Who doesn’t love pancakes for brunch? Waffles and french toast are 100% great too, but I’m not trying to make any comparisons. Just a yummy plate of real clean food!
I like to keep things as simple and clean as possible in my home kitchen. One pot wonders, one bowl, etc. Less clean up, the better! But I mostly mean clean as in REAL whole plant based foods, free of processed sugar and processed flours.
I love working with quinoa for so many reasons - it is so flavorful, protein rich, is technically classified as a SEED not a grain, and is alkaline (for those looking to get their candida levels in check / lower acidity that are both so easily overrunning our bodies and health, whether we realize it or not). And when I have the ability to know exactly where it comes from (truly supporting small organic farmers in Bolivia), even better! Plus, when I just use oat flour by itself in this recipe, the pancakes are a little too sticky. The quinoa flour is a great addition to get a nice pancake consistency AND leave you feeling good / filled with energy, instead of sluggish on the couch.
Pro-tip: I basically never eat pancakes without a side of greens - usually sauteed kale. Often with some added mushrooms in there. That makes my body so much happier, feels much more balanced, and gives me much more energy to get through until my next meal.
Gluten-free Vegan Quinoa Oat Banana Pancakes
Yields 4 medium medallions (1-2 servings)
Ingredients:
½ cup Quinoa (I use white Kaslali Royal quinoa from Perfect Seed Coop, not yet available on the market)
½ cup Gluten-free rolled oats
¼ tsp Salt (I use fine ground pink himalayan sea salt)
1 ripe Banana
½ cup Coconut mylk (or any non-dairy mylk)
2 tbsp Flax meal
6 tbsp warm water
2 tbsp Maple syrup
1 tsp Vanilla extract (optional)
Coconut oil, for cooking
Maple syrup and / or other toppings (nut butters, jams, compote, etc.)
Fresh fruit / nuts / etc.
Note: you can get so creative on this! Add your favorite non-dairy chocolate chips (I love Enjoy Life mini semi-sweet), fresh or frozen berries, goji berries, nuts, cacao nibs, cinnamon, etc. The possibilities are endless! This is simply a base pancake recipe for you to tweak to your liking based on what’s in season, what’s in your fridge, what you’re craving… Have FUN!
Directions:
Grind the quinoa and oats together in a dry Vitamix* pitcher
Mix the flax meal and water together in a bowl, set aside to congeal
In a separate bowl, peel and mash the banana with a fork until clumps are pretty smooth
Add coconut mylk, maple syrup, flax mixture, and vanilla to the banana and mix well
Add quinoa / oat flour blend and salt to the wet banana mix and mix well
Heat approximately 1-2 tbsp of coconut oil in a pan over medium heat (you may want to turn the heat down slightly as it gets rolling)
When pan and oil are hot, pour pancake batter into medallions and let cook
When edges start to look done, see if you can flip, flip when it is easy to get your spatula underneath (these will not make bubbles like standard pancakes to indicate when it is time to flip)
When both sides are cooked to a golden brown remove from pan, serve with your favorite toppings, and enjoy!
*While Vitamix does make “dry” blenders, I just make sure my pitcher is dry and it works perfectly fine! If you do not have a Vitamix or other high-speed blender, you can usually find both gluten-free oats and quinoa as already ground flours in your local food coop or health food store (or online). You could also grind them in most spice grinders. I’m not sure how a standard home blender would work. A food processor might also do the job, it just might not get the flours ground as fine. If you try it out, let me know how it goes in the comments!
2/17/2020 Update: I recently tried this recipe with buckwheat flour instead of quinoa and it worked great! Play around friends :)
4/25/2021 Update: If you'd like to make these without ANY oil I recommend putting 3 tbsp of the batter in a mini Dash waffle iron and making a bunch! They freeze great and the waffle irons are non-stick / extremely cheap (about $10 USD).
