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 and a dusting of confectioners’ sugar.
Banana pancakes are good year round, but if you’re up for trying seasonal variations, you’re in the right place. 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. And of course, don’t forget bacon on the side (for perfectly crispy bacon, see how to cook bacon in the oven.)
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Banana Pancakes
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.
Video Tutorial
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Banana Pancakes
Fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside and delicately flavored with bananas, these are phenomenal 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 low fat milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For Cooking
- 1 - 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
For Serving
- Maple syrup
- Sliced bananas
- Confectioners' sugar (optional)
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, sliced bananas and confectioners' sugar if desired.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: 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
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Serving size: 2 pancakes (does not include maple syrup or toppings)
- Calories: 278
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Sugar: 9 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Sodium: 299 mg
- Cholesterol: 85 mg
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.
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This was an amazing recipe, you could also use this for cupcakes. I just added some semi sweet chocolate chips and it was delicious.
Delicious! I lightly dusted some cut up banana with cinnamon & brown sugar, fried it in the pan until it caramelized and served it ontop of the pancakes with strawberries, blueberries and yoghurt!
Thank you for this recipe Jenn. I used half cup whole wheat flour and one cup all purpose flour, cut down sugar to half the quantity, reduced some baking powder also, still the pancakes turned out good. It was fluffy and tasty. Thank you our helping us to have a yummy breakfast today.
Amazing! These are quite simply the best banana pancakes,so fluffy and delish! I just made them for the bazillionth time and added blueberries. Last time I made them I even forgot the sugar and no one noticed,they’re that good. Thank you!!
Absolutely delicious! I halved the sugar and used oat milk and vegan margarine as my 21 month old is dairy free and they were still outstanding! Thanks so much!
I was going to make muffins or a cake, but they all needed 3 bananas – I only had two.
I added a bit more flour and a bit less milk. The pancakes turned out perfectly 🙂
Yummy plain or with a smear of strawberry jam on top.
Hi Jenn!
Is it okay to use butter that isn’t unsalted? I seem to not have any unsalted butter left!
Sure. While it varies by brand, most salted butter has approximately 1/4 tsp. salt per stick, so you can use the salted butter and reduce the salt in the recipe as needed. Hope that helps!
Theses were real good. I used 2 overripe bananas and used half whole wheat flour and plain full fat yogurt instead of milk.
Once again a winner!
My daughter is beginning to help too. Thank you again for delicious meal. Ann
Made this with King Arthur All-Purpose Flour, along with a couple more splashes of milk to get the consistency of the pancake batter I prefer (a little thinner). And they were absolutely fantastic! Really good banana flavor and it had the perfect amount of sweetness.
These are truly amazing! I made them this morning only adding in some walnuts and they are perfect! Very rarely, do I take the time to review, but this is a keeper! Thank you.
I almost always fail at pancakes and these were perfection. We added chocolate chips and scarfed down half of the batch, freezing the rest for later. Yum!
Great recipe! I made them gluten free(King Arthur Measure for Measure All purpose flour), and dairy free (Ripple regular nondairy milk and earth balance spread) in the same measurement as listed. Light and fluffy, in spite of questionable appearance of batter. Amazing!
Best pancakes ever! I just had these with maple syrup, coconut and cinnamon on top. I did double the amount of banana used and cooked in coconut oil. Yummy. Thank you for the recipe!
Best pancakes ever, especially with a dash of maple syrup. Everyone enjoyed it!
One of my favorite recipe for pancakes
How is much 1 cup approximately?
Hi Aro, Are you referring to a specific ingredient?
Yes, flour and milk
Hi Aro, 1 cup of all-purpose flour is the equivalent of 125 g and 1 cup of milk is 236 ml. This recipe has a conversion to weights if that would be helpful. To view them, scroll down to the recipe and immediately under the recipe title on the right side, you’ll see a little toggle. If you move it from “cup measures” to metric, you’ll see measurements that will work for you.
Thank you. It turned out to be really good.
I totally cheated, and just added the mashed ripe banana to some of the (10 pounds of) pancake mix we have, and it was amazing ! Had only ever added sliced bananas to pancakes- adding the banana puree was so good, can’t wait to try the actual pancake recipe ! yum
Amazing! So easy. Delicious fluffy pancakes. I made with streaky bacon and slightly more banana!
These came out fantastic!
The best recipe on the internet for pancakes – absolutely delicious!
This is the most amazing pancake recipe. They sure are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside!
Best recipe I’ve found. My two boys are cow’s milk allergic so I substituted the cow’s milk for oat milk and used dairy free spread instead of butter. I also dropped a few fresh blueberries in the batter after I dropped it in the pan. They turned out great and my boys loved them. We will definitely make these again. Thank you!
Hi! Haven’t tried this recipe yet but can I sub all purpose flour for almond flour here? Thank you! I’m so eager to try it.
Hi Kristen, I wouldn’t recommend it — I think it will significantly change the texture of the pancakes. Sorry!
