Banana Pancakes are so soft, fluffy, and made with just the right amount of fresh bananas! Cinnamon and walnuts add a little extra something special to the pancake batter and make every bite of these homemade breakfast staples so satisfying.
It’s safe to say that I go bananas for these pancakes! Next time you’re craving more banana goodness, try some of my favorite easy recipes like banana bread, banana pudding and chocolate banana muffins.
Everyone has heard this before in their life when faced with old bananas – “well, you can always make banana bread!” As much as I love that classic quick bread, I like to shake things up a little by sometimes using those over-ripe bananas to instead make banana pancakes. You only need two of them with a handful of pantry staples to make the very BEST fluffy, moist, sweet and banana-y pancakes!
Typically, my family can’t eat all of these pancakes in one sitting. They’re just a bit too big, fluffy, and filling. Luckily, these pancakes are totally freezer-friendly! More often than not, I’ll make a big batch (by simply doubling all of the ingredients listed below) and freeze the pancakes so we can enjoy them for weeks to follow. For all of the details on how to freeze banana pancakes, just scroll down a little to my FAQ section.
Speaking of my family, they ask for these pancakes pretty often – especially in the spring and summertime. Thankfully, pancakes usually only take me 30 minutes or less to make so I really don’t mind whipping up a batch if I’m all out of them in the freezer! Plus, the steps are super easy to follow and there’s really no hassle to be had. Just simple ingredients, easy steps, and perfect pancakes. It’s the best way to start the day!
Ingredient Notes:
Bananas – Use bananas that are at the end of their shelf life. Brown spots and slight softness is ideal!
Low Fat Buttermilk – Don’t substitute this ingredient with anything else! It’s what makes the pancakes rise and have the best fluffy consistency.
All-Purpose Flour – This recipe only calls for 1 3/4 cups of flour. If your bananas are on the larger side, you may need an additional 2 TBSP.
Cinnamon – This gives the pancakes just the right amount of warmth to really compliment the bananas.
Walnuts – These are optional, but highly recommended! They give the pancakes the most wonderful added crunch.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Cooking Instructions:
Step 1: Break apart the bananas in a bowl and mash them with a fork. Whisk in the eggs, oil, brown sugar, and buttermilk until smooth.
Step 2: Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix in walnuts if desired.
TIP: Let the batter sit on the counter for about 15 minutes. This will give baking powder and baking soda time to activate and interact with other ingredients to result in those perfect fluffy pancakes.
Step 3: Preheat the pan. Then, cook the pancakes on medium to medium-low heat. Add a little bit of oil to the pan if needed.
Step 4: When cooking the pancakes, add a dollop of pancake batter to the hot pan and let it cook on that side until you start to see little bubbles appear over the top. Those little bubbles are your clue that pancakes are ready to flip.
Recipe FAQs
After the pancakes have been cooked, let them cool to room temperate on a wire rack in one even layer. The wire rack is important because it will keep the pancakes cooled evenly and keep the bottom of the pancakes from accumulating moisture.
Place cooled pancakes into the freezer and let them freeze for about 2 hours. Once pancakes have been frozen, transfer them into a large zip-lock freezer bag. Seal, label, and place back into the freezer.
To reheat pancakes: You can reheat pancakes either in the microwave or in a toaster. In the microwave, simply place a pancake on a plate, cover it with a microwave lid, and reheat for about 60 seconds. To reheat in the toaster, first make sure that pancakes are small enough to fit well. Reheat them in a toasted on a slower/lower setting to it gets a chance to reheat thoroughly.
Once you see bubbles appearing in the center of the batter, you’ll know it’s time! Don’t flip the pancakes too soon, though – this could result in a total mess in your skillet/griddle.
Try More of the Best Pancake Recipes:
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Banana Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 medium bananas
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cups low fat buttermilk
- 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour +2 tbsp of flour if using larger bananas
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup chopped walnuts optional
Instructions
- Break apart bananas in a mixing bowl and mash them with a fork. Whisk in eggs, oil, brown sugar, and buttermilk until smooth.
- Next, add the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Adding nuts is optional but if you would like to, mix in some chopped walnuts.
(Note: you may need to add a couple of tablespoons of flour if using larger bananas.) - TIP: let the batter sit on the counter for about 15 minutes. This will give baking powder and baking soda activate and interact with other ingredients to result in those perfect fluffy pancakes.
- Preheat the pan (or the griddle) first. Cook the pancakes on medium to medium-low heat, depending on the stove. Add a little bit of oil to the pan if needed.
- When cooking the pancakes, add a dollop of pancake batter to the hot pan and let it cook on that side until you start to see little bubbles appear over the top. Those little bubbles are your clue that pancakes are ready to flip.
Kim says
They were great.. I never let the batter sit for a few min.(10) couldn’t wait to eat them😁, to activate the powders, before., and wow, they were soooo fluffy. If not too cooked in middle, just put on lower heat for couple of more mins.. perfect!
Thanks for the tip!
LyubaB says
Hi Kim,
I am so glad you enjoyed them and thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
Mollie says
What if I only have a cup of buttermilk? Can I just add whole milk to makeup the difference?
LyubaB says
Hi Mollie,
Yes you can, it shouldn’t alter the flavor much since your using a good amount of buttermilk.
Shanna says
Me and my family absolutely love these !!! Had to tweak things like add a pinch of flour. Also don’t use a lot of oil in the pan. These will soak it up.
After the first one though, all fluffy goodness!!!
LyubaB says
Hi Shanna,
I am so happy you liked them! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Sheriberi says
Excellent, fluffy texture. Good banana flavor. Not too sweet.
LyubaB says
Thank you! So glad you liked it!
Veronica says
These were excellent. I doubled the recipe thinking 6-8 pancakes wouldnt be enough. I ended up with 22 VERY LARGE pancakes.
LyubaB says
Wow! That’s a lot of pancakes! Glad you liked them though!
LyubaB says
I am so happy you liked it! 🙂
Naomi says
Sooo yummy. My husband is not a fan of cooked banana, he ate two and then froze the rest before I had any!
Sondra says
Just made these & they were so good. I put some granola on them before flipping & they were beautiful & it gives it a little crunch to them. I cooked mine on the low heat & they turned out great!!!🤗
LyubaB says
Yum! So glad you liked it! 🙂
Christina says
Just as flat and pathetic as all other banana pancake recipes.
Elizabeth Meyer says
Awesome pancakes and a great way to use up leftover bananas I had self rising flour so I eliminated the baking powder but still added the baking soda. They came out light and fluffy and perfect .
LyubaB says
Hi, Elizabeth! So glad you liked them 🙂
Eli says
I’ve doubled the ingredients(as I wanted many of the pancakes to have 😁)
However they became feeling doughy and underdone from the inside.(This happens to me ALWAYS when I use bananas in anything basically:( )
Any tips will be much appreciated 🙂
LyubaB says
Hi, Eli! I would try making them again at a lower temperature for a longer period of time so the inside gets to cook more without the outside burning.
Sara says
Thank you so much for this it was yummy!