Banana Pancakes

Light and satisfying, these healthy banana pancakes are made with 4 simple ingredients (plus salt) in minutes. Use ripe bananas, and they don't even need any added sweeteners. Plus they're naturally gluten free!

What makes this recipe special

There's no shortage of “pancake” recipes on the Internet. But these are classic banana pancakes, no air quotes. With only a few ingredients, they taste like gluten free banana bread in a naturally gluten free pancake! But they're naturally gluten free like our almond flour banana bread.

They aren't just classic pancakes served with a few bananas on top of the stack. They're also more than just pancakes with bananas baked onto one side of the pancake as the other side cooks.

Mashed banana is one of the 3 main ingredients in these banana pancakes, providing sweetness, flavor and even structure. If your banana is ripe enough, the pancakes will be plenty sweet. I say that as someone with a sweet tooth that I honor and cherish.

There isn't a ton of baking powder in this recipe, but it makes a truly fluffy pancake. It also helps the pancakes stay fluffy as they cool. For thicker pancakes, try pouring batter onto the hot griddle or skillet and letting the pancakes cook for a minute, then pour another tablespoon of batter in the center.

How to make banana pancakes

Make the pancake batter

• Whisking the oat flour and baking powder.
• Mash the bananas and beat the eggs.
• Whisk the mashed bananas and beaten eggs into the dry ingredients.

Cook on a hot griddle

• The batter is thin at first, but if you let it sit a bit, it will thicken.
• Pour the batter on a hot griddle, about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake.
• Let them cook, then flip. You won't see too many bubbles as they cook.

Serve hot

• This recipe for banana pancakes only makes 4 pancakes, so it's like a personal stack.
• The batter is simple to make, and the pancakes are healthy and so satisfying, so serve them right away. Try adding some sliced bananas on top, too, if you have any left over. And of course, plenty of real maple syrup.

Recipe tips and tricks

Make sure your bananas have at least some spots

The only sweetness in these pancakes comes from the bananas. If your bananas are not fully ripe, your pancakes will be less tender and taste like, well, raw bananas (which taste a bit grassy).

Don't look for too many bubbles to test doneness

These banana pancakes take a bit of time to cook through, and you don't want to overcook them—but you can't rely on seeing lots of bubbles on the raw side to tell you that they're done. Instead, look for the batter to be less shiny at least an inch around all sides before you flip them.

Let the batter sit if it's too thin

When you first whisk the batter together, it may seem too thin, like it won't pool in rounds when you pour it on the hot skillet. Let it sit for about 5 minutes and it should thicken. Pour it slowly onto the hot, greased skillet to allow it to begin to cook before you even finish pouring.

Ingredients & substitution suggestions

Dairy free

There's no dairy in the pancake batter, but I like to grease my griddle or skillet with butter. It provides tons of flavor—and gives the pancakes those speckled brown tops.

If you can't have dairy, the best substitute is vegan butter (I love Miyoko's Kitchen and Melt brands). You can also use coconut oil, or essentially whatever you like.

Oat free

If you would like to make this recipe without oats you can replace them with 1/3 cup (40 g) blanched almond flour (not almond meal). You can also try using quinoa flakes, ground into as fine a powder as possible. Quinoa flakes, in my experience, typically work as a substitute for oat flour.

Egg free

There are 3 essential ingredients in this recipe, and eggs are one of them. In fact, there are as many grams of eggs as there are of mashed banana. If you have an egg substitute that you love and has worked in pancakes for you before, try it. But I'm not very optimistic that it will work in such a simple recipe!

Banana-free?

Yes! Even though these are banana pancakes, I've made them with smooth, commercially-prepared applesauce in its place. The results aren't precisely the same, since applesauce is thinner and more watery than bananas.

Applesauce is really more useful here if you have a banana that, when peeled, doesn't measure quite 100 grams, as required by the recipe. Use a bit of room temperature, smooth applesauce to bring that number up to the required 100 grams.

Flavor variations

These are simple pancakes, made without an all purpose flour of any kind, or even any starches. Each of the ingredients provides its own flavor and texture. 

But there are plenty of other flavors that go well with banana oatmeal pancakes. Here are a few suggestions:

• Try adding 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite flavor extract to the pancake batter. Vanilla extract works great, but so does almond extract.
• You can flavor these pancakes with cinnamon very easily. Just add about 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the batter at any stage.
• Add about 1 ounce miniature chocolate chips to the batter for chocolate chip banana pancakes. I prefer to scatter the chips on the raw side of the pancake batter right after pouring the pancakes. But you can also add them to the batter.

Frequently asked questions