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.
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I Googled “best banana pancake recipe” and this recipe came out on top. Usually I read reviews before I try a recipe. Today I decided to just try the recipe. O-M-G. These were the BEST pancakes I’ve ever made 🙂 my boys loved them! As I did to! I’ve never written a review before, until today because this recipe deserves ALL the stars and no modifications whatsoever 🙂
I made this for breakfast this morning 🙂 My kids are used to the pancakes made from the store bought pancake mix 🙁 When they saw these pancakes looking fluffy and diff, they didn’t want them. As they started to eat they seemed quiet and both ended up eating 3 each (I made them bigger sized). Thanks for sharing this recipe. It was yum, perfect flavor and very fluffy, soft and not dry at all!!! Never ever will buy the store bought mix ever again!!!!
This recipe has become our new Saturday morning tradition. Everyone in my house loves these!! So fluffy and a little crispy. Perfect.
I’ve tried your banana pancake recipe, and it was delicious! The pancakes was light not heavy with the banana in it. Taste so good, the best pancake recipe by far. It get 5 stars from me.
I followed the recipe exactly when I made these pancakes (with the exception that I used coconut oil to grease my pan instead of butter and vegetable oil) and they turned out GREAT! They were so fluffy and delicious, they just hit the spot.
Great pancakes, not too sweet or heavy with the banana. Just a nice background note. We topped ours with leftover honey butter from your sweet potato biscuits. BTW – I never add butter or oil to our pancake griddle. I just doesn’t seem to need anything. It even looks like some of the butter from the batter oozes out and greases the surface.
I am pretty sure my boys are part monkey because they love bananas so much, so this was the perfect breakfast recipe. I made a lot of modifications, because that is just what I do.
– I substituted 2% buttermilk for the regular milk because it was in my fridge and about to expire.
– I only used 1 cup of regular flour and 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour because I try to sneak in some whole wheat flour when I can.
– Rather than frying the pancakes on a griddle I used a small ice cream scoop and put the batter into mini cupcake tins (sprayed with Pam) and baked a 425 degree F for 9 minutes – rotate half way through.
– Once the mini pancake muffins cooled I put them in a ziplock and froze them. When the monkeys, I mean boys, came home from day care I took a few out of the freezer, popped them in the microwave for 35 seconds and they LOVED their snack.
The muffins were very light and airy in texture (maybe more so because of the buttermilk and BP interaction) and the banana flavor was perfect.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Wow, these were so good! Since I was using a flat griddle I sprayed the pan with oil and then spread ghee over it. Love the tip that oil will keep the butter from burning. I had never heard that before. Thank you!!
My only wish is that it used more than one banana because I’ve got 4 more that I need to make something with and I’m tired of bread. 🙂
Jenn, you just saved me time and money.
My children always want to go to “The Original Pancake House” to have banana pancakes…until tonight.
I was in the mood to make pancakes for dinner and had a couple ripe banana’s needing to be used. So, the challenge was on. Your recipe not only made it easy, but when my kids said “no reason to go out for pancakes anymore”, I knew I(you) had a hit. I was so excited, I shared the recipe on Facebook.
I am so thankful I came across your website tonight, I will be going to it from now on for those quality recipes.
Thank you, Phil Jessing
Delicious!!!!! Make sure to heat the pan with both butter and oil ehen cooking the pancakes. Crispy on the outside, thick and fluffy on the inside. The combo of milk vanilla and butter is so sweet (but not overly) on your toungue.