These vegan scallion pancakes are flaky with a crispy exterior and slightly chewy on the insides. It is a highly versatile recipe that can be served for breakfast, as an appetizer, or as a quick snack. These savory pancakes are relatively easy to make and only requires 5 ingredients.
Scallion pancakes (alongside my steamed yam cakes) are my go-to dim sum orders. I always assumed that making scallion pancakes is tedious, but it is actually pretty easy to prepare! It is now our go-to weekend brunch recipe, alongside dim-sum inspired dishes like congee, tofu dumplings, and homemade fried wontons.
Admittedly, the process of rolling and shaping the pancakes can be a little tedious, but it will get easier as you get the hang of it! I also included process shots of me shaping the pancakes that you might find helpful.
💚Why you will love this recipe
- Flaky, savory, and incredibly addictive
- Homemade pancakes taste so much better and fresher than the takeout version
- Only calls for pantry ingredients that you already have on hand
- Store well and are freezable, making them perfect for meal prep!
🤔What are scallion pancakes
Scallion pancakes, also known as green onion pancakes or cong you bing (葱油饼) in Chinese, are a type of savory pancakes that originated in China.
It is made with a simple salt, flour, and water dough. The dough is rolled out and filled with chopped green onion, salt, and oil between each layer. It is then shaped and pan-fried in a thin layer of oil.
Despite being called pancakes, they are very different from the regular, American-style pancakes. Instead of being sweet and fluffy, they are savory and crispy with a slightly chewy interior.
🌾What you will need
📃Ingredients notes and substitutions
- Flour - I highly recommend using all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Oil - I am using light olive oil, but any neutral-flavored oil can be used. Sunflower oil, canola oil, and peanut oil are all great alternatives.
🔪How to make
Making the dough
Add salt and flour to a mixing bowl and mix well.
Gradually drizzle in boiling water while mixing with a pair of chopsticks or spatula until water is fully absorbed.
Slowly add in cold water while stirring. Using your hands, combine until a rough dough forms.
Allow it to rest for 20-30 minutes.
Make the filling
In a bowl, combine oil, flour, and salt. Mix until a smooth paste forms.
Rolling the dough
Give the dough a few kneads and divide it into 5 equal pieces. Take one portion and roll it out thinly into a rectangle.
Spread the oil and flour mixture onto the rolled-out dough.
Generously sprinkle chopped green onion on top.
Starting with the longer side, roll up the dough. The dough should look like a rope at this point.
Roll up the strip like you would do with a cinnamon roll.
Tuck the end at the bottom.
Gently press down the dough. Repeat for the remaining dough.
When ready to cook, roll out pancakes into 7-8 inches in diameter.
Cooking pancakes
Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a pan. Add a pancake, and place the lid on.
Cook for 2-3 minutes on medium-high heat before flipping it over and cooking for another 2 minutes, covered, on the other side.
✅Helpful tips
- Rest the dough - This allows the gluten to relax, making the process of rolling out dough much easier.
- Use boiling water - This technique will partially ‘cook’ the flour and limit gluten formation, yielding soft and tender pancakes instead of chewy ones.
- Refrain from over kneading - Overdoing the kneading will yield rubbery and dense pancakes due to excess gluten formation.
- Making dough with a stand mixer - Instead of kneading by hand, you can also make dough in a stand mixer. Similarly, mix the flour and salt first, then gradually add hot water, followed by cool water.
- Serve immediately - Freshly cooked vegan scallion pancakes will be crispy and flaky. After a while, they might turn slightly dry and hard. To fix stale pancakes, simply reheat them in a microwave or a pan.
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✨Variations and add-ins
Make it spicy - If you love spice, add a pinch of ground Sichuan peppercorns.
Scallions - Can be substituted with chopped chives.
5-spice powder - To flavor the pancakes, add ¼ teaspoon of 5-spice powder to your oil and flour mixture. This spice blend will enhance the flavors of these vegan scallion pancakes!
Thickness of pancakes - You can make thick pancakes that are around ½ inch in thickness or roll the pancakes out as thin as possible. Thick pancakes will have an ultra-crispy exterior but will be soft and tender on the insides. On the other hand, thinly rolled pancakes will have a slightly chewier texture.
