Low Carb Keto Pancakes: Flours, Syrups, Toppings (+ Easy Recipe)

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How many carbs are in a plain pancake?

Not surprisingly, traditional pancakes are pretty loaded with carbs. The amount of carbs in a pancake varies, depending on the size, as the Carb Counter reports:

• 2” pancake (aka mini pancake, silver dollar pancakes): 4.4g
• 4” pancake (like the size of a regular Eggo waffle): 17.88g
• 6” pancake: 31.83g

As high as those numbers already are, the total carb count for pancakes gets REALLY staggering when you consider that most people don’t eat just ONE pancake.

And that’s just how many carbs are in homemade pancakes.

If you’re eating out, the restaurant might be serving even bigger pancake sizes than what’s on the table above...so yeah, pancakes are high in carbohydrates.

How to make keto, low-carb pancakes

To make pancakes that are keto-friendly, there are three elements of the dish you have to consider:

• The pancakes themselves
• The syrup
• The toppings

We’ll explore each element separately to show you how to make the perfect stack of low-carb keto pancakes.

What is the best low carb flour for pancakes?

The best keto flour to use for pancakes depends a little on what your main priority is: texture, minimum carbs, or nutritional value.

Here's a comparison various types of flour, as summarized from Perfect Keto:

• Net carbs (per ¼ cup): 22-23g
• Considerations for use: N/A, as this is the baseline to which to compare low-carb alternatives
• Nutrition: N/A, as this is the baseline to which to compare low-carb alternatives

Coconut flour

Net carbs (per ¼ cup): 6g

Considerations for use:

• Gluten-free
• Adds slight coconut taste
• Extremely absorbant
• Fine texture
• Denser end product

Nutrition:

• Monounsaturated fatty acids
• High in fiber
• Iron
• Manganese
• Copper



Check out on Amazon*

Almond flour (made from almonds with skin removed)

Net carbs (per ¼ cup): 3g

Considerations for use:

• Adds slightly almond taste
• Easy to make your own flour at home
• Fine texture

Nutrition:

• Vitamin E
• Iron
• Manganese
• Magnesium
• Potassium
• Calcium



Check out on Amazon*

Almond meal (made from almonds with skin intact)

Net carbs (per ¼ cup): 3g

Considerations for use:

• Easy to make your own meal at home
• Gritty texture, so pancakes won't be very soft

Nutrition:

• Similar nutritional value to almond flour



Check out on Amazon*

Flax seed meal

Net carbs (per ¼ cup): 0g

Considerations for use:

• Gritty texture, so pancakes won't be very soft

Nutrition:

• Healthy omega–3 fatty acids
• Antioxidants



Check out on Amazon*

Using regular or even whole wheat flour is a no-go if you’re trying to make low-carb pancakes.

If matching the texture of regular pancakes is your goal, the key is to use a finely-ground flour. The best option is almond flour, followed by coconut flour.

If you want the least amount of carbs possible in your keto pancakes, flax seed meal has zero net carbs.

However, keep in mind that the lowest carb flours tend to be coarser, and the coarser a flour or meal you use, the less your keto pancakes will match the soft texture of traditional pancakes.

Of course, if your goal is to incorporate certain nutrients into your diet, you’ll have to choose the appropriate flour or meal that has what you want.

WARNING:

Low-carb flours CANNOT be substituted for regular flour on a one-to-one basis.

They also differ from each other quite a bit in terms of how they interact with the other ingredients in a pancake recipe.

If you don’t already have experience making keto pancakes, we strongly recommend starting off with one of the low carb pancake recipes below.

Keto pancake recipe

Here’s the perfect recipe for low-carb yet soft, fluffy pancakes! This makes a single serving of pancakes for one person, which is approximately 2-3 medium pancakes.

Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• ½ tablespoon milk or nut-milk* of your choice
• 1 ounce cream cheese
• ⅓ cup almond flour*
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon*
• ¼ teaspoon erythritol* (or other low-carb sweetener of your choice)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla or maple extract*, optional

Supplies

• Blender
• 8-inch non-stick skillet
• Rubber spatula
• Measuring cups and spoons

How to Make Keto Almond Flour Pancakes - Step by Step

• Step 1. Put all ingredients in a blender. Add the wet ingredients first, to ensure the ingredients mix well and don't stick to the blades.
• Step 2. Blend until smooth, stopping occasionally to stir the ingredients by hand and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.
• Step 3. Heat a non-stick skillet pan on medium heat.
• Step 4. Pour enough batter into the pan to form the pancake size you want.
• Step 5. Cover and let cook for a few minutes, until you see bubbles start to form.
• Step 6. Flip and cook another few minutes until browned as desired, then remove from pan.
• Step 7. Repeat steps 4-6 until all batter is used up.
• Step 8. Serve with desired toppings.

Keto pancake mixes

If you're looking for pre-made mixes where you only need to add wet ingredients, here are the top products:

Brand: Keto and Co Pancake and Waffle Mix

Net carbs per serving: 2g per 2 pancakes

Additional ingredients needed (per batch of 5-6 pancakes):

• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoon nut milk or water
• 1 tablespoon oil

Check out on Amazon*

Brand: Good Dee’s Pancake Mix

Net carbs per serving: 1g per 2 pancakes

Additional ingredients needed (per batch of 4 pancakes):

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk
• 1 teaspoon butter or oil

Check out on Amazon*

Keto syrup

Check out our post with a homemade keto syrup recipe that only uses 3 ingredients!

Best low carb pancake syrup

We've also compiled the best store-bought syrups, if you prefer the convenience.

Lakanto Maple-Flavored Sugar-Free Syrup

• 1 gram net carbs per 2 tablespoons
• Sweetened with monkfruit*

Check out on Amazon*

Smuckers Sugar-Free Maple Syrup

• 1 gram of net carbs per ¼ cup
• Sweetened with Splenda

Check out on Amazon*

Low carb pancake toppings

The final part to an epic keto pancake dish is adding extra toppings. Here are some pancake topping ideas that are low-carb:

• Certain berries
  • Blackberries
  • Raspberries
  • Strawberries
• Cinnamon*
• Butter
• Coconut cream
• Shredded coconut*
• Sliced almonds*
• Crushed macadamia nuts*
• Low-carb powdered sugar*
• Low-carb chocolate sauce*
• Low carb dark chocolate chips or cacao nibs*
• Cocoa powder*

More keto pancake recipes

Here's a round-up of other low-carb pancake recipes to try, using a wide variety of keto-friendly ingredients.

Coconut flour

These paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free, eggless vegan pancakes are made with coconut flour, which can be difficult to use if you have no experience with it. Play it safe with a tested recipe like this one.

• Calories: 242
• Carbs: 6g
• Fat: 19g
• Fiber: 3g
• Protein: 8g
• NET CARBS: 3g

(via The Big Man's World)

Low carb banana

A flourless pancake recipe that only requires 3 ingredients.

• Calories: 157
• Carbs: 19g
• Fat: 6g
• Fiber: 6g
• NET CARBS: 13g

(via Living Chirply)

Protein powder

This recipe sneaks in so many high-protein foods like chia seeds and Greek yogurt, and some zucchini squash too. Talk about healthy!

• Calories: 246
• Carbs: 15g
• Fat: 8g
• Fiber: 5g
• Protein: 28g
• NET CARBS: 10g

(via Bites of Wellness)

Cream cheese

These pumpkin-flavored pancakes taste like a keto dessert breakfast.

• Calories: 230
• Carbs: 9g
• Fat: 16g
• Fiber: 4g
• Protein: 8g
• NET CARBS: 5g

(via Beauty and the Foodie)

Cottage cheese

These have 2g of net carbs. (via Here to Cook)

Sour cream

You can also use heavy cream to make these pancakes.

• Calories: 77
• Fat: 7g
• Protein: 1g
• NET CARBS: 1g

(via Low Carb Yum)

Ricotta cheese

These souffle-like pancakes are super thick and fluffy.

• Calories: 55
• Carbs: 1g
• Fat: 4g
• Protein: 4g

(via Daily Yum)

Flaxseed

A recipe that calls for really unique ingredients, like sunflower meal, avocado oil, and even sparkling water.

• Calories: 297
• Carbs: 7g
• Fat: 26g
• Fiber: 3g
• Protein: 9g
• NET CARBS: 4g

(via Wholesome Yum)