Easy banana pancakes recipe

Weekends were made for pancakes, and this easy banana pancakes recipe uses basic ingredients you already have in your pantry. Mashed banana gives the pancakes the perfect amount of banana flavor, without being overwhelming.

I’ll give you variations and substitutions where I can, plus helpful tips and tricks for success. Read on for this info as well as the recipe. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.

You may also be interested in my banana muffins with cinnamon streusel and my lemon ricotta pancakes recipes. For ease of browsing, you can find all of my breakfast and brunch recipes in one place.

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Why you should make this recipe

If you love pancakes that are light and fluffy, easy to make and are loaded with fresh bananas, you should try this recipe.

• Quick & easy – This fluffy banana pancake recipe is done in under 30 minutes, start to finish.
• Common ingredients – You won’t find any unusual ingredients here, just common pantry staples.
• Versatile – Check out the list of variations at the end of the post for a few ways to riff on the original recipe.

Easy banana pancakes recipe

Banana pancakes are the perfect weekend treat, especially if you have overripe bananas. It never fails, I buy the most beautiful bananas, only to find that when I wasn’t looking, they’ve started to speckle.

Making pancakes from scratch requires very little effort and they taste so much better than the boxed mix. Plus, you can make the batter the night before and get straight to pancake making in the morning.

If you are pancake lovers like we are in this house, make a few portions of the dry ingredient mixture and store it in the freezer. Then, just add wet ingredients and mix up your batter whenever the craving strikes.

Topped with a pat of butter, maple syrup and a few slices of fresh bananas, these pancakes are our absolute favorite weekend indulgence.

Ingredients

Pancakes are great because they use common pantry ingredients. You likely have everything you need to make them already.

• All-purpose flour – Weighing your flour is the most accurate way to measure. The amount of flour can vary greatly when you scoop with a measuring cup.
• Bananas  – We want ripe bananas, but they do not have to be completely brown.
• Milk – You can use whatever milk you have or prefer.
• Butter – A small amount of butter gives the pancakes added richness.
• Vanilla – It adds that familiar flavor we all love.
• Sugar  – Provides just a bit of sweetness.
• Egg – Provides moisture and structure to the batter.
• Salt – Everything needs a touch of salt for balance.
• Cinnamon – A small amount of cinnamon gives the pancakes extra flavor.
• Baking powder – Baking powder makes the pancakes fluffy.

How to make

Here’s a quick summary of how to make this easy banana pancakes recipe. Please see the card at the bottom of this post for the full recipe. 

1. Prep – Whisk dry ingredients in a medium bowl, whisk wet ingredients in a slightly larger bowl. Preheat a pan on the stove.
2. Combine – Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
3. Whisk – Whisk the mixture together just until combined. It will be a little lumpy, that’s ok.
4. Cook – Cook pancakes until large bubbles form around the edges and the surface looks a little dry, then flip to cook through.

This recipe will make 8 pancakes. If you are really hungry, that would feed two adults. The pancakes aren’t the plate-sized portion you’d get at the diner, they are about 4 inches each, if you use a 1/3 cup measure to portion the batter.

This recipe is great for beginners and experienced cooks. This is also a great recipe to make with kids, it’s a fun way to get them in the kitchen with you. 

Easy banana pancakes recipe FAQ’s

Variations and substitutions

• Nutty – Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans to the batter.
• Chocolaty – For a chocolate twist, add 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips to the batter.
• Tropical – Add 1/4 cup shredded coconut + 1/4 cup crushed pineapple (drained well).
• Buttermilk – Swap out the regular milk for 1 cup of buttermilk + 1/4 tsp. baking soda.

Serving suggestions

I like to serve the pancakes with sliced bananas on top and warm maple