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If your weekend brunch plans don't include this ube pancakes recipe, you're basically still in the middle of a workweek from hell. These Filipino-style pancakes are impossibly fluffy, vibrantly purple without artificial colors, and can be on your plate in under 20 minutes. Trader Joe's ube mochi pancakes never looked so lame. No judgment, just facts.
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Folks in the Philippines love sweet breakfasts. It's no wonder why tupig, taho, and suman malagkit are super popular with hawkers on the streets in Manila. When I was there in 2016, representing the USA at the World Street Food Congress, the gosh darned jubilee of Filipino sweets caught my eye, and I wished they were vegan. So I came home and got right to recipe testing until my family and I had some new faves.
This easy ube pancake recipe highlights the unique flavor and nutty essence of purple yam without food dyes or boxed pancake mix.
These stack tall, cook evenly, and hold up like champs under a mountain of ube halaya, a river of maple syrup, and clouds of whipped cream. Whether you're making a quiet solo stack to eat while hiding from the FBI in a room hidden behind a closet, or feeding the whole SWAT team brunch bunch, they're ready to go from bowl to belly in under 20 minutes.
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🥰Why you'll adore this ube pancake recipe
✊ Vegan AF: Like all of my vegan Filipino recipes, this one skips the eggs, ditches the dairy, and flips off anything that harms animals.
🍠 Ube-licious Goodness: These bad boys get their electric purple hue and rich, earthy-sweet flavor from real-deal ube jam and just a dash of extract. No food dye fakery here!
⏱ Quick-Mix Magic: No stand mixer or fancy tools here. Just a bowl, frying pan, spatula, and a whisk get you pancake-ready.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of my vegan breakfast recipes, this one's been pancake-flipped and brunch-tested by a massive team of hundreds of recipe testers. It stacks up.
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🍠 vegan ube pancake Ingredients
The Flour
Go with unbleached, unbrominated, and unenriched all-purpose flour. For a whole grain boost, you can sub up to half with whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or spelt flour (as I sometimes do with my blue corn pancakes and martabak), but keep at least half white for max fluff.
Ube Halaya
This sweet Filipino purple yam purée brings color, moisture, and flavor to the batter. If you don't have ube halaya, cooked ube (not the regular purple yam you might make bubur cha cha with), mashed with a bit of sweetener, works as a quick backup.
The Milk
Oat, soy, or almond milk all work here, just make sure it's unflavored and unsweetened. Soy milk is my top choice because it curdles best when it comes in contact with acidic ingredients, giving the batter more of a buttermilk-style texture and adding extra fluff to the finished pancakes.
The Oil
Any neutral-tasting oil works well in the batter: canola, refined coconut oil, sunflower oil, or vegetable oil all keep the pancakes moist and tender without overpowering the ube.
Applesauce, or additional ube halaya, are solid substitutions if you're avoiding oil entirely.
Ube Extract
Just a dash of this concentrated flavoring intensifies the yammy, nutty essence of ube. Look for high-quality brands that don't contain artificial colors or flavors, if you can find them (most are basically made out of melted airplanes and absolutely artificial grossness).
I use ube extract in other Filipino sweets like my bilo bilo recipe, and sometimes in my palitaw and pichi pichi too, it's clutch for locking in that signature flavor without having to keep fresh ube yams on hand.
Vegan Butter
You'll need a small amount to coat your skillet or griddle. My top choice is Earth Balance Buttery Sticks; they've got that rich, buttery flavor that makes pancakes feel like pancakes. Trader Joe's makes a decent vegan butter, too, and it's easier on the wallet. I think the buttery flavor is important here, but if you avoid butter altogether, a neutral oil will still do the job and keep your cakes from sticking.
Vegan Whipped Cream
This is totally optional, but highly encouraged if you're going for that over-the-top brunch stack. My vegan whipped cream recipe is a dairy-free masterpiece, silky, and so dang easy to make if you want it from scratch.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Gluten-free Ube Pancakes
Start with my vegan gluten-free pancake recipe as your base and fold in both ube halaya and a dash of ube extract to carry that signature flavor and color through.
Ube Mochi Pancakes
For a chewier, almost stretchy pancake vibe, replace ½ cup of the all-purpose flour with glutinous rice flour (the same stuff you would use to make klepon with). These will be slightly denser, but with a satisfying chewy, stretchy, mochi-like bounce.
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📖 How to make ube pancakes
No time to scroll through 430 ube pancake glamour shots? If you're ready to cook, shoot down to the easy-to-print recipe card. Otherwise, let's do this step-by-step below.
Step One
Live and Let Dry:
In a large bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt until fully combined. Set aside while you prep the wet ingredients.
Step Two
Wet Side Story:
In a separate bowl, whisk the ube halaya, plant-based milk, oil (or applesauce if you are oil-free), maple syrup, ube extract, and vanilla until smooth and evenly blended.
Step Three
Batter Late Than Never:
Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk gently until just combined. Stop mixing as soon as the flour disappears to keep the batter light and fluffy.
