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Fluffy sweet potato pancakes are the perfect fall breakfast – with canned or fresh mashed sweet potatoes, warm spices, and lightly sweetened with brown sugar/maple syrup + they’re naturally dairy & egg-free!
Tender Fluffy Sweet Potato Pancakes (Vegan)
If you love candied sweet potatoes and this vegan sweet potato pie, get ready to fall in love with sweet potato pancakes. With a combination of warm, cozy flavors like sweet potato, brown sugar (or maple syrup), and pumpkin pie spice (or individual spices like cinnamon and nutmeg), these sweet potato breakfast pancakes taste like dessert.
Not only do they taste great, but making pancakes with sweet potato ensures they’re loaded with fiber, vitamins A and C, potassium, and antioxidants. And you can pull them together with just 10 simple, inexpensive, pantry-friendly ingredients in under 20 minutes – using canned, fresh, or leftover vegan mashed sweet potato.
Even better, this recipe for sweet potato pancakes is naturally dairy and egg-free and can be customized in several ways, including making them gluten-free, sugar-free, and/or adding your favorite mix-ins and toppings. They can even be meal-prepped/frozen for later, for a child-friendly, crowd-pleasing breakfast or brunch at any time.
Looking for more fall-inspired breakfast ideas? Try our fluffy vegan apple muffins, pumpkin choc chip muffins, vegan pumpkin waffles, or cinnamon-orange quinoa.
The Ingredients
What could I add To Vegan Sweet potato Pancakes?
- Dairy-free chocolate chips
- Cacao nibs
- Raisins, dried cranberries, chopped dates/ apricots, sultanas
- Crushed/chopped nuts or seeds (pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, etc.)
- Shredded coconut or coconut flakes
- Finely chopped/sliced apple or pear
- 1 tsp orange zest
How to Make Sweet Potato Pancakes?
Step 1: Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice into a large bowl. Mix well and set aside.
Step 2: Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mash the banana and add the oil, plant-based milk, sweet potato puree, and vanilla. Mix well.
Alternatively, use a blender/ food processor to blend the wet ingredients until smooth.
Step 3: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated, but be careful not to over-mix it – a few small lumps are fine. Next, heat a small amount of oil or vegan butter in a non-stick skillet or griddle pan over medium heat.
Step 4: Once hot, scoop ½ cup portions of pancake batter onto the pan/griddle and allow it to cook until bubbles are on the surface, the edges are dry, and the underside is golden. Then flip the pancake/s and cook for a further 2-3 minutes until lightly browned. Repeat with the remaining batter, then serve the sweet potato pancakes with your toppings of choice and enjoy!
To keep a large batch of these vegan sweet potato pancakes warm, place them side by side in the oven at 200F/95C until it’s time to serve.
FAQs
Prepare the pancake batter minus the leavening agents and keep it stored, covered, in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Allow it to come to room temperature for 20 minutes before stirring in the leavening agents (don’t over-mix) and cooking the pancakes.
The easiest way to make this sweet potato pancakes recipe gluten-free is using a 1:1 swap of wheat flour to an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend, like King Arthur’s or Bob’s Red Mill. The pancakes will probably be a little denser/not as fluffy.
Yes, just make sure it’s 100% vegan mashed sweet potato without heaps of vegan butter or other add-ins. For the smoothest sweet potato puree, press it through a fine-mesh sieve.
Rinse the potatoes, prick them several times with a fork, and bake in the center of the oven for 45-60 minutes at 400F/200C, until fork tender.
Top Recipe Tips and Notes
- Use the correct amount of flour: Fluff it up in its bag, then use a spoon to transfer it to the measuring cup and the back of a knife to level the top. If you scoop it right from the bag, you’ll use too much and have dense/dry pancakes.
- Adjust sweetness: These healthy sweet potato pancakes contain two sweet ingredients – sweet potato & banana. So, increase, reduce, or eliminate added sugar to taste.
- The liquid amount varies: Based on the type of flour you use.
- Don’t over-mix batter: Or you’ll overwork the gluten and make dense, rubbery pancakes.
- Make a test pancake: That way, you can adjust the temperature and timings accordingly. Likewise, reduce the heat if needed at any point if they’re browning too quickly.
The Best Sweet Potato Pancakes Toppings
Pick your favorite toppings from below to elevate your stack of fluffy vegan sweet potato pancakes even further.
- A dollop of vegan butter
- Maple syrup
- Sprinkle of cinnamon
- Vegan date caramel sauce
- Cinnamon apples, apple compote, or apple butter
- Coconut vegan whipped cream or vegan yogurt
- Sweetened vegan whipped cream cheese (like a vegan cheesecake spread)
- A scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream or vegan caramel ice cream
- Chopped nuts – like walnuts, pecans, pistachios, etc.
- Nut butter – like almond butter, pecan butter, etc.
- Vegan mini marshmallows
Storage Instructions
Allow any leftover banana sweet potato pancakes to cool and store them in a stack, with parchment paper between the layers, for 4-5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
You can also freeze the pancakes for 2-3 months. The easiest way is to spread them in a single layer across a tray to flash freeze until solid (2-3 hours), then transfer to a Ziplock/Stasher bag.
Either leave them to thaw in the fridge overnight or reheat them from frozen in a microwave (in 30-second increments), toaster oven, or oven (wrap small stacks with foil at 350F/180C).
Easy Sweet Potato Pancakes (Vegan)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup of flour
- 3 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spices (cinnamon will work)
- 2 tablespoons of brown sugar or sweetener of choice
- 1 mashed banana
- 3 tablespoons of neutral oil
- 1 cup of plant-based milk
- 1 cup of canned sweet potato puree
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and sugar. Mix well and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mash the banana, add the oil, plant-based milk, sweet potato puree, and vanilla. Mix well and add it to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix until all ingredients are well incorporated, but do not overmix.
- Preheat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add one teaspoon of neutral oil or vegan butter to the pan.
- Scoop out the batter with a ½ cup measuring cup and pour it onto the hot pan. Cook each side for 2-3 minutes. Another good tip is to see if bubbles begin to form and the batter is starting to dry up around the edges. Gently insert the spatula under the pancake, flip, and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove the cooked pancake out of the pan and repeat until all the batter is cooked.
Notes
- Use the correct amount of flour: Fluff it up in its bag, then use a spoon to transfer it to the measuring cup and the back of a knife to level the top. If you scoop it right from the bag, you’ll use too much and have dense/dry pancakes.
- Adjust sweetness: These healthy sweet potato pancakes contain two sweet ingredients – sweet potato & banana. So, increase, reduce, or eliminate added sugar to taste.
- The liquid amount varies: Based on the type of flour you use.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Although plantbasedonabudget.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Plantbasedonabudget.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
These sweet potato pancakes are so easy and delicious and were a perfect holiday breakfast!
Right?! Such a great way to start off the day!
Latkes made w sweet potatoes!! An interesting twist on the traditional and so delicious.
Gotta love a a nice sweet potato mix!
Such a great breakfast!