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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Follow up from earlier today. Had to come on once more. Only had a large ripe banana, rest were barely yellow, so used it anyway & still the recipe came out perfect. I always use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to take out of bowl & pour each onto un-greased electric griddle w/a nonstick surface, at 350 degrees F, as suggested by griddle booklet(all other times used oil but wanted to see what would happen if didnt & they were perfect as always). As usual, we were able to get exactly 12-13 perfect size & amazingly delicious pancakes!! Actually came back on to put on my Pintrest page & also share w/my FB friends by posting on their as well. I’m unable 2 eat soo many foods due to severe food allergies, so was EXTREMELY happy when 1st finding ur recipe that I was able to eat all ingredients. Thanks once again!! Also, just subscribed to ur email list. Have a great rest of the wkend & a Happy 2015!!
Ive been wanting to leave a comment since the very 1st time I used this recipe but always in a hurry so making sure to do so today!! Since our Honeymoon, almost 18 yrs ago, we’ve (my hubby & I) been looking & trying recipes for Banana Pancakes, which we ate for breakfast at the buffet every am at Sandals St. Lucia for our 8 day stay. Nothing we found seemed to come even close UNTIL I came across ur site!! Thank u sooo very much for the amazing recipe & for ending our 17 1/2 yr search!! This is it or possibly even better than we remembered! I also love the way u break everything down, as well as the photos u include in recipes, both are extremely helpful & make it even easier to follow. Thanks soooo much once again. Tonight will b the 5th time using this recipe over the past 3-4 months. We REALLY enjoy having them for dinner & this recipe makes enough for the 2 of us perfectly!! (My hubby can eat at least 8 of them! I can eat almost 4). BEST BANANA PANCAKES EVER!!!!
What are the calories and nutrional content for this recipe??
Hi Jan, It has been added underneath the recipe.
I just made these today. They were amazing! They were moist inside. I would just suggest adding a little bit more banana to get more of the flavoring.
This recipe is fantastic. So easy and such wonderful final results. I recommend this recipe to all pancake fanatics like myself.
This is by far, our FAVORITE banana pancake recipe!! I ALWAYS double the banana, because… we LOVE banana’s. I make these at least 3 times a month for breakfast, & I always have frozen mini’s on hand for my daughter. Great recipe, they freeze amazingly for those quick on the go days.
These are fluffier than the recipe I have used in the past, but are lacking a little bit in banana flavor.
We always add double the banana, you can even triple the banana if you want, and not change anything but the amount of banana, it’s so delicious
After making the very 1st time came, I came back to read more recent reviews & saw a few people were writing that they used more bananas without needing to change anything else in the recipe. Ever since then (because we prefer more banana flavor) we use 2 large bananas and is not too much at all, at least for the way we like it. The banana doesn’t seem to overwhelm the pancake but u definitely know you are eating DELICIOUS, Banana Pancake. For past 2 months or so, we (is just me & my husband)have been eating these every Saturday night for an early dinner & we look forward to it all week long! STILL SO HAPPY THAT I FOUND THIS RECIPE AFTER MY 17+yr search! Brings us back to our Honeymoon at Sandals @ La Toc in St. Lucia! (Btw.an AMAZINGLY beautiful resort can’t say 1 bad thing about it.in case someone looking
Yum!!! Made these for breakfast this morning.
My husband and I agree they’re our favourite, recipe has been bookmarked for life!
I just made these pancakes this morning and they turned out wonderfully! They were sweet (but not too sweet), fluffy, and had the right amount of banana flavor. I am saving this recipe for future breakfasts. Thanks!
I normally don’t review, but I wanted to for this one. These pancakes were great. The mix only made about six big pancakes but those six were awesome. I will be saving this and adapting it again and again. Thank you!