I have tried a number of banana pancake recipes and this tops everything! Greatly enjoyed by the family
For some reason the pancakes did not turn out as fluffy as I had hoped. Not enough baking powder? Thanks!
Hi Dmitriy, it could be that you overmixed them. If you overmix pancakes, they will be flatter and have a tougher texture. It’s important to mix them just until the ingredients come together. Hope that helps!
Great and easy recipe!
Super easy and quick, but you’ll have great, fluffy, moist banana pancakes. Not too sweet and good for nice brunch.
Can I add a second banana to make them more banana-y?
Sure, Kelley — as long as it’s not too large, I think you could get away with it without any other modifications. Enjoy!
I also made these this morning and they turned out fluffy and delicious. Made exactly according to the recipe. I particularly liked the pictures in the step by step instructions. Saved the recipe to make when I have ripe bananas to use up.
I just made these pancakes. They are absolutely the best!! I followed the recipe exactly, except I doubled it. Thank goodness! I am counting down the hours until breakfast.
🙂
I love this recipe!!! Hands down the best pancake recipe! I made it twice and they are amazing. I will recommend this recipe to friends and family
Best pancake recipe I’ve ever used. My pancakes turned out crispy on the outside, and soft & fluffy on the inside. Perfection!
Made these this morning and they are delicious! I added chopped, toasted pecans and a little cinnamon. Going to freeze the rest for weekday breakfasts!
Loved that the banana flavour was not overwhelming!
These banana pancakes were great. Light and fluffy and very versatile – I made some plain, some with fruit, some with chocolate chips, etc. Thank you!
These turned out really well! I’ve made a number of recipes lately and these are my favorite. Even though I messed up and put two rather large bananas instead of one in the mix. I think I might still do that next time bc they turned out so good.
Really loved the flavor of these! They almost tasted like banana bread ☺️ they cooked up really nicely and got puffier as they cooked. Will make these again.
Substitutions I made:
I added an extra 1/2 banana and cinnamon to the batter. Used 2T coconut oil, melted and 1T applesauce in place of the oil. Also used coconut oil in the pan to fry them.
It was delicious. We loved it 🙂
WOW this recipe is amazing! Used 2 bananas & a little extra flour + extra 1 teaspoon sugar.
Served with strawberry compote & chopped fried cinnamon sugar coated banana.
It’s a keeper! A must try for All!
Can I use whole milk? If yes, do I have to make any changes? That’s what I have on hand. Thank you so much for the wonderful recipes. Hope you and your family are well. Stay safe.
Sure, Janelle, whole milk will work here. Enjoy and stay healthy and safe!
We love this at my house, it’s a hands down favorite. I love topping the pancakes with warmed cinnamon applesauce with chopped walnuts stirred in… so good! I little bit of syrup goes a long way, IMHO, I prefer the applesauce mixture. My husband now asked for it and saves an over ripe banana for me. Breakfast is the best time!
Delicious and so easy to make!
AMAZING! So delicious and a hit with the whole family. We spread peanut butter on the pancakes, stacked them, topped with sliced bananas, crushed pecans & maple syrup. Will be added to the regular weekend breakfast rotation! Thank you!!!
Oh my, these were so yummy qnd fluffy! Can you refrigerate batter? If so, how long for?
Hi Kat, Glad you liked them! The pancakes will be much fluffier if you cook them right after preparing the batter, but it can be made in advance and refrigerated if necessary. (They also reheat nicely in a toaster.)
Excellent pancakes. And I do not always or even most of the time make excellent pancakes. i am glad to have found an alternative to banana bread, which I guess I’m tired of after 50 years.
Excellent pancake, light and delicious way to use up ripe bananas.
These pancakes were so delicious, fluffy and moist! My picky toddler (and I) loved eating them. We used a very dark, overripe banana (perfect for flavour and sweetness) and added some cinnamon and nutmeg for extra depth. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Whipped up a triple batch of these for my family this morning. I guess I should have had a coffee before adding the vanilla, because instead of 3x the 1/2 teaspoon (1.5 total), for some reason I added 3 teaspoons. The good news is, the pancakes were still delicious! Mom (just coming off a night shift) and the 4 kids (all under 7yrs) each had 2 or 3! Think I can safely tuck this recipe away for future use!
Must be fun seeing an article/recipe you posted 7 years ago (with a recent update 🙂 ) still getting all these comments and reviews!
🙂 Glad everyone enjoyed them!
Can I omit the sugar or use honey instead?
Sure, Judy – I’d go with the honey.
Fluffy and delicious!
I have been making this recipe for years now and I didn’t leave a comment, but I think it’s time to say this recipe is a favorite among my family. It’s delicious! Thank you Jennifer.
I made them this morning. They turned out delicious. My family loved them. Thanks for the recipe.
These were the best pancakes I’ve ever had! I added an extra banana to the batter, because I love bananas and it turned out perfect!
Loved the pancakes, very tasty. Will be making these again.