These Coconut Flour Pancakes are delightfully fluffy and incredibly easy to make. And with less than 3g net carbs per serving, they make an ideal keto breakfast!
I often joke that working with coconut flour is like entering an alternate universe. If you’re used to wheat flour, you will find that this common keto ingredient defies all expectations.
But once you get the hang of it, you realize that it can be incredibly useful. It works well in both sweet and savory recipes, everything from Keto Bagels to my famous sugar free Chantilly Cake.
For the uninitiated, these Keto Coconut Flour Pancakes are a very good place to start. It’s an easy recipe that provides you with a good sense of the ingredients. And it doesn’t hurt that you get some tasty keto breakfast out of the deal!
If you prefer other flours, I have some great keto pancakes with almond flour too.
Why you need this recipe
This was one of the first keto pancake recipes I ever created and it’s been a fan favorite ever since. But over the years, I’ve tinkered with it and perfected it to make them truly light and fluffy.
One of the best tricks I discovered was the addition of sparkling water rather than still water. The carbonation adds air to the batter, which in turn makes the pancakes lighter. Since coconut flour can often be dense and heavy, you need all the added lightness you can get.
Coconut flour pancakes require a surprising amount of eggs. But, done correctly, they don’t end up eggy or rubbery at all. And with some added vanilla, you don’t taste don’t get an overpowering coconut flavor.
One reader says: “This was my first time using coconut flour, and my pancakes turned out delicious! They are very buttery, which is just the way I like them.”
It’s also a fabulous make-ahead recipe. The pancakes can be refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for several months. So you can make a big batch and enjoy a healthy breakfast for days.
Ingredients you need
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- Coconut flour: Coconut flour varies a great deal brand to brand and some are more absorbent than others. I recommend using Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur Baking for consistency, but if you use a different brand, you may need to adjust. If the batter is very thin, add another tablespoon or two of flour. Read my tutorial on baking with coconut flour for more information.
- Swerve Sweetener: I recommend using erythritol-based sweeteners, such as Swerve, for this recipe. Using another sweetener may change the texture and consistency. Allulose is not a good choice, as it tends to make things brown more on the outside, which will leave your pancakes looking and tasting burnt. Learn more about keto sweeteners here.
- Eggs: Make sure to bring the eggs to room temperature before adding them, otherwise they will cause the butter to clump up.
- Butter: You can use salted or unsalted, as you prefer.
- Sparkling water: The carbonation gives the pancakes a lighter, fluffier texture. But you can just use regular water instead, if you don’t have any sparkling.
- Oil/butter for the pan
- Pantry staples: baking powder, salt, vanilla extract.
Step by Step Directions
1. Whisk the dry ingredients: Whisk together the coconut flour, sweetener, baking powder, and salt. Break up any clumps in the coconut flour.
2. Add the wet ingredients: Add the eggs, butter, and vanilla and stir to combine. Add the sparkling water and whisk until smooth, then let the batter rest a few minutes to thicken.
3. Add the batter: Heat the skillet and lightly grease with oil or butter. Scoop two or three tablespoons of batter onto the hot skillet and spread into a 3 to 4 inch circle. Keep them small so that they are easier to flip.
4. Cook until golden: Cook the pancakes until the bottoms are golden brown and the edges are set and dry. Flip carefully and continue to cook until second side is golden brown, then remove to a plate. Repeat with remaining pancake batter.
Expert Tips and FAQ
If you’re new to coconut flour, you may find it a bit tricky to work with. Here are some added tips for success:
- Keep them on the small side for easier flipping. 3 to 4 inches in diameter is about perfect.
- Just like regular pancakes, you want to see some little bubbles appear in the top before you try to flip them. Then carefully wiggle your flipper under the bottom side and flip over in one quick motion.
- Different brands of coconut flour vary in absorbency so it can be tricky to know if your batter is right. Try one mini pancake before you go and do them all. The batter shouldn’t be so thin that you can pour it. You should have to scoop it onto the skillet and then spread it into a circle.
- If your batter is too thin, simply add another tablespoon of coconut flour. If it’s too thick, add another tablespoon or two of water.
Frequently Asked Questions
Coconut flour makes excellent pancakes but it’s not as simple as replacing regular wheat flour cup-for-cup. It is extremely absorbent and requires a lot of eggs, fat, and liquids to make good pancakes. You also use significantly less coconut flour than regular flour. I recommend following this coconut flour pancake recipe as written.
Coconut flour requires a lot of eggs to hold together properly. Most coconut flour recipes take at least 6 eggs per half cup of flour. Resist the urge to skimp on the eggs or to thin the batter with another liquid, as you will end up with a goopy mess that won’t cook through properly.
These coconut flour pancakes are a deliciously healthy option for keto breakfast. They have 5.9g of carbs and 3.3g of fiber, so they come out to 2.6g net carbs per serving. They also have more protein than regular pancakes, so they will keep you feeling satisfied for much longer.
What to serve with coconut flour pancakes
So now that you’ve made a big stack of these delicious pancakes, how do you serve them? You’ve got many great options!
