Pumpkin Oat Pancakes
These pumpkin oatmeal pancakes are made with oat flour, so they're gluten free. They're simple to make with basic ingredients, including real pumpkin!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on October 3, 2025
These pumpkin oatmeal pancakes make a lovely fall breakfast. They’re flavored with real pumpkin purée and warming spices, so they taste like a treat. This recipe calls for oat flour, which yields perfectly tender yet hearty pancakes that are gluten-free and whole-grain.
If you’re new to oat flour (I’m a big fan), you can easily make it yourself by blending old-fashioned oats in a food processor or blender. Or, go ahead and buy a bag so you can try my Banana Oat Pancakes next. Those pancakes inspired this recipe over ten years ago.
Readers have enjoyed these pumpkin pancakes so much that I’m sharing them again today with updated photos and an instructional video! I hope you’ll make them this weekend.
Pancake Tips for Success
You’ll find the full recipe below. Here are a few tips before you get started.
This recipe is designed specifically for oat flour. If you’d like to make pumpkin pancakes with all-purpose or whole wheat flour, follow my Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe instead.
Let the batter rest for 10 minutes. This is an important step for oat flour-based pancakes—it gives the flour time to soak up some moisture, which thickens the batter to the desired consistency. It also gives you time to preheat the skillet.
Lightly coat your griddle or skillet with oil. I cook my pancakes with avocado oil because it offers a high smoke point and neutral flavor (butter burns quickly). Whichever you use, be sure to wipe off the excess with a paper towel so it doesn’t start smoking.
Start by cooking just one pancake. Cook this recipe low and slow to give the pancakes time to turn golden on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Once you’ve practiced with one pancake and ensured that your skillet is adequately preheated, you can make more at once. Leave a couple of inches between each pancake to allow for easy flipping.
The pancakes are ready to flip when bubbles are forming along their edges. The undersides should be nicely golden at this point. If you’re uncertain, it’s best to wait a little longer than end up with a doughy mess.
As time goes on, dial down the heat. The skillet gets hotter the longer it’s on the stove. If your pancakes are burning on the outside before they are cooked through on the inside, your skillet is too hot. Turn down the heat a bit after every few pancakes.
Watch How to Make Pumpkin Pancakes
Pancake Serving Suggestions
These pumpkin-infused pancakes are lovely with a drizzle of maple syrup like you see here, but even better with something more. Here’s a list of toppings or sides to consider:
- Whipped cream
- Almond butter, pecan butter (my top pick) or peanut butter
- Butter
- Pumpkin butter
- Greek yogurt
- Maple syrup
- Scrambled eggs
More Pumpkin Treats to Enjoy
If you can’t get enough pumpkin and spice this fall, be sure to check out these delicious pumpkin recipes.
- Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake Cups: See gluten-free recipe note.
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Waffles: You’ll have enough leftover pumpkin from this recipe to make a batch!
- Healthy Pumpkin Bread: See gluten-free recipe note.
- Homemade Pumpkin Chai Latte: Another great way to use leftover pumpkin.
Please let me know how your pancakes turn out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Oat Pancakes
These healthy pumpkin oatmeal pancakes are made with hearty oats and warming spices. Since they’re made with oat flour, they’re gluten free! Note that these pancakes should be cooked low and slow—use a lower temperature than you would with other pancakes so that the insides of the thick batter get nice and fluffy, but the outsides don’t get overdone. Recipe yields 8 to 10 medium-sized pancakes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup milk of choice
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup oat flour (see notes for how to make your own from old-fashioned oats)
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice blend (or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon ground allspice or cloves)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- Avocado oil or vegetable oil, for greasing the pan
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, milk, butter, maple syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla. Beat in the eggs. (If your butter or oil goes back to its solid state like mine did at this point, warm the mixture for short 20-second bursts in the microwave, stirring between each, until it is melted again.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, and salt. Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. With a big spoon, stir just until the dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened. Do not overmix, or your pancakes will become too dense!
- Let the batter rest for 10 minutes. If you’re using an electric griddle, heat it to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Otherwise, you can wait a few minutes before heating your skillet.
- Warm a large skillet (stainless steel or nonstick) over medium-low heat. You’re ready to start cooking pancakes once a drop of water sizzles on contact with the hot surface. If necessary, lightly oil the cooking surface and wipe off the excess with a paper towel (nonstick surfaces likely won’t require any oil).
