The last time I shared a pancake recipe, it was the easy vegan whole grain pancakes that I prepared for my Mom during our staycation. That was quite a while ago, and I realize that I’m overdue for a delicious vegan breakfast recipe. These vegan carob chip pancakes are easy, tasty, and the addition of carob chips gives them a sweetness and decadence that’s fitting for a fancy brunch or special occasion.
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m a huge carob fan. I don’t seek it out as a chocolate substitute, per se; I love chocolate, and I get no shortage of it. But in spite of the fact that carob tastes like chocolate, I think it has a particular sweetness and flavor of its own, and it’s a flavor I really like. (Plus, it’s got trace amounts of calcium, which I think is pretty cool.)
This was my first time making carob chip pancakes (or chocolate chip pancakes, for that matter), and used a simple vegan pancake “template”–one I’ve used to make pancakes for a long time–adding carob chips at the end. It’s nice when we know the proportions of a certain kind of food (pancakes, soup, scramble, whatever) so well that the recipe resides in our memory. That’s how I judged proportions on this one.
The kitchen smelled heavenly–as only kitchens in which pancakes are being prepared will–and by the time I’d finished up the batter, I was ravenous! If you make these for friends or loved ones as part of a brunch, I definitely recommend cooking and flipping them after your guests arrive. The breakfast aromas are pretty irresistable, and anticipation makes the pancakes all the more enjoyable.
| Vegan Carob Chip Pancakes | Print |
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 1½ cups soy or almond milk
- 1½ cups all purpose, whole wheat pastry, light spelt, or gluten-free all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons organic sugar (such as cane sugar, Sucanat, or coconut sugar)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (such as canola, safflower, sunflower, or melted coconut), plus extra for cooking the pancakes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegan carob chips (or dark chocolate chips)
- Toppings: Fresh fruit, maple syrup, Earth Balance, chopped walnuts, etc.
- Heat a griddle or griddle pan over medium low heat. Mix the ground flax seed with 6 tablespoons warm water. Set it aside and allow it to thicken up.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the vinegar and non-dairy milk (it's good to do this vigorously, so that the mixture becomes a little frothy).
- Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt together in a large mixing bowl and then create a well in the center of the mixed, dry ingredients.
- Meanwhile, combine the flax "eggs," the vinegar/non-dairy milk mixture, the vegetable oil, and the vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Use a spatula or whisk to mix the ingredients until they form a smooth batter. Gently fold in the carob chips.
- Lightly coat the warm griddle with oil (you can also use olive or coconut oil spray). Use a ⅓ cup measure to drop the pancake batter onto the griddle (1/3 cup or so of batter per pancake). When you see bubbles form on top of each pancake (about 2 minutes), and the edges of the pancake can be lifted easily with a spatula, flip the pancake over and finish cooking the other side (another 1-2 minutes). Repeat with all remaining batter, fitting as many pancakes as you can onto the griddle without crowding them.
- Top pancakes with fresh fruit, maple syrup, Earth Balance, or any other toppings of choice!
Of course, you don’t have to use carob chips in the recipe. You can use vegan chocolate chips instead, or you can use berries, chopped nuts, or another mix-in of choice. If you haven’t tried carob, though, it’s really worth giving it a try. And this brunch recipe is an excellent place to start 🙂
See you on the morrow!
xo
Photographs courtesy of Lighter.
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I have always loved the strange, earthy taste of carob… these are marvelous!
omg that is so weird i was so gonna make carob chip pancakes! I made homemade carob chips and everything!:
http://sketch-freeveganeating.blogspot.com/2010/12/homemade-unsweetened-carob-chips-vegan.html
Oh Gena, those pancakes…. the former carob addict in me is shining through now! 😀
YAY! I got her to like carob again…
Did you write this recipe just for my family? Because I am going to tell myself that you did 🙂
I did 🙂
I’m pretty sure I love carob way more than I love chocolate! These pancakes look delicious and it sounds like you and M shared a wonderful morning together.
I need these pancakes! Great recipe!
Omg these look awesome! Only complaint would be that for me to get into pancakes, I have to drown them in syrup LOL. You used the syrup on 4 whole pancakes that I would have used on 1 bite. Not kidding, I confess, I eat pancakes just to eat syrup…haha 🙂
Seriously…Great recipe! It’s very hard to make vegan breakfast foods since eggs are so helpful with pancakes, waffles, etc. I also eliminate the gluten so it’s even harder. Something about GF mixes just dont really do it for me. So I am not a huge breakfast foods person, even tho as a kid I loved them!
