Low Carb Souffle Pancakes

Have you ever heard of souffle pancakes? Take all other low carb treats and give me this. I’m done finding ideas. These keto fluffy pancakes are something I could make and enjoy every.single.day.

Hit or Miss

If you’ve been around my blog for a minute you’ve probably heard me tell you that I lived in China for 4 years during my early 20s. So much of my cooking and food experience was shaped by my time in Asia. It is part of my story in becoming “me.”

China is a place of constant change. Growing pains are an understatement when thinking of cities and their infrastructure. Businesses grew like weeds growing in rocky areas. They’d spring up then quickly wither.

All that to say, I had my fair share of visits to restaurants and snack shops to try whatever it was they were trying to sell.

If there was a coffee shop, you’d bet I’d try it to see if I could find a decent cup of coffee. Dessert shops were a thing to visit with friends, and I’d do that from time to time.

There were European-style bakeries, Taiwanese shops, Korean-inspired cafes, Japanese shops, and then there were little spots that tried to serve it all. A lot of the shops had awesome ideas and great food. BUT. When one would show signs of success, three more would open up next door. Then they would all fail. Thus the cycle would continue.

Sometimes I hop on YouTube to see what is happening in the food scene in Asia. I miss the fun street vendors and areas of the city where we could get a $0.30 ice cream cone. Who cares if it wasn’t actually ice cream.

The Day I Spotted Fluffy Japanese Souffle Pancakes

So there I was, on YouTube, and I saw this thing called a souffle pancake. What in the world? I set out to find out HOW they made that tower of deliciousness. Of course, I knew that if I wanted to make it low-carb the mechanics would work a bit differently. Maybe it wouldn’t rise as much. But oh, I HAD to try.

I came home and started experimenting. After trying several pans and methods and tweaking my recipe, I managed to share a few with my husband and friends. While I shared, I secretly wanted to eat ALL OF THEM because they’re SO GOOD.

As I imagine all of the ways these can be eaten, I don’t think there is an end to the list. They’re good plain, with berries on top, topped with homemade whipped cream. They’re good with some cinnamon and “sugar.” They’re good with a (low carb) caramel drizzle. THEY are just everything. Top some with lemon curd. OH BABY.

Honestly, they taste like a cream puff when you add whipped cream. Mmhmm.

How to make low carb souffle pancakes

These aren’t going to be your pancake feast type of pancake. They’re more of a dessert treat. They’re time-consuming but if you make one batch you’re looking at about 15-20 minutes of effort. I’m warning you that keto souffle pancakes are worth every single ounce of energy.

What makes them “souffle” is the whipping of the egg whites into a meringue. You’ll really need to use an electric mixer for this, either stand or handheld. Make sure that the bowl is completely dry, you don’t want any water to mix in with your egg whites.

Start beating the egg whites on low then gradually increase the speed and slowly add monk fruit sweetener (or another low carb sweetener with a proper equivalent). You’re done when soft peaks form. If you over-beat the eggs, they will start to fall apart and you’ll need to try again. Thankfully eggs are pretty affordable.

Fold the meringue into the batter of almond flour, egg yolks, half-and-half, and baking powder. Mix the batter only until fully incorporated. Don’t overmix!

Then you pile them high on a griddle at the lowest heat setting. Then you cook them LOW. AND. SLOW. — I repeat — LOW AND SLOW.

The reason you want it low is so that the pancake can rise and cook all the way through without burning the top or bottom. I made the error of using the “warm” level of heat on my griddle and that meant they took for-ev-er to cook, don’t do that. Just use the low heat setting.

Pans you can use for making fluffy pancakes:

• Frying pan with lid (you’ll only be able to cook a few at a time using this)
• Flat griddle pan (stove-top or electric) – if you have a metal cake pan you could improvise and use that as a “lid”
• Electric skillet with lid – this is what I use.

It is all going to depend on the cooking surface and the heat you’re using as for how long it will take to cook. Turn the heat to the lowest setting (but not just “warm”).

