Banana Pancakes
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Start your morning off right with fluffy banana pancakes, made with simple ingredients and packed with sweet banana flavor. Whether you’re craving a quick weekday breakfast or something special for a weekend brunch, these pancakes are the perfect way to kick off your day.
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 great year-round, but you can switch it up with seasonal variations—try pumpkin pancakes in the fall or blueberry pancakes in the summer. For a classic option, my basic pancake recipe is always a winner!
“SO good! I’m constantly making batches of these. The family devours them! Sometimes I add a handful of chocolate chips, but they’re lovely as is. Thanks Jenn!”
What You’ll Need To Make Banana Pancakes
- All-purpose flour: The foundation of the pancakes. For best results, scoop it into your measuring cup with a spoon and level it off with a knife.
- Sugar: Just enough to lightly sweeten the pancakes.
- Baking powder: Helps the pancakes rise so they turn out soft and fluffy.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and brings out all the flavors.
- Banana: Adds natural sweetness, moisture, and that classic banana flavor. Use a very ripe banana–the riper, the better.
- Eggs: Hold everything together and give the batter some richness.
- Milk: Adds moisture and helps create a smooth batter.
- Vanilla extract: Adds a little warmth and flavor in the background.
- Melted Butter: Brings richness and moisture to the batter; also used for greasing the pan and adding flavor while the pancakes cook.
- Vegetable Oil: Used along with butter to cook the pancakes to a golden-brown without burning.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Make sure to whisk thoroughly to break up any lumps and evenly distribute the baking powder.
Step 2: Mash the banana and mix the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, mash the banana until nearly smooth. Add the eggs, whisk with a fork, and stir in the milk and vanilla.
Step 3: Combine everything. Pour the banana mixture and melted butter into the dry ingredients and fold with a rubber spatula. Folding gently (instead of stirring vigorously) prevents overworking the batter, which can make the pancakes dense or tough. The batter will be thick and a bit lumpy—that’s totally normal.
Step 4: Cook the pancakes. Heat a little vegetable oil and butter in a nonstick pan or on a griddle over medium heat. (Using both oil and butter is kind of the best of both worlds: oil prevents burning, while butter adds flavor.) Spoon the batter onto the surface and cook until bubbles form on top and the bottom is golden and crisp.
Step 5: Flip and finish. Flip the pancakes and cook a few minutes more, until cooked through. (Resist the urge to press down on the pancakes—this squeezes out air and makes them less fluffy.)
Step 6: Serve with toppings. Serve warm with maple syrup and sliced bananas. You can also add chopped nuts or a dusting of cinnamon for extra flavor. Leftover pancakes can be frozen for up to 3 months.
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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Hi Jenn
I am planning a brunch for 6 guests and wondered how best to make these scrumptious pancakes ahead to produce the best flavors. As EVERYONE has written – these pancakes are the best! Love your site!
Deb
Hi Deb, these freeze nicely, so you could definitely go that route and reduce your time in front of the stove when your guests are there. So glad you like the pancakes!
Delicious! these always turn out fluffy and golden. My toddler and husband love them and they’re flavoursome enough that I just serve them with butter. I added an extra banana this time and just used a cup of milk. This is my go to banana pancake recipe, thank you for sharing!
And my toddler told me these were the absolute best ever!
A KEEPER! As with the general consensus, this is a must try flexible recipe. I was craving pancakes for dinner and wanted to use up some ripe bananas. Used white whole wheat flour, almond milk, 2 bananas (as others suggested), added cinnamon and they turned out DELICIOUS. Thank you Jenn!
I made these for a nice sit down breakfast on Labor day weekend and my family LOVED them. VERY easy to make too!
We are definitely having these again soon 🙂
I am compelled to write a review! Normally my three year old son has toast in the morning but I had forgotten to buy it so as I have overripe bananas, I searched for a pancake recipe for kids and I found this one! I substituted the sugar for stevia sweetener and used buttery frylight on a non stick pan as a healthier option and they have turned out really well.
They are a winner – As I’m writing this he’s asking for another one (his third) and his face is covered in Nutella so thank you! I’ve subscribed to your newsletter and I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
This will now be my go-to pancake recipe. Absolutely Delicious!
These were amazing! I substituted a 1/4 cup of applesauce for the eggs because I was out of eggs, and they still came out perfect. Light, fluffy, delicious, AND super quick to make. A+ recipe 🙂
These are seriously amazing pancakes! We’ve made them 3 times in the past 2 weeks! They turned out perfect every time. they have a wonderful texture. The banana flavor is “just right”. For those of us who limit sweeteners – these pancakes have enough sweetness from the recipe that they can be eaten without syrup:) I make very good buttermilk pancakes, but my husband announced this morning that he likes these better! Thanks for the wonderful recipe – I’ll be visiting your site frequently from now on!
What made this recipe a 1 star then?
This is the best pancake recipe I have ever found!
It works with fresh bananas too.
I use GF flour and they work great with that also. I use the Bob’s red mill all purpose 1 to 1 gluten free.
Thanks for a great recipe!!!
Absolutely deslicious! Jenn, I can always count on your recipes. I haven’t come across any that my family and I didn’t like. Thank you!!
Wonderful recipe! So fluffy pancakes and so much taste!