Easy Sweet Potato Pancakes (Vegan)

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 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 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 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 apple muffins, pumpkin choc chip muffins, pumpkin waffles, or cinnamon-orange breakfast quinoa.  

The Ingredients

• Sweet potato puree: Use canned sweet potato puree or make your own mashed sweet potato – leftovers will work, too. Mashed sweet potato from roasted potatoes will be more caramelized than microwaved or steamed/boiled sweet potato.
• Banana: Mashed banana makes a great egg replacement for binding while enhancing the natural sweetness in the pancakes. Unsweetened applesauce should work well, too.
• Flour: Use all-purpose flour or replace up to half of it with whole wheat flour. Spelt flour or buckwheat flour may also work.
• Leavening agents: These sweet potato vegan pancakes use baking powder and baking soda to help give them lift and fluffiness.
• Vanilla extract: Use natural vanilla for the best flavor and subtle warmth.
• Pumpkin pie spice: To enhance the fall flavor of mashed sweet potato pancakes. Apple pie spice or cinnamon (optionally with nutmeg and/or ginger) also works.
• Sweetener: (optional) Brown sugar complements the natural sweetness of the sweet potato well. However, less refined coconut sugar or a sugar-free brown sugar alternative will work. You can also use maple syrup, but adjust the amount of flour/milk accordingly.
• Plant-based milk: Use any unsweetened dairy-free milk. i.e., soy milk, oat milk, etc.  
• Salt: To balance and enhance the flavors in the sweet potato pancakes recipe.
• Oil: Use any neutral oil, like vegetable oil or canola oil, to add moisture to the batter. You can also use it (or coconut oil) to cook the pancakes, though vegan butter also works.

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?

• 1) First, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice into a large bowl. Mix well and set aside.

• 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.

• 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.

• 4) Next, heat a small amount of oil or vegan butter in a non-stick skillet or griddle pan over medium heat.

• 5) 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.

• 6) 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

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
• Caramel sauce
• Cinnamon apples, apple compote, or apple butter
• Coconut whipped cream or vegan yogurt
• Sweetened vegan whipped cream cheese (like a cheesecake spread)
• A scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream or 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).

More Vegan Sweet Potato Breakfast Recipes

• Easy sweet potato toast
• One-pan root vegetable hash
• Vegan potato frittata
• Sweet potato chocolate quick bread
• Sweet potato latkes

Photos by Alfonso Revilla