Flourless Chickpea Pancakes – Made with Canned Chickpeas
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These Flourless Chickpea Pancakes are made from canned chickpeas, meaning they contain plenty of protein and they taste delicious, making them a wonderful post-workout or weekend morning breakfast recipe.
I absolutely adore these chickpea pancakes, and I know you will too.
If you didn’t already know, I love adding chickpeas to recipes. Whether it’s straight out of the can like in this mediterranean chickpea tuna salad, or roasting them like these roasted chickpeas recipe, I find them to be incredibly versatile.
Did you know you can also use them in place of flour in pancakes?! That’s right — these chickpea pancakes are made without flour.
See, I’m always looking for ways to sneak in natural sources of protein. That’s not to say I dislike protein powder (see my protein overnight oats as proof that I do), but if you can get protein in the form of food, then why wouldn’t you?!
I’ve seen a handful of recipes that call for chickpea flour, but I think using canned chickpeas is a little more practical because 1. it’s cheaper, and 2. not all grocery stores sell chickpea flour.
Recipe features
- They’re packed with protein — 1 cup of chickpeas boasts 39 grams of protein! You can read more about the benefits of chickpeas in this Healthline article.
- Delicious on their own
- Even more delicious when topped with peanut butter + maple syrup
- Perfect for weekend mornings when you’re craving something sweet, but need something that will keep you full
Ingredient notes:
Chickpeas – Canned; any brand. I’ve tested this recipe using both the 89 cent canned chickpeas, and then the slightly pricier organic chickpeas and both turned out great.
Eggs – Think of the eggs as the glue that holds everything together in this recipe. If you consume eggs, definitely make the recipe with them. If you do not, you could try using a vegan egg substitute, though I haven’t tested them myself.
Peanut butter – Can sub any kind of nut butter.
Maple syrup – The recipe calls for only 1 tablespoon, so you can use your sweetener of choice if maple syrup isn’t your thing.
Milk – Any kind! I used almond milk and it worked great.
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Rinse the chickpeas. The first step is to pour the chickpeas into a strainer, then run water over them for 20 seconds or so, which will remove any of the liquid from inside the can.
Step 2: Blend. Transfer the chickpeas, along with the remaining pancake ingredients, to a high-power blender and blend for about 30 seconds or until the batter is smooth.
Step 3: Cook. Grease a griddle or nonstick skillet with a little coconut oil, then heat it over medium heat. Pour batter onto the griddle and cook the pancakes for 1-2 minutes per side.
Tips and FAQs
-Always, always, always rinse the chickpeas before adding them to your blender; we want to remove the liquid from inside the can.
-If the pancakes seem to be browning too quickly, reduce the heat from medium to low.
-Some people say toppings are the best part of any pancakes recipe. Here are a few fun topping ideas: banana, peanut butter/almond butter, chocolate chips, maple syrup, fresh berries, or chia seeds.
Can I make these vegan?
I’ve tried a few different vegan variations, but unfortunately none of them have yielded the same results. If you happen to try an egg replacement and it works, please let me know!
What should I serve alongside these pancakes?
Truthfully, any other breakfast food you can think of! Some of my favorites include my tofu scramble, baked vegan donuts, sun-dried tomato frittata, or my cauliflower crustless quiche. Any of these would be delicious alongside chickpea pancakes!
More easy pancake recipes:
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Flourless Chickpea Pancakes
Ingredients
- 15 oz. chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp milk of choice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
- Pour chickpeas into a strainer, then rinse them off completely; then, pour chickpeas into a blender.
- Add the remaining ingredients into the blender and pulse for 30 seconds or until the batter is smooth.
- Grease a griddle or skillet with coconut oil or nonstick spray, and heat over medium heat. Pour batter onto the griddle, and once it starts bubbling, use spatula and carefully flip the pancakes over. Once both sides are cooked, remove from heat. Continue process until batter is gone.
- Top pancakes with extra peanut butter, fruit and/or chocolate chips and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in April 2015. It was updated with new text and photos in January 2021.
Could mashed bananas replace the eggs?
I haven’t tried them in this recipe, but I imagine they would work. Let me know if you try it!
Please let me know if ripe smashed bananas worked! I made regular vegan pancakes today w/2 ripe bananas as the egg alternative and it really worked 😀
Hi! I had a tough time finding a GOOD egg substitute that didn’t alter the texture of the pancakes. If you try mashed banana please let me know how they turn out!
Do you have a carb count? Also would yoghurt or sour cream be swapped for milk?
I don’t have a carb count, and I recommend sticking to milk, as both yogurt and sour cream will probably make the batter too thick.
You say to use a can of chickpea (doesn’t it have liquid in the can) and shouldn’t it be rinced first or are you saying use the whole can including the liquid.
Yes–you should drain the liquid from the can and then rinse the chickpeas first!
These look SO good! Think they’d work with almond butter instead of peanut?!
Hi Sarah–yes, I imagine you could use almond butter instead, but you may have to use a bit more of it since almond butter tends to be a bit thinner than peanut butter. Let me know if you try them/how they turn out!
I loved this recipe, I’m going to do it here for my children and my wife (strange is not it? Cooking man), but I’ll do and divulge
Thanks for the feedback, I’m glad you liked them!
Hi Eric
If l were to use Chickpea flour what would be the quantity? I would like to try both actual chickpeas and flour versions. Thanks in advance.
Hi Erin 🙂 I just made this recipe today and the pancakes were really delicious. This was my first time using chickpeas in pancakes or anything else, but your pancakes looked so good I had to try them. Thankfully I had a can in the kitchen. Thank you so much, I look foward to trying your other recipes too.
Thanks for the feedback and I’m glad you liked them!
How do you think this would work with PB2? Super low in fat, would they be OK?
Hi Donna, I’ve actually never had PB2 before so I’m really not sure… if you try it, let me know!
These look amazing!! Just one question: do the chickpeas need to be drained and rinsed or do you put the contents of the whole can into the food processor?
Great question! Drained and rinsed first THEN added 🙂
I’m really excited to try these!! Quick question though: how big of a can of chickpeas did you use?
15 oz! Any size around that should work.