These Vegan Traditional Scotch Pancakes are quick and easy to whip up and a tasty stack of soft, fluffy, thick, and light pancakes can be prepared fuss-free and with just everyday pantry staples so chances are you have everything to hand to create a pile of delicious pancakes especially for Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday. Looking for a vegan chocolate chip pancake recipe? Our chocolate pancake recipe is another family favourite and is a great budget-friendly dessert, breakfast or snack.
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💭 The Secret To Fluffy Pancakes
These dairy and egg-free pancakes taste just like ordinary pancakes so you won’t feel like you are missing out.
The secret to fluffy pancakes is whisking the ingredients to a smooth batter before placing the pancake batter into the refrigerator in order to chill and settle for at least 20 minutes before cooking.
Another secret to fluffy vegan pancakes is the scientific magic that occurs when baking powder is mixed with vinegar as the pancakes rise beautifully and develop a light and airy texture.
It only takes about 5 minutes to whip up the batter so you can save even more time by preparing the batter the night before and storing it in the refrigerator for quick breakfasts and brunches.
📜 History of pancakes
Pancakes are truly a traditional food with a long history as they were popular during medieval times with one of the first pancake recipes dating to a recipe book from 1439.
However there is evidence of pancakes going further back to the Neolithic era 5,300 years ago. Otzi the Iceman was unburied from the Italian alps in 1991 and researchers discovered remains of food within Otzi's stomach that suggested he had eaten something akin to a cooked pancake.
🥞 Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday, is a Christian day for feasting that occurs before the beginning of the 40 days of Lent that leads up to Easter. Lent is a time for giving things up and fasting so preparing pancakes on Shrove Tuesday ensured that eggs and fats were not wasted during the fasting of Lent.
Pancake day is said to have originated in 1445 when an English woman was preparing pancakes and forget about attending church until she heard the bells ringing. Scurrying to get to church in time but concerned about her pancakes over cooking, she grabbed the pan and flipped the pancake all the way to church!
This story may have inspired an old English custom of having a pancake race on Shrove Tuesday with the most popular race - the Olney woman pancake race still going strong today!
📋 Recipe Notes
⏲️ Storing
Leftover pancakes can be stored in the fridge, covered, for up to 3-4 days. A piece of parchment or baking paper, placed between each pancake can be used to prevent the pancakes sticking to each other.
Or freeze cooked pancakes for up to 3-4 months. Wrap up with food-safe wrap, and place a piece of parchment between each pancake to prevent freezing together and also to make it easier to pull out one or two pancakes at a time.
📖 FAQ’S
Yes, pancake batter can be prepped in advance such as the evening before breakfast, or one or two days in advance.
Place the batter in a jug or bowl, covered, and before use give it a good whisk with a cutlery fork or a balloon hand whisk.
If the batter has become very thick an extra tablespoon of plant-based milk can be stirred through.
Preparing the pancake batter in advance is a good idea as you may not want the entire batch of pancakes cooked at once - so a few pancakes can be cooked at a time.
In Scotland it is traditional to enjoy pancakes at room temperature or warm along with a pat of butter - we like vegan butter - and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice or some fruit jam. A drizzle of golden syrup is also a popular topping but maple syrup or a similar syrup is just as nice.
Pancakes are perfect for breakfast and pair well with fresh berries such as strawberries or blueberries, berry coulis or sauce, fruit jams, marmalade, preserves, fresh fruit such as sliced bananas or orange slices, stewed fruits, apple sauce, granola or muesli, vegan yogurt, vegan cream cheese, avocado, peanut butter or a seed butter, marmite, smoothies or a nice glass of chilled oat milk.
Pancakes are also delicious served with a cooked breakfast, or for brunch, or along with lunch. Such one or two pancakes along with - veggie sausages, vegan bacon, scrambled chickpeas or tofu, roast tomatoes or mushrooms, fresh salad, refried beans, hummus, salsa, guacamole, vegan soft cheese or slices of vegan cheese, etc. If you’re serving the pancakes along with a savoury meal you can half the amount of sugar required for the recipe, and omit the vanilla, although those changes are personal preference. A few pinches of salt or some dried herbs could be added instead.
For a dessert or pudding, the pancakes can be enjoyed with vegan ice-cream, vegan whipped cream or pouring cream, vegan chocolate spread, Biscoff spread, vegan chocolate sauce, golden syrup, butterscotch sauce, toffee sauce, fresh fruits, stewed fruits, stewed dried fruits, nuts such as flaked almonds, seeds, dairy-free chocolate drops or shavings, coconut shards, ground spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, cake sprinkle's, or lemon wedges.