🥟How to serve
- For breakfast - These scallion pancakes are great for breakfast! You can have them on their own or with other dim sum-inspired dishes like yam cakes, yuba rolls, bao (Chinese steamed buns), tofu egg rolls, or vegan wontons.
- As a side dish - With my tofu fried rice, vegan chop suey, tofu stir-fry noodles, or congee.
- Dipping sauce - Scallion pancakes are commonly served with dipping sauce. I love using the dipping sauce in my vegan dumplings recipe, but you could also do soy sauce or chili oil.
❄️Storing suggestions
Fridge - Cooked vegan scallion pancakes can be refrigerated for 3-4 days in an airtight container or Ziplock bag.
Freezer - It is best to freeze uncooked pancakes. After shaping the pancakes, store them in a Ziplock bag, adding a sheet of parchment paper between each pancake. When ready to enjoy, cook them as per the recipe. You will need to increase the cooking time by 1-2 minutes.
?Commonly asked questions
You might have over-kneaded your dough if your pancakes are particularly dense and chewier. Too much kneading will cause excess gluten formation, yielding a chewy texture.
It is also important to use boiling water when making the dough. Hot water partially 'cooks' the flour, minimizing gluten development.
Lastly, a dough that is too stiff and dry will also yield tough pancakes. The dough should be soft and slightly tacky but not sticky. If your dough is too dry, add more water, a tablespoon at a time.
Scallion pancakes are not gluten-free as they are made from wheat flour.
Most scallion pancakes are naturally vegan, only made from flour, water, salt, oil, and chopped scallions.
However, some variations might contain animal products, as animal lard is used instead of vegetable oil.
🍽️More vegan Chinese recipes
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📖 Recipe
Flaky Vegan Scallion Pancakes
Ingredients
For the dough
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup hot water
- 3-4 tablespoons room temperature water
Filling
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons light olive oil or canola/peanut/sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 stalk green onion chopped (scant 1 cup)
Instructions
Making the dough
- Add salt and flour to a mixing bowl and mix well.2 cups all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt
- Gradually drizzle in hot water while mixing with a pair of chopsticks or spatula until water is fully absorbed.½ cup hot water
- Slowly add in cold water while stirring. Using your hands, combine until a rough dough forms. The dough should be soft and slightly tacky, but not sticky.3-4 tablespoons room temperature water
- Cover it with a cling wrap or cloth, and allow it to rest for 20-30 minutes.
Make the filling
- Combine olive oil, sesame oil, flour, and salt in a bowl. Mix until a smooth paste forms.2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons light olive oil, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, ¼ teaspoon salt
Rolling the dough
- Give the dough a few kneads and divide it into 5 equal pieces. You can weigh the dough out and divide it by 5 to standardize the size.
- Take one portion and roll it out thinly into a rectangle.
- Spread the oil and flour mixture onto the rolled-out dough.
- Generously sprinkle chopped green onion on top.2 stalk green onion
- Starting with the longer side, roll up the dough until it forms a rope.
- Roll up the strip like you would do with a cinnamon roll.
- Tuck the end at the bottom and gently press it down. Repeat for the remaining dough.
- When ready to cook, roll out pancakes into 7-8 inches in diameter.
Cooking pancakes
- Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a pan. Add a pancake and place the lid on.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes on medium-high heat before flipping it over and cooking for another 2 minutes, covered, on the other side.
Notes
- Rest the dough - This allows the gluten to relax, making the process of rolling out dough much easier.
- Refrain from over kneading - Overdoing the kneading will yield rubbery and dense pancakes due to excess gluten formation.
- Making dough with a stand mixer - Instead of kneading by hand, you can also make dough in a stand mixer. Similarly, mix the flour and salt first, then gradually add hot water, followed by cool water.
- Serve immediately - Freshly cooked vegan scallion pancakes will be crispy and flaky. After a while, they might turn slightly dry and hard. To fix stale pancakes, simply reheat them in a microwave or a pan.
Save this recipe!
Email yourself a link to this page and come back later.
Also get a FREE high-protein vegan recipe eBook + weekly new recipes! Unsubscribe anytime.
Nutrition
Nutrition info calculated is just a rough estimate and is provided as a courtesy. Bear in mind that value will vary based on variables like specific brand or type of product used. To obtain the most accurate representation, it is highly recommended that you calculate it on your own with the actual amount and type of ingredient used.
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