Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

I’m an absolute pumpkin lover and my mom would always make the best pumpkin cookies (still does!). When I first made this recipe, I wanted to test out making something similar to her cookies for after we did yoga together. They were so fluffy and tasted just like Fall! I don’t mind sweet breakfasts but I have a hard time finding enough protein and get hungry really quickly afterwards. That’s why I added some protein powder so I could stay full for longer! Did I mention these pumpkin pancakes are also Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free?!

The pumpkin protein pancakes batter made a few more pancakes than I could eat, so I stored them in a Stasher bag in the freezer so I can quickly re-heat them. The pancakes were still tasty! In my opinion, if a recipe results in good-to-reheat leftovers, then it’s a great one to keep. You could easily meal-prep these pancakes and bring them to work or class, or turn the batter into pumpkin waffles. I love a recipe that’s flexible – I almost wonder if this batter would make good muffins!

I paired my stack of pumpkin protein pancakes with my mulled apple cider, for an especially Fall breakfast. There’s no such thing as too much Fall in one meal, right?!

Ingredients for for ~14 Mini Gluten-Free Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

GF DF Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

1.5 Cups Oat Milk

1 Cup Pumpkin Puree

2 TBSP Avocado Oil

2 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Egg

2 Cups Gluten-Free Flour

2-3 Scoops Protein Powder (I use a vanilla flavor, although you could definitely try others)

3 TBSP Brown Sugar

2 TBSP Baking Powder

1 TBSP Baking Soda

2 TSP Pumpkin Pie Spice (I even sprinkled a little extra)

½ TSP Salt

Chocolate Chips or Chopped Nuts (optional)

Cinnamon Whipped Cream

8 Oz. Heavy Whipping Cream

1-2 TSP Pumpkin Pie Spice (depends how Fall-y you’re feeling)

1 TSP Cinnamon

*For a Dairy-Free Whipped Cream option, Trader Joe’s has a delicious coconut cream whipped cream!

Instructions

1. Add the dry ingredients (flour, protein, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt) into a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the almond milk, pumpkin puree, egg, oil and apple cider vinegar together.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl of dry ingredients a few separate times until all of the pancake ingredients are combined. The mixture should be dripping off the spoon, but not running off the spoon: strong enough to hold together in a pancake shape.
4. Heat a pan on medium until you can feel the warmth over the pan. Spray with canola oil (or olive oil) spray, to make sure the pancake can flip and not stick. (You want to spray the pan each time before you add another pancake)
5. Add the pancake batter onto the pan (I use a ⅓ Cup Measuring Cup to make sure each time it’s an equal amount). If you want fluffier pancakes, just pour the batter into the middle of the pan and don’t touch it. If you want thin, large pancakes, just touch the batter with the bottom of the spoon, circling the batter and spreading it out further like a crepe.
6. The pancake is done when you start to see a few bubbles on the top of the batter, or if you use a spatula to lift the pancake slightly. The bottom should be a nice golden brown.
7. Once the pancake bottom is browned, flip the pancake over. (I made a few splatters, so don’t worry!)
8. The pancake should cook much faster on the second side, so be careful to keep checking it. As you keep cooking the pan will be hotter as well, so the pancakes will cook at a fraction of the time the first one did!
9. Repeat, spraying oil before pouring each pancake.
10. When your pancakes are done, or if you feel like multi-tasking, pour the whipping cream and spices into a small blender*. Blend for about 5-7 seconds, and then stop to shake the mixture; if it’s watery there’s still more mixing to be done before the liquid becomes fluffy whipped cream. If you’re nervous that the whipped cream will get to a buttery state (over-mixing does this), blend in short periods, until it barely finishes! (It took me about 10 seconds to finish, and I checked twice!)
11. Stack the desired amount of pancakes and generously dollop the whipped cream and/or maple syrup on top!
12. Enjoy your delicious ~protein-packed~ pancakes!!

*If you have a hand-mixer, that’s even better – just put the whipping cream into a medium-sized bowl and mix. If you don’t have a blender and you don’t have a hand-mixer, you can whip by hand with a whisk; it’s really time-consuming but it’s SO worth it!