Can I add any extra flavours to these Traditional Scotch pancakes?
Yes.
A few suggestions:
- Add a handful of vegan chocolate drops/buttons to the pancake mix. Or sprinkle the drops over the pancake immediately after the first flip.
- Add some fine diced apple pieces.
- fresh blueberries or raspberries, either mixed through batter or popped on each pancake, after the first flip
- lemon or orange essence instead of vanilla
- mix through some grated lemon/orange/grapefruit/lime zest
- sprinkle some cinnamon, mixed spice, pumpkin spice, ginger, allspice, nutmeg through the mix for delicious autumn/fall and festive flavours.
- For birthday pancakes sprinkle some vegan cake sprinkles or hundreds and thousands over each pancake as its flipped.
More Delicious Vegan Desserts To Discover:
Old School Chocolate Sponge pudding (serve with hot custard or chilled cream. Yum!)
Old School Jam And Coconut Sponge Traybake
Traditional Scottish Smiddy Dumpling (similar to a Scottish clootie dumpling but less fussy as this dumpling fruit cake is baked and not steamed!
Crunchy Cornflake, Coconut And Chocolate Traybake
📖 Recipe
Vegan Traditional Scotch Pancakes
Ingredients
- 230 grams self-raising flour sieved, or plain/all-purpose flour with an extra teaspoon of baking powder
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar or caster sugar/your usual sweetener.
- 375 millilitres plant milk such as oat or soya
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
To cook
- vegetable oil optional. If using a pancake maker/non-stick hotplate oil is likely not necessary.
Instructions
- Place all dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir.
- Add wet ingredients and whisk well. If your batter is too thick add an extra 1-2 tablespoon of plant milk.Although this recipe does create a thick batter so don't make your batter too runny.
- Leave in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
- Heat your non-stick frying pan over a medium heat.Use oil if necessary.If using a pancake maker set the hotplate to a medium-high temperature.
- Pour 60ml (¼ cup) of batter per pancake. Flip the pancakes when lots of bubbles have appeared over the surface.
- Cook on the other side for a minute or two until golden.
- Depending on your pan a little more oil may be necessary to prevent sticking.
- If you want to keep pancakes warm lay each cooked pancake between parchment paper and keep warm on a low temperature in the oven.Or cool to enjoy at room temperature.
Notes
- Nutritional information is for guidance only and is not a strict analysis as ingredients vary.
- Vegetable oil has not been included within the analysis.
- Leftover pancakes can be kept in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. Cover with food-grade wrap.
- Or freeze the pancakes for up to 4 months. Wrap well to avoid freezer crystals. And its recommended to add a small piece of kitchen parchment between each pancake, as it will prevent freezing together and removal of single pancakes will be much simpler.
- Pancake batter can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. Mix well before use, and add a tablespoon of plant milk if mix really thick.
- Serve your pancakes with fresh or frozen berries, grapes, bananas, pineapple chunks, orange segments, kiwi slices, etc.
- A scoop of plain or vanilla vegan yogurt is a tasty addition.
Nutrition
💬 Comments
Prepared our Slow Cooker Spotted Dick Pudding recipe? We would love to know how you got on with the recipe so do pop back and drop us a comment and click the star ratings. Thanks so much! Love Jacq x
Biana
Yum! These look like perfect pancakes for brunch!
Jacq
I agree! These pancakes are ideal for brunch especially with a tasty fruit salad and plant-based yogurt 🙂
Fiona Maclean
These look amazing. I'm a huge pancake fan so I will definitely be trying them. I thought you'd end up with some kind of egg substitute, but it looks like that's unecessary!
Jacq
Thanks! I know most people think that special egg replacers are needed for vegan pancakes and cakes. But surprisingly everyday ingredients can do the job just as well. Hope you enjoy the pancakes 🙂
Lillie
The timing of this recipe is perfect because I was craving breakfast for dinner!
Jacq
I love having breakfast for dinner! Especially after a busy day 🙂
Carrie
Not being a vegan but thought i would give these a try....absolutely delicious....very light in texture....we demolished them all! Everyone.... should try these!
Jacq
Thanks so much! Glad you all enjoyed them!
Kevin Foodie
Always good to see vegan recipes. It's interesting that you used distilled vinegar in the recipe. Is it because of the type of baking powder used? The 🥞look great. Will be interested to know how they 😋
Jacq
Yes the distilled vinegar interacts with the baking powder and helps the pancakes rise! But there is no vinegar after taste. Just yummy pancakes!