Easy overnight or same day gluten free pancakes with the delicious flavor of sourdough. They feature earthy oat and almond flour, a bit of butter, a touch of maple syrup and eggs. Like in my Gluten Free Sourdough Waffles, use your discarded Gluten Free Sourdough Starter in this fluffy and flavor-packed sourdough pancake recipe! This recipe is vegetarian, gluten free and easily dairy free. | Disclosure: This post is brought to you by Bob’s Red Mill!
Pantry Staples
I’ve been futzin’ with this gluten free sourdough pancake recipe since last fall after creating my first gluten free sourdough starter and then a loaf of gluten free sourdough bread. The texture and fluffy factor of these pancakes had to be just so before I shared the recipe with y’all. And finally, this recipe came together.
Made in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill, I’m excited to share their pantry staples with you, highlighting a brand I trust for high quality ingredients to fuel my family’s lifestyle. Bob’s Red Mill pantry staples are accessible and offers a wide array of whole grain and gluten free options should you need.
Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats are naturally gluten free, but to ensure these oats maintain their gluten free integrity, Bob’s Red Mill handles them with care in their dedicated gluten free facility and batch tests to ensure gluten free status.
Using Bob’s Almond Flour and Gluten Free Rolled Oats, ground into oat flour, takes the texture, flavor and whole grain goodness of these pancakes over the top! In addition, the gluten free discarded sourdough starter makes an ordinary pancake recipe extraordinary and with little effort.
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About the Key Ingredients
- Gluten Free Sourdough Starter Discard – this is a high hydration (120%) sourdough starter that is an essential ingredient in this recipe.
- Milk – you can use plant or pasteurized whole dairy milk. I use Homemade Cashew Milk half diluted with water.
- Eggs – aids in binding and helps create a fluffy texture.
- Homemade Oat Flour – from Gluten Free Rolled Oats. I DIY oat flour in a Vitamix. It’s quick, easy and economical.
- Super Fine Almond Flour – be sure to use super fine almond flour for proper texture, binding and flavor.
When developing this recipe, I tested to see if I could make it egg free. To replace the eggs I tried flax and chia eggs, a banana and applesauce. I made a lot of pancakes! None of these ingredients worked for me in this particular recipe as they made the pancakes gummy rather than light and fluffy.
At a Glance: How to Make Gluten Free Sourdough Pancakes
Allowing the batter to rest overnight amps up the sourness in such a good way. But too, this gluten free pancake recipe can be whipped up quickly when cravings strike. Either way, you’ll have pancakes on the table in no time! Here’s how to do it:
For Overnight Pancakes:
- First, whisk your sourdough starter discard with milk, maple, vanilla extract, then add the dry ingredients: gluten free oat flour, and almond flour.
- Second, cover the mixture and let it rest at room temperature (or in the refrigerator – optional) overnight for 8 – 12 hours.
- Third, the next morning, whisk in the egg, butter or oil, baking powder and soda, and salt.
- Last, bake on a nonstick griddle or skillet.
For Same Day Pancakes:
- First, whisk your sourdough starter discard with milk, maple, vanilla extract, butter or oil and egg.
- Next, whisk in the dry ingredients: gluten free oat flour, almond flour, baking powder and soda, and salt.
- Last, bake on a nonstick griddle or skillet.
Tips for Making the Best Pancakes!
- Test to see if the griddle is hot enough. I set mine at 375F but notice the temperature fluctuates a bit as it attempts to maintain the proper temperature. To see if the griddle is ready, flick a few drops of water on it. If the drops sizzle and evaporate fast, it’s ready. You can also make a tiny pancake!
- The edges of the pancakes will cook first, so that’s where you’ll see bubbles first appear. As the pancakes cook, bubbles will appear and pop in the center. Once you see these bubbles, gently lift the pancake and take a peak underneath. When golden (I like mine a bit darker), flip and finish cooking the pancake.
- Share with real maple syrup and top with sweet cherry compote, blueberry compote or stewed apples.
Traci’s Tips
- Overnight Ferment: if you prefer not to rest pasteurized milk batter overnight at room temperature, you can put the batter in the refrigerator overnight to ferment. Pull the batter out of the fridge then rest at room temperature for about an hour before mixing in the eggs, butter and leaveners.