- I love them with a smear of peanut butter or my Keto Nutella as a quick on-the-go breakfast.
- For a decadent brunch, try topping the pancakes with Pecan Praline Syrup or Wild Blueberry Syrup.
- All-U-Lose maple-flavored syrup is my top choice for store-bought pancake toppings.
- ChocZero has a wonderful collection of flavored syrups, everything from caramel to peach!
Coconut Flour Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup Swerve Granular
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 large eggs
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ to ¾ cup sparkling water (or regular water)
- Additional butter or oil for the pan
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, sweetener, baking powder, and salt. Break up any clumps in the coconut flour.
- Add the eggs, butter, and vanilla and stir to combine. Add ⅓ cup of the sparkling water and whisk until smooth. Add more water, a little at a time, as needed. Let the batter rest a few minutes so the coconut flour absorbs the moisture.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brush lightly with oil or butter. Using about 3 tablespoons of batter at a time, scoop onto the skillet and spread into a 3 inch circle.
- Cook until the bottoms are golden brown, the top is set around the edges, and a few bubbles appear in the top. Flip carefully and continue to cook until the second side is golden brown.
- Remove from pan and keep warm on plate or baking sheet in oven, while repeating with remaining batter.
Mariana says
Love this recipe. I just moved to Canada from the UK and idk if it’s my ingredients, but it turned out eggy tasting. I double the recipe because I was making it for my family of origin, so I’m wondering if it does double well? Any tips? Thank you in advance!
Mariana says
If it doesn’t** double well?
Linnie says
So delicious!
Lisa says
I wish I could give these pancakes 5 more stars! Perfection! The texture was spot-on and the flavor was outstanding. These are in weekly rotation for sure!
Tracy Sheehy says
I made a half batch for breakfast today. They were easy to assemble, and they cooked up just like traditional pancakes. The pancake themselves were a little softer than traditional pancakes, but they were a good substitute. I did accidentally use zevia cola instead of plain sparkling water because the cans are the exact same color and because the zevia was a stray can that I didn’t know was in my fridge. Fortunately, I hadn’t added all the sweetener the recipe called for, so they weren’t too sweet and surprisingly I couldn’t taste any cola flavor! I wonder if that the cola may have made them softer than they normally would have been. Overall, highly recommend!
Dianne T says
These coconut flour pancakes are so light, fluffy, and simply delicious. My family agrees these are the best pancakes! We just love them. We try to eat healthy and these are perfect. Next time I plan to double the recipe so we have leftover pancakes ready in the freezer..Yum.
(We use organic monk fruit extract powder so I replaced the swerve with a few small scoops of it and it worked great)
Tia Bidlack says
Made this this morning and it was to die for! I’m not a big fan of pancakes as they tend to be soggy. These were so good! The only real problem I had is that I didn’t take into consideration the coconut flavor and I put almond butter on the pancakes. They were fine by themselves. I’ll know for next time.
Carolyn says
I am so glad!
Colin Noden says
Would Club Soda (regular with sodium) work?
Carolyn says
Yep!
Leila says
Wow, these pancakes are delicious! It is easy to mix and easy to make. We just had it for breakfast!
Delia Bottoms says
We just had the coconut pancakes for breakfast with the blueberry syrup. Oh my! Those pancakes are the bomb diggity! I have missed pancakes so I was really happy to find this recipe. it is definitely a good idea to keep these small as you stated. I have what I call a pancake spatula which is rounded, and three tablespoons of batter is perfect it’s just about the size of my spatula! I did add a little extra sparkling water and stirring each time until it looked right. It’s an eyeball thing! It’s not the same as pancake batter, but it has to be thick enough to hold up while cooking. I made sure that the top had bubbles and the edges looked cooked before flipping them over. When I thought they were ready to flip, I peeked underneath first to make sure they were a nice golden brown. The blueberry syrup was so easy to make! I’m only sorry I didn’t make a little extra because it all disappeared with the pancakes! My husband and I both loved our breakfast . What a treat! Thank you so much, I’ll be looking for more of your recipes.
Betty Foss says
I just made these and they are phenomenal. I am just starting my low carb journey in preparation for weight loss surgery and was really wondering if I could stick too it but with recipes like this I don’t think I will be missing out. I like them even better then regular pancakes and that’s saying something coming from a self professed carb alcoholic.
Carolyn says
Glad you enjoyed!
Michele says
Hi, I’m so glad you have put together coconut flour recipes since I cannot tolerate almond flour…Q- does this recipe have to have sweetener at all?
Carolyn says
You can leave out the sweetener if you like.
Dawn says
Good recipe but if you’re making these in Europe and convert to metric, watch the conversions as it converts quarter tsp salt to half tsp salt. I didn’t realise until too late and my pancakes were a bit too salty. Now given that we’re in the middle of a heatwave in the U.K. it wasn’t a problem as the extra salt is probably needed, but just be warned it happened!
Dawn says
Oh should’ve said I served them with a generous serving of the Keto Nutella recipe and that worked out amazing with the extra salt flavour. Chocolate and salt are a match made in heaven!
Carolyn says
Oh goodness! I will go in and fix that. Bizarre!