These raw pancakes are rich, fluffy, and so soft. Topped with some freshly whipped coconut cream and reduced maple-blueberry sauce, they're to die for. Feel free to play around with different spices and toppings to make really interesting and delicious combinations.

Pancakes are one of those foods that have somewhat of a mystique about them. When I hear the word pancakes, I think of my mom, weekend mornings, and a smell of something delicious wafting throughout the house. Most families have pancake traditions because let’s face it – a stack of warm pancakes, especially banana pancakes, can make everything better.

This recipe feels like a small victory to me because I've been trying different raw pancake recipes for quite some time. Especially now that summer is on the way, I try to incorporate as many raw foods into my diet as possible. When it comes to breakfast, I usually stick with smoothies or homemade granola with almond milk. However, every now and then I crave something with more texture - something like these raw pancakes.

I have to admit that raw pancakes take more time to make than your regular cooked pancakes. So what I do is make the pancake batter the day before in the afternoon and then dehydrate the pancakes before I go to bed. When I wake up the next morning, not only are the pancakes ready, but the entire house still smells like heaven. There's nothing like waking up to the smell of maple syrup, vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon.

My husband likes to top these pancakes with some more bananas and maple syrup, which does taste amazing. But my favorite combo is reduced blueberry sauce and coconut whipped cream or this raw instant jam. Yum!

Tips for Making Raw Pancakes

Ingredients

I've always liked banana pancakes so I had to incorporate bananas into this recipe as well. They provide a hint of sweetness and make these pancakes light and fluffy. If possible, use ripe (better yet - over-ripe) bananas. Unripe bananas have a high resistant starch content, which may cause some bloating and gas. As the bananas ripen, the resistant starch content changes to simple sugar, resulting in sweeter bananas.

Another essential ingredient in these raw pancakes are golden flax seeds. Depending on where you live, you might have a hard time finding golden flax seeds (brown flax seeds are much more common). However, any health food store should carry them. If not, buying them online might be your best bet. Golden flax seeds are not only lighter in color - obviously - but also lighter in flavor compared to regular brown flax seeds.

Some people have asked if they can substitute the buckwheat flour and/or the almond flour for more flax seeds. The answer is - yes, you certainly can (I have tested it). However, the texture won't be the same. The more flax seeds you use, the denser and heavier your pancakes are. The ground buckwheat and almonds do lighten up the pancake batter significantly. So just keep that in mind. Unless you're like my husband, you might not want to stay full for 6 hours after breakfast 🙂

While this recipe does call for almond milk, you might not need to use it. As a rule f thumb, the less almond milk you use, the better. More liquid results in a longer dehydration time. So don't add the almond milk till you know you need it. The amount of almond milk you'll need (if any at all) depends on how ripe your bananas are (the riper the bananas, the less liquid you'll need) and how absorbent the dry ingredients are. Also, keep in mind that you want the pancake batter to be on a thicker side so the pancakes don't spread out once shaped (see the "Use a circle form" point below).

Technique

If you want your pancakes to be extra smooth and fluffy, run the batter through a blender. Blending will eliminate any chunks and yield smooth pancakes. The mix should be similar to regular pancake mix.

I like to make my recipes look as amazing as possible. After all, food is a form of art. That's why I use a large cookie cutter to create perfectly round pancakes. The batter shouldn't spread in the dehydrator so you can remove the cookie cutter once you've shaped the pancakes. I actually do recommend removing the cookie cutter because the batter tends to stick to it if you dehydrate the pancakes with it.

Since these pancakes contain bananas, you'll want to have the pancakes done as quickly as possible. The reason is that bananas tend brown with time. So the longer it takes you to dehydrate these raw pancakes, the darker they'll turn out. If you're wondering, no, browning doesn't affect flavor. However, I think that pancakes should have a somewhat golden color.

Since every dehydrator is different, I can't give you the exact time it will take to dehydrate these pancakes. My tip is to watch the pancakes closely because it's very important not to over-dehydrate them. If you let them go too long, you’ll end up with banana flax crackers. Your pancakes should still be moist, not crispy. It takes about 5 hours to dehydrate these pancakes in my dehydrator. It's always a good idea to flip the pancakes half-way through the dehydrating time. You don't want to end up with a pancake that has a dried out top and soggy bottom. Use a spatula to do this carefully so you don’t ruin the shape!

Print Recipe

4.75 from 4 votes

Raw Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce and Coconut Whipped Cream

These raw pancakes are hearty and filling, yet soft and pliable. Flavored with bananas, maple syrup. vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon, your kitchen is gonna smell like heaven.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time6 hrs

Total Time6 hrs 15 mins

Servings: 5 pancakes

Ingredients

Raw Pancakes

• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• ¼ cup golden flaxseed meal
• ¼ cup buckwheat flour*
• ⅛ cup almond flour
• 1 Tbsp. unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tsp. maple syrup
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• ⅛ tsp. fine sea salt

Blueberry Sauce

• ½ cup blueberries
• ⅛ cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp. lemon juice, optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Raw Pancakes

• Using a blender or a coffee grinder, grind the buckwheat grouts and golden flax seeds.
• Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl.
• Combine all the ingredients together and mix until everything is well incorporated and no clumps remain. If you want really smooth pancakes, run the batter through a blender for a few seconds.
• Pour in ¼ cup spoonfuls onto a lined dehydrator tray. You should get about 5 pancakes. I like to pour the batter into large cookie cutters to get a perfectly round shape, but it's not necessary.
• Dehydrate at 115°F (46°C) for 3 hours. Then using a spatula carefully flip the pancakes and dehydrate for another 3 hours. Serve warm, straight out of a dehydrator.
• Store leftover pancakes covered in the fridge for 1-2 days, though best when fresh.

Blueberry Sauce

• Put the blueberries, maple syrup, and lemon juice into a small sauce pan. Stir frequently, and bring to a low boil. Simmer until the blueberry sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, about 5 minutes.

Recipe Notes

*I made the buckwheat flour by grinding buckwheat groats in a Vitamix.
**Depending on the ripeness of your bananas and on how absorbent the dry ingredients are, you might not need to use any almond milk. However, the batter does thicken up over time. If that happens, add a little more liquid to the batter.
***You can find the recipe for whipped coconut cream here.