Step Four
Tom Pancs:
Preheat a nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add a bit of vegan butter or oil to coat the surface. Scoop ¼ cup of batter per pancake into the skillet.
Step Five
My Pancakey Breaky Heart:
Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until bubbles form and the edges look set. Flip and cook for another 2 minutes until golden on both sides.
Step Six
Stack to the Future:
Transfer cooked pancakes to a plate and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter or oil as needed between batches.
Step Seven
Panc. Sinatra:
Serve hot with maple syrup, whipped cream, powdered sugar, or a generous spoonful of extra ube halaya. These make a killer stack to serve with other Filipino breakfasts like bibingka, taho, and champorado.
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👉Top tips
- Don't overmix the batter: Once the wet and dry ingredients meet, mix just until no streaks of flour remain. Overmixing activates the gluten and turns your pancakes into chewy purple frisbees.
- Preheat that skillet: You want it hot enough to sizzle a droplet of water, but not smoking. Medium heat is your sweet spot for golden outsides and fully cooked centers.
- Grease between batches: Even in a nonstick pan, a light swipe of vegan butter or oil between rounds keeps the surface consistent and your pancakes from sticking or scorching.
- Let the batter rest (briefly): Giving the batter 5-10 minutes before cooking allows the flour to hydrate fully and helps bubbles develop, which equals fluffier cakes.
- Use a measuring scoop for even pancakes: A ¼-cup scoop keeps your pancake size uniform, which is essential if you have kids who will kill each other over who gets the biggest pancake. Now they are screwed, and all will have to deal with all being the best, most pancake entitled kid, or whatever.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
You can, but you'll want to reduce the plant-based milk by about ¼ cup so the batter is thicker. Waffle irons need less spread and more structure. Wait until the steam subsides before opening the waffle iron; this is your visual cue that they're fully cooked and crisped to perfection. This is also a great way to turn your favorite ube pancakes into ube waffles with golden brown edges and that irresistible crispy-chewy combo.
Warm it slightly and whisk it with a splash of plant milk before adding to the wet mix. That'll help it incorporate smoothly and avoid clumps in your batter. You can also mash it with coconut milk for a smoother consistency and an added boost of Filipino flavor.
You can mash steamed purple yam or purple sweet potato with a touch of maple syrup to mimic the texture and flavor. Just don't sub in food coloring-you want delicious ube flavor, not fake purple vibes. This keeps it true to Filipino cuisine and avoids losing that signature nutty flavor.
🧊 Refrigeration:
Allow the ube pancakes to cool completely, then layer them with parchment or wax paper between each pancake. Store them in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This helps preserve their fluffy texture and vibrant color.
❄️ Freezing and Thawing:
To freeze, arrange the cooled pancakes in a single layer on a tray lined with parchment paper. Once frozen solid, transfer them to a reusable freezer-safe container. They'll stay fresh for up to 2 months. For best results, thaw in the fridge overnight or reheat directly from frozen.
🔥 Stovetop Reheating:
Heat a nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Place the pancakes in the skillet and cover loosely with a lid or an inverted plate to trap steam. Warm for 2-3 minutes per side until heated through and lightly crisp on the outside.
⚡️ Microwave Reheating:
Wrap 1 or 2 pancakes in a clean, slightly damp kitchen towel and place on a microwave-safe plate. Heat on medium power for 20-30 seconds, or until just warmed through. This method softens the texture but gets the job done fast.
✌️You'll love these Filipino sweets too:
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Ube Pancakes
Equipment
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients:
- ¾ cup ube halaya purple yam puree
- 1 ½ cup unsweetened plant-based milk
- 2 tablespoons canola oil melted refined coconut oil, or applesauce
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon ube extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For Frying and Suggested Accompaniments for Serving:
- Vegan butter or oil for frying
- Vegan whipped cream
- Powdered Sugar
- Additional ube halaya
- Maple syrup
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the ube halaya, plant-based milk, oil (or applesauce if you are avoiding oil), maple syrup, ube extract, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk just until the batter is evenly mixed and no visible dry flour remains. Avoid overmixing, as it will negatively affect the way the pancakes cook.
- Set a nonstick or cast iron skillet or griddle over medium heat. After 2 minutes when the oil or vegan butter is hot, ladle ¼ cup (60 mL) of batter per pancake into the skillet, spacing them evenly.
- Cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until bubbles form on the surface and the edges appear set. Flip and cook for 2 minutes on the second side, or until both sides are golden and the center is cooked through.
- Transfer to a plate and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more oil or vegan butter as needed.
- Serve hot with maple syrup, vegan whipped cream, powdered sugar, or additional ube halaya.
Notes
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Reshyll says
I love ube everything!!! So imagine how hyped I was to make these. They absolutely delivered and were gone in like 5 mins. Can't wait to make more next time!
Linda says
Sweet and exotic! Worth trying just once—you’ll be hooked forever! 😉