I’ve been doing a lot of breakfast foods lately. My daughter is getting back in school and I’m trying to do different things in the mornings.
I can’t believe how the time flies, summer has come and gone already. At least we have more breakfast options, or dinner options for that matter, since pancakes are good any time of day!
This vegan lemon chia seed pancake recipe is healthy, dairy free and comes together fast so you can get on with your day.
Honestly, I’ve never had lemon poppy seed pancakes before but I’m sure this is chia seed version is just as good, if not better. They were absolutely delicious!
Lemon Chia Seed Pancakes
Chia seeds are a great healthy replacement for the poppy seeds in this recipe. Not that poppy seeds are bad, but I like to add nutrition packed ingredients wherever I can and this fits nicely. We are getting extra nutrition and a little added crunch here and there. Chia seeds contain omega 3 (a great source for vegans) and it’s a complete protein.
Adding zesty lemon makes for a bright flavor anytime of day. Use as many as 2 lemons for the zest, depending on the size and/or if you simply love that lemon flavor. If you really want to make the lemon pop, add a teaspoon of lemon extract to the batter.
Healthy and delicious vegan food isn’t so hard at all!
More Vegan Pancake Inspiration
- Best Healthy Vegan Pancakes
- Pumpkin Spice Pancakes
- Cinnamon Applesauce Pancakes
- See all vegan pancake recipes on TSV!
LEMON CHIA SEED PANCAKES
These lemony flavored chia seed pancakes cook up light, fluffy and pair well with fresh berries and pure maple syrup!
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: Makes 6 Pancakes
- Category: Breakfast, Pancake
- Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 cup spelt, whole wheat or flour of choice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons organic pure cane sugar
- pinch of mineral salt
- 3 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 cup buttermilk (one cup non-dairy milk + juice from 1 lemon or 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar)
- zest of 1 – 2 lemons
- 1 teaspoon vanilla, optional
- coconut oil, for greasing
Instructions
Preheat griddle to manufacturer’s instructions.
Start by making your buttermilk, combine milk and lemon, set aside. This allows them time to mingle.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt and chia seeds in large mixing bowl, give a good stir to combine and distribute the seeds. Add buttermilk and lemon zest, mix well.
Add oil to griddle, pour batter on to griddle (I like to use a 1/4 cup measuring cup for scooping batter, this way they are uniform in size). Cook until bubbles form on top or edges, and flip…usually about 2-3 minutes per side, depending on your griddle/skillet. Repeat until batter is gone.
Serve with strawberries (or other berries of choice) and pure maple syrup.
Makes about 6 pancakes.
Serves 3
NOTES:
If you happen to have any leftovers, you can store them in the fridge or freezer for later. If frozen, let thaw and pop in the toaster oven and enjoy! For even more lemon flavor, try adding 1 teaspoon lemon extract to the batter.
For thinner pancakes add more milk.If you don’t have baking soda on hand, sub in 1 extra teaspoon baking powder.
Samantha says
May 25, 2019 at 8:36 amHI! I love that you include the nutritional info on your recipes. I just have a question – does it include the maple syrup? I track my meals on an app, so I just want to be accurate! Also, what flour (spelt or whole wheat?) and non-dairy milk did you use when making the nutritional label? Thanks!!
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
May 25, 2019 at 11:58 amHi Samantha, that’s a great question! I didn’t include the syrup in the nutrition information. I used whole wheat flour and unsweetened almond milk in the calculations. You’ll notice the numbers are different from when you first looked at them, as I noticed they were off and the wrong ingredients were used to calculate. It’s all fixed now and reading correctly! Enjoy :)
samantha says
May 26, 2019 at 7:17 amThat makes more sense! It did seem like too much protein! Thanks :)
Jen says
May 12, 2019 at 5:22 amThis is the recipe that keeps on giving! I made this in waffle form and it was so good I have some frozen on hand for the week now.
★★★★★
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
May 12, 2019 at 3:44 pmI love it, thanks for the inspiration! :)
Randi says
January 20, 2019 at 4:53 pmThese were great! I cheated a bit and made them muffins instead of pancake – easier for me to grab on the fly.. Followed all of the instructions and ingredients otherwise. They were amazing with wild blueberry preserves!