Basically, you want to scoop 1/4 cup of batter onto a lightly greased pan then top that with another tablespoon or so of batter. This will help you get the pancake to be thicker in height. Then let it cook for about 5-7 minutes, preferably covered. That will help “steam” it a bit and keep the heat inside.

Flip carefully with a spatula. You may need to use two spatulas to ensure a safe flip. Allow the souffle pancake to cook on the second side for about 3 minutes or until it is set. You want the pancake to be completely cooked through.

Keto Souffle Pancake Topping ideas:

• Cinnamon & “sugar” (low carb sweetener, like Monk Fruit!)
• Sugar-free Jam and whipped cream
• Lemon curd
• Fresh berries and whipped cream
• Peanut butter and sugar-free chocolate sauce
• Almond butter with coconut and sugar-free chocolate chips
• As a “whoopie pie” shell
• The base for strawberry shortcake
• Top them with raspberry mousse!
• Smear some peanut butter cheesecake dip on top!

Can you double this keto souffle pancakes recipe?

I tried doubling the recipe, but since I was only using one electric skillet, they lost volume during the waiting period. I left some on the counter and some in the fridge. The batter on the counter was incredibly flat, while the refrigerator batter was a little better.

I would recommend mixing each batch individually. They don’t take too long to mix but you could mix the new batch while cooking the current batch. If you do this, just use a clean spatula to transfer the egg whites from the egg white bowl.

Other recipes you may enjoy

• Low Carb Keto Friendly Hot Chocolate
• Simple Keto Chaffles
• Low Carb Aebleskiver Pancake Balls

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For THM friends, this is an (S)

Print Recipe

5 from 10 votes

Souffle Pancakes

A fluffy, decadent, low-carb dessert pancake. These are perfect alone, or with an endless mix of toppings. 

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time12 minutes mins

Total Time17 minutes mins

Breakfast, Dessert, Keto, Low Carb, THM-S

Cuisine: American

Almond flour, Eggs, Low Carb, souffle pancakes, THM, THM-S

Servings: 3

Calories: 111kcal

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Almond flour fine
• 2 Eggs separated
• 1/2 tsp Baking powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp Monk Fruit Sweetener
• 1 1/2 tbsp Half and half* (or heavy cream)
• avocado oil or other oil for lightly greasing pan

Instructions

Preparing the batter

• Crack and separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. Egg whites need to go in a bowl for mixing. 
• Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites on a low speed then gradually add the Monk fruit sweetener. Mix until soft peaks form. This is a meringue consistency. 
  
• In a medium-sized bowl, mix almond flour, egg yolks, baking powder, and half & half. 
• Mix egg whites into the yolk mixture 1/3 at a time. The first 1/3 you can mix in with a wire whisk to make sure it is thoroughly mixed. The second and third portions of egg whites you’ll want to fold in carefully so that you don’t lose the volume of the egg whites. Don’t overmix!

Cooking the souffle pancakes

• Heat your griddle or pan to low and lightly grease the pan.
• Using a 1/4 c measuring cup, scoop out 1/4 c portions of batter onto the heated griddle. Then spoon an additional Tablespoon on top to add extra volume. 
• Cover the pan or griddle and allow the souffle pancakes to cook on low for about 5-7** minutes for the first side. Keep an eye on them so that they don’t burn. 
• Once they seem firmly set, you can flip them. Cook the second side for about 3 minutes. 
• Pancakes are finished when they are golden brown and cooked through. 

Notes

Cook the souffle pancakes on low so that they cook through, but do not burn. Each heating surface will vary so it might take more/less time. But use low heat, regardless.  

They will take a bit of time on each side because the traditional recipe calls for cake flour, but using almond flour results in different cooking times and results in slightly less volume. 

*To make this dairy free, you could try nut milk instead of half and half. 

** Cooking stovetop may only take 3-4 minutes per side. Just keep a close eye on them! 

Disclaimer: Nutrition facts are an estimate to the best of my ability.

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