Anyway, delish eats, as usual 🙂
Oh and carob. I like it but you’re right, not a replacement for chocolate…then again, is anything?! 🙂
And the chef’s tip/paper towels to keep warm….NEVER knew that but will be using that one, thanks, Gena!
have you tried bob’s red mill GF flour? good stuff.
I actually have a lot of gluten-sensitive clients now, so the GF flour tip is good. I’ll have to explore the world of vegan baking a bit more, to help my peeps!
I’ve used a mix of spelt and chickpea flour for pancakes with good results using chia seeds as an egg replacement (1 tsp of ground seed to 1.5Tbsp of water for 1 egg and let set).
A friend was on the candida diet and I made those with stevia and a syrup of unsweetened rice milk, carob and stevia and they were awesome. Carob completely rocks my socks 😀
Ah! Sorry, those are Wheat-free NOT Gluten-free! Hmm, I’ve done them with homemade oat flour and chickpea flour mixed but I’ve heard a lot of controversy about whether oat is gluten free or not depending on where it’s grown. I’ve made big fluffy savoury fritters using fine polenta/cornmeal (holds things together nicely), chickpea flour and chia-seed egg so that might be an adaptable option for sweet pancakes as well (I might need to give that a shot next!).
Good luck with the gluten free mixes, I tried one once to make a shortcrust pastry and it was a disaster, rice flour in the mixes seems to make things so *crunchy* 🙁
Send a stack of these my way!! 🙂
As someone with a corn intolerance, I’m slightly confused by carob. I know there are actual carob trees and pods, but I always see corn in the ingredient list for carob products and can’t find much info as to why this is the case.
Do you know if ALL carob is made with corn? I guess I’m wondering whether carob powder is pure and safe for me to eat… It’s so frustrating because I used to ADORE carob (prior to learning of my corn intolerance) and miss it hardcore.
And now I’m craving it desperately. 😛
I’ve had great success using GF all purpose flour as a replacement in a few vegan pancake recipes. Chris has the same delight with pancakes. I personally am not a big carob fan and it doesn’t help that there’s almost always barley paired with it (gluten). But if anyone is curious, Enjoy Life makes a great allergen-free (no gluten, dairy, soy) chocolate chip that is nice and tiny and perfect for pancakes.
Great tip, B! Any ideas about the corn query above?
Dont know but I’ll put it to my corn-allergic friend to sleuth out.
this is what she said:
You know, i have always been wary of carob, but that was because it is a legume and some people allergic to soy react poorly to carob. i would recommend they purchase thru raw vegan source or other source that does not have additives. corn is added to many things to enhance texture or sweetness. Baking powder, powdered sugar, etc add corn for texture. purchasing the nibs and putting them thru a food processor may be safest.
more corn info.
Another resource is http://corn-freefoods.blogspot.com/
http://thediscerningkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/09/reading-labels-corn.html
Yum! Cannot WAIT to try these on a cozy weekend morning…
I agree– I love carob!! The veg restaurant I used to work for had GREAT carob chip cookies, and I’ve loved it ever since!
These look amazing, Gena! I’m a single- lady kind of a cooker, so I may just reduce recipe and whip up a batch for myself……
Wow, this looks fantastic! I will probably need to try them Christmas morning as hubby always wants pancakes then. Thanks!
Love me some pancakes!! Big thick fluffy ones. The problem I’ve found with many vegan recipes is that they’ve been thin and distinctly un-diner-like. I guess I’ll have to keep trying–thanks for giving me an excuse! 😉 Not to mention a good reason to stay out of diners…
xoxo
I’ve never tried carob, but goodness, these pancakes look gooooooooood!
Loved your ‘cruelty’ post, how intelligent and well-written. I’m reading ‘Eating Animals’ right now – will chime in at some point maybe, but still mulling.
I’m with you: carob loses so many potential lovers through bad PR presenting it as ‘like chocolate,’ which it isn’t, but I _love_ carob! And it’s a Mediterranean heartland goodie. I’m always sad that the chips have barley in them, because it means I can’t have them – shall have to make my own.