★★★★★
Wowyn says
July 19, 2017 at 11:46 pmHi, Julie!
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe. It’s now a staple in my diet, as a snack or my go-to when i’m already very hungry and dinner is not yet ready! :)
I haven’t tried your other recipes yet, but, i surely will. Due to a completely unexpected onset of a rare medical condition, i have had to do a major diet and lifestyle overhaul. It has been quite tough at the beginning, especially that i love my pork fats and creamy pasta sauces. But, with help from people like you who are just so wonderfully generous with sharing your knowledge- and really, your heart- it gives us hope that life (and our health) can really get better despite the odds.
Please keep sharing, and may God bless you more!
big hugs from the Philippines,
Wowyn
Janis says
January 5, 2016 at 9:53 amThese are my teen daughter’s new favorite and she now requests them often. We got some Meyers lemons from a friend and these were the first things we thought of making. Thanks again for the great recipe Julie. Just noticed today that you have sugar on the ingredient list but not in the instructions to add in. I hadn’t noticed it before today, but I thought I would mention it. I would prefer to leave it out myself but my kids like the added sweetness of coarse:)
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
January 8, 2016 at 8:40 amSo glad you all enjoy these! Thanks for the fyi, I’ll make the changes asap. Cheers :)
Janis says
December 12, 2015 at 9:48 amThese were a hit with the family. I made a gluten free batch for me using buckwheat and rice flour that worked too. Loved the lemon!
Kim says
August 26, 2015 at 1:11 pmHow many pancakes does this make typically? I see it says its for 2 servings.
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
August 26, 2015 at 1:19 pmIt will make about 6 medium pancakes. I’ve also added it to the recipe. :)
Shanti Ellis says
August 8, 2013 at 3:32 amI finally got around to making these this morning. The leftovers were gone by the time I got home. My guy loved them, even though he tends to shy away from things with chia seeds. We were out of fresh lemons, but I had some zest stored in my freezer, and it worked just great (although the measurements were questionable… not sure how many lemons were zested into that bag). I have some grapefruit zest that I just my try tomorrow. ;)
julie@thesimpleveganista says
August 11, 2013 at 3:41 amAwesome! I love it when you can sneak in things that others may not normally eat. Your replacement sounds like it worked just fine too!
Roxanne says
April 2, 2013 at 7:27 pmI made these today- I added dried lavender. They came out really great- thanks!!
julie@thesimpleveganista says
April 3, 2013 at 12:14 amThe lavender sounds so good, what a great idea! Thank you for stopping by with some more inspiration. :)
Julie says
December 6, 2012 at 6:49 pmSo glad you liked them! Your replacements sound great…I will add the alternative to the recipe for the buttermilk too. Enjoy the pancakes…cheers :)
Anonymous says
December 6, 2012 at 5:54 pmI made these yesterday and am making them again today. Wonderful, and very filling! I don't have any fresh lemons in the house, but I had lemon extract. Used about a tsp of that and they were lovely. I used 1 Tb of white vinegar in unsweetened almond milk to make the buttermilk.
Bridget @ The Road Not Processed says
September 2, 2012 at 11:31 pmooo this would definitely satisfy my pancake craving that I've been having lately!! I love adding chia and other nutrient dense foods to any of my recipes as well :)
Julie says
September 4, 2012 at 5:56 amHi Bridget, hope you had a chance to try these out. I think I'm in the mood for some of these again in the near future myself. :) Love your blog btw ! ♥
Brooke (Crackers on the Couch) says
August 31, 2012 at 3:26 pmThis is perfect! Just found your site through finding vegan and I was looking for a recipe that uses chia! Yay! Doddering off to the kitchen now!
Julie says
September 1, 2012 at 3:38 amI hope you enjoyed them as much as I did. I doddered through your blog and it's adorable…lots of yummy recipes and great pictures. I didn't stop to say hi but I will go through again, your cupcakes that you had your son test out look super! :)