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May 14, 2019

Pina Colada Pancakes {Dairy Free}

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Pina colada pancakes are a tropical and fun way to start the day. Dairy free pancakes never tasted so amazing. And don’t sleep on that pineapple brown sugar syrup!

Just FYI – the next four paragraphs or so are NOT about pancakes – so if you’re just here for the food feel free to scroll down or hit that handy button at the top to jump straight to the recipe. I won’t be butt-hurt about it, promise.

The internet is such a great thing. Breaking news, inspiring journalism, cat videos, streaming entertainment, and even this little blog all take up a little (or a lot) of space here, just waiting to be consumed. It’s a time waster, a virtual shopping mall, a vast library of information, or a forum for your thoughts (whatever they may be). But something that reaches so many people, where so many ideas can be freely exchanged has to have a down side, right?

Well of course it does. I don’t even for a second begin to think that you don’t see the negativity and vitriol that is ever present online these days. It can be shocking, horrifying, and just plain depressing. I see it most personally on social media. As a person who spends a lot of time on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, I can say that there is a lot of haterade out there. Some of it is spoken with best intentions, a lot of it is not. But you probably already knew that.

Something you might not know is that even though I throw my hat into the content creation ring pretty regularly, I don’t seem to have a ton of (vocal) haters myself. I don’t say this to brag. It’s probably because my reach isn’t large enough to incur any significant amount of internet wrath. Or perhaps I’m just playing it really safe – not speaking in absolutes or taking very public stances on divisive issues. I know that I’m not going to be everyone’s cup of virtual tea, and I’m totally OK with that. But for now I’m thankful for this period of time, however brief it may be, where the negativity hasn’t reached me yet. Because I see it out there, and honestly it bums me out.

So if you’re a blogger, influencer, writer, photographer, or creator of any medium that gets promoted or proliferated via the great machine that is the internet, take the criticism in stride – even if it is rude, offensive, untrue, or just plain mean. Because at the end of the day, I’d rather a get a big old pitcher of hater-ade in my comments for putting something out into the world that I’m proud of, than keep my mouth shut to stay in everyone’s good graces. But that’s just me. And with that you can consider this edition of Jo takes advantage of a captive audience to stand on her soapbox and shout things over and done.

On to happier topics. And what’s happier than a light and fluffy stack of crisp at the edges, soft and plush in the middle, pancakes? Well what about if those pancakes were also jam packed with pineapple, coconut, and lime. Pancakes on a tropical vacation? Yes that makes me very happy.

Pina Colada Pancakes with Pineapple Brown Sugar Pancakes

These pancakes are something special. They take an easy homemade pancake recipe and send it to the islands. And with the temperatures finally getting warmer and the sunshine making regular (ok semi-regular) appearances on the weekends, this is the recipe I want to wake up to on a sunshiney, Sunday morning. Oh, they’re also dairy free if that’s your jam!

How to make dairy free pancakes from scratch

So regardless of what kind of pancakes you’re making there is some general pancake-ing wisdom I’d like to impart. If you’re like “nah Jo, I’ve got this” that’s awesome! Scroll on down and start whipping a batch of these up, because time is not to be wasted when pancakes are on the agenda. But if you want a few insider tips on how to make light and fluffy pancakes from scratch then please, read on.

  • All of your ingredients should be room temperature if you can hack it. That means taking stuff out of the fridge before hand so it’s not icy cold when you go to mix up your batter. The reason? The closer to room temp your ingredients are the easier they will come together, which means less stirring, which leads me to my next tip.
  • Don’t overmix it. Broken record over here would like to keep hammering home (for like the 19,837th time) that mixing too much leads to dense, chewy, leaden pancakes. But my batter is still lumpy. Shouldn’t I beat it into smooth and pourable submission? Nope. Resist the urge. Lumps are FINE in pancake batter – they will all smooth out, scout’s honor.
  • In fact, your batter shouldn’t really be pourable at all! If you’ve got too much liquid in your batter you’ll need a LOT of something else (lots of beaten egg whites or lots of baking powder) to make that puppy puff up. And you know what doesn’t taste great for breakfast? A sore whisking arm and a mouthful of chemical leavener, that’s what.  The consistency of the batter should be thin enough that gravity will mostly pull it out of the measuring cup and onto the pan, but thick enough that you’ll have to manually spread it out a bit to get a nice, even, pancake type shape.

