Sweet breakfasts are great. Oatmeal, pancakes, cinnamon rolls–they’re all delicious. But sometimes I crave something savory. My usual go-to is avocado toast, which is one of my all-time favorite combinations. Even though I love avocado toast more than (almost) anything, I think these chickpea pancakes are now my #1 favorite savory breakfast.
These ain’t crepes, y’all. Look how thick and FLUFFY.
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Before I went vegan, I had eggs pretty often for breakfast since I wasn’t always feeling the sweet breakfast thang. After cutting out eggs, I missed having something savory at the start of my day. But chickpea flour has officially saved my life.
Chickpeas rock. Seriously, if there was a perfect food, chickpeas would be in the running. They are full of fiber to *keep everything running properly*, contain almost 15 grams of protein in just 1 cup for minimal calories, and can be cooked into anything and everything, such as hummus, blondies, and, when ground into flour, pancakes!!!
Chickpea flour is simply dry chickpeas ground into flour. Genius, right? You can find it at health food stores and maybe some bigger grocery stores. I get mine at Whole Foods in the bulk section, but you can also find it here! I like to use Bob’s Red Mill; their products never disappoint!
What’s great about chickpea flour besides the protein and other benefits is that it’s naturally gluten-free! Which means these pancakes are perfect for those who are gluten-free and vegan. Everyone will love them!
Throwing some vegetables in these chickpea pancakes amps up the nutrition even more. Use whatever you have on hand; it’s a great way to use up some leftover veggies. I like to sauté my vegetables for a few minutes before adding them to the batter, but that is totally optional. You can mix them in the batter raw if you’re short on time!
Feel free to season them however you’d like! Oh, and that avocado sauce is A MUST. Avocado just makes everything better, don’t you agree? Creamy dreamy avocado sauce drowning fluffy chickpea pancakes = actual heaven.
If you want thinner pancakes, simply add more liquid. You can either use unsweetened non-dairy milk or water, or a mixture of both, which is what I did. But c’mon, look how fat and delicious they look!!! Thick pancakes are where it’s at.
Let me know if you try these absolutely delicious chickpea pancakes, and don’t forget the vegetables and avocado sauce! You’ll be wishing you had made a double batch as soon as you take your last bite.
Fluffy Chickpea Pancakes with Vegetables + Avocado Sauce (vegan + gluten-free)
These protein-packed chickpea flour pancakes with vegetables and avocado sauce will keep you feeling satisfied for hours. Enjoy them for breakfast or any other meal!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 10 pancakes 1x
- Category: Pancakes
Ingredients
- For the pancakes:
- Oil for cooking
- 1/4 red onion, chopped
- 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup tomatoes, chopped (about 1 Roma tomato)
- 2–3 cups spinach, chopped
- 2 cups chickpea flour
- 1/4 cup flax meal
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/8–1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk or water
- For the avocado sauce:
- 1/2 avocado
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- Dash of ground cayenne pepper (optional)
Instructions
- (Optional) Over medium heat, heat about 1 teaspoon oil in a skillet. Once hot, add onion; cook for 5 minutes, or until onion begins to soften. Add bell pepper and tomatoes; stir to combine. Continue cooking for a few minutes until the onions start to caramelize and the vegetables soften. Add the spinach; cook for 1 minute, or until slightly wilted.
- In a large bowl, add chickpea flour, flax meal, nutritional yeast, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Stir until mixed thoroughly.
- Slowly pour in the milk. Stir to combine, adding more liquid if thinner pancakes are desired. Add the vegetables and stir until just combined.
- Add a little more oil to the skillet; reduce heat to medium-low.
- Once hot, scoop 1/4-cup spoonfuls onto the skillet. Cook for 2-4 minutes on each side, or until the sides begin to cook and brown. Flip, and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.
- To make the avocado sauce, add avocado, water, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, and cayenne pepper to a blender (I used my NutriBullet). Blend until combined. Alternately, mash the avocado with a fork in a small bowl; add the other ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Top pancakes with avocado sauce, serve with a side of fruit, and enjoy!
Notes
Storage:
Store these in an airtight container in the fridge.
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I’ve never used chickpea flour before but I’m SO curious after seeing this pancakes! These looks so delicious— especially with all those savory spices 🙂
I’ve never really used it either but I’m definitely curious to play with it a little more! I hope you try these and love them, Liz!
Omg girl this looks amazing! And I actually have every single one of these ingredients! That hardly ever happens with other people’s recipes (especially when I haven’t been to the grocery store in a while lol) This kinda of reminds me of falafel which I have been trying to perfect the right texture/recipe. I wanna try this at some point this weekend- I will let you know if I do!
