Banana Pancakes
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Fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside and delicately flavored with bananas, these are phenomenal banana pancakes.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
Fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and delicately flavored with bananas and vanilla—these are phenomenal banana pancakes. The recipe, believe it or not, is adapted from a Williams Sonoma children’s cookbook, which only proves how easy they are to make. I love them with a simple drizzle of maple syrup, but if you want to dress them up and hint at what’s inside, top them with fresh sliced bananas.
This banana pancake recipe is good year round, but if you’re up for trying seasonal variations, I’ve got you covered. During the fall when you have pumpkin purée on hand, try pumpkin pancakes. When summer rolls around and blueberries are plentiful, blueberry pancakes fit the bill. If you’re more of a purist, my basic pancake recipe is hard to beat!
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Banana Pancakes
- All-purpose flour: Provides the structure and base for the pancake batter.
- Sugar: Adds a touch of sweetness to the pancakes.
- Baking powder: Acts as a leavening agent, helping the pancakes rise and become fluffy.
- Salt: Enhances the flavor of the pancakes and balances the sweetness.
- Banana: Adds natural sweetness and moisture to the pancakes, as well as a subtle banana flavor. Use a very ripe banana for best results.
- Eggs: Bind the ingredients together and add richness to the batter.
- Milk: Adds moisture and helps create a smooth batter.
- Vanilla extract: Adds a hint of vanilla flavor to the pancakes.
- Melted unsalted butter: Adds richness and moisture to the pancakes; also used for cooking.
- Vegetable oil: Used for cooking the pancakes, helps achieve a golden-brown exterior.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by combining the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl.
Whisk well and set aside.
In a medium bowl, mash the banana until almost smooth.
Add the eggs.
Whisk with a fork to combine.
Mix in the milk and vanilla extract.
Pour the banana mixture and melted butter into the dry ingredients.
Fold the batter with a rubber spatula. It will be thick and lumpy.
Heat the vegetable oil with a pad of butter on a griddle or in a non-stick pan (the butter gives flavor and the vegetable oil prevents the butter from burning). Spoon the pancakes onto the griddle and cook until some bubbles appear on the top and the underside is golden brown and crisp.
Flip the pancakes and cook a few minutes more.
Top with maple syrup and fresh sliced bananas, if you like. Chopped nuts and a dash of cinnamon would be delicious, too.
Video Tutorial
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Banana Pancakes
Ingredients
For Pancakes
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 small over-ripe banana, peeled (the browner, the better)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For Cooking
- 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
For Serving
- Maple syrup
- Sliced bananas
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- In a small bowl, mash the banana with a fork until almost smooth. Whisk in the eggs, then add the milk and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Pour the banana mixture and the melted butter into the flour mixture. Fold the batter gently with a rubber spatula until just blended; do not over-mix. The batter will be thick and lumpy.
- Set a griddle or non-stick pan over medium heat until hot. Put a pad of butter and one tablespoon vegetable oil onto the griddle, and swirl it around. Drop the batter by ¼-cupfuls onto the griddle, spacing the pancakes about 2 inches apart. Cook until a few holes form on top of each pancake and the underside is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until the bottom is golden brown and the top is puffed, 1 to 2 minutes more. Using the spatula, transfer the pancakes to a serving plate.
- Wipe the griddle clean with paper towels, add more butter and oil, and repeat with the remaining batter. Serve the pancakes while still hot with maple syrup and sliced bananas, if desired.
Notes
The pancakes can be frozen for up to 3 months. After they are completely cooled, place a sheet of parchment or wax paper between each pancake and stack together. Wrap the stack of pancakes tightly in aluminum foil or place inside a heavy-duty freezer bag. To reheat, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and cover with foil. Bake in a 375°F oven for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until hot.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Comments
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I loved these pancakes! Easy to make with not a lot of sugar. My picky 11 yo cleaned his plate. This will be my pancake recipe from now on. Thanks for sharing! I’m going to try pumpkin next week.
I love these pancakes! Sometimes I’ll add chopped pecans and dark chocolate chips. You could almost do anything with them.
Sweet lord these be good. Mo butter, mo better.
🙂
I just made this recipe today . Everything came out good and my family loved it. Will make again 🙂
Best banana pancakes I have ever made!
I had already mashed 3 small tropical bananas and the recipe worked great!
Love these pancakes! They are our go-to pancake recipe. No reason to ever make regular pancakes in my opinion, especially since we always seem to have old bananas to use up in the freezer.
Seriously delicious!! I will definitely make these pancakes again. So glad I found this recipe. It has a wonderful banana flavor and it is not too sweet, but sweet enough that you don’t need syrup if you prefer your pancakes without syrup. My kids loved them. The only thing I did different was I made them on an electric griddle. I sprayed the griddle with coconut oil and then melted some butter on top of that. Worked great. Everything else I did exactly as written. I do have a question. How would this recipe turn out if I used spelt flour or another flour like coconut flour? Also, how would these freeze?
Glad you enjoyed, Jasmin! To be honest, I’m not sure how well they’d come out using an alternative flour. I think the recipe would work but I worry the pancakes wouldn’t be fluffy. Sorry!
I’ve been experimenting with this recipe and alternate flours for a while now. I find that I can get the best results doing 2/3 regular flour and 1/3 almond or oat. Any more than that and the pancakes get tough and flat.
Great pancakes! Made them for my sister’s 16th birthday breakfast! She LOVED them!!! I’m only 12 and the pancakes were super simple to make, and anyone can make them! But if you’re under 16, I would definitely have a parent supervising while using the pan or griddle!
What a nice thing to do for your sister — so glad they were a hit! 🙂
I made these today for the first time and served with berries and date syrup. So fluffy inside and delicious. I used two bananas in the mix. My husband normally cooks the pancakes for Christmas morning breakfast and has told me I can make them this year using this recipe! We had to stop our eldest taking more than his tummy could handle!
Wow! These came out perfectly. I didn’t add any salt because I only had salted butter and I only had whole milk so I added some water to dilute the whole milk (within the liquid amount) and even with these two mods it came out perfectly! My partner couldn’t tell what was the secret ingredient (banana of course!) definitely adding these to my regular recipes! Thank you 😊
These were fantastic! Made these this morning with my twin four year olds. They were easy enough to make with my boys and we loved to do it together and we loved the pancakes. Hubby said best he ever had and he’s had a lot of pancakes! Flavorful, slightly crisp on outside while tender inside.
Really good recipe! My pancakes were soft and crisp. We adjusted a bit — 1 egg, 1.5 super ripe bananas and I had oat milk on hand. Easy and tasty. Will make again!