APPLE BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES WITH COCONUT CARAMEL APPLES

Fluffy, gently spiced, and naturally gluten-free—these pancakes are a celebration of simple ingredients and slow mornings. The caramelised apples take them over the top in the best possible way.

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Stack of apple buckwheat pancakes topped with coconut caramel apples, pecans and syrup.

Fluffy, gently spiced, and naturally gluten-free—these pancakes are a celebration of simple ingredients and slow mornings. The caramelised apples take them over the top in the best possible way.

Hello guys! Rita here. What a coincidence that we are posting this recipe 3 days after Pancake Day! Had we realized sooner, we would've published these babies on the actual Shrove Tuesday. But nothing is lost, because Valentine's day is just around the corner and these would be the perfect way to wake up your loved ones on Sunday! Anyhow, I struggled to decide whether I should post these beyond awesome vegan pancakes under the Breakfast category or the Desserts & Sweets category. I settled with the former, since most people associate pancakes to breakfast. But I actually must admit — we've actually had them more often for dinner/supper! This just goes to show how satisfying these pancakes are. Whatever the meal, believe me when I say they will not let you down.

My addiction to pancakes started waaayyy before the word vegan was familiar to me. I was about 12 years old when I got my hands on my first recipe for "american-style" pancakes and since then I made sure I had my pancake fix every once and a while. So I know pancakes. I know they absolutely MUST be airy and fluffy; yet filling. You have to want to curl up in a ball and take a nap on your pancakes because they are the softest and warmest little pillows you've ever held — and then feast on them. So at first I feared "how in the world will vegan pancakes be as they should?". Imagine how thrilled I was to find out after a few experiments that they are even better. Just as soft, just as fluffy. AND guilt-free. On top of that, these pancakes are also gluten-free, so if you happen to be intolerant to gluten — rejoice!

Oh and those coconut caramel apples on top... Need no description really. Just give this recipe a go and let us know what you think!

Flat lay of pancake ingredients including chopped apple, buckwheat flour, coconut sugar and spices.

Pancake batter in a bowl with freshly chopped apple ready to be mixed in.

Tray of cooked buckwheat pancakes with pecans, caramel apples and fresh apples.

Golden buckwheat pancakes on tray with pecans and whole apples around.

Stack of pancakes topped with caramel apples and chopped pecans, served on a tray.

Close-up of fluffy pancakes topped with coconut caramel apples and syrup.

Overhead view of pancakes, apples, caramelised apple topping and pecans.

Apple Buckwheat Pancakes with Coconut Caramel Apples

DRY INGREDIENTS

210 g buckwheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp coconut sugar
¼ tsp fine sea salt
¼ tsp vanilla powder
2 tsp cinnamon

WET INGREDIENTS

310 ml + 2 tbsp almond milk
1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseeds + 3 tbsp water)
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
110 g peeled and finely chopped apple (we used 1 large Royal Gala apple)

COCONUT CARAMEL APPLES

1 tsp coconut oil
2 tbsp coconut sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp water
1 Royal Gala apple, peeled and cut into wedges

Instructions

Start by gathering, preparing and measuring all of the ingredients. This will improve your dynamic in the kitchen.

PANCAKE BATTER

Start by preparing your flax egg by mixing 1 tbsp ground flax seeds and 3 tbsp water. Let it rest for 5 minutes while you sift or whisk together all of the dry ingredients.
Sift or whisk together all the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
After 5 minutes, your flax egg will be ready to use — mix it in your almond milk and gently fold them into your dry ingredients. Be careful not to overmix the batter.
Let the pancake batter rest for 15 minutes while you peel and chop the apple.
Once the batter has rested for 15 minutes, fold in an aditional 2 tbsp almond milk, the melted coconut oil and the chopped apple.

TO MAKE THE PANCAKES

Place a few drops of coconut oil on a good quality non-stick frying pan on low-medium heat and spread with the help of a kitchen paper towel. This is all the oil you will need. In between pancakes, rub the same paper towel on the pan.
With the help of a measuring cup, fill a 1/4 cup (60 ml) with pancake batter and place on the heated frying pan.
Allow to cook for 2 or 3 minutes until bubbles start popping on top.
Flip the pancake over with a spatula and cook for about 2 more minutes.

COCONUT CARAMEL APPLES

In a non-stick frying pan, melt the coconut oil and add the coconut sugar, cinnamon and water.
Mix and allow to combine into smooth caramel sauce.
Add the apple wedges and cook until soft and warm.

Serve the caramel apples over the pancakes and enjoy! If you've got leftover pancakes don't worry, just store them in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat them later. They will taste just as great.

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14 Comments

Robynsays:

March 16th, 2022

Anyone get more than 11? I made these last night, used the measuring cup (1/4) and I have 13 babies here. Will make the Topping in the morning, so see how the family like them.

Krissays:

October 27th, 2020

I tried these today and they turned out kind of dry... I'm wondering what I did wrong? I did a few modifications -- I used granulated sugar instead of regular sugar, table salt instead of sea salt, vanilla extract instead of vanilla powder, oat milk instead of almond milk, and chia seeds instead of flax seeds. Is it possible that these substitutions made it more dry somehow? I'd like to make these again, but I'd want to make them more moist. Do you have any tips?

