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Vegan okonomiyaki! These savory Japanese cabbage carrot pancakes are packed with veggies and so delicious served with sweet and sour homemade tonkatsu sauce. (nut-free with soy-free and gluten-free options)
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Vegan okonomiyaki is an easy weeknight meal. Just shred the veggies, mix them with the batter ingredients, and cook these tender, savory pancakes on the stovetop. The sauce comes together in one bowl!
Okonomiyaki are usually made with eggs, vegetables, and meat. In this vegan version, I’m using lots of veggies, plus some chickpea flour and black salt to give them that signature egginess. You can use all chickpea flour instead of the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free option.
These are absolutely delicious served with sweet, tangy, 1-bowl tonkatsu sauce made with ketchup, vegan Worcestershire sauce, and a little bit of sugar. You can also drizzle on some vegan mayo for a creamy element.
What I love about these Japanese cabbage pancakes is that they are so versatile! You can add veggies of choice, add some sliced mushrooms for a meaty pop of texture, or add more crumbled nori sheet for a fishier flavor, if you like.
No matter how you serve them, okonomiyaki are an absolutely delicious and easy dinner!
Why You’ll Love Japanese Cabbage Pancakes
- quick and easy weeknight meal
- packed with veggies and flavor! Add your favorite veggies of choice, too.
- super quick, 1-bowl tonkatsu sauce to drizzle or dip
- naturally nut-free with easy gluten-free and soy-free options
More Cabbage Recipes
Vegan Okonomiyaki – Japanese Cabbage Carrot Pancakes
Ingredients
For the Pancakes
- 1/2 head of cabbage
- 3/4 cup carrots
- 1/2 red or green bell pepper
- 2 tbsp scallions
- 1 inch ginger, minced
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp miso, optional
- 1/8 tsp Indian black salt, kala namak- optional
- 2 tsp crumbled nori sheets , or 1/2 tsp togarashi – optional
- 1/2 cup unbleached white flour (ap flour) , or a mix of rice flour and all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup chickpea flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder optional
- 2 to 3 tablespoons water
For the Easy Tonkatsu Sauce
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp vegan worcestershire sauce , or whatever sauce as we refer to it in my house 😉
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- a few tsp water
Instructions
Make the okonomiyaki.
- Shred all the veggies. Add the vinegar, soy sauce, salt, white pepper, nutritional yeast, miso, black salt, and crumbled nori sheets. Set aside for 10 minutes.
- Mix the flours and baking powder into the bowl and mix in. Add a little water to make a mix that can spread. You might not need much, as the veggies leak a lot of water, depending on how you shred them.
- Heat a pan over medium heat, and add the oil. Spread the batter to even it out into 1/4" to 1/2" thick pancake ,and cook for 5 to 7 minutes per side.
- Serve with the tonkatsu sauce, vegan mayo and pickled ginger if you have some. You can also sprinkle on some green onion and sesame seeds.
Make the tonkatsu sauce.
- Mix all the ingredients until well combined, and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients
- veggies – Shredded cabbage, carrot, bell pepper, and chopped scallions add flavor and texture.
- ginger – Boosts the flavor even more!
- sauces – Rice vinegar and soy sauce add moisture and flavor to the pancakes. Use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce for gluten-free and soy-free. For the tonkatsu, you need ketchup and vegan Worcestershire sauce.
- spices – White pepper adds a signature flavor, and black salt (kala namak) gives the okonomiyaki an eggy flavor. Nutritional yeast adds umami and color.
- miso – This is optional but adds even more umami! Use chickpea miso for soy-free, if needed.
- nori sheets – Gives this a fishy flavor.
- flour – A mix of white flour, rice flour, and chickpea flour act as the binder. Use more chickpea flour instead of white flour for gluten-free.
- baking powder – This is optional but makes the pancakes fluffier.
💡Tips
- The veggies will release moisture as they sit in the bowl, so the amount of water you need to add to the batter at the end will vary. You want a thick, spreadable batter.