- Scoop ¼ cup batter onto the hot skillet, leaving a couple of inches around the pancake for expansion. Cook until small bubbles form on the surface of the pancake and the underside is golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Flip the pancake, then cook until lightly golden on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes more. Repeat the process with the remaining batter, adding more butter and dialing down the heat if the pancakes turn dark on the outside before they’re cooked through on the inside.
- Serve the pancakes immediately or keep them warm in a 200 degree Fahrenheit oven. Leftover pancakes can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or frozen for up to 3 months. To reheat, stack leftover pancakes and wrap them in a paper towel before gently reheating in the microwave.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my banana oat pancakes recipe.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to purchase certified gluten-free oat flour or certified gluten-free old-fashioned oats.
How to make your own oat flour: To make oat flour out of old-fashioned oats, simply pour one cup of oats into a food processor and process until it looks like fine sand. See pictures here.
Make it dairy free: Use non-dairy milk like almond milk and coconut oil instead of butter.
Make it egg free: Replace the eggs with flax eggs (I’ve heard this works well from other commenters, but haven’t had a chance to try myself).
Update September 2024: I’ve improved this recipe, adding ¼ cup more milk to thin the batter, increasing the maple syrup from 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons to help prevent burning against the pan, and increasing the amount of spice for more autumnal flavor.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
AH-mazing! I love the oat aspect, it must make more a great texture… I’ll have to add these to my fall brunch wishlist!
These look perfect for this time of year!
Yay! These sound yummy. I’m giving gluten-free a try for a month to see if it helps me feel better. Thanks!
Perfect! Hope you like the pancakes, Lindsay. I like them as much as (or more than) all the other, glutenous pancakes I’ve tried!
Isn’t is crazy how getting rid of physical stuff completley frees your mind? I always do a purge when I’m feeling bogged down, and it always does the trick : )
I have felt so much better and more content in my place since I cleared out all the junk! I need to remind myself, in the future, that getting rid of things can be even better than obtaining things!
I love the oat flour in these! Such a lovely recipe :)
Kate, this is too funny! I spent the early morning making your banana oat pancakes for SideChef :) I can’t wait to try these, too!
These look so delish…. I have to give them a try. I have a friend who started a gluten free diet at the beginning of summer. She looks and feels wonderful!! I’m sending her here!!
Thanks for sharing my blog with your friend, Pru! I’m not gluten free myself, but it’s always nice to share recipes that everyone can enjoy.
Yay pumpkin season! These sound and look delicious!
I too have tried to de-clutter and get rid of stuff. Not only is it my stuff, but a housefull of hubby and kiddo stuff too. Thanks for the motivation to continue. Its been weighing on my psyche too.
Oh my, I can only imagine. I have so much stuff and I’m just one person! Hope you have a great weekend, Yvette.
These pancakes look so scrumptious and festive! My sister is coming to town this weekend and these will be on the breakfast menu!
Fun! Hope you two enjoy the pancakes!
Wanna eat these AND see the hair chair!
Here’s the hair chair: http://instagram.com/p/a02drBlkp0/ and . Actually, I took off the armrest covers last night and it made it look less frumpy, at least. Hope you’ll give the pancakes a shot soon!
I was just thinking about Welch’s Grape Juice yesterday! I thought, hmmm I bet it doesn’t taste as good as it did when I was a kid. Does it?
Furiously typing so I can get to the kitchen and grind oats. These babies are going down tonight. :)
Oh, I want to think that Welch’s tastes as good now as it did then! It’s been a while. We didn’t get much Welch’s at home, but my grandmother always made sure to get some for us, so that was special. Hope you loved the pancakes, Catherine!
Yeah girl! Get rid of that chair! I have this horrid orange-red corduroy sectional couch that is incredibly comfortably and incredibly ugly. I so badly want a grown up girl couch!
Oh man, I feel you on the couch situation. For the longest time, I had my friend’s grandmother’s couch after asking if anyone had an extra couch on Facebook. It felt really good to trade that in for my “big girl” couch, which is Ikea, but I think it counts! Really glad that you enjoyed the pancakes this morning, Grace.
Pinning for day after Thanksgiving breakfast!