JWESTsays:

September 27th, 2018

Perfect is an understatement to describe this recipe. I used crushed oats instead of buckwheat flour and they turned out amazing. Thank you :)

Rita Parentereplied:

October 16th, 2018

Wow! Thank you so much for the precious feedback. :) Made my day! :D xo

Ievasays:

June 3rd, 2018

Hi! I dont know why my pancakes does not hold togehter. I used olive oil insted of coconut oil.. does that make a difference?

Rita Parentereplied:

June 18th, 2018

Hi Leva! I don't see why you could not use olive oil instead of coconut oil... If your pancakes are not holding together, perhaps your apples are way juicier than the ones we used and you need to add a bit more flour too? :)

Kellie Gsays:

May 6th, 2018

Hi Rita! Wow, thank you for this delicious recipe. My pancakes came out very dark in color. I used Bobs Red Mill buckwheat flour. My batter came out way too thick and I needed to add a considerable amount of extra almond milk to achieve the proper consistency. Mine did not come out light & fluffy like yours either. I can’t figure out what I did differently besides not using an apple. I can’t imagine an apple would make a big difference. I used blueberries instead of an apple which aren’t as juicy. Over all great taste!!! I’m open to any tips so my next batch looks like yours :)

Rita Parentereplied:

May 13th, 2018

Hi Kellie, thank you so much for stopping by! And for your precious feedback, we love hearing back from our readers. :) I looked up Bobs Red Mill Buckwheat Flour online, since we don't have it here in Portugal, and indeed it looks darker than the one we use. It's wholegrain too, and I don't think ours is – that's probably why your pancakes came out much darker and thicker. The apple does make a difference in the recipe, especially because we chop it finely which creates a lot more juice. I suggest you give it another go with the apple or a pear, or perhaps even a few mashed blueberries in the mix? Must be delicious as well. :) Happy cooking, lovely! xo

Ricksays:

February 8th, 2018

It would help to have the nutritional breakdown of the recipe, please. I’m vegan, but am also diabetic. I’ve found that a vegan diet has allowed me to eat complex carbs, but I don’t want to go too far the other way. As these have sugar and molasses in them, I don’t think I’d be able to eat that luscious-looking stack! Thank you!

Rita Parentereplied:

March 3rd, 2018

Hi Rick! Thank you for stopping by and for your feedback. We're definitely gonna look into how we can start adding the nutritional breakdown to each of our recipes, since a few of our readers have already asked for it. For the time being, you can refer to the recipe calorie and nutrition analyzer at verywellfit.com, it's very simple to use and will provide all the information needed. I hope this helps! Thanks again :) xo

ashleysays:

December 29th, 2017

Excellent recipe! All the family very happy this morning. Healthy + Delicious! Thank you.

Mary Ann Greenbergsays:

November 26th, 2017

Needed about a 1/4 cup of almond milk after batter rested. I omitted the coconut oil for the caramel sauce, doubled the sugar and just let it caramelize in the pan, stirring constantly. The apple slices release enough juice to make it saucy. Everyone like the pancakes - especially my vegan.

Rita Parentereplied:

December 14th, 2017

We've also found the need to add a little bit of extra milk after the batter is rested, depending on how juicy the apples are. I'll add that note to the recipe. Also, I have to give that oil-free caramel sauce a go! Thank you so much for the precious feedback! :) xo

Ashlynsays:

September 28th, 2017

These look fantastic!! I will have to try these. My husband will love them.

Rita Parentereplied:

October 16th, 2017

Thanks for stopping by Ashlyn! I'm curious to hear if you gave this recipe a go. :) xo

Heidisays:

September 23rd, 2017

This recipe is absolutely great! The whole family loved every morsel!

Rita Parentereplied:

September 25th, 2017

Yay, thank you so much for the feedback Heidi! I'm glad your family enjoyed these pancakes :D xo

Ashliesays:

August 3rd, 2017

Is there a cheaper flour than buckwheat you can use?

Rita Parentereplied:

December 14th, 2017

Oh my, I only came across your comment today Ashlie! So sorry for the late reply. You can substitute the buckwheat flour for the same amount of oat flour. It'll be even cheaper if you blend some rolled oats and make your own flour. :) xo

Svetsays:

August 1st, 2017

Hello guys, I found that today and i'd like to give it a try. Let me ask you, is it going to work if i use a coconut flour instead of buckwheat, what do you think? Thanks :)

Rita Parentereplied:

August 2nd, 2017

Hi Svet, thank you so much for stopping by! Coconut flour is highly absorbent and not really adequate for this sort of recipe... Oat flour or rice flour would be better substitutes! :) xo

Janesays:

February 14th, 2017

I made these this morning and they were great. I had to substitute coconut milk because it was all I had, I also used organic sugar and vanilla extract, for the same reason. I had to add a little more water to make it pourable, most likely because of my milk substitution, but they turned out great anyway. The taste was fantastic!

Rita Parentereplied:

March 30th, 2017

Thanks for the feedback Jane!! It's super cool that you made these work with what you had on hand. :) xo

Hilabeanssays:

December 26th, 2016

Vanilla powder...? Enlighten me. Would extract destroy the recipe?

Rita Parentereplied:

December 26th, 2016

Absolutely not, you can totally use extract instead. We just use whatever is on hand actually. For this recipe in particular, it's either 1/4 tsp organic vanilla powder or 1 tsp vanilla extract. :) xo