If you made the pancakes with gf flour, btw, I’d recommend using Ener-g egg replacer rather than ‘flax eggs:’ the latter just doesn’t work so well with gf flours, though I wish it did.
love
Ela
I will have to try carob, love trying new things!
I’m a true carob freak, too, and made a similar batch of carob chip pancakes last weekend – they weren’t my favorite and I’m thinking it may have been the carob that I used (bulk from Whole Foods). What is your favorite source of carob?
I wanna try it the Gena way.
I love carob. The first time I ever tried it I was a carob cake at Karyn’s Cooked in Chicago and it was amazing.
Last Christmas we made french toast for brunch that was a nice loaf of bread soaked in soy milk, apple juice, and cinnamon. It was sooo good.
GORGEOUS pancakes! Love your blog 🙂
OMG HEAVENLY. I really need these! Pancakes are my favorite food of all time and your pictures and presentation are making my mouth water!
These look fantastic! I’ve been on a bit of a pancake kick lately, so I’ll have to add these to my list.
These look amazing Gena! I tend to dislike brunch as well – probably because I’m ready to eat as soon as my feet hit the floor. But, if carob chip pancakes were on the menu I think I could wait. 🙂
I love carob too. My boyfriend and I are planning a brunch for this Sunday, which usually includes the same stuff: Tofu scramble, sweet potato hash, and pancakes with a fruit compote. I would certainly recommend any of that! Avocado on toast is always nice too!
This recipe may be an excuse to go get carob chips though…
Pancakes are one of those things I’ve never made from scratch. I always use a mix, and my favorite is the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free pancake mix. I do substitute ground flax for the egg(s) and I usually make them with hemp milk, though I think any nut milk would work – I’ve even made them with water. I use coconut oil in the mix and in the pan, and I get light and fluffy pancakes every time.
I know you’re not a fan of prepared foods, and I’m generally not either, but I do like blueberry pancakes (really as a vehicle to consume Vermont maple syrup – I’ll only eat two pancakces, but I’ll drown them in syrup), and Bob’s is a great company, so I’m happy to spend the extra money on the mix. I’m just not up for the gluten-free, vegan, baking challenge. Or for keeping all the different flours in the house (not practical in my case, since I bake so infrequently).
Hi Gena! These pancakes look SO delicious!!!
I just wanted to stop by and say hello, I’ve been reading your blog for about a week now, I just found out about this whole “raw vegan world” and am super interested in adding more raw foods into my diet and eliminating meat. You’ll be seeing plenty of me from now on 🙂
Lauren
A Holiday Thought…
Aren’t humans amazing? They kill wildlife – birds, deer, all kinds of cats, coyotes, beavers, groundhogs, mice and foxes by the million in order to protect their domestic animals and their feed.
Then they kill domestic animals by the billion and eat them. This in turn kills people by the million, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative – and fatal – health conditions like heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and cancer.
So then humans spend billions of dollars torturing and killing millions more animals to look for cures for these diseases.
Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals.
Meanwhile, few people recognize the absurdity of humans, who kill so easily and violently, and once a year send out cards praying for “Peace on Earth.”
~Revised Preface to Old MacDonald’s Factory Farm by C. David Coates~
_____________
Anyone can break this cycle of violence! Everyone has the power to choose compassion! Please visit these websites to align your core values with life affirming choices: veganvideo.org & tryveg.com
“Any great change must expect opposition because it shakes the very foundation of privilege.”
Lucretia Coffin Mott, 1793-1880, minister, women’s rights leader, abolitionist, peace activist, humanitarian
delicious! I want to see photos of your tree!
great looking pancakes!! yum!
YUM! I love pancakes, I have never had them with carob before…not I cannot wait to try them!
~Michelle
I made these this morning! So so good! I substituted vegan chocolate chips instead of carob chips, because that’s all I head. I’ve never had carob or carob chips actually, so I will definitely pick some up at the store next time I go.
My husband will be happy to wake up to this this morning! Thanks!
I’m really excited about this recipe because I always have these ingredients on hand and I never have the non-vegan ingredients (like buttermilk) on hand!
chocolate chip pancakes are my go-to weekend breakfast. Using carob chips is a fantastic idea! Wishing I had this for breakky right now!