Healthy Chickpea Flour Carrot Cake Pancakes

Listen up, friends! My Chickpea Flour Carrot Cake Pancakes have landed, and if you like THICK pancakes – you know, pancakes with substance, these are for you! Now, my feelings won’t be hurt in the least if you like those thin, airy pancakes, but for me – I need food to also serve as fuel. Food that not only tastes amazing, but that fills me up and provides sustenance, so that I am not hungry within an hour of eating. 

My favorite thing about this recipe, is that we are using chickpea flour as the base. The reason I created this recipe using chickpea flour, is because many of my readers can’t eat – or avoid – nuts, and many of my recipes are made using almond flour. I always try my best to develop recipes that everyone can enjoy, regardless of restriction. So this is one of them. 

Benefits of chickpea flour in these carrot cake pancakes

If you haven’t used chickpea flour before, I want to encourage you to! Unlike almond flour which I love, but also acknowledge is pricey, chickpea flour is inexpensive. And, it’s rich in vitamins and minerals, it’s packed with fiber, contains more protein than white flour or whole wheat flour, and has a slightly nutty flavor which I actually really love. And no, friends, it does not taste like hummus. I promise. It’s also the perfect alternative for people with a gluten intolerance, celiac disease, or gluten-intolerance.

What you need to make these healthy chickpea flour carrot cake pancakes

Like all of my recipes, you only need a handful of ingredients. For these, you need the following:

• Chickpea flour: for this recipe, I didn’t test other flours, because developing a killer recipe with chickpea flour was exactly what I wanted to do; and, I did it. If you try other flours, please let other people know how they turned out in the comments below.
• Coconut sugar or maple syrup: you can use either coconut sugar or maple syrup in this recipe. Just note, since coconut sugar is a dry – granulated – sweetener, you might need to add more water to the batter to achieve the right consistency, than if you use the maple syrup, which is a liquid sweetener. But both will work!
• Baking powder: Baking powder is what is going to make these babies rise; but not too much!
• Cinnamon: What carrot cake recipe wouldn’t include cinnamon? Don’t be afraid to be a little heavy-handed with it; that’s what it’s all about.
• Ground ginger: Ground ginger offsets some of the sweetness in this recipe, giving it a true carrot cake taste. Don’t skip it, if possible!
• Carrots: In this recipe, I recommend using a box grater and grating the carrots super fine. For me, it’s a personal preference because I don’t love the taste of super thick carrot. 
• Raisins: I absolutely love raisins, and they are perfect in this recipe. They add just the right amount of sweetness, and so much texture!
• Water: To moisten this batter, I use water instead of a non-dairy nut milk. You can use a non-dairy milk, if you’d like, but for me, water is just fine in this recipe. You will see that the batter is thick; and that is okay! You can add a touch of water until you achieve your desired consistency with the batter. Experiment and find what works for you.

The perfect toppings for your gluten-free carrot cake pancakes

You can top these however you’d like! My favorite toppings are:

• Maple syrup
• Crushed walnuts
• Canned pineapple
• Vanilla yogurt
• Shredded coconut 

How to make sure your pancakes turn out perfect every time

The key to making perfect pancakes is actually in the heat of your pan. I know that sounds so silly, and you are like WHATTTTT, but it’s true. There is a delicate balance between pancakes that come out perfectly and those that are either undercooked or burned, and it does come down to the temperature of the pan.

First, you need to grease you pan well. That’s a given!

I recommend turning you pan on to medium heat to start, and keeping it at that temperature. But, as you will see, the pan heats up really quickly. So, after you’ve made about 3 pancakes, you will need to turn the heat back down to low, and/or remove it from the heat from time to time. This will really help to make sure your pancakes don’t end up burned!

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and rating below! It’s super helpful for others to see what you thought, and also helps my recipe appear in Google searches. And, feel free to tag me on Instagram, so I can see your creations and repost on my IG stories! Enjoy! 

Healthy Chickpea Flour Carrot Cake Pancakes

5 from 2 votes

Nicole Modic

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

SERVES 4 people

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Listen up, friends! My Chickpea Flour Carrot Cake Pancakes have landed, and if you like THICK pancakes – you know, pancakes with substance, these are for you! Now, my feelings won't be hurt in the least if you like those thin, airy pancakes, but for me – I need food to also serve as fuel. Food that not only tastes amazing, but that fills me up and provides sustenance, so that I am not hungry within an hour of eating. These pancakes are gluten-free, grain-free, vegan, and so incredible delicious, and I guarantee will be a Spring favorite for years to come!

Ingredients

• 1 cup chickpea flour
• ¼ cup coconut sugar or maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¾ teaspoon sea salt
• ¾ cup finely grated carrots
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup water plus more as needed

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, mix together the chickpea flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
• Add the shredded carrots, raisins, and water. Mix together and allow the batter to thicken for a few minutes. If it is too thick, add a few tablespoons of water.
• Heat a pan on the stove over low-medium heat. Spray the skillet very well with non-stick spray/butter/oil.
• I recommend not making more than two pancakes at a time, so that the pancakes have space in the pan and it is easier to flip. Once the pancakes begin to bubble (after about 2 min), flip to the other side, cook for another 2 min or so and transfer to a plate.
• Repeat the process until all of the batter is used. Note, you might have to turn the heat to low, if you notice that the pancakes are cooking too quickly/getting too hot.
• Top with toppings of choice and enjoy!

Did you make this recipe?

I’d love to see what you made – tag @kalejunkie
in your posts and I’ll re-share!

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