Wait, where’s the maple syrup?

Ok, ok. Maybe this is where my haters come out of hiding. There is no maple here – it just didn’t seem to jive with the rest of the recipe. But as an alternative to maple syrup, what you are getting is a glossy, sticky, fruity brown sugar and pineapple situation that I promise you will knocks your freaking socks off. And if you aren’t wearing socks, well you’ll still love it. But if you must, you can still sub in maple instead. But please heat it up with the pineapple and the lime juice so you get the whole pina colada experience, would ya?

So now that you’ve got all the deets on making fluffy pancakes from scratch (totally useful) AND an earful on how wonderful but dumb the internet can be (less useful TBH) I’ll leave you to your day. I hope it’s a great one with lots of happiness, hugs, good food, and great vibes.

And if you’re in need of more breakfast without the side of soapbox ranting, these recipes have got you covered:

  • Healthy Whole Grain Pancakes
  • Lemon Yogurt Cheesecake Parfaits
  • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Energy Bites
  • Sausage and Peppers Breakfast Hash
Print

Pina Colada Pancakes {Dairy Free}

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

Pina colada pancakes are a tropical and fun way to start the day. Dairy free pancakes never tasted so amazing. And don’t sleep on that pineapple brown sugar syrup!

  • Author: Jo
  • Prep Time: 10 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 Minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 2-3 Servings 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

For the pancakes:
1 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
Zest of one lime
2 T coconut oil
1 C coconut milk
1 egg

For the syrup:
1/4 C brown sugar
1 tsp honey
1 C chopped pineapple
1/4 C water
Juice of one lime
pinch of salt

Toasted coconut flakes to serve

Instructions

In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, and lime zest. Using your fingers, rub the coconut oil into the flour, until there are no more big pieces of coconut oil and the flour looks mealy, kind of like grated parmesan cheese.

In a small bowl beat together the egg and coconut milk. Add to the dry ingredients and mix just until no dry flour remains – lumps are OK.

Cook the pancakes in a greased skillet over medium low heat, measuring 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake. They should take about 2 minutes per side, but you’ll know they’re ready to flip with they start to get dry at the edges and bubbles break on top. Keep pancakes warm in a 250° oven while you cook the remaining batter.

While you cook the pancakes, add all of the syrup ingredients to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and let simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until you’ve reached a syrupy consistency (thinner than caramel, but thicker than water). Turn of heat and set aside for serving.

Notes

You can also melt the coconut oil and add it at the end, but I like to have fewer dishes to wash, so to each his own.

This makes more syrup than you might need – but it’s really great on ice cream too, so problem basically solved.

I like to make a double batch on the weekend and then freeze whatever we don’t eat. If you do this place the pancakes in a single layer on a sheet tray and put the whole thing in the freezer. When they’re rock solid transfer them to a zip top freezer bag (or other container) and store for up to 3 months. Don’t skip the sheet pan step or you’ll end up with one frozen pancake mass that you can’t separate into individual servings. 

There isn’t any alcohol in this recipe, but if you’re feeling boozy you can add a splash of rum to the syrup. For safety I’d do this off heat.

 

Keywords: tropical pancakes, dairy free pancakes, pina colada pancakes, summer breakfast, pineapple brown sugar syrup

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2 comments

  • Haylie / Our Balanced Bowl
    May 14, 2019

    Jo, what an amazing and unique idea for pancakes! These look absolutely delicious and I need a stack in front of me right now. That pineapple brown sugar situation sounds TO DIE FOR. Also, so with you about the crazy social media world. I’m glad you’re putting some boundaries for yourself to be able to step away with no guilt. <3 Much love!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  • Carolyn Mortimore
    May 2, 2020

    Hi Jo, just made these amazing pancakes with a couple of changes as I didn’t have any coconut oil so I used macadamia oil. Also I used raw sugar instead of brown for the same reason. I used less sugar and more honey which worked really well. I had a lovely little sweet pineapple for the syrup and none left over as it was so yummy.

    Thanks for a great breakfast
    Carolyn 😁

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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Jo Eats

Hi, I'm Jo!
I'm a self-taught, home cook who loves pretty much all things food. I am obsessed with creating, photographing, and sharing beautiful and accessible recipes with YOU. Thanks for stopping by!
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