How to Make Okonomiyaki
Shred all the veggies. Add the vinegar, soy sauce, salt, white pepper, nutritional yeast, miso, black salt, and crumbled nori sheets. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Sift the flours and baking powder into the bowl and mix in.
Add a little water to make a mix that can spread. You might not need much, as the veggies leak a lot of water, depending on how you shred them.
Heat a pan over medium heat, and add the oil. Spread the batter to even it out into 1/4″ to 1/2″ thick pancake ,and cook for 5 to 7 minutes per side.
Serve with the tonkatsu sauce, vegan mayo and pickled ginger if you have some. You can also sprinkle on some green onion and sesame seeds.
What to Serve with Okonomiyaki
Serve these drizzled with vegan mayo, the tonkatsu sauce, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds and green onions. They’re great with some pickled ginger on the side, too!
Frequently Asked Questions
Vegan okonomiyaki are naturally nut-free with easy gluten-free and soy-free options. For gluten-free, use more chickpea flour instead of the all-purpose flour and coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. For soy-free, also use the coconut aminos and use chickpea miso for the miso element. Also make sure that your vegan Worcestershire sauce is gluten-free and soy-free.
I am reading trough all your posts and I’m reading ‘a Boston cream pie cake in the drafts’ …. Can we have that recipe please pretty please 😀 😉 ♡
i wanted to make a gf cake before that one and post it with both the regular sponge cake and gf sponge cake options. sigh gf baking.
Oohhh gf baking is like c real science right… I’ve noticed that I do better when I bake gf ‘stuff’ , but I’m always happy that there are others doing the thinking for me and I just have to follow the recipe (shame on me)
Made these, came out great, esp awesome with that sauce!
These look delicious!! My three year old daughter is allergic to chickpeas. What would be a good substitute (besides nut flours…she’s allergic to those as well) for the chickpea flour? Thanks!
use unbleached white flour. If gluten is an issue, then use oat flour+ rice flour + a little starch.
Hi Richa, I made these this morning. They worked out pretty well! I’d have to practice getting the thickness of the pancake, the cooking temp, and the cook time down — some of them seemed a bit mushy inside, like not cooked enough all the way through, while getting too dark outside. It was a lot of work and made a huge mess in my tiny kitchen! But they were nice overall, and I’d try them again. The katsu sauce was yummy; I used Annie’s Worcestershire for the first time, and it was great. Also I stirred Tapatio Mexican hot sauce into Just Mayo, and that was a tasty sauce as well. Thanks for the recipe.
I’m trying your Kung Pao Lentils tonight — I’m on a Vegan Richa roll here. ☺️
Awesome! use a really thick bottom heavy pan, make thinner pancakes and cook on lightly lower heat so they dont brown too quickly. it depends on the pans and stove. i used a food processor to process te veggies, so it wasnt that big of a clean up 🙂
I don’t have a shredder on my food processor, but if I can just throw them in there anyway that would make this dish heaps quicker! Do you think that would work? I too made them too thick because I found it a bit unclear when just reading the instructions.
yes you can use the regular blade. Chop the veggies into roughly equal size according to your processor size. then pulse in bursts of 5 seconds until coarsely shredded.
I love cabbage pancakes! 🙂
these look awesome. i love the idea of a savory pancake. especially with cabbage. yummm.
Oh my goodness, I’m so excited to make this! I lived in Japan when I was 17 as an exchange student and I absolutely love okonomiyaki! It was one of my favorite foods there. So excited to make them vegan and introduce them to my husband as well!
yay!
This looks like something I’d order in a restaurant. Wish I could try it right now! I agree with IR about natural creativity, but at the same time I know what you mean because I am the same way! I never schedule anything and I always do just fine, but there is a whole lot of scatterbrained-ness that goes along with it!
What brand of vegan worcestershire sauce do you recommend?
i use Annie’s
This looks delicious!! Scheduling is important, but natural creativity should not be repressed =)
🙂