*waves hello*
Miracles do happen…I’m posting on a weekend. It takes a lot of motivation for me to post on a Sunday morning, but I simply couldn’t wait another day to share this recipe with you! It’s that good.
Today’s recipe features chickpea flour, an ingredient you haven’t seen much on this blog. Chickpea flour is high in protein (7 grams per 1/4 cup according to Cuisine Soleil) and it’s naturally gluten-free making it friendly to our gluten sensitive friends. It also boasts 3 grams of fibre per 1/4 cup. I soon found out what a filling breakfast it makes!
After having a few bad experiences with chickpea flour recipes in the past, I almost crossed it off my list forever. I find the earthy, beany flavour of chickpea flour can be overwhelming if not balanced by other ingredients and it can take some getting used to, at least it did for me. This weekend, I decided to take another crack at it and I’m so glad I did.
Meet my newest breakfast love…she’s a beaut.
In case you can’t tell by the photo, this is a huge pancake about the size of a 10-inch skillet! I had to plate it on my extra-large round plate because it wouldn’t fit on my regular round plates. Who doesn’t want to eat a pancake bigger than their head? Noooooobody! After a few trials of this pancake, I finally nailed the consistency of the batter and flavour I was going for.
Best of all, it takes only 10 minutes to whisk together the ingredients and then another 10 minutes or so to cook. I also expect it’s quite versatile so feel free to change up the mix-ins and toppings. I think a sautéed mushroom, onion, and chive topping would be especially nice, especially with some cashew cream! One large pancake has around 14-15 grams of protein; add some toppings and you can easily hit 20 grams of protein without much effort.
I topped it with avocado, hummus, salsa, red pepper flakes, and a spicy cashew cream – a tasty change up from my normal breakfasts of smoothies and vegan overnight oats. This would also make a fun lunch or dinner too!
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Jumbo Chickpea Pancake
Yield
1 large or 2 smaller
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This dense and filling savoury chickpea pancake is packed with protein and fibre. Feel free to change up the mix-ins and toppings based on what you have in your fridge. To prevent it from sticking to the skillet, be sure to spray the skillet liberally with olive oil before pouring on the batter. Also, I suggest chopping the veggies finely so they cook faster.
Ingredients
- 1 green onion, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour (also known as garbanzo flour or besan)
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons water
- For serving: salsa, avocado, hummus, cashew cream (optional)
Directions
- Prepare the vegetables and set aside. Preheat a 10-inch skillet over medium heat.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper, baking powder, and optional red pepper flakes.
- Add the water and whisk well until no clumps remain. I like to whisk it for a good 15 seconds to create lots of air bubbles in the batter.
- Stir in the chopped vegetables.
- When the skillet is pre-heated (a drop of water should sizzle on the pan), spray it liberally with olive oil or other non stick cooking spray.
- Pour on all of the batter (if making 1 large pancake) and quickly spread it out all over the pan. Cook for about 5-6 minutes on one side (timing will depend on how hot your pan is), until you can easily slide a pancake flipper/spatula under the pancake and it's firm enough not to break when flipping. Flip pancake carefully and cook for another 5 minutes, until lightly golden. Be sure to cook for enough time as this pancake takes much longer to cook compared to regular pancakes.
- Serve on a large plate and top with your desired toppings. Leftovers can be wrapped up and placed in the fridge. Reheat on a skillet until warmed throughout.
Tip:
- For the cashew cream, see this recipe. I added red pepper flakes into the blender to make it spicy.
- You can make this recipe into 2 smaller pancakes if desired.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
As you can see from the photo, this isn’t your regular fluffy pancake. Chickpea flour makes this pancake very dense and filling. I find the flavour can take some getting used to, but I really enjoy it prepared this way. On that note, I’m off to make another one! I’d love your feedback on this recipe if you make it.
On another note, Eric thinks he fixed the printing issue that a few of you were having with the new recipe display. It appears that those of you using Internet Explorer 8 web browser were having issues with printing, but it should be fixed now. If anyone has any further issues, please let us know! Everything looks good on our end.
Oh my! This pancake was absolutely fantastic! SO satisfying. This was our first experience with Garbanzo Bean Flour (we used Bob’s Red Mill) and it will not be the last. When something we make turns out so well we say, “we would feed this to company”. Well we sure would!
yummy :) thank you! i swapped the powdered garlic for fresh put through a press and the baking powder for a tiny pinch of bicarb of soda and they came out amazing x
I made this for breakfast this morning and loved it! I added a pinch of turmeric, which made it look slightly more like an omelette, and served it with salsa. My first experiences with chickpea flour were also bad….it tastes very different when it is raw. Thus, I think it’s super important to make sure you cook your pancake thoroughly (otherwise it tastes like raw lentils). Cooked through and it tastes like heaven!
