Kick up your stack of flapjacks with this family favorite recipe for light and fluffy Banana Nut Pancakes.
You show me a banana and I’ll show you my favorite pie, my favorite muffins, my favorite pudding, and now, my favorite pancakes.
A few weeks ago I was chatting with my mom, Noni, and she mentioned she’d been buying bananas every week, letting them get to the speckled stage, and then mashing and mixing them with pancake batter. It took me all of 14 seconds to get to my nearest grocery store and test out the technique this past weekend.
Forget adding slices of banana to your ‘cakes as they cook, because once you try mashed, you’ll never go back. The banana flavor is just intense enough to be enjoyed in every bite, while the crunch of chopped pecans adds a welcome textural contrast. Just like the cake-freezing technique, the taco chips in the chili bowl tip and the espresso in chocolate cake trick, my mom never ceases to amaze me with her culinary ingenuity!
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Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon white sugar
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk
- 1 large egg
- 4 Tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- Vegetable oil, for pan-frying
- Maple syrup, for serving
Instructions
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl then set it aside.
- In a separate bowl, mash together the bananas with the milk, egg and melted butter.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet, stirring to combine, then stir in the nuts. Allow the batter to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium-low heat and add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan, allowing it to heat for 2 to 3 minutes. (See Kelly's Notes.)
- In batches, scoop 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter into the pan to form pancakes. Cook the pancakes on one side until bubbles appear in the center, then flip them once and continue cooking them until they're no longer doughy in the center. Serve the pancakes with your choice of toppings, including maple syrup, fresh fruit or whipped cream.
Kelly's Notes:
- The true indication for when to flip a pancake is when tiny bubbles appear in the center. Flip it any sooner and you'll be left with a runny mess!
- A fish spatula is my go-to gadget for flipping pancakes since it is small and flexible enough to easily maneuver in a pan.
- There's no need to waste an entire pancake's worth of batter to determine if you oil is hot enough. Instead, simply add a tiny drop of batter to the pre-heated pan. It should sizzle immediately, otherwise your pan is not hot enough and the pancakes will become sponges soaking up any and all oil.
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Pancake batter recipe adapted from Good Old Fashioned Pancakes.
I made these this morning and doubled the recipe for 9 guests. It lived up to its word and I made the fluffiest most delicious pancakes I have ever made. I will use this recipe and change it up from now on. Fantastic recipe!!!!! Thank you so much!
You are so welcome, Karen! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the pancakes!
Delicious, easy to make and I added some cinnamon and a little nutmeg, also used 1/3 white whole wheat instead of all regular flour. They were still light and fluffy!
Yay! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Dale!
Excellent flavor.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Jim!
These pancakes are awesome!! I followed the recipe exactly it was so easy to do. The only problem was I had left overs can I freeze them? Thank you
Hi Michele – I’ve never tried freezing the pancakes so I’m not certain how the texture/taste would be once thawed. Let me know if you give it a shot!
I made this for breakfast this AM after craving First Watch pancakes. I never have whole milk here however I had leftover eggnog which I used in place of the whole milk added in a touch of nutmeg cinnamon and vanilla. Yummy. I felt like I was at a restaurant but home safe enjoying amazing pancakes. I will make this again when my grandkids can come around.
Amazing! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Fantastic!! I’m never going back to sliced. Light, fluffy and added nutmeg and cinnamon to make them festive. Mildly sweet enough, you need no syrup on this stack.
Woohoo! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Chris!
Hi Can I make the batter ahead of time and put in fridge first? In the morning, I just need to cook it.
Hi Anita! I wouldn’t recommend storing the batter in the fridge as the leavening agents won’t retain as much ability to cause the pancakes to puff (and hence, be fluffy instead of dense!).
Excellent recipe! They tasted just like banana nut muffins but in pancake form. I didn’t have time to let the batter sit for 30 minutes, but they turned out amazing anyways! Will definitely make again!
Woohoo! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Amy!
One of the best!higley recommended
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Gal!
Made these today – they were wonderful! Didn’t have pecans so I threw walnuts into half the batter and chocolate chips into the other half. I skipped the salt (I find a lot of pancake recipes can do without it because of the baking powder). These were delicious and I will be making them again!
YUM! Love the swap to walnuts and the addition of chocolate chips!
This is a FABULOUS recipe. I’ve been slicing bananas into pancakes for more years than I want to say and MASHING them is a stroke of genius!! Change nothing. I cut the recipe in 1/2 and it made eleven 2 1/2” pancakes.
YES! So thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Barbara!
How many pancakes does this recipe make? It says 4 servings- but how many are in each serving?
Hi Lisa – It depends on how big you make your pancakes, but if they end up around 4 inches in diameter, you should have about 16 pancakes, so 4 per person.
I usually don’t leave reviews on recipes, but after running into some rather poor ones lately, this recipe has really wowed me. The pancakes came out beautiful, moist, and yummy. And the steps were concise and helpful. This will definitely become a breakfast staple this fall!
Love hearing this, Jasmine! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, and thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment!
These were delicious! I’m allergic to pecans so used chocolate chips instead.
I love that you swapped in chocolate chips for the pecans, Niki!
I made these last night for my son and I and we loved them! I wanted to ask for help please. Mine turned out so thick that I never even saw the bubbles. Can you help me?
Hi Donna! It’s hard to say what might cause this. Do you think you could have over-mixed the batter? And was your pan at the correct temperature?
These pancakes are fabulous. I’ve made them several times.
I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying the recipe, Kay!
These were easy and delicious. I doubled the recipe for my family and substituted 1 part flour with whole wheat flour. They were still light and fluffy. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
These pancakes were perfection – light and fluffy! Thanks so much for a great recipe, Kelly!
You are so welcome, Becky! Thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
You are missing the eggs in your ingredients list.
Apologies! This has been fixed :)
Can I let the batter sit overnight?
I wouldn’t recommend that, Kaylee, as the leavening agents start working immediately so you want to use the batter ASAP.