Every season change makes me want to get rid of all the clutter in my life. I definitely feel you! For me, the object of my disdain is my bagel wall colors. Every summer or winter I swear I am going to paint the whole house and make it gray or black and white. More adult, more me! I love the coloring of these pancakes!!!! They look so hearty.
Haha, I’ve never heard of wall colors described as “bagels,” but I know exactly what you mean, Stefanie! Fortunately, I convinced my apartment management to paint the walls a nice crisp white before I moved in. Grab some paint and give it a go!
Loving the oat flour used for this decadent pancakes. Yum!
I’m ready for fall and sweaters and pumpkin everything!
Your pictures are always so crisp and stunning. This looks moist and delicious :) I can’t wait to try this with a warm cup of coffee this weekend! Thanks so much!
Thank you, Abbe. :) Please let me know how the pancakes turn out!
Oh yeah! Kate, these look awesome! I am going pumpkin crazy, seriously a can a day! These are making it on my list!
A can a day! That’s impressive, Tieghan. :) Hope you’ll make these soon!
I am definitely more frazzled when my home is more cluttered also. It feels so freeing to just get rid of things! (Although, to be fair, the.boy will tell you I get rid of nothing…but that’s just not true!)
I am also more frazzled when I don’t get breakfast for dinner once a week. Hellooooo pumpkin pancakes!!
Getting rid of stuff feels SO good, right? Although technically, all my stuff to give away is still sitting in the trunk of my car. So close to getting rid of it for good. Hope you’ll try the pumpkin pancakes soon!
Hi There!
I love your style of writing! These pancakes look scrumptious!! Can’t wait to try out this recipe! It is well-timed what with Halloween coming up, then Thanksgiving and Christmas! :-)
~Alexia
Thank you, Alexia!
Such a great post! I relate to your childhood memories of dad-breakfasts, as well as your deep desire to purge belonging until you feel grown, organized and serene. I attempt this several times a year, but purchasing grown-up furniture is still kinda out there for us. I guess we usually find other applications for our $$$, but sometime in the next two months (Thanksgiving on its way, and all!) we WILL purchase an extendable dining table, a real one, for Grown Ups. I can’t wait!
These cakes sound devine — perfectly pumpkiny, and with your signature nutritious twist. So good!
Sophie, I’m so glad you can relate! I wondered if I might just sound like a rambling crazy person when I typed it up. I’m excited about your future dining table. That’s total grown-up status. My table cost $5 at a garage sale and it’s super wobbly, but I like the background it provides for food photos, so I’ll make do for a while longer! Hope you get a chance to try the pancakes soon!
These look just delightful – I was looking for a new breakfast recipe as a Saturday treat before my husband goes out of town, and these fit the bill perfectly. Just love your blog – the recipes, the photos, the vibe – so classy and warm.
Kate, thank you very much for your encouraging words. Hope you and your husband enjoy the pancakes tomorrow morning!
These pancakes look like the ideal fall breakfast!
These pancakes look so fluffy and full of flavor! I can’t wait to give them a try :)
I’ve seen a ton of pumpkin pancake recipes lately, and this one definitely looks the best. It has the most pumpkin in it! Which is what I want!!! I will definitely be trying these soon!
Thanks, Maria! I hadn’t thought about it, but you’re right—there is quite a lot of pumpkin in this recipe!
We had these for breakfast this morning and my husband loved them, they were much better than he thought they would be. I upped the amount of spices as I always like pumpkin foods with lots of spice. They were good even though I screwed up and forgot to put in the eggs…..now I know why the batter was so difficult to work with! Next time will be better.
Hey R.A., thanks for commenting! I’m so glad that you and your husband enjoyed the pancakes. And I’m glad that they turned out alright without eggs!
Though I’m not a huge pumpkin fanatic, I adore oats, so these look and sound scrumptious to me!
I hear you on the whole ‘being a grown-up’ thing. My biggest problem is not knowing where to shop anymore! I feel too old for places like American Eagle, but still too young for the ‘women’s’ section of most department stores. Argh!
I hope your updating goes well!…or maybe Cookie needs a shave. :-D
Oh, I hear you! I like to shop the sales at Madewell and J.Crew. I’m imagining Cookie with a shave. She would look so silly. :)
As always, I LOVE reading your commentary! :) I am totally with you on the cleaning/purging binge! It really does lift a weight off! I have been giving tons of stuff away and clearing out a space for sewing/crafting and creative pursuits. Looking forward to hibernating and creating this winter. :) Love you friend!