Don’t you love when that happens? And I LOVE falafel too…I think I’m just obsessed with all things made with chickpeas 😉 let me know if you try them, Kerri!
Looking good!
Can I make the flour from dry chic peas in a food processor?
Yes, but you will need a very high-powered processor!
Ooo I am totally making these for my one-year-old’s breakfast (and mine of course). Do you think you could sub the chickpea flower for a standard gluten-free blend?
I don’t have much experience with gluten-free flours, but I don’t see why not! If you do, let me know how it works and any changes you had to make! 🙂
Is the nutritional yeast necessary for the recipe or is it more for flavor?
It’s more just for flavor! It adds a cheesy flavor, but feel free to leave it out and season them any way you want!
Absolutely loved these! They were simple to make and tasted awesome. I topped mine with fresh tomatoes but other than than followed the recipe exactly. I’ll definitely be making these again!
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Yay!! This is actually one of my favorite recipes EVER – I could have it for every meal. So happy you liked it!
I made these for breakfast and we really liked these! I used chives, kale and red pepper and omitted the nutritional yeast. Topped with chopped tomatoes. I got 10 1/2 pancakes using 1/4 cup scoop.
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Sounds so yummy! This is one of my all-time favorite breakfast recipes. Glad you all loved them!
Just made these for supper. I think they are delish but my kids won’t touch them, sigh. Just a tip for anyone trying this recipe with picky eater maybe try subbing 1/2 the chickpea flour for organic cornmeal. Or maybe don’t and just eat them all to yourself, bahahaha!! Your loss kids!
Hahaha, I agree that they’re hard to share. 🙂 I love the cornmeal tip! I have a ton of cornmeal to use up so I may have to experiment.
How about providing a nutritional analysis for those of us who want to know protein, carb, calorie count, etc? Very important for those of us who want to eat healthy, but have family members with pre diabetes! Thank you very much!
Hi Jab! You can definitely plug in the ingredients to a website such as caloriecount.com to see the nutritional information. I don’t provide that info since everyone uses different brands of ingredients and sometimes adjusts the amounts. I hope that is helpful! 🙂
Hi! This recipe looks great! Do you know if these pancakes freeze / reheat well? Thanks, can’t wait to try them out! 🙂
I’m sure they do! I would remove them from the freezer the day before eating to let them defrost. Let me know if you try them!
Thanks for sharing. Your recipe is very nice. I made them for breakfast.
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Yay! This is one of my favorite recipes on the blog. Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
OMG!!!! I just made these for my Good Friday lunch…… the rest of my family are eating seafood. (which I cannot stand) Absolutely superb recipe!!! My family are asking to try some……but I don’t think I can spare any!! lol Will definitely be making these again.
That’s amazing, Donna! So happy you love these! I agree with you that they’re hard to share. 😉
Hi just wondering how long these last in the fridge?
Usually 4-5 days!
I love these as savoury pancakes, and have made them several times. Could you use the same recipe to make sweet ones? And if so, how much sugar/syrup would you need to add? I like the chickpea flour as I’m on a high protein, low carb diet and these are good for both.
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Hm, I’ve never tried a sweet pancake recipe with chickpea flour, but now I need to try that! I would maybe start with 1-2 tbsp in the batter and then adjust it according to your tastebuds.
I made these using kale which I pre-massaged with salt so they’d be nice and wilty. Hubby cooked them up in a cast iron skillet using water instead of oil. We put these in our breakfast meal plan twice this week, but the first day we ran out of time and did them without the avocado sauce. Having had them both ways now, I actually prefer them dry. I could see myself using this as a hamburger patty; stays together much better than any vegan patties I’ve tried to make!
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That sounds like a great idea! Really happy you both enjoyed these – one of my favorite recipes!
These are amazing!! The only thing I did not like was the avacado sauce. For me the water took away the beautiful avacado flavor. So I took another avacado mashed it up (looked like gumacole) add a little pink salt and Olive oil that worked for me! Would use this recipe for chickpea pancakes!! Keep up the awesome work your doing!!
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Glad you were able to adjust it to make it work! Thank you so much, Janet. <3
Would canned chick peas ground in a blender work?
That would yield more of a paste. Chickpea flour is made from uncooked chickpeas! I’m not sure how cooked chickpeas would work or how much you would need, but let me know if you try it! Maybe just try adding them until you get a thick batter?
Hi Emily! Love the look and sound of this recipe. Do you happen to have the macronutrients on this recipe? I am on a very specific plan for protein, carbs and fat ratios. Before I go through the time of entering all the ingredients into MyFitnessPal I like to know the end result is going to be close to my needed numbers. Do you know the numbers for this recipe offhand? Thanks.
Hi Greg! No, I do not calculate that information. Feel free to calculate it using the exact ingredients you use!