Banana Pancakes
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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
You May Also Like
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
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.
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Our family had incorporated this into our weekly Saturday morning breakfast. Thank you so much for sharing from the bottom of our hearts
You’re so welcome! 🙂
This had the highest rating among the banana pancake recipes I found on Google. I tried it and liked it very much. So did my boyfriend.
My first pancake was a bit thick, so for my second pancake, I added a tiny bit of milk and it was still really good.
I ate it on its own and it tasted really good. There was just enough flavour, not overpowering egg taste, fluffy, fragrant. Though I used full cream milk. I will use this recipe again for sure!
Thanks heaps for sharing
These were absolutely yummy! I never made banana pancakes before (I don’t know why…I am the pancake queen!). I had a ripe banana and was wondering what to do with it and I thought, why not make banana pancakes? and I stumbled upon this recipe. OMG…seriously! I thought, where have you been all my life? These are absolutely delicious. I shared the recipe with both my daughter-in-laws and I expect a huge thank you from my sons and grandkids.
I wish I could give this 10 stars!
Speaking of thank you…Jenn for sharing this in the first place.
I have never had a more satisfying banana pancake! My whole family loved it!! They are light, crispy and fluffy, just the way I like my pancakes. I too used almond milk as a substitute and you don’t even notice the difference. This recipe is a keeper and has motivated me to subscribe to this site so that I can try other recipes. They are THAT good 🙂 Thank you, Jenn!
delicious
Hi!
Can i make the batter and keep it overnight? And add the baking powder next day morning?
Hi Binita, I wouldn’t recommend it but you could combine all of the dry ingredients in one bowl and all of the wet ingredients in another (and refrigerate the wet ingredients) and combine them in the morning. Hope you enjoy!
I never had banana pancakes till now.i absolutely loved this recipe so much.Its easy to follow and my whole family loved it.
Made them for the first time today with my 5 year old grandson and I will definitely have them again. So easy to make and light in texture. Lucky enough to have maple syrup in my cupboard but now waiting for more bananas 👍
how many calories are in these?
Hi Daria, Each serving (1 pancake) is 121 calories. You can find all the nutritional info for the pancakes immediately under the recipe. Hope that helps!
I had bananas to use up. First I made your banana muffins with the nut topping which were superb. Then I moved on to the banana pancake recipe. So tender and even though the banana flavour is subtle these pancakes have so much more taste to them then basic pancakes. My new favourite pancake recipe.
I didn’t expect the banana pancakes to be so light and fluffy. Super yummy and kid approved! Every recipe I make from your blog turns out great (and I’ve made lots). Thanks for making my mealtimes so delicious, I love your blog 😋
💗