These hearty banana pancakes are made with just 4 simple ingredients, are light and fluffy, and full of flavor without any added sweeteners.
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!
How to make banana pancakes
Make the banana pancake batter
There are only 4 main ingredients in these banana pancakes: oat flour, baking powder, mashed bananas, and eggs. Start by whisking the oat flour and baking powder, mash the bananas, beat the eggs, and whisk them both in to the dry ingredients.
Cook the pancakes on a hot griddle
The batter is kind of thin, 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. You don’t need a blender to make the batter, and they are healthy and so satisfying, so serve them right away!
What makes these banana pancakes 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 banana bread in a pancake!
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 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 much fluffier 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.
Flavor variations for these banana pancakes
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.
Tips for making the perfect banana pancakes
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.
Banana pancakes ingredients & substitution suggestions
Dairy free banana pancakes
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 banana pancakes
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 banana pancakes
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!
Can you make banana pancakes without banana?
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.
Banana pancakes FAQs
No, I have tried the 2 ingredient banana pancakes, which are made with 1 banana and 1 egg, and they taste like banana flavored eggs. These are hearty, fluffy banana pancakes that have the texture that you would expect from actual “regular” pancakes.
If you have leftover pancakes, or you just want to make them ahead of time, let them cool completely and wrap them tightly in stacks of 2. I like Glad Press ‘n’ Seal for a tight seal. Store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or the freezer for up to 3 weeks. To refresh, let defrost at room temperature if frozen, sprinkle with water and place in the toaster oven at 250°F until warm.
You can make them with an equal amount of almond flour. If you don’t need to be gluten free, you can also try making them with whole wheat flour. If the batter seems too thick, add a few drops of milk to thin it. The batter should be thickly pourable.
These pancakes do tend to brown very well because of the mashed banana in the batter, so watch the heat under your skillet, or turn that griddle down to about 325°F. Even if they look a little too dark, they will still taste great.
Banana Pancakes | 4 Ingredients
These hearty banana pancakes are made with just 4 simple ingredients, are light and fluffy, and full of flavor without any added sweeteners.
Yield: 4 pancakes
Prevent your screen from going dark
Ingredients
- ½ cup (50 g) oat flour (See Recipe Notes)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten well
- 1 (100 g) peeled, ripe banana mashed very well
- Butter for cooking (optional)
Instructions
-
In a medium-size mixing bowl or measuring cup with a pour spout, place the ground oats (or substitute), baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine well.
-
Add the beaten eggs and mashed banana, and whisk until uniform in texture. For a smoother batter, blend briefly with an immersion blender.
-
If the batter seems especially thin, let it sit for about 5 minutes to allow it to thicken.
-
Heat a griddle to 325°F or place a nonstick, heavy-bottom skillet over medium heat until hot. Grease the hot surface with a bit of the (optional) butter.
-
Whisk the pancake batter once more to ensure uniformity, and pour it onto the hot, greased skillet in scant 1/4-cup portions.
-
Allow the pancakes to cook, undisturbed, for about 3 minutes or until golden brown on the underside. They won’t bubble up much on the uncooked side even as they cook through.
-
Flip the pancakes and allow to cook for only about 1 minute more, or until set. Remove from the skillet or griddle and repeat with any remaining batter. Serve immediately, or keep warm in a 200°F toaster oven until ready to serve.
Notes
If you need or want to replace the oats, this recipe also works 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, which typically work as a substitute for oat flour.
Nutritional information.
Nutrition information is an estimate, per pancake, from online nutrition calculators. It is not to be relied upon.
Nutrition
Serving: 1pancake | Calories: 119kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 160mg | Potassium: 192mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 138IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg
Banana Pancakes | 4 Ingredients
These hearty banana pancakes are made with just 4 simple ingredients, are light and fluffy, and full of flavor without any added sweeteners.
Yield: 4 pancakes
Prevent your screen from going dark
Ingredients
- ½ cup (50 g) oat flour (See Recipe Notes)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten well
- 1 (100 g) peeled, ripe banana mashed very well
- Butter for cooking (optional)
Instructions
-
In a medium-size mixing bowl or measuring cup with a pour spout, place the ground oats (or substitute), baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine well.
-
Add the beaten eggs and mashed banana, and whisk until uniform in texture. For a smoother batter, blend briefly with an immersion blender.
-
If the batter seems especially thin, let it sit for about 5 minutes to allow it to thicken.
-
Heat a griddle to 325°F or place a nonstick, heavy-bottom skillet over medium heat until hot. Grease the hot surface with a bit of the (optional) butter.
-
Whisk the pancake batter once more to ensure uniformity, and pour it onto the hot, greased skillet in scant 1/4-cup portions.
-
Allow the pancakes to cook, undisturbed, for about 3 minutes or until golden brown on the underside. They won’t bubble up much on the uncooked side even as they cook through.
-
Flip the pancakes and allow to cook for only about 1 minute more, or until set. Remove from the skillet or griddle and repeat with any remaining batter. Serve immediately, or keep warm in a 200°F toaster oven until ready to serve.
Notes
If you need or want to replace the oats, this recipe also works 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, which typically work as a substitute for oat flour.
Nutritional information.
Nutrition information is an estimate, per pancake, from online nutrition calculators. It is not to be relied upon.
Nutrition
Serving: 1pancake | Calories: 119kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 160mg | Potassium: 192mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 138IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg
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Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
