These vegan cocoa pancakes have that decadent feel with plenty of wholesome ingredients! I love topping them with maple syrup and bananas on a chill weekend. A dollop of coconut whipped cream or yogurt is an extra special touch that makes these even more delicious.
Any time I can have something chocolaty for breakfast, I am elated. The light spelt flour makes these a little virtuous, but you can certainly substitute all purpose flour or any wheat-based flour honestly.
These vegan pancakes take about 25 minutes to make and require zero advanced planning. In terms of non-dairy milk for these, I tend to prefer soy. Soy has the highest protein content and it does have a richer, more creamy texture. Any milk will work though!
Vegan Cocoa Pancakes
Vegan cocoa pancakes are a wholesome and indulgent weekend breakfast recipe. Delicious with fresh fruit and a drizzle of maple syrup.
Servings 2 -3
Ingredients
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup light spelt flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- tiny pinch salt
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Mix the non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl and set aside to curdle, about 5 minutes.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl until combined. Add the curdled milk, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla. Mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. It should be a tad loose-seeming.
- Heat a large, non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Drop ¼ cup measures of the batter into the pan (not too many at a time!). When bubbles start to peak through the surface and you see a bit of light browning/crisping up on the underside, flip the pancakes over carefully, about 1-2 minutes. Repeat for the other side, remove from the pan and set aside on a covered plate to keep warm.
- Serve with maple syrup, sliced bananas, berries or whatever other accompaniments you like.
hi :) would they be ok if I used normal milk?
Yes, this recipe would definitely work with regular dairy milk.
-L
These pancakes look delicious! Saved this page, can’t wait to give them a go.
Great recipe, I can’t wait to make!
The pancakes are fluffy but they don’t hold well. Will add flaxmeal in future. Thanks for the recipe!
I made these this morning for my kids as part of a birthday breakfast. They loved it, and you may have just turned me into a vegan! I couldn’t believe how light and fluffy they were. These are the best pancakes I’ve ever had! Thank you for the recipe :)
I made these pancakes today and OH MY GOODNESS THEY TASTED SOOOO GOOD. Thank you so much for this recipe, I will certainly make them again very soon. <3
Delicious pancakes! I’ll try to make them tomorrow morning.
Hi Laura!
We just polished these delicious pancakes off and wanted to thank you for sharing your amazing creations with the rest of us. I have used chocolate hazelnut milk and hazelnut oil to round out the flavor and it was just great! Thank you SO much!
Looks so delicious. My BF loves it when I make pancakes for him. He also loves chocolate, and he loves peanut butter on his pancakes. This might be a match made in heaven.
Hi these look delicious …what kind of whole wheat flour would they work with ? Like whole wheat pastry flour right ? Or How can I make this gluten free ? What flours should I use ? Thank u !
Hi Afrina,
Yes, wholewheat pastry flour would be a good substitute for the light spelt. Alternatively, if you’d like to go gluten free, this homemade GF flour mix has worked out great for me in almost everything I’ve tried it in: http://www.artofglutenfreebaking.com/2009/11/the-story-behind-my-gluten-free-flour-mix/ Hope that helps you :)
-L
Made this today and it was absolutely delicious. Thank you!
We made these w/strawberries & syrup, they were like molten chocolate cake for breakfast. Highly recommended. Next time we’ll try them with bananas & coconut whipped cream. Thank you for the post!
This.is.beautiful. I love the picture with the fork and last bite. And the heart! Love.
Your pancakes are incredible! They’re so intensely dark and layering with bananas is perfect… I have featured this post in today’s Friday Food Fetish roundup. Let me know if you have any objections and thanks for the inspiration
These look delicious. Curious, though: What does the curdled milk bring to the table?
Hi Ani, the curdled milk thing is meant to evoke buttermilk because it seems to be pretty classic in the realm of pancakes. It adds moisture, a little tang and helps with the rise too! Hope that clarifies!
-L
Yum! Can’t wait to make these on St.Valentines day…or every other day of the week! Our Food Lovers would love to read about this on our community page! http://bit.ly/yI0sZU
This recipe stole my heart! :) I’m a huge fan of vegan pancakes (I have many recipes on my blog) and this one is definitely on my list of what I’d love to make. Wonderful photography too!
These look SO good. I love pancakes and I love chocolate, and I can’t imagine anything better than these two things together!! Thanks for the inspiration. And btw, I love valentine’s day too, and I don’t care who knows it :)
XOXO
D
Gorgeous photos! Mmmmm delicious looking pancakes
i am a terrible gift giver but i love love spoiling hugh with good food for holidays. I’m excited for chocolate pancakes!!
Would regular milk work for this recipe?
Hi Sarah,
Regular milk would work just fine. Or you can swap out the non-dairy milk and the apple cider vinegar with 1 cup of buttermilk if you have some :)
-L
oh my oh my…… if only a guy would make this for me…or anything!
Oh my! These are heavenly treats…I don’t need to wait for Valentine’s Day to make these, I am making a bunch today. Yummy!
Oh yum! I just need to get hubby to make these for v day for me :)
These look fantastic! Lovely photos, too. And I love your blog design. So simple and clean!
I’ve always thought of Feb 14 as more of a share love and homemade valentines with everyone, rather than a big date night. The pancakes look wonderful!
I think this can be Valentine’s dinner and my man will be happy! Thanks for sharing this!
Ahh I miss those days of homemade construction paper Valentine’s too. Who didn’t love those chalky hearts with messages on them? This is perfect for the casual Valentine’s Day we’ll have. Breakfast for dinner, yes please :)
These look amazing! Beautiful photos too.
These pancakes look fantastic. Yum!!!! I have book marked the recipe to make next Sunday for my sweetie. Thanks for the idea :)
Whoa. These are so yummy looking!