It’s cozy season. Let’s make banana pancakes! This banana pancake recipe yields gloriously fluffy pancakes, even though they’re made with hearty whole wheat flour. These whole grain pancakes have more substance than your average pancake, which means they can actually fuel you until lunchtime. I like to dollop them with some peanut butter for some extra fiber and protein.
I adapted these pancakes from the banana coconut pancakes in Love Real Food (page 17). If you haven’t tried those yet, you’ve been missing out! These are more classic banana pancakes, and I managed to incorporate a little more mashed banana for maximum banana flavor. These banana pancakes are perfect for lazy weekends, and reheat well for busy weekday breakfasts. You can also double the batch and freeze extras for later. They definitely brighten up cold gray mornings, which is what we’ve been having lately.
Banana Pancake Tips
Make these pancakes with the random leftover bananas on the counter. Overripe bananas are perfect! Always make pancakes by hand (not with an electric mixer). Over-mixing the batter yields rubbery pancakes. Simply combine the wet and dry ingredients as instructed. Stir them together with a big spoon until no big powdery lumps remain. Griddles are great because you can make more pancakes at once. Electric griddles are nice because the temperature stays constant. If you’re cooking on the stovetop, you may need to dial back the heat a bit over time. Your temperature is too high if the pancakes are golden on the outside but still raw on the inside. Lightly coat your griddle or skillet with butter or coconut oil in between batches. Be sure to wipe off the excess butter/oil with a paper towel so it doesn’t burn. (There’s actually too much butter in the skillet in the photo below. Oops.) The pancakes are ready to flip when about 1/2-inch of the perimeter has turned from glossy to matte. Better to wait a little too long to be safe than to end up with a doughy mess.
Watch How to Make Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes
Banana Pancake Variations
You can make these pancakes as-is (my favorite) or gussy them up. Options include: After stirring together the wet and dry ingredients, you can gently fold in fresh blueberries or chopped strawberries (up to 1 cup) or chocolate chips (up to 1/2 cup). Top your pancakes with homemade fruit compote, almond butter, pecan butter or whipped cream!
Please let me know how these pancakes turn out for you in the comments. I hope these become a favorite weekend recipe. Craving more wholesome pancakes? Here are more favorites:
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes or Pumpkin Oat Pancakes Whole Wheat Pancakes or bulk Whole Wheat Pancake Mix Whole Wheat Gingerbread Pancakes Banana Oat Pancakes
Make it dairy free: Use non-dairy milk (see list above for a suitable alternative) and coconut oil instead of butter. Make it vegan: See above, omit the egg, and use maple syrup instead of honey. Make it egg free: Simply omit the egg! Make it gluten free: Use gluten-free all-purpose flour blend instead of whole wheat flour.