I’m not sure what it is, but I’ve tried these three times now and I cannot make them without them falling apart on me and sticking to the pan- even when sprayed liberally with olive oil. Suggestions? We still eat them and enjoy them, I just wonder what I am doing wrong!
Thank you very much for the recipe! In my household it’s ‘a ‘wing it” food :)
I have made them so many times that I know the water & flour & baking powder ratio by heart. Seasoning depends on my mood and available spices.
Prefer them thin and light, thus, most of the time, veggies are only as a topping. Still very much enjoyable!
Best wishes,
Liene
I just made this recipe. It is delicious. Although it did not come out as beautiful as yours, it was still very tasty plus you can never go wrong with avocado!
Made these for dinner with sautéed mushrooms and spinach and everyone loved them – even my teen and tween who are notoriously picky eaters! Thanks for the great recipe!
These are easily one of the most delicious breakfasts I’ve ever had! I’ve been trying to cut down a little on the fat I eat at breakfast (because most of my breakfasts very heavily feature peanut butter, which is great but maybe not everyday) and incorporate vegetables into every meal! This is a FANTASTIC way to get veggies for breakfast! I googled it and most agree eggs are the only way to incorporate veggies for breakfast. I could do a tofu scramble but I don’t think I want tofu every morning for breakfast. You saved the day! I think I might up the protein content with these and top them with some spicy black beans, mmmm.
I first tried the Italian farinata (similar to or the same as socca), but past attempts haven’t turned out very picturesque or tasty, though I still enjoyed them. I didn’t have garlic powder and changed the green onions to red onions, and added some freshly ground fennel and a little cayenne. My avocados had turned so I used some simple hot sauce and chipotle Just Mayo, which were a nice compliment. My new ceramic skillet must have helped a lot, although the oil dispersed to the sides of the pan as soon as I added the batter in. Sticking to the extra cooking time definitely is crucial :) I couldn’t flip the pancake very beautifully as it broke up in parts, but I think of this as a half-way pancake and frittata sort of experience. I think adding different vegetables and spices (chopped/pureed spinach; dill…) could be equally yummy :)
Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
This is my new favorite breakfast when I want something savory. It is so easy yet so phenomenal. I do find it helpful to make two thinner pancakes so they cook all the way through and aren’t gooey inside. Add the avo and salsa and it’s breakfast perfection.
Hi Angela,
I live in Montreal. I am a high school teacher (11 years now).I have a looong story (involving MS) about how becoming a vegan saved and improved my life. I am destined to open a health food store/restaurant. I’d love to hear your suggestions and see if you’d be interested in joining me in this adventure (financially and/or physically).
Thanks,
Andrea Intrevado
Montreal, Quebec
I know I am behind the drag curve on this, but I cannot believe I have not tried this earlier! I loved it! Who needs eggs?! It tasted fantastic. I did not have spring onions (green onions) so fried off some diced yellow onion before adding the batter to the pan. It worked a treat. I was doubtful about being able to flip it but it worked really well and again, I was doubtful I’d eat the lot in one go but I have just gobbled it all up. Thank you for your wonderful recipes Angela. I found your cookbook first then the blog. There is not one recipe that hasn’t worked out brilliantly.
This was the most unexpectedly delicious recipe I’ve tried in a while. Thank you.
Made this for brunch and liked it although it did break apart when I tried to flip it. Will definitely make this again. Love that it has 20gms of protein.
super delicious pancakes and definitely our salty version favourites. My mom is visiting me and she fell in love with it (let’s admit, who wouldn’t). thank you!!!!
Absolutely delicious. I do not like sweet breakfasts, so I was dying to try this. It did not disappoint, despite my inability to flip it in one piece. I topped it with roasted grape tomatoes, avocado, and harissa hummus. One thing I will say is that 1 chopped green onion is nowhere near 1/4 cup – more like 1/16 of a cup. I wasn’t sure if I should add more, but I didn’t, and I think that was the right choice. I will be making this a lot – it’s so easy, too!!
This was great! Mine did not come out so pretty, but the flavor was excellent. I’m adding this to my permanent breakfast rotation — and it’s also a great recipe for Lent. Yum! Thanks!
I have been loking for some salt vegan pancake recipe for so long, thank you! :) do you think I can use a different kind of flour like rice of corn? :)
This was absolutely delicious and so satisfying! Thank you so much for sharing!
I just made this and was DELISH!!!! Thank you so much for the recipe!