Name: Carob & Banana Pancakes (Vegan & Gluten Free)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup gluten free cake flour (e.g. coconut or any ready made gluten free flour) (about 70 g ); 1/4 teaspoon xantham gum; 2 tablespoons coconut oil; 1/2 large banana (or 1 whole small banana (to replace the egg)); 1 tablespoon sugar; 1 teaspoon baking powder; pinch of fine salt; 1/2 cup non-dairy milk (about 120ml); 1 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; hand full of carob chips (about 50g or whatever you have); 1 extra banana (to serve); plant based yoghurt (e.g. coconut) (to serve)

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My favourite vegan & gluten-free pancake recipe with bananas and carob (instead of chocolate chips). Light & fluffy pancakes for breakfast, which are easy to make and taste delicious!

I wanted these pancakes to be not only plant-based, but also dairy-free and gluten-free, which is why I’m using bananas for the pancakes mix and not eggs.

Serve with extra sliced bananas on the top, dairy free Greek yoghurt and extra carob chips or your other favourite pancake toppings. I’ve recently made them as a gift for my friend who wasn’t well and added a little inspirational quote about pancakes to cheer her up.

Why make this recipe?

Great for many diets – Vegan, Dairy Free & Gluten Free, Eggless pancakes
Light to digest
No caffeine (carob doesn’t contain any stimulating ingredients – unlike chocolate)

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My top tips on making Carob Pancakes successfully the first time round

This pancake recipe includes plant based buttermilk, which we will make at home from plant based milk and vinegar (or lemon juice).

To make sure that the buttermilk work well in the carob pancakes recipe, you should mix it and leave it out for about 5 minutes to activate. It’s an extra step, when making these pancakes, but it does make the batter well rise and the pancakes are nice and fluffy as a result.

What is carob?

Chocolate and bananas is a combination made in heaven, but what if for whatever reason you can’t have chocolate?

Well, the good news is that you can replace chocolate with another plant based alternative – a carob!

The taste is very similar to chocolate and can be used in the same way for cooking, baking and making hot drinks.

Is carob powder gluten and dairy free?

Carob is naturally gluten free, dairy free and nut free. Carob is plant based and suitable for vegan and vegetarian diets.

It grows on trees in long pods, which are then dried and milled into a fine powder. The carob powder is slightly lighter in colour than cocoa powder and it can be made into carob bars, chips and other sweet treats in the same way as cocoa powder.

Carob is often used instead of chocolate because some people find that chocolate gives them a headache. This is because chocolate contains similar types of stimulants like coffee. Carob doesn’t have any stimulants, which means that it’s suitable for people who are normally sensitive to caffeine and it’s also very gentle on our digestive systems!

Are carob chips gluten free & dairy free?

Yes, most carob chips are gluten free, but I’d recommend that you double check the packaging before you buy them.

Most carob chips are also nut and dairy free, so they are suitable for vegan and vegetarian diets but again check the packaging when purchasing.

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Any specialist equipment needed?

Any frying pan, large pan or saucepan, griddle or pancake pan will do, but I’ve recently bought a 4 pancakes frying pan and love how uniform my pancakes are. They also seems to cook better and they are a bit thicker as the batter doesn’t run out.

Notes on ingredients & Possible substitutions

Carob Chips

I’ve used carob chips in this recipe, but you can also use carob powder (about 1 1/2 teaspoon or little more depending on your taste) to add in directly to your pancakes.

If you don’t have carob chips, you can of course replace them with regular chocolate chips.

Flour

I choose to make this recipe gluten free, but you are welcome to swap the flour for normal plain flour if you wish (you won’t need to use the xanthan gum if you do).

Any kind of gluten-free flour mix suitable for cake baking will work in this recipe. You can also make your own flour mix from homemade potato flour, lupin flour and rice flour (about equal amounts are fine).

You can also use part coconut flour, but I would always mix it with another type of gluten free flour as coconut flour absorbs a lot of water and also doesn’t hold well together by itself.

Other gluten free flours you could use with these carob pancakes

Buckwheat Flour
Rice Flour
Lupin Flour
Oat Flour (gluten-free certified)
Coconut Flour
Potato Flour
Almond Flour

Xantham Gum

Only use xanthan gum if you are using gluten free flour, as gum helps to keep everything together (it replaces gluten in flour).

Oil

I’ve decided to use coconut oil for these carob pancakes as the flavour goes well with the banana and carob (chocolate) flavour.

You can also use any other type of vegable or sunflower oil.

