Fluffy Banana Pancakes

• Bananas: Use ripe bananas with plenty of brown spots. The riper the banana, the sweeter and more flavorful your pancakes will be.
• All-purpose flour: Spoon and level the flour into your measuring cup instead of scooping straight from the bag. This prevents accidentally packing in too much flour.
• Baking powder: Gives these pancakes their lift. Make sure yours is fresh for the best rise.
• Sugar: Just a touch to enhance the bananas’ natural sweetness. You can reduce or omit it if your bananas are extra ripe.
• Milk: I typically use whole milk, but any milk works, including dairy-free options like almond or oat milk.
• Eggs: Essential for structure and fluffiness.
• Vanilla extract: Adds warmth and depth to the flavor.
• Sour cream: Greek yogurt, buttermilk or buttermilk substitutions (regular or non-dairy milk with lemon or vinegar) all work great in this recipe, too.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

No matter how you mix ’em, pancakes are one of the fastest breakfasts in town.

Dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another. Mix (but don’t overmix!) then ladle the batter into a hot, buttered pan, and 2 minutes later, a tall stack is all yours to snack on. All that’s left to do is top them off with more sliced bananas and a drizzle of warm maple syrup.

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, vanilla extract and sour cream.

3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold them together with a spatula. 

4. The batter should be lumpy—don’t overmix!

5. Heat a large nonstick pan or griddle over medium-low heat. Ladle 3-4 circles of banana pancake batter into the pan.

6. Top each pancake with sliced bananas.

7. Once bubbles form on the surface, flip and continue cooking until the banana pancakes are puffed on top and golden brown on the bottom.

• Mind the fat. If you want evenly golden pancakes, use just a light coating of butter in your pan. Want crispy, buttery edges? Go all in with a generous amount of butter.
• If needed, adjust the heat. If the pancakes are browning on the outside before they’re done in the middle, turn down the heat.
• Wait for bubbles. Flip the pancakes only when bubbles appear across the surface and the edges start to look set. Flipping too soon can lead to undercooked centers.
• Don’t press down on the pancakes. It’s tempting to flatten them with your spatula, but resist! Pressing pancakes removes air, making them denser rather than fluffy.

Topping and Serving Ideas

These fluffy banana pancakes are delicious on their own, but the real magic happens when you load them up with your favorite toppings! Here are a few of my go-to ideas:

• Fresh fruit. I top my fluffy banana pancakes with sliced bananas and warm maple syrup, but fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries would be so dang good, too!
• Chocolate chips. Almost all of my banana recipes have chocolate chips because it’s a match made in heaven!
• Chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans add the perfect crunch.
• Cinnamon. OK, this one’s technically a mix-in, but a dash of cinnamon in the batter brings out that warm banana flavor.

If you’re serving these for brunch, elevate the spread by pairing them with my favorite fruit salad, egg white muffins and crispy roasted potatoes for a complete, crowd-pleasing meal!