Soft and perfectly sweet, banana pancakes are an easy and quick idea to use ripe bananas that we sometimes have at home and that would be a shame to waste. With this very simple recipe, we can turn them into a delicious and nutritious dish for breakfast. The pulp of the ripe banana, in fact, gives softness to the pancakes and provides a delicious flavor, perfect also paired with other fresh fruit and classic maple syrup. As with other banana recipes – the banana bread, the banana chocolate ice cream – we can exploit the natural sweetness of this fruit to limit or in this case even eliminate sugar altogether. To prepare banana pancakes, you won’t need special tools: a bowl and a fork are enough for the batter, while a non-stick pan is all you need for cooking. Additionally, banana pancakes can easily be made gluten-free and without butter or milk: an inclusive recipe, great for celiacs and lactose intolerant as well.
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 2 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 238.05 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 42.31 (g) of which sugars 12.40 (g)
- Proteins 7.77 (g)
- Fat 5.76 (g) of which saturated 1.72 (g)of which unsaturated 3.64 (g)
- Fibers 3.31 (g)
- Sodium 36.64 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 120 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for about 6 banana pancakes
I prepared the gluten-free banana pancakes using 60 g of finely ground rice flour. If you are celiac, the following ingredients must be labeled “gluten-free”: rice flour, plant milk, baking powder.
- 1 banana (ripe, equal to 130 g of pulp)
- 60 g all-purpose flour (or rice flour for the gluten-free version)
- 2.5 tbsp milk (dairy or plant-based)
- 1 egg (medium)
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest (grated)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 drizzle sunflower oil (or a knob of butter)
- as needed maple syrup
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Fork
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Pan non-stick 8-inch diameter
- 1 Brush
- 1 Spatula
How to prepare banana pancakes
For the English version of this recipe click here!
To prepare banana pancakes, you will need 130 g of ripe banana pulp, which usually corresponds to a medium banana. It’s advisable to weigh the pulp after peeling. Cut it into slices (1) and place it in a bowl. Mash it with a fork until you get a soft mixture (2). Then add the grated lemon zest, cinnamon, flour, and baking powder (3).
Start mixing with a fork and gradually add the milk (4), incorporating it well into the batter (5). Finally, add the egg (6).
Continue working the batter with a spoon until you get a fluid and somewhat homogeneous mixture (7). Place a non-stick pan on the stove and grease it with a drizzle of oil or a knob of butter (8).
Heat it very well, then pour two spoonfuls of batter in the center of the pan and slightly spread it with the back of the spoon, forming a disc about 4 inches in diameter (9). Cook it for about a minute on medium heat, then when small bubbles form on the surface, flip it with the help of a spatula (10).
Let the pancake cook on the other side for about 30 seconds, then remove it from the pan and place it on a plate. Continue in this way until the batter is used up; with these quantities, you’ll get about 6 pancakes, sufficient for two people (11).
As the banana pancakes are ready, stack them on top of each other to keep them warm longer. Then serve them garnished with maple syrup and fresh fruit.
Storage
Banana pancakes should be consumed as soon as they are made, but if there are any leftovers, you can store them in the fridge until the next day and then briefly heat them in a pan or microwave.
Advice and Variations
There’s no need to add sugar to the banana pancake batter. The ripe banana is already sweet enough, plus they will be garnished with maple syrup which adds sweetness to the preparation.
If you are lactose intolerant, you can make these pancakes using rice milk, almond milk, or coconut milk. If this is not a necessity for you, you can use cow’s milk and a knob of butter to grease the pan.
