Thanks for the recipe!

  44. 44

    Nolie says

    Thanks again for the inspiration. I have the gb flour on my grocery list. Hmmmm . . . wonder about crepes, and coatings for chops, and . . .

  45. 45

    Vicki Shires says

    I made this recipe this am using Garbanzo Bean Flour and Fava Bean Flour by Red Mill. Very good flavor and texture.. They cook fast and even. I like this recipe because there is no sugar added. The next recipe I would like to try is your Tuscan Bread recipe. I am looking for a loaf pan recipe utilizing this flour, do you have any. Thanks!

  46. 46

    vivian says

    Just had them for breakfast. Fabulous as always. Your recipes are always a hit and can be depended upon to be delicious and easy. Thank you.

  47. 47

    Joan C says

    Janet- I used vanilla almond milk in the recipe and substituted 1 TBL. ground flax seeds and 3 TBL. water for the egg as my daughter is vegan.
    This was the yummiest pancake recipe ever. Thank you, Kevin.

  48. 48

    Nolie says

    We just made our first batch of garbanzo flour pancakes and they are good (although we did not use PAM). Also used Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour to coat fish (added a little ginger). Wonderful! Thanks again for the inspiration.

  50. 50

    Ben says

    Thank you for this recipe! I can’t wait to give this a shot–I won’t use PAM, though. I will use the store brand of non stick olive oil spray 🙂 Peeps need to relax, either follow the recipe, or don’t–that’s the joy of cooking!

  51. 51

    Ivy says

    My granddaughter is celiac. So my daughter is going to try out the pancakes. They sound very good and easy to make. Just a quick hello to lily from our dog who is also named lily, well actually it’s LilyMae ,but close enough

  52. 52

    Jeri Erman says

    I made these and we loved them! We are not completely gluten free, but prefer to reduce wheat from our diets as much as possible ~ haven’t had pancakes in years, so these were a delight!

  54. 54

    Sherry says

    I had dried garbanzo beans and a grain mill so I made my own flour which turned out great. I have made the pancakes twice now and used the leftovers for sandwich roll ups with turkey and salad greens. The worked great and were very tasty/

  55. 55

    Sherry says

    I left out the vanilla and used to cold pancakes like a crepe and made a roll up sandwich for lunch. Very yummy.

  56. 56

    Anne says

    This recipe came out water thin and not very nice for breakfast pancakes- no fluffiness at all. The flavor is nice for a savory crepe maybe. I am very sad at this moment. Do these come out like nice breakfast pancakes for you or did I misread the post? Maybe it’s an altitude thing? 🙂 Oh well, I’ll stick with the pancake recipe I found last week – those turned out great! Here’s the link in case anyone else had the same experience with these.

    I wonder now if it is a dry cup for measuring the liquids and not a liquid measure used Kevin? That could make the difference.

    http://www.thespunkycoconut.com/2014/03/paleo-pancakes/

  57. 57

    Donna H says

    Although I make mine vegan ( flax egg and almond milk), I love these pancakes! I even got my dad to eat them, and he is not adventurous with food. Thanks for introducing this flour into my life. I actually experiment with subbing it in for a portion of regular flour when I bake. It was great mixed into pizza dough. Love your blog!

  58. 58

    Perveez says

    Hi Kevin, garbanzo, or chick pea flour is a very common ingredient in Indian cooking.but I have never heard of pancakes being made with it, looks delicious in your pictures, and I am definitely going to try this recipe. I have often made chickpea flour fritters,by adding chopped onions and chopped cilantro, and green chillies chopped,with a pinch of tumeric, and some chilli powder and salt. Making a batter with chickpea flour and dropping teaspoonful in hot oil till golden and crisp.you can also make it with sliced potatoes dipped in the batter and fried,any vegetable like cauliflower or zucchini, or even sweet green chillies deseeded could be used.
    There are so many uses for this flour in Indian cusine,I’d be hard pressed to write them all up. So for today, this much should be enough. Thanks Kevin adding a new recipe for using chickpea flour. I am certainly going to try this one!

  59. 59

    Denise says

    HI Kevin,

    I was so excited when I came across your Pain de Mie recipe for a 16″ loaf . Thank you so much for having that available. I tried the recipe today and have to admit I probably didn’t use exact measurements as you did. My math skills left my brain some time ago. Everything was accurate except maybe for the yeast. 1/2 oz was hard for me to determine exactly how much that was, but the bread did rise nicely, as it should have. I assumed your capital “T” in the recipe was table spoon? I didn’t use quite that much . And 3/4 of the butter = 6 tablespoons?

    My bread has great shape to it, but appears to be a bit spongy like maybe it didn’t bake long enough. I baked it longer, but didn’t change the texture. So, I am disappointed. I am certain it has to be something I did. I am also wondering if you have a recipe for the 16″ Pain de Mie bread for whole whet. Thank you again for the recipe and your help

  60. 60

    Juliet says

    I just made the garbanzo bean pancakes and they were amazing! I used almond milk in place of milk and I cut the recipe in half (used 1 egg white in place of 1 whole egg). I made two larger pancakes and the rest miniature size. SO delicious with some jam on top. The best gluten free pancakes I’ve had in a long time!! Thank you!

