Fluffy pancakes with a fragrant toasty floral vanilla scent and taste. These quick and easy pandan pancakes are perfect for breakfast, brunch or dessert in 25 minutes! Great for the whole family and made with simple ingredients!
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Pandan Pancakes are soft pancakes infused with pandan flavors. Pandan is a herbaceous tropical plant that has a grassy vanilla scent that is absolutely delicious!
Furthermore, this plant extract is often used in South-East Asian cooking for desserts, beverages and baked goods. I was introduced to this flavor profile by my Malaysian mother-in-law, who uses pandan in her cooking often.
She would add pandan flavor to crepes and the incredible flavor is what hooked me in - they were so aromatic and sweet smelling in a tropical way!
So I decided to create my own pandan-flavored recipe and added it to my everyday pancakes. My easy pandan pancakes recipe can be made dairy-free with dairy-free substitutes and are made with minimal ingredients!
These pancakes pair nicely well with maple syrup and fresh fruit. I love making these for breakfast for my husband to enjoy!
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Butter: to grease the pan. Unsalted or salted butter both work. Or substitute with a neutral tasting oil like avocado oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, sunflower oil or peanut oil.
Pancake Batter
- All purpose flour: a general use wheat flour. For a healthier alternative, you can substitute with whole-wheat flour. If you're gluten-free, substitute with a gluten-free baking flour like rice flour or tapioca starch but please note that the pancakes will be chewier and denser like mochi pancakes.
- Whole fat coconut milk: or substitute with light coconut milk. The coconut flavor compliments the pandan flavors perfectly! Or substitute with milk, nut milk, soy milk or oat milk.
- Egg
- Melted Butter: unsalted butter ideally.
- Maple syrup: or substitute with honey or white granulated sugar. As a last resort, you may use another liquid sweetener of your choice like stevia or monk fruit sweetener if you don't mind the taste.
- Baking powder: this helps the pancakes rise so they become super fluffy!
- Salt
- Pandan Extract: this can be purchased at South-east Asian grocery stores or online, like on Amazon depending on your country. Or substitute with homemade pandan extract made from blended fresh pandan leaves and water and strained through a fine sieve. Pandan leaves can be found at very select Asian grocers in the fresh or frozen section. I don't recommend substituting with pandan powder.
Expert Tips
- Whisk the dry ingredients first and then add the wet ingredients.
- Mix the canned coconut milk well so the fats combined with the clear liquids before adding to the batter.
- Do not over mix the batter. This causes the gluten to activate and can create denser pancakes.
- Let the pancake batter rest for 5 minutes for very fluffy pancakes.
- Make sure to evenly grease the pan using a clean paper towel. This creates a more golden color on the pancakes.
- Allow the pan to get hot before adding the pancake batter or this can cause the pancake batter to run off the pan.
- Allow the pancake to form a golden brown crust and wait for bubbles to form all over the top, before flipping or the pancake can split easily if you flip too early.
- Don't overcook the pancakes. Once the other side turns golden brown and they're fluffy, remove off heat.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make pandan pancakes:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt until combined. Then add coconut milk, egg, melted butter, maple syrup and pandan extract and mix just until combined. Do not over mix.
- Heat a large pan on medium heat and lightly grease your pan with some butter using a clean paper towel.
- Pour ¼ cup of the batter into the center of the pan. Let the batter spread into a circle and fry until the bottom of the pancake is golden brown and bubbles form all over the pancake.
- Flip the pancake over and cook on the other side until golden brown. Once cooked, remove off heat.
- Serve pancakes with fresh fruit and maple syrup. Enjoy!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer-friendly? Pandan pancakes can be frozen for up to 2 months after letting them cool down completely. Store them into freezer-safe bags with parchment paper squares between each pancake and squeeze out any air in the bags before sealing. To reheat, let them thaw to microwave or reheat in a pan until hot.
Pairing Suggestions
Pandan pancakes serve well with:
- maple syrup, honey, any liquid sweetener you enjoy, whipped cream, yogurt, ice cream, nut butter, or nutella.
- fresh fruit like berries, banana, or tropical fruits like lychee, star fruit, or rambutan.
- toast or any fresh bread
- pastries like danishes or croissants
- cooked eggs
- cooked sausage, ham, bacon, or spam
- coffee, tea, milk or fruit juice
FAQ
Pandan pancakes can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in airtight containers in the fridge. To reheat, microwave or reheat them in a pan on medium heat until hot through out.
You can usually buy it from South-East Asian grocery stores or on online. Just search online for "Pandan Leaf Essence" or Extract. I would not recommend using the powders unless you're familiar with using them.
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📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Pandan Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon butter unsalted, to grease pan
Pancake Batter
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3⁄4 cup coconut milk full fat
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoon butter unsalted and melted
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey/white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pandan extract store-bought or homemade pandan extract
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt until combined. Then add coconut milk, egg, melted butter, maple syrup and pandan extract and mix just until combined. Do not over mix.
- Heat a large pan on medium heat and lightly grease your pan with some butter using a clean paper towel.
- Pour ¼ cup of the batter into the center of the pan. Let the batter spread into a circle and fry until the bottom of the pancake is golden brown and bubbles form all over the pancake.
- Flip the pancake over and cook on the other side until golden brown. Once cooked, remove off heat.
- Serve pancakes with fresh fruit and maple syrup. Enjoy!
Adri
Hello Christie,
I was wondering if it's possible to substitute the coconut milk For
Almond milk?
Christie Lai
Hi Adri, yes almond milk can work too as long as you're fine with the minor almond scent and taste.
Amy
Hi Christie, did you use full fat canned coconut milk?
christieathome
Hi Amy! Yes I used full fat. Just give it a thorough mix so the fat combines back with the liquid before you pour it into the batter.
hannah
loved that these were fast and easy to whip up! they were also not sticky sweet like many other recipes, but rode on the fragrance of the pandan.
I made quite a few changes -
substituted the egg for 1 tbs flax
no butter left so used coconut oil
added a bit more baking soda to be safe
used pandan infused coconut milk
batter was a little thick so dripped some soy milk in before cooking
christieathome
Thank you Hannah for making my recipe! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed them and loved reading your substitutions!
Maya
These were so simple and so good! My first time cooking with pandan and I have to say I'm addicted.
VL
Wow these were so tasty and I loved the subtle pandan flavour!
Molly
These are absolutely delicious and so fluffy! You can really taste the pandan flavour. I will definitely be making these again.