Cabbage Pancakes Recipe (No Flour!)

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At A Glance
These cabbage pancakes are a cozy, savory, healthy comfort food breakfast made from eggs and shredded cabbage with coconut aminos and sesame. They cook up like thin pancakes that feel satisfying without needing a flour batter. I’ll show you a few easy variations you can make with what’s already in your fridge. These are great for low-carb and keto eaters, too!

If you like savory breakfasts that feel like a treat, these cabbage pancakes are the easiest way to turn a bag of shredded cabbage and a few eggs into something craveable. They’re lightly seasoned with coconut aminos and sesame, pan-fried until golden, and they land somewhere between an omelet and a veggie pancake, in the best way. They are similar to Egg Foo Young, but they are much easier and less time-consuming to make.

What Are Cabbage Pancakes?

Cabbage pancakes are savory, pan-fried pancakes made with cabbage and eggs. Some would refer to these pancakes as konomiyaki style or as veggie pancakes. Typically, they are made with flour of some sort and are similar to egg foo young, in that they are an egg-based pancake with veggies (cabbage). But they are much faster and easier to make, and you don’t have to fuss over making gravy. They are traditionally served with an optional mayo-style topping, but here, we’ll keep things simple and rely on the coconut aminos for a flavorful “sauce.”

Why You’ll Love These Cabbage Pancakes

1. They are fast and easy to make.
2. They are super filling and made from simple basics.
3. They are easy to customize to your liking with add-ins and toppings if you so choose.

How This Version Is Different

Cabbage pancakes are typically far more “held together” with the use of flour. But this recipe uses no flour at all, relying on the eggs to hold everything together. So you will have some “crumbs”, but they do a pretty good job of holding together pancake-style.

Ingredients You’ll Need For Cabbage Pancakes

For The Pancakes

• Eggs
• Shredded green cabbage or coleslaw mix
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Coconut aminos (savory depth without soy sauce)
• Toasted sesame oil
• Sesame seeds
• Optional add-ins: scallions, grated carrot, minced garlic, ginger (I don’t use these, but you can add them if you wish.)

Optional Toppings

• Sliced scallions
• Extra sesame seeds
• Chili flakes or a drizzle of sweet chili sauce, if you like heat.

Ingredient Swaps

If you need to swap	Use	Notes
Coconut aminos	Tamari or soy sauce	Sesame oil is strong; a little goes a long way
Sesame oil	A neutral oil plus extra sesame seeds	Sesame oil is strong, a little goes a long way
Green cabbage	Napa cabbage or bagged slaw	Thinner cabbage cooks faster

How To Make Cabbage Pancakes

Prep The Cabbage So The Pancakes Hold Together

If you are using a cabbage head, slice off what you need as thinly as you can get it. The bigger your chunks of cabbage, the longer this will take to cook and possibly burn in some spots. If you don’t trust yourself to slice these thin enough, use a coleslaw mix or pre-shredded cabbage from the store. That said, you don’t have to overthink it. I slice from a head of cabbage every day, and it works just fine. So it all depends on how sensitive you are to texture.

Make The Egg Mixture

Break the eggs into a larger mixing bowl and give them a quick stir to scramble them.

Mix

Add the cabbage to the eggs, and beat them well. I use chopsticks because they make it easy to foam the eggs without cabbage spraying everywhere. The idea is to mix fast enough to get the eggs to foam a bit. This is a reaction from the cabbage and eggs being put together. But it only happens if you mix fast.

Season

Add one tablespoon of coconut amino to the mix. This will slightly reduce the foam, but that’s okay. Add anything else you want cooked in your cabbage pancake here, unless it’s a topping.

Pan-Fry Until Golden

Warm the oil in a skillet and pour a third of the mix into the pan. You can shape it a bit as it cooks if the egg runs all over the pan. If your heat is high, reduce it to medium or less here. These will burn on high heat.

When It’s Done Cooking

The pancake is done when you press it with a spatula, and no egg foam comes up out of the pancake. Above on the left shows a pancake that is browned, but NOT done cooking, and on the right, a browned pancake that IS done cooking (no egg coming up through the spatula). Remember to flip this frequently to avoid burning.

Serve

Transfer to a plate and top with a drizzle of sesame oil, plenty of coconut aminos, and a light sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Flavor Options And Variations

Extra Savory

Add garlic and ginger for a more takeout-style flavor.

Veggie-Packed

Add scallions and grated carrots for extra veg. Just make sure the carrots are finely grated on a box grater so they cook quickly.

Spicy

Add chili flakes to the batter or top with sweet chili sauce.

Sauce Ideas

Simple Coconut Aminos

Coconut aminos plus a dash of rice vinegar and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Creamy Option

Plain Greek yogurt mixed with a little coconut aminos and garlic.

Sesame-Forward Option

Drizzle some Sesame Vinaigrette over the top.

Storage

Best Way To Store Leftovers

Let them cool fully before storing, so steam does not soften them. Place them in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to three days.

Best Way To Reheat

Reheat in a skillet over low heat (watch carefully for burning!) or in an oven at 325F until warmed through.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Falls apart when flipping	This can happen because the recipe has no flour. But it’s not a concern here.	Press everything back together with a spatula.
Too soft or undercooked	The pan wasn’t hot enough, or you didn’t cook things long enough.	Reduce the heat slightly and cook a bit longer
Browning too fast	Heat too high	Reduce the heat slightly and cook a bit longer as needed.
Not enough flavor	Not enough seasoning	Add sesame oil, seeds, and coconut aminos to taste at serving to get the flavor you like best.

What To Serve With Cabbage Pancakes

For A Full Breakfast Plate

Serve with fruit or toast. Oddly, even a side of cottage cheese could work here.

For Lunch Or Dinner

Pair with Sesame Chicken and some rice.

FAQs

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