Banana

The banana in this recipe is replacing the egg, but it’s also adding a great flavour that compliments the carob. I sometimes use previously frozen bananas or ripened bananas, so the batter is often quite dark, but the flavour is even more intense.

Sugar

I’ve use only a little bit of white caster sugar in this carob pancake recipe, but if you want to you can skip it completely.

You can also use any other type of sugar or syrup you like, such as honey, maple syrup or maple syrup substitutes, brown or unrefined sugars such as coconut sugar or coconut sugar replacements – all of these will work great with this recipe.

Salt

Don’t skip the salt (unless for a health reason) as it helps with the flavour. You might find the pancakes batter without salt a bit bland.

Milk

This carob pancake recipe will work with any kind of plant based milk, yoghurt or cream. You can also mix the plant based milks together if you are running low on one type – it won’t matter to this recipe.

Plant based types of milks that go well with these carob pancakes

Oat Milk
Soy Milk (some people might find it a little too strong in flavour)
Coconut milk (great if you are using coconut flour)
Almond Milk
Hazelnut Milk
Cashew Milk
Quinoa Milk

Vinegar

I’ve used apple cider vinegar in this carob pancakes recipe to turn the plant based milk into a plant based buttermilk. You can use any kind of vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice (the same amount as the cider vinegar in the recipe)

Vanilla Essence

A little bit of vanilla essence goes a long way and it’s a great flavour to add to these carob pancakes. If you don’t have vanilla essence, you can leave it out – the recipe will work without it.

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How to make Carob & Banana Pancakes (vegan & gluten free)

In a medium bowl, add the dry ingredients together (apart from the carob chips) – the gluten-free flour, xantham gum, sugar, baking powder, tiny pinch of salt, and stir well to combine.

In another bowl, mash up the banana (instead of the egg)

To make a plant based buttermilk, mix together (in another separate bowl) your choice of plant based milk, cider vinegar, and vanilla essence and whisk with a fork to combine.

Next step is to pour the liquid pancake mixture into the dry mixture, add melted coconut oil, the egg replacement mashed banana and whisk everything by hand until nice and smooth.

Stir in the carob chips.

Leave the pancake batter rest for a minimum of 5 minutes to activate the plant based butter-milk.

Prepare your frying pan and heat it to a low to medium heat.

Pour small dolops of the pancake batter on your frying pan.

When you see that the top of the pancake batter begins to bubble, turn the pancakes and cook on the other side until nicely golden.

Serve with additional bananas and some plant based yoghurt.

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What can you serve with your carob pancakes?

Think about the carob as chocolate, so whatever flavour works well with chocolate will work great with carob chips or carob powder in this pancake recipe.

I like these pancakes with extra bananas on top, extra carob chips, dolop of dairy-free yoghurt and a little bit of a shredded coconut.

These carob pancakes will also work great with

Bananas
Homemade Brown Sugar Syrup >>
Maple Syrup
Peanut Butter
Sweetened soft cheese
Banana & Honey Curd >>
Chopped walnuts, hazelnuts or pecan nuts

Can I scale up or down this recipe?

Yes, this recipe is easy to half or double, if you want to. As it is, this carob pancakes recipe gives you about 8 medium sized pancakes, which is perfectly good portion for 2 adults.

You can easily double the recipe if you are cooking for a family or want to make some pancakes and freeze them later.

Halving this recipe is also possible – just half all the ingredients. Half of this pancake recipe will give you a perfect portion for one.

How to store your Carob & Banana Pancakes

Pancakes are best eaten fresh (and warm from the frying pan!), but you can also eat them cold. They are best eaten on the same day.

If you have any leftovers, you can always keep them in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

If you know you won’t be able to finish the pancakes within 3 days, I’d recommend that you freeze them.

They might have a slightly different texture when you defrost them (because the banana will go softer), but it’s better to freeze the pancakes than to waste them.

Freeze the pancakes on the same day and then use them within 3 months.

How to re-heat carob pancakes

I don’t mind eating my pancakes cold, but it’s equally nice to have them warmed up! Depending on how many pancakes you have, you can easily heat them up in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.

If you don’t have a microwave, you can heat them on the hob over a shift made bain marie. Add about an inch (2 cm ) of water to a saucepan and place a bowl over it (either stainless steel or glass).

Place the pancakes inside the bowl (spread them out to warm them up quicker) and let the water to gently simmer for 5 minutes or so. Check when the pancakes are warm enough and serve them straight away.