Mini Chickpea Flour Pancakes with Spinach and Scallions

Mini chickpea pancakes topped with sour cream and scallions.

Mini Chickpea Flour Pancakes with Spinach and Scallions

These vegan chickpea pancakes are made with chickpea flour and filled with garlic, scallions and spinach. They're a little thicker than other chickpea pancakes due to using cake rings and adding a little baking powder.

Course Vegetarian Dinner

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword chickpea flour pancakes

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Total Time 25

Servings pancakes

Calories 176.8kcal

Author Susan Pridmore

Equipment

See the above Equipment section of the post

Ingredients

Pancakes

¾ cup (3.4 ounces) chickpea flour also called garbanzo flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon finely minced rosemary
Few twists of fresh black pepper
¾ cup warm water
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
¼ teaspoon baking powder
2 large garlic cloves minced (about 1 ½ tablespoons)
⅓ cup very thinly sliced scallions save the stalks for a garnish
¼ cup slivered baby spinach leaves packed
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Sour Cream Topping (Optional)

4 tablespoons sour cream or plant based sour cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic salt

Instructions

Pancakes

Place the chickpea flour, minced rosemary, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl and whisk in the warm water until you have a smooth batter. Set the bowl aside on the counter for 15 minutes to allow the chickpea flour to completely absorb the water.
The batter will be a little thinner than traditional pancakes made with wheat flour.
Whisk in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and baking powder. You should have about 1 ¼ cups of batter.
Add one tablespoon olive oil to a non-stick pan or griddle over medium heat. Sauté the scallions until softened, about 5 minutes, and add the garlic and slivered spinach. Cook for another minute until the garlic is very fragrant and the spinach begins to wilt.
Stir the scallions, garlic, and spinach into the batter. Stir in the lemon juice.
If needed, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the same pan you used to sauté the scallions. Keep the heat on medium. (Note: If making 1 large pancake, use an oven-safe pan or skillet.)
To make 1 large pancake: Pour all of the batter into the pan to make one big pancake.
When small bubbles appear on the top, slide the pan under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. When the pancake is firm, remove from the oven. Serve warm topped with the optional yogurt/sour cream sauce.
To make several small pancakes: Arrange the 3" baking rings on the pan and pour ¼ cup of the batter into each baking ring.
Cook until many small bubbles begin to appear on the tops of the pancakes and the edges of the pancakes begin to firm up, about 3 minutes. When the top surfaces look less runny, it's time to flip them.
Remove one ring and check the bottom surface. It should be a golden brown. If it is, flip it over with a spatula and repeat with the other rings. Do this carefully as the pancakes are extremely tender.
Cook for an additional minute or two before serving with the optional sour cream sauce.
You may need to do this in batches, depending on how many cake rings fill into your skillet.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sour Cream Topping (Optional)

Stir together the sour cream with the remaining ingredients for the sauce. Spoon spoon a very small amount over the pancakes, or serve it on the side.

Notes

👩‍🍳 Tips for Success

Allow a little crust to form on the surfaces of the pancakes before flipping them. It adds a lot of flavor to the pancake(s).

If using baking rings to make smaller pancakes, be sure not to over-fill the rings with batter. If you over-fill them, they will be too thick and when you remove the rings, and some batter will run out in the pan. If you cook them long enough to ensure they will be stable, the bottoms may be too browned.

The mini pancakes need to cook for a few minutes before removing the cake rings. Look for tiny bubbles on the tops of the pancakes and a firming up of the batter around the edges. Very quickly after this, the tops will become more cooked. This is when you flip them.

You can oil the cake rings before arranging them in the skillet if you want but I haven't found that to be necessary.

When making one large pancake, you must use an oven-safe pan so that you can finish the pancake under the broiler.

Nutrition