Vegan Blueberry Sourdough Pancakes
These vegan blueberry sourdough pancakes are soft, thick and fluffy with mouthwatering sourdough flavor. It's a wonderful recipe to use up sourdough discard and it makes a big enough batch to enjoy with family and friends now or save some for later.
- 1 cup sourdough starter ((either a discard or an active starter))
- 2 cups flour ((see ingredient notes below))
- 2½ cups non-dairy milk ((divided))
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar ((or maple syrup))
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp flax meal ((optional))
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cups blueberries ((fresh or frozen. Rinse frozen blueberries in colander before using))
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- In a large bowl, mix the sourdough starter, two cups of non-dairy milk, vinegar, flour, and maple syrup or sugar. Cover the bowl with a tight lid or cling wrap and keep the bowl in a warm spot (like an unheated oven with the light turned on) overnight.
- By morning, the pancake batter should be puffy and bubbly and it should have risen. Mix in the salt, baking soda, blueberries, and optional flax meal and lemon juice. If the pancake batter is too thick, add the remaining half cup of non-dairy milk into the batter.
- Heat a griddle and coat with cooking spray. Use a ¼ cup measure to pour out pancakes on the griddle, leaving at least an inch between the pancakes.
- Cook until the edges of the pancakes are dry and bubbles appear in the center. Use a thin spatula to flip each pancake and continue to cook the other side for a minute or until set. Remove pancakes to a plate with spatula.
Irresistible vegan blueberry sourdough pancakes
These vegan blueberry sourdough pancakes are an easy breakfast for weekends when you want to gather round the table with family or friends for a leisurely - and delicious -breakfast that's also incredibly nourishing.
The pancake batter is ridiculously easy, and you can make it with sourdough discard, even discard that's been sitting in the fridge for a couple of weeks, or with an active sourdough starter. It is very similar to the batter for my vegan sourdough waffles, which so many of you love. The night before you make the pancakes, set aside five minutes to put the ingredients in a bowl and mix them up. Then set the batter aside to ferment in a warm spot overnight.
In the morning stir in a tiny bit of baking soda, which makes the pancakes even more tender, optional flax meal, and blueberries. Then it's time to make pancakes!
Even if you have a great pancake recipe for weekends (I love these vegan whole wheat pancakes), you might never look back once you've tried these vegan sourdough pancakes. You can make them with whole wheat flour if you want to. I add blueberries for their nutrition and amazing flavor - so great with sourdough recipes like these vegan sourdough blueberry muffins - but you can make the pancakes plain too, without any added fruit.
Since I posted this recipe in 2018, some of you have asked me why the batter needs to stand overnight, and can't one just make it right before making pancakes? Some readers have even made the pancakes right away using this recipe and they've reported great results. However, I still recommend letting the batter stand overnight for two critical reasons:
- Pancakes made with an overnight sourdough batter are far healthier.
- They also have that rich, mellow, DELICIOUS sourdough flavor and fluffy texture.
To understand why, you need to understand the science behind sourdough baking. When you rest the batter for a few hours after mixing the sourdough and flour together, the gut friendly bacteria in the starter go to work to digest the starches in the flour. This makes the pancakes stratospherically better for blood sugar control. The batter also develops a smoother, more rounded flavor and the sourdough helps the pancakes rise high without eggs.
If you're still not convinced about the superiority of an overnight batter, use half the batter right away to make pancakes and let the other half stand for a few hours to ferment. Then come back and tell me if you don't agree.
This vegan sourdough pancake recipe makes 24 pancakes - enough to feed a small army or six very hungry people. You can make them soy-free and nut-free and, like most pancakes, they are very kid-friendly. If you don't want to stand over a hot stove flipping pancakes, just bake them in a sheet pan. I'll have more on that for you in the recipe FAQs below.
OH MY GOODNESSSSS!!! These are the best pancakes EVER!! The best whole grain, The best vegan, the best sourdough, simply the best! -Aggie.
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon flax meal (optional)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
