Banana Pancakes

Banana pancakes can be made a few different ways, depending on what form of the banana you like or what your general preferences are. If you like chunky banana, you can simply slice up a banana or two and fold it into thebasic pancake batter. Or, lay the slices on top of the pancakes while they are cooking just after pouring on the batter. Be careful not to burn the bananas when you flip them over.

Another way is to used mashed bananas. I like this method better because it reminds me more of banana bread, which I love. Follow the recipe below for this variation.

Finally, you can always just add sliced bananas on top of your pancakes. My preference is to follow the recipe below and add sliced bananas on top with butter and maple syrup. You can’t get any more bananas than that!

Banana Pancakes Ingredients

1 ¼ cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 ¼ cup milk
2 tablespoons melted butter or
vegetable oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a bowl and stir gently. Sift a second time for extra fluffy pancakes.

In a separate bowl, stir together the egg, milk, butter or oil and bananas. It’s best to use ripe bananas for this as they will mash easier and taste better with a more banana flavor. This is a perfect opportunity to use those over-ripe bananas no one has been eating sitting in the corner of the kitchen.

Finally, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir gently just until combined. This will definitely be a lumpy batter, which is what you want. Some lumps may be small amounts of dry ingredients, but most will be bananas. Don’t mix too much because it shouldn’t be smooth.

Let the batter rest in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. I prefer to leave it for 30 minutes. With banana pancake batter I wouldn’t advise leaving it overnight like with regular pancakes because the bananas may not keep. They should be cooked.

Prepare your griddle, heating it to medium high heat and lightly greasing it with vegetable oil or butter. Pour about a quarter cup of batter to form pancakes. The lumps might also make the batter a little thicker, which is fine.

Perfect Banana variations

Now that you know how to make banana pancakes a few different ways with basic banana pancake recipes, you can add variations. I enjoy banana walnut pancakes from time to time. Bananas and walnuts make a great combination, especially with maple syrup. Add a quarter cup of chopped walnuts to the batter and sprinkle some on top.

Try strawberry banana pancakes by replacing one banana with a few mashed strawberries or try adding some strawberry slices to the pancakes. Mix some chocolate chips in the batter for chocolate banana pancakes, or try peanut butter banana pancakes by spreading some softened peanut butter on top instead of butter.

Making banana pancakes is a tasty alternative to regular pancakes, and while it takes a little extra time to mash the bananas, it’s worth the wait. Plus, it’s a good way to get rid of old bananas that are almost ready for the trash.