I love how you “get” me, G! I’ve been missing you. Call any time! And love you, too.
Wow, these look really amazing, taste-wise AND photography-wise! Well done!
I know what you mean, when you say they remind you of your dad: my dad used to do the same thing, ever since my parents are divorced, just for me it’s Tortellini! :)
Best wishes
Marc
Thank you, Marc! Funny, I’m not sure if my dad ever cooked us tortellini, but I’m sure we had spaghetti a time or two!
These are AWESOM! They’re not dry at all, and they have so much flavour! I have had cravings for this flavour for the last two weeks and I’ve done everything from Pumpkin Spiced lattes, to Buckwheat pumpkin spice pancakes and pumpkin spiced Oats… Yep def Addiction! Thankyou for sharing the recipe :)
Thanks, Renata! I’m so glad you enjoyed these pancakes. Your buckwheat pumpkin spice pancakes sound amazing!
These sound great — I must get my hands on some pumpkin soon.
Yummmmm! It’s Saturday morning and I’m making these this a.m.!
Will get back to you. :P
Hope the pancakes turned out well, Yvonne!
Just wanted to let you know these turned out delicious! I used grapeseed oil to avoid the seizing of the coconut, and I used a heaping teaspoon of pie spice in lieu of the combination, just because I’m lazy. :) Thumbs up from my hubby and two little girls too! Thanks Kate!
Lauren, I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed the pancakes! Thank you for commenting!
I’m jealous of the people who said these turned out! I subbed in two flax seed eggs and that could be my problem… they aren’t cooking and are barely holding together. So I’m eating raw pancakes and the batter tastes so good. Any ideas what I could be doing wrong?
Suzanne, I’m so sorry the pancakes didn’t turn out well for you! That bums me out. Another commenter said she forgot the eggs and the pancakes were delicate but still turned out well, so I’m not sure if it’s the flax eggs. I think these pancakes are sensitive to even the slightest addition of liquid, so I decided to reduce the amount of pumpkin puree in the recipe by 1/4 cup. I tested the recipe with that adjustment this weekend and the pancakes were perfectly cooked through. I hope that explains what went wrong, and again, I’m so sorry they didn’t turn out well for you! Please let me know if you give them another chance with the updated recipe above.
Could it be because I didn’t use quick oats? I’ll try these again sometime!
Oh, maybe so! Quick oats break down much more than old fashioned. If you give them another shot, please let me know how they turn out!
Following this recipe I found that the pancakes would not cook in the middle no matter how long they were on the grill. There was too much pumpkin, not enough flour, and not enough sweetener. Possible solutions would be either decrease the pumpkin or increase the flour and more honey or other natural sweetener.
Alex, I’m so sorry the pancakes didn’t turn out right for you. They did cook throughout the middle for me on both tries. However, based on your feedback and after comparing the pumpkin version to the original banana version, I decided to scale the pumpkin back by 1/4 cup. Those pancakes turned out perfectly cooked and fluffy through the middle, so I’ve adjusted the recipe. Apologies again and thank you for your feedback. If you give the pancakes another shot, please let me know how they turn out.
Alex, I found the same thing and used the new amount of pumpkin. I added in additional flour to try and dry out the mix, but they were still a little damp for my liking- perhaps a personal preference? Yet the flavor was great so I’m going to give it another go- the recipe comes together quickly enough that I didn’t stress. I’m going to experiement with the heat of my griddle next time… I think I may play around to try and turn kate’s recipe into a waffle. mmmm… nooks and crannies…
also, maybe because I used my own oats to grind into flour- not sure if they were quick cooking… I see another comment where that might be the problem.
Well, that’s not good! Claire, I’m sorry to hear the pancakes didn’t work out for you. :*( I made my own oat flour out of old-fashioned oats and the pancakes have turned out well for me. If there’s any way you can check to see if your oats were the quick cooking kind or old fashioned, I’d love to know. I so want to know what’s causing this issue!
Made these as well as the original banana oat pancakes and both were simply PERFECTION!!! I even made them for my non gluten free non pancake loving Hubby (i know how can anyone in theyre right mind not love pancakes, right?) and he just gushed over them..!