  61. 61

    Maria says

    So, you did not have to add guar gum or xantham gum to the mix and added baking powder instead? The mix did not crumble, those pancakes look really good! I wander if for many other mixes with other kinds of flours(rice, amaranth, tapioca) baking powder can do the trick…
    Thanks so much for your ideas. People with celiac disease, like me, need a lot of ideas to improve our gluten-free cooking.

  62. 62

    David says

    Sadly, these pancakes were a disappointment to my whole family. We found that they were only palatable with loads of butter and syrup to mask their flavor. Sorry!

  63. 63

    barbara says

    I’ve made these three times and my third time was the best. I separated the egg and with a whisk whipped the white to a medium firm merengue and folded it into the batter as a last step and being careful to to over incorporate the whites to keep them from deflating. This really lightened the cakes and gave them a slight crisped edge. I cooked them in a non toxic non stick pan with a spray version of avocado oil. Then I mixed a tablespoon of lemon curd into a Tablespoon of maple syrup.Yum ! Maple /lemon pancakes. They were much lighter than previous outings. Really yummy. Thanks Kevin for getting me started on this healthier version of my favorite food.

  64. 64

    Adriana says

    I made these this morning. I was out of regular milk and olive oil, so I used coconut milk and butter. They are delicious!! And easy to make. This is the best recipe to replace traditional pancakes. This will be a staple in our home. Thank you for sharing!

  65. 65

    Marymargaret says

    So glad to have found you, since going Wheat Free have not had pancakes in forever and being allergic to eggs breakfast is very limited. Made these today with a Chia” Egg”. Delicious, ate 2 put the rest in the freezer so I don’t go hog wild! Thank you!!!

  66. 66

    Helen Driscoll says

    Great recipe – thank you! I played with the recipe too, used coconut milk and added some walnuts and wild blueberries. Super yummy and just about foolproof.

  67. 67

    Lisa says

    We made these pancakes this morning. Delicious! Definitely a keeper. I used Coconut Milk instead of Whole Milk to reduce calories and they turned out great. Thank you for this recipe!!

  68. 68

    Lynne says

    These are the best GF/grain-free pancakes I have ever made! They are now a staple in our weekly menu. Thank you!

  69. 69

    Christina says

    These were delicious….and yet, not fluffy for me. I used olive oil in the mix, coconut milk that does not have carrageenan. One brand does not. The rest do. And, I enjoyed them with vanilla, cinnamon. I topped mine with fresh mango and pomegranate, a little warm honey with some water added. I warmed maple syrup for my bf. I also had scrambled eggs, fresh asparagus and broccoli as well as millet cooked for us, instead of grits. I do think it would be great for crepes and many other things. I’ve used millet flour which might be fluffier. I do like combining different gf flours. I loved them and I am going to have some more for dinner now.

    Nowww, about the fluffiness… I suppose I can use some traditional method to get them fluffy, like folding in some egg whites or something. I’ll find the info.

    For those missing milk: I had orange juice pancakes as a teen. The OJ replaced the milk. I’ve also had many things with apple sauce to replace other things.

    I’m fighting Lyme disease and co-infections. I began food elimination 8 years ago and learned how to use these wonderful flours about 5 years ago. I’m still learning and hope to always do so. I’ll be starting my blog soon, making my own recipes, sharing my gardening advice and experiences in Lyme, etc. Fellow Lymies and my friends look forward to it.

  70. 70

    Candice says

    THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! They look wonderful! Making these immediately! I’m serious, as in right now!

  71. 71

    Candice says

    They turned out perfect! I used raw organic coconut milk and refined sunflower oil (ran out of virgin). I wasn’t too keen on getting a possible kick of olive oil and no one would eat them because my children don’t like syrup, yet and the syrup really helps if you do not add a sweet source. I’m looking forward to playing around with this recipe. Wish I could add a picture. Oh yeah and like he said you have got to whisk that egg. If u don’t get thick bubbles you won’t have a fluffy cake. Thanks again!

  72. 72

    Joyce says

    I used black bean flour, buttermilk and red chili infused olive oil to make this recipe. Topped the pancake with salsa, corn, avacado and sour cream. We really enjoyed it!

  74. 74

    Wynn says

    These are great! AND… I figured out an even easier way to cook them (instead of making individual pancakes). I use nonstick spray on a half-size cookie sheet and pour the batch onto the cookie sheet. I put it in an oven that’s been preheated to 400* and cook for 14 to 15 minutes. Then I let it cool a few minutes and cut them into square or rectancle pancakes instead of the traditional roundish ones. Makes a number of them at one time and is quicker than cooking them individually. Yay! Thank you for posting this recipe. I’m thrilled to have a gluten-free alternative for pancakes!

  75. 75

    Sherry says

    I made these with Pecan Maple flavored Malk instead of milk. Also I used Hawaiian black salt. Did not use Pam. I will be making these again.

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