These healthy lemon pancakes are the perfect addition to your breakfast routine. They’re naturally gluten-free and vegan, but also light and fluffy, full of bright lemon flavor, and easy as can be!
These Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes have everything you want in a pancake, minus the eggs, dairy, and gluten. In fact, these just happen to be one of my favorite GF pancake recipes. They’re fluffy, lemony, and the poppy seeds add such a delightful little crunch.
(Don’t worry, if you’re not a poppyseed fan, you can totally leave them out and still enjoy this lemon pancake recipe.)
While I love protein pancakes, these lemon pancakes are my go-to when I’m making breakfast or brunch for guests, or just want something special to start my day. The citrusy flavor makes me think of lemon muffins or cake, but whipping up pancakes is a lot easier than making a cake!
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Flax eggs or chicken eggs
- Quinoa flour – If you have time, try toasting it first! Here's a tutorial for how to toast quinoa flour if you've never tried!
- Almond flour
- Arrowroot starch
- Coconut flour
- Baking powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Sea salt
- Mashed banana – You’ll need a small banana for this.
- Coconut yogurt – Feel free to substitute another plant-based yogurt.
- Non-dairy milk
- Almond oil – Or another light-flavored oil.
- Lemon juice
- Vanilla extract
- Lemon extract
- Lemon zest – You’ll need the zest of about 2 lemons. Zest them before you juice them.
- Poppy seeds
- Fresh berries, coconut yogurt, and maple syrup for serving
Is Lemon Extract the Same as Lemon Juice?
No, lemon extract has a much stronger flavor than lemon juice. I highly recommend using both in this recipe (plus the lemon zest); using the juice and zest alone will give these pancakes a hint of lemon, but the lemon extract is what really gives them a pronounced lemon flavor that pops.
How to Make Lemon Pancakes
Ready for perfect gluten-free lemon poppy seed pancakes? Here’s what you’ll need to do.
Prepare. Preheat a griddle over medium heat and whisk together the flax and water in a small bowl.
Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Mix the wet ingredients. Beat the flax eggs, banana, yogurt, milk, oil, lemon juice, vanilla, and lemon extract.
Make the batter. Pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
Fold in the mix-ins. Fold in the lemon zest and poppy seeds.
Cook the pancakes. Lightly coat the griddle with nonstick cooking spray or coconut oil. Ladle ¼ cup of batter onto the griddle for each pancake; repeat until there’s no more room in the pan. Cook the pancakes for 2 to 3 minutes, or until small bubbles begin to form around the edges. Carefully flip them and cook the other side for another minute or two, or until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Serve. Plate the pancakes and serve them warm with fresh berries, a dollop of coconut yogurt, and maple syrup.
Tips for Success
Lemon pancakes are easy to make, but these tips will help you make sure they turn out perfect.
- Don't make substitutions. This recipe was tested with these exact flours and proportions, so if you make major changes, it's not guaranteed to turn out!
- Cook over medium heat. Don’t try to rush it! If your griddle is too hot, the pancakes will brown too quickly on the outside before cooking through in the middle, and no one likes goopy pancake middles.
- Grease the griddle between batches. You'll need to lightly grease the griddle with oil between batches to prevent the pancakes from sticking and to help them brown evenly.
Serving Suggestions
Want more ideas for how to serve your lemon pancakes? I've got some!
- Instead of yogurt, top them with a dollop of sweet, fluffy coconut whipped cream.
- Or, try them with cashew cream instead.
- Chia seed jam is a delicious topping, too.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. When you're ready to eat them, reheat them on a lightly greased griddle or skillet over low heat until they're warmed through, or warm them up in the microwave.
Can This Recipe Be Frozen?
You can freeze lemon pancakes for up to 3 months. Let them thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating, or just pop them in the toaster. I do this all the time with my pancakes and find that they make a really delicious pre-workout snack as I'm racing out the door to yoga in the morning. Just slather on some nut butter and I'm good to go!
More Healthy Pancake Recipes:
- The Best Quinoa Flour Pancakes
- Fluffy Vanilla Coconut Pancakes
- Healthy Zucchini Chocolate Chip Pancakes
- Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 flax eggs or 2 chicken eggs
- 1 cup quinoa flour I like to toast mine
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch
- 2 teaspoons coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Simply Organic Ceylon Cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup mashed banana about 1 small
- 1/4 cup coconut yogurt
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 2 tablespoons almond oil or other light flavored oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Simply Organic Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon Simply Organic Lemon Flavor
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest about 2 lemons
- 1 tablespoon Simply Organic Poppy Seeds
- Fresh berries coconut yogurt & maple syrup to serve
Instructions
- Preheat a griddle over medium heat.
- Whisk together the flax and water and set aside to gel.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
- Beat together the flax eggs, banana, yogurt milk, oil, lemon juice, vanilla and lemon flavor, then pour into the dry and mix until a smooth batter forms. Fold in the lemon zest and poppy seeds.
- Lightly grease your griddle with nonstick cooking spray or coconut oil. Ladle ¼ cup of batter onto the griddle and repeat until you have filled your pan. Cook the pancakes until small bubbles begin to form around the edges, about 2 – 3 minutes. Flip and cook for another 1 – 2 minutes longer until the other sides are golden brown. Repeat until no batter remains.
- Serve warm with fresh berries, a dollop of coconut yogurt and pure maple syrup.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
