My healthy carrot cake pancakes are so wholesome and delicious, made using fresh shredded carrots to give them their colourful hue, what better way of getting some extra vegetables in at breakfast time! These heavenly pancakes are gluten free and dairy free and go perfectly with a dollop of your favourite yoghurt and drizzled in pure maple syrup.
Perfect for Easter brunch, Sunday brunch or an any day of the week breakfast, these carrot cake pancakes make for a healthy breakfast. These gluten-free pancakes with warm spices are my idea of comfort food! For more carrot cake goodness try my Gluten Free Carrot Cake and my Carrot Cake Baked Oats.
For more healthy pancakes, try my Fluffy Oat Flour Pancakes, Gluten Free Banana Buckwheat Pancakes or my Low FODMAP Pancakes. Or you might like to try my Almond Milk French Toast for something a little fancy!
What You’ll Love About These Pancakes
There isn’t much to not love about these delicious carrot cake pancakes. Served with coconut yoghurt and roughly chopped walnuts, they are absolute heaven!
- fancy enough to make for a special occasion breakfast and healthy enough to eat everyday!
- made using minimal equipment, no food processor needed.
- fresh carrots add colour and nutrition to these gluten-free carrot cake pancakes.
- they are a good source of healthy fats, fibre and protein.
Ingredients Notes
For best results is always a good idea to follow the recipe as is, however here are some possible substitutions you can make if need be.
- brown sugar – I’ve added just enough brown sugar to be just sweet enough. You might like to add more or less depending on your own personal tastes and dietary requirements. Adding brown sugar to the pancake batter results in a nice crispy outside of the pancake.
- shredded carrots – it’s best to use finely grated carrots, grating them on the fine side of the box grater. This means that they’ll cook more quickly and you won’t have big chunks of shredded carrots through your pancakes. Finely grated carrots really makes the texture of these pancakes next level amazing.
- applesauce – I’ve used my homemade applesauce. If buying store bought, make sure to buy an unsweetened applesauce.
Substitutions
- almond milk – you can swap almond milk for any other plant-based milk like coconut milk, oat milk (not gluten free), or even regular cows milk.
- rice flour + tapioca – you can swap the rice flour and tapioca for the same amount of gluten free flour. The end result may vary slightly depending on which gluten free flour mix you use. If you’re not worried about gluten, you could also swap for all purpose flour. Just note that this recipe hasn’t been tested using regular flour so you may need to add a little more or less milk depending on the consistency of the batter.
- eggs – if you’re vegan or have an egg allergy than you might like to experiment with swapping the eggs for flax egg. Just FYI though, I haven’t tested flax eggs in this recipe so I’m not 100% sure how it would turn out.
- brown sugar – You could also use rapadura sugar or coconut sugar in place of brown sugar.
- spices – I’ve added mixed spice and ground cinnamon to give that carrot cake flavour, however you might like to swap the spices for vanilla extract if you prefer that flavour.
Find a full list of ingredients and quantities for these easy carrot cake pancakes in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Healthy Carrot Cake Pancakes
To make the perfect pancake, follow my simple instructions below.
Mix Together Dry Ingredients
Add the almond flour and brown sugar to a large bowl. Sieve in the rice flour, tapioca starch, mixed spice, ground cinnamon and baking powder (because no one likes big chunks of baking powder in their pancakes!).
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Whisk the dry ingredients together and use the back of a spoon to squash any lumps of sugar.
Add in the Wet Ingredients
Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add in the eggs, shredded carrot and applesauce. Begin whisking as you pour in the almond milk. Whisk until the wet ingredients are completely incorporated into the dry ingredients.
Fry the Pancakes
I’ve used a non-stick frying pan for this recipe. Heat the pan to a medium heat and then add a knob of butter (use a dairy free butter or olive oil if needing these pancakes to be completely dairy free). To the hot pan, add in about a quarter cup of pancake mix per pancake, cooking 2-3 pancakes at a time, depending on the size of your pan.
Once golden brown on the bottom, flip the pancakes over and cook until golden brown on the second side. Once cooked, transfer the pancakes from the pan onto a plate lined with a clean tea towel. Cover the pancakes with the tea towel to keep warm while you cook the remaining pancakes.
Serving Suggestions
A great way (and my prefered way) to serve my delicious pancakes is to top them with a dollop of coconut yoghurt, a sprinkle of chopped walnuts and a drizzle of pure maple syrup.
Here are some other ideas for serving:
- top with fresh berries and/or seasonal fruit, Greek yoghurt and honey.
- drizzle with almond butter or tahini and date syrup.
- spread with butter and honey.
Storage
These pancakes are best stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Simply reheat in the microwave to return them to their fluffy, just cooked texture.
To freeze, place a sheet of parchment paper in between each layer of pancakes in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Healthy Carrot Cake Pancakes (Dairy & Gluten Free)
Equipment
- Whisk
- Spoon
- Frying pan
- Egg Flip
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 cup white rice flour
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- ½ teaspoon mixed spice
- 1 cup finely grated carrot
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup apple sauce
- 270 mL Almond milk
Instructions
- Add the almond flour to a large mixing bowl. Sieve in the white rice flour, baking powder and mixed spice. Whisk to combine.
- Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the grated carrot, eggs and apple sauce. Begin whisking as you slowly pour in the almond milk and whisk until well combined.
- Heat about a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan on a medium heat. To fry the pancakes, add around ¼ cup of batter per pancake to the pan. Fry in batches of 2-3 depending on the size of your pan. When bubbles start to come to the surface of the pancakes, flip them over.
- Cook until golden brown on the second side before transferring to a clean tea towel lined plate. Cover the cooked pancakes with the tea towel to keep warm.
- Serve warm topped with coconut yoghurt, crushed walnuts and maple syrup.
Notes
Serving Suggestions
- top with coconut yoghurt, chopped walnuts and maple syrup.
- serve with fresh berries and/or seasonal fruit, Greek yoghurt and honey.
- drizzle with almond butter or tahini and date syrup.
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