Easy overnight or same day gluten free pancakes with the fabulous flavor of sourdough. 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! Thank you for supporting brands that help make Vanilla And Bean possible.
Table of Contents
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. The texture and fluffy factor of these pancakes had to be just so before I shared the recipe with y’all. And finally, this gluten free pancake recipe came together.
Made in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill, I’m super 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.
Last year I was on a gluten free trial and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats were a life saver. Oats are naturally gluten free, but to ensure that 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.
How to Manage Gluten Free Sourdough Discard
I store my sourdough discard in a jar in the refrigerator and add to it when I refresh my gluten free sourdough starter. When ready to use my sourdough discard, like in a this pancake recipe, the discard is mixed with the wet ingredients. I also use it in gluten free waffles.
Using sourdough starter discard is a practical way to use all the ingredients it takes to maintain a sourdough starter rather than throwing it in the trash. Discarded sourdough starter also freezes well. So if it’s going to be a few weeks before making pancakes or waffles, I freeze the discard then thaw it in the refrigerator before using it again.
Ingredients for Gluten Free Sourdough Pancakes
This no flour oatmeal pancake recipe comes together with ease using pantry staples. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Gluten Free Sourdough Starter Discard
- Milk – I use Homemade Cashew Milk
- Maple Syrup – the real stuff!
- Vanilla Extract
- Eggs
- Butter or Coconut Oil
- Baking Powder and Soda
- Homemade Oat Flour – from Gluten Free Rolled Oats
- Almond Flour
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.
Quick Guide: 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 overnight for 8 – 12 hours. The mixture will ferment overnight and be fluffy the next morning.
- Third, the next morning, to the fluffy sourdough mixture whisk in the egg, butter or oil, baking powder and soda, and salt.
- Last, in a nonstick griddle or skillet on medium heat (375-400f / 190-204c) add the pancake batter to the griddle. Flip the pancake when bubbles appear around the edges with a few on top.
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, in a nonstick griddle or skillet on medium heat (375-400f / 190-204c) add the pancake batter and bake flipping the pancake when bubbles appear around the edges with a few on top.
Tips for Making the Best Pancakes!
- Use a nonstick griddle or skillet. I use no added oil when using nonstick surfaces.
- 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!
- Leave enough room between the pancakes for flipping. There’s nothing like flipping a pancake only to have it land, overlapping on another!
- 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.
- Keep the pancakes warm in a 200F oven until ready to share or even better, share right off the griddle.
- Share with real maple syrup and top with blueberry compote or stewed apples.
A Few Recipe Notes
- This recipe calls for gluten free oat flour. I DIY my own using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oats. It’s super easy and economical – see my how to make oat flour post if needed.
- 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!
- Freezer Friendly? Yes Please! Although the pancakes are best fresh, they can be frozen. Freeze individual pancakes flat on a parchment lined sheet pan, then stack in a storage container until ready to use. Reheat in a 350F oven for about 4-5 minutes, wrapped in foil so they don’t dry out, or until heated through. Toasting dries them out too much.
- Use a nonstick griddle or nonstick pan to create the best sourdough pancakes! No added oil is required.
- Make it Dairy Free: use vegan butter or coconut oil and nut milk. I use homemade cashew milk.
- Maker’s Note: Tyler said “I used two mashed bananas in sub of eggs to make these vegan and oh my!”
More Gluten Free Breakfasts to Love
- Blender GF Sourdough Waffles
- Banana-Pecan Oat Waffles
- Breakfast Banana Nut Muffins
- Maple Pecan Granola
- Blueberry Oat Flax Muffins
- Healthy Almond-Orange Oat Waffles
the recipe
Gluten Free Sourdough Pancakes
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) 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
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
Top With (optional):
- Stewed Apples
- Rhubarb Jam
- Berries, butter, bananas!
Instructions
For Overnight Pancakes:
- 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 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 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 blueberry compote or stewed apples.
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!
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!!
Thanks. for the recipe really helped in cooking. My husband was satisfied.
Wow, how interesting, I love sourdough but I’ve never heard of sourdough pancakes! They look fluffy but sturdy enough to do some serious syrup soaking, yum. Thank you for this wonderful recipe, Traci! Pinning!
Hi Annette! Thank you for your pin. Ohhh myyy! Sourdough pancakes are SO flavorful. You gotta give em a try! Indeed, serious syrup soak going on here! lol
I absolutely LOVE that these pancakes are sourdough!! I’ve been getting really into sourdough lately and want to try making my own soon. I just love that subtle tang that it has, regular bread seems flavorless without it! ;)
Isn’t it SO good Sarah! Once you’ve made sourdough, you’re hooked! I can’t wait to see what you whip up!
I love this pancake stack, what a fabulous summer breakfast idea!
Thank you Laura!
What a great weekend treat, Traci. Love that you did so much testing to get the perfect texture and fluffiness – because fluffy pancakes is where it’s at! Also, love all the tips – a hot griddle is key to making good pancakes – especially the first few. Pinning to share – love the photo of the tall stack!
Fluffy weekend pancakes are the best! Thank you for pinning, G!
Hello weekend! These look so good, Traci! Bob’s Almond Flour is my favorite almond flour for baking. The texture is just perfect!
Aren’t weekends the best? Thank you Liz! I’m a fan of Bob’s almond flour too!