Thanks, Natalie! So glad you both enjoyed them (especially your anti-pancake husband!). :)
Alex and Claire, my batter was thick too but after I put 2 Tbsp. of batter in the pan, I spread it out and evened the edges to get the pancakes round. It wasn’t any trouble. You may be used to pouring the pancake batter into the pan. This batter has to be spread. Hope this helps. :-)
I’m glad you and your brothers get along so well now.
Come home and make some pancakes for us.
Love,
Pops
I just made these but substituted buckwheat flour for the oat flour and stevia for the maple syrup. They turned out awesome!!! Thanks for the recipe!
Oh, I’m glad to hear they work with buckwheat flour! Thanks, Lauren!
Omg! These pancakes look amazing,Kate!
These sound so amazing! love pumpkin!
I’ve been itching to do some fall-cleaning myself. I understand the spring-cleaning thing, but there’s something really nice about getting everything cleaned up when the weather starts to turn cool. I love your banana oat pancakes recipe (and have just been reminded that I need to make them again), but I’m sold on anything with pumpkin! Can’t wait to try these.
Hello! Newly vegetarian, well, again. I was veggie for a few years, moved home where bbq is king, and fell off the wagon. Now I’m eating right and well again and excited to have found your blog. Curious about nutritional info per serving? I eat protein pancakes (with Vega sport vanilla) each morning, and I just can’t wait to try these!
Hey Jenee, glad to hear you’re eating well! I’m sorry, I don’t provide nutrition facts for my recipes, but you can calculate them at myfitnesspal.com.
These pancakes were SO delicious! I only had one egg in the house so they didn’t stay together quite as well as they might have otherwise, but OH SWEET LORD WERE THEY TASTY. Definitely one for the recipe book!
Hooray! Thanks, Emily! I’m glad you loved the pancakes.
Just made these, but substituted 4 egg whites for the 2 eggs and added a scoop of vanilla protein powder. Incidentally, I undercooked one but that was totally okay because it was sort of like having a flat piece of pumpkin pie for breakfast!
Pumpkin pie for breakfast! Yum. So glad you enjoyed the pancakes, MJ. Thanks for sharing your substitution/addition with us!
Made these with soymilk, 1 egg, and 1 flax egg. I thinned the batter with a splash of soymilk (though it was still thick enough to stand on its own on a spoon). They just didn’t cook through even after 10 minutes of cooking on a gas stove. I ended up mashing and sauteeing. The flavor was delicious with maple syrup on top. I’m baking the rest in a shallow baking pan as I got too lazy to stand at the stove. Flavor was delicious, but maybe I used too much liquid or maybe the flax egg doesn’t work with these. Might try again with 2 eggs and be very cautious about using extra liquid.
Hey there, I’m really sorry the recipe didn’t turn out right for you. The splash of milk may have been what did it. For some reason the recipe has a very sensitive liquid threshold. I’m not sure if the flax egg had anything to do with it. What kind of oat flour did you use? If you ground it yourself, did you use old fashioned or quick-cooking oats? I’m not sure quick-cooking oats would hold up in this recipe.
LOVED these, made after a 5k race. so replenishing and healthful. stuck to recipe exactly and were so yummy. thanks!
Glad to hear it, Katie! Thank you for commenting! You certainly deserved some good pancakes after that run.
These look great. What fruit would you recommend serving with them, please?
That’s a tough call, Jane! Maybe sliced bananas?
These pancakes are deeelicious! Between the two of us, the whole batch was gone in 15 minutes flat. I used apple cider vinegar because I had no lemons, but otherwise followed your recipe exactly. This is the best pumpkin pancake recipe I’ve ever tried, by far!
Thanks, Justeen! :)
So simple and delicious! These pancakes are the real pumpkin deal – the perfect amount of spice is used which allows the wonderfulness of pumpkin to shine. Thank you for the lovely recipe!
Thank you, Anna! So glad you enjoyed the pancakes!
Really yummy! I used Vermont Creamery Maple Sea Salt butter in and on them. Yum!
THE BEST PUMPKIN PANCAKES I HAVE EVER TRIED, and I have tried a lot.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. I will pass on the recipe to others. SO SO SO GOOD and HEALTHY and gluten free !!!
Thank you, Vic! Happy to hear it!