- New to gluten free sourdough? Check out my easy gluten free sourdough starter guide then whip up a loaf of the best gluten free multigrain sourdough bread.
- Weigh Your Ingredients for best outcome.
- Maker’s Note: Tyler said “I used two mashed bananas in sub of eggs to make these vegan and oh my!”
Gluten Free Sourdough Pancakes (Same Day or Overnight)
Ingredients
- 1 C (240g) Gluten Free Sourdough Starter discard
- 1/2 C (120g) Milk I use homemade cashew milk
- 4 Tbs Maple Syrup + more for serving
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2/3 C + 2 Tbs (90g) Gluten Free Oat Flour I DIY oat flour
- 2/3 C + 2 Tbs (90g) Super Fine Almond Flour I use Bob's Red Mill
- 2 Tbs Butter or Coconut Oil melted (if using coconut oil, warm to the touch)
- 2 Eggs large
- 1/4 +1/8 tsp Fine Sea Salt
- 4 tsp Baking Powder non aluminum
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
Top With (optional):
- Stewed Apples
- Rhubarb Jam
- Berries, butter, bananas!
Instructions
For Overnight Pancakes (**see note):
- Whisk your sourdough starter discard with milk, maple, vanilla extract, then add the gluten free oat flour, and almond flour. Whisk to incorporate.
- Cover the mixture and let it rest at room temperature overnight for 8 - 12 hours. The mixture will ferment overnight and be fluffy the next morning (it will look dryish).
- The next morning, to the fluffy sourdough mixture whisk in the egg, butter or oil, baking powder and soda, and salt. The mixture will seem dryish at first, but once the ingredients are incorporated, the batter will be thinner. Whisk to incorporate the ingredients. You'll notice right away how fluffy and light the batter becomes.
- Heat a nonstick griddle or buttered cast iron skillet on medium heat (375-400f / 190-204c). Before scooping the batter, stir it down (you may have to do this several times through the cooking process because the batter is so fluffy!). There's no need to oil or butter the pan if using a nonstick pan. If not using a non stick pan, lightly oil or butter the pan.
- Use a measuring cup to scoop up the batter, add about 3 Tbs to the griddle and spread it gently in a circle pattern (the pancakes will be about 4" in diameter). When bubbles start appearing towards the center of the pancake, gently lift the edge of the pancake to see if it's golden-brown. Bake a little longer if needed. Flip the pancake when the color is to your liking or bubbles appear around the edges with a few on top. Cook the pancake until the underside is golden-brown and the pancake is cooked through.
For Same Day Pancakes:
- Whisk your sourdough starter discard with milk, maple, vanilla extract, butter or oil and eggs. Whisk in the dry ingredients: gluten free oat flour, almond flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. You'll notice right away how fluffy and light the batter becomes. Set aside and allow the batter to rest for 10-20 minutes.
- Heat a nonstick griddle or buttered cast iron skillet on medium heat (375-400f / 190-204c). Before scooping the batter, stir it down (you may have to do this several times through the cooking process because the batter is so fluffy!). There's no need to oil or butter the pan if using nonstick. If not using non stick pan, lightly oil or butter the pan.
- Use a measuring cup to scoop up the batter, add about 3 Tbs to the griddle and spread it gently in a circle pattern (the pancakes will be about 4" in diameter). When bubbles start appearing towards the center of the pancake, gently lift the edge of the pancake to see if it's golden-brown. Flip the pancake when the color is to your liking or bubbles appear around the edges with a few on top. Cook the pancake until the underside is golden-brown and the pancake is cooked through.
To Serve:
- Share right away or place on a plate and keep warm in a 200F (93c) oven until ready to share. Share with real maple syrup and top with sweet cherry compote, blueberry compote, easy stewed pears or stewed apples.
Hi!
What would be a good sub for the oat flour for someone who can’t have oats?
Thanks!
Hi Leah! While I’ve not tested substitutes for this recipe, Jennifer in the recipe comments below subbed a few ingredients including oats “with a combo of millet and buckwheat.”
We loved these! To cut the carbs a little (so we could pour Maple syrup on top), we substituted 2Tbsp coconut sugar for sweetner in the mix. Still came out great! Honestly, the best gluten free pancakes we’ve had in 13 years.
Hi Brittany! Thank you for your note, sending a smile and trying another pancake recipe! SO excited!!
These are a huge fail. I cannot understand the good reviews. They are dry and crumbly almost like sand. Why on earth would four tsp of baking powder be necessary? Never seen a pancake recipe call for that much. They’re so dry that they just absorb every drop of syrup on the top pancake. At least the flavor is OK, but I had to add a lot of milk and extra oil to improve the end result.
Hi Meagan! I’m curious if there were any ingredient substitutions and/or different brand of almond flour used. After many tests and trials of this recipe, I landed on the specific amount of leavening called for in the recipe for optimal lightness and texture. Last, can you tell me about your GF sourdough starter? Is it the one from my recipe? Thank you for sharing and letting me know.
Can’t do almond flour so I substituted fine sorghum. Otherwise, everything was the same. My starter is a 6 month old mix of brown rice, sorghum, white rice, oat, and buckwheat.
Hi Meagan! Thank you for following up. I understand now why the pancakes didn’t turn out as expected. Unfortunately, the two-star rating seems to be based on a different version of the recipe. My recipes are carefully developed using the specific ingredients listed. While I sometimes suggest substitutions if I’ve tested them myself, that wasn’t the case for this particular pancake recipe. Almond flour plays a key role in providing structure to gluten free baked goods due to its high protein content. It also provides moisture and added tenderness due to its fat content. When substituting with other flours, it’s important to note that different flours absorb liquid differently and have other characteristics, which can affect overall texture, flavor and hydration of a recipe. Last, I’m not sure about the hydration level of your sourdough discard. The one I recommend on this site is 120% hydration. Using a different discard with more or less hydration can also impact the pancake consistency. I hope this helps clarify what might have gone wrong, and I appreciate you giving the recipe a try!
Is this safe to leave out on the counter overnight, with milk in it?
Hi Julie! I’m not an expert, but I’ve not experienced a problem (using pasteurized milk). If you like, you can ferment overnight in the fridge. Pull the batter out of the fridge then rest at room temperature for about an hour before mixing in the eggs, butter and leaveners. Or, you can use plant milk.
These turn out perfect every single time. My toddler loves to make these with me so we have made them over a dozen times and they never disappoint. We always do the overnight version and follow the recipe exactly as written except we add blueberries or mini chocolate chips. We have cooked them in a mini waffle iron, on an electric griddle, and on cast iron and they turn out great each way. It makes a lot so we often freeze and reheat in the toaster or half the recipe.
We have also tried these with the 2 bananas as the egg substitute since we were out of eggs. The texture is much more dense but for a GF vegan pancake the flavor was still great.
Hi Allison! Love that you and your toddler make these pancakes together. Thank you for your note and sharing how you’ve baked these. Blueberries or mini chocolate chips sound perfect!
Only good if you value perceived ‘healthiness’ over flavor or texture. These cooked into sand on my griddle, gritty and lacking the ability to hold together. I added xanthan gum after the first 6 went in the garbage and they hold together a bit better but still not well enough to freeze or pass for good pancakes. I did not change anything in the recipe, more to my own detriment.
WHAT?! These are AMAZING! I don’t have almond flour so I used my King Arthur Measure for Measure. I also made another batch where I took out 30 grams of each flour and substituted 30 grams of my vanilla protein powder. Those were my favorite! But the original recipe is amazing on its own.
Hi Jessica! Hooray! SO excited. Thank you for your note and sharing your tips with us.
What would you use in place of almond flour? My youngest can’t have nuts so I was curious if you knew a good substitute
Hi Aislinn! I’ve read that you can substitute almond flour with a gf flour blend, but I’ve not tried it. If you experiment, please let us know how it goes!
So delicious! Just made these and they are a winner. Back on with my GF sourdough starter and always lookings for great recipes to use my discard. I made with vegan butter, as I’m dairy free, and they were perfect!! Thank you!
Very crumbly, even when you measure. Make certain small sized pancakes
I made these overnight/this morning and really enjoyed them! I made them with a flax egg and 1 regular egg, and I did need to thin the batter and turn the heat down on my griddle a bit (325/350) because the first few burned, but they tasted yummy, and I would definitely make these again!
Hooray! Thank you for your note, sharing subs and five star review, Jenny. So glad you enjoyed the pancakes!
So sorry I did make the pancakes from the day before, but they are nice and fluffy but too dry for me I don’t know if I did something wrong, they are healthy,thank you
Hello, thanks for creating the recipe. I used soy milk, vanilla bean powder, no oil, applesauce, date syrup, and flax eggs as replacements. I also cut the baking powder in half. These tasted great and were good for a rainy day morning breakfast. My only problem was flipping them in the beginning, but I got the hang of it. Gluten Free baking can be hard to master but these were a big win!
Hello, thank you so much for this recipe! I subbed date syrup for maple, soy milk for cashew, flax eggs for real eggs, added vanilla bean powder instead of extract, and cinnamon and applesauce for flavor.
Hi LJ! Thank you for your note, giving the recipe a go and sharing your subs! SO glad to hear it worked for you!
This is my first time making gluten free sourdough starter, keep saving my dicard for making this pancake. This turns out so fluffy and delicious. I didnt have any mylk, so i used whatever milk i had in the fridge. Thanks for sharing this fab recipe.
Oh so happy to hear Sophie! Thank you for you note!
Good go to recipe, although with an active sourdough culture, I cut the baking powder down to half; otherwise I don’t care for the taste it imparts. Thanks for the recipe–I don’t like wasting good culture, this is a great use for it!
Hii Pamela! Thank you for your note, giving the recipe a go and sharing your tip! SO happy to hear!
I love your recipe! I used my regular wheat sourdough discard and it worked perfectly. So fluffy! Thanks for sharing.
Hooray! Thank you for your tip and note Lili!
I made this exactly as written as same day pancakes. They were fluffy but rather dry. Maybe adding banana would have helped.
Hi Anita. I’m sorry to hear your pancakes were dry. I’m curious if they were enjoyed right of the griddle, or were rested in the oven on warm. A piece of foil over the top of the pancakes will help hold in their moisture if held warm in the oven.
I made these pancakes, and they tasted good but were very “crumbly”. They weren’t dry really, but fell apart when you cut them or moved them around on the plate. Is this how they are supposed to be?? Also the texture was a little mealy.
Hi Elizabeth! I’m sorry to hear your pancakes were mealy and crumbly. I’m not sure what would have caused that. While these pancakes are tender, I wouldn’t say they fall apart. I’m curious about possible ingredient substitutions or what type of oats used?
YUMMM! I made the same day pancakes but subbed cassava flour for almond. They came out great! Will definitely try the overnight next time. I love that I can use leftover discard that’s been accumulating in the fridge! Thank you!
Yummm cassava flour! So happy to hear, Mia. Thank you for your note!
Hi there! Thank you for making this recipe! I followed the recipe exactly and it came out super crumbly, but still yummy. Should I add more egg or milk next time?
Hi Tanya! Thank you for your note and giving the pancakes a go. I’ve had a few other makers experience the same thing, but I’m not able to replicate the crumbly in my kitchen for troubleshooting. You can try whisking the ingredients for a full minute just before baking. An extra egg may work, however I’ve not tried it.
I’ve made this overnight recipe 3 times now and still love it! I ran out of oat flour so I used a homemade GF flour mix and it turned out fine.
Hooray! So happy to hear Jane! Thank you for your tip on using homemade GF flour mix.
Great gluten-free pancake recipe! I made my own oat flour in the blender and substituted dried nut milk pulp flour for the almond flour. Even though I weighed the flours, I ended up using about one cup of homemade hemp milk, probably because the nut milk pulp flour may be drier than almond flour. I ended up with exactly 18 delicious pancakes nevertheless. I made the overnight version and was excited to smell the mix’s doughy aroma in the morning. The texture and flavor were great! Even my young adult sons approved!
Hi Claudia! Thank you for your note, sharing your experience AND adjusting the recipe to your needs! Isn’t that overnight dough wonderful? So happy to hear your son approved! :D
Awesome pancakes! We liked it so much, I also tried this recipe in a waffle maker! The only change I made was I increased the butter to 1/4c. They were very tasty, but a little crumbly. Next time I plan to try adding a bit of starch (potato and/or tapioca) to see if that helps them hold together a little better.
HI Monica! Hooray! Thank you for your note and tips on waffles – yes to tapioca! SO happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
Yummy! I used “flax eggs” (1 T ground flax + 2T water per egg), and the batter was a smidge thick but the pancakes were very tasty. No sour flavor – will be a hit with the kids!
Hooray! Thank you for your note Rebecca!
Delicious! I’ve been making GF sourdough starter for a week now and have experimented with making crackers and finally made these pancakes this morning. They were great!
I had quite a few really ripe bananas, so I used one blended chia egg and 2 bananas in place of the 2 eggs and they came out perfect. I also swapped out the oats (it’s a cross reactor for my gluten sensitivity), with a combo of millet and buckwheat. They were light and fluffy and very tasty. My whole family enjoyed them! What a great recipe!
Hi Jennifer! Thank you for your note and sharing your tips! So happy to hear everyone enjoyed them and the subs worked! …. crackers?! Oh my that sounds amazing!
Have you found a sourdough cracker recipe that works? If so, what is it or where did you find it?
I’m growing a GF starter for my sister who has celiacs. I have experience with a regular sourdough starter, but I want to experiment with the GF starter before I give it to her, so that I can also give her tested recipes to work with. I am not widely experienced with GF baking, so any help is appreciated.
Hi Donald! Thank you for your note. Unfortunately a GF sourdough cracker recipe is not one I’ve explored. Sending my best!
These are amazing!! I used two mashed bananas in sub of eggs to make these vegan and oh my! Such a hit at the cafe!
Hi Tyler! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go! SO happy to hear the mashed bananas worked for you and the pancakes were a hit at the cafe (where is it located?)! I tried one banana before when I was testing this recipe and it didn’t work for me. Sounds like I need to try two!
How do you make gluten-free sourdough waffles? Usually, waffles have more oil/fat than pancakes. We really liked our sourdough pancakes and waffles before going gluten-free.
Hi Robert! I’m working on a recipe for the blog. Stay tuned!
These were excellent! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Because I can’t leave well enough alone, I did make some changes right out of the gate. I have a Sorghum Flour GF sourdough starter, so I used that. I set up my overnight pancake batter the night before with my starter a couple of hours after I had fed it earlier that afternoon, so the starter was nice and active (I did this instead of using discarded starter). For the flour portion, I used 2/3 c. plus 2 T. of Oatflour that I made myself by running oats through my Vitamiz dry blender jar. For the rest of the flour portion, I used 1/3 cup of Sorghum flour, 1/3 cup of Rice Flour, & 2 T. Potato Starch. I did this on a lark because I didn’t have Almond flour, but had those other flours in instead. I covered the Pyrex measuring cup of batter lightly with plastic wrap and left it on my counter top overnight. In the morning, I mixed the Vanilla extract (because I forgot to put it in the night before), with the oil, eggs, baking powder, & baking soda and set that aside while I prepped my cast iron frying pan on the stove. What happened next was a surprise to me because I’d never done it that way – when I turned back to the egg mixture, I was surprised at how bubbly & frothy it was because of the baking powder & soda. Next, I mixed in the overnight batter mix with a wire whisk and proceeded with cooking the pancakes.
These were the softest, fluffiest GF pancakes I have ever made. The batter kept its bubbles all the way through to the very last pancake that I fried. This is my new, favorite recipe for GF pancakes. Since having to go wheat free about 3 years ago, I’ve been missing good, fluffy pancakes. I have finally found a decent substitute! Thank you!
Hii Chris! Thank you for your note and sharing your tips about the alternative flours! So happy to hear the recipe was a jumping off point to give gf sourdough pancakes a go! Hooray for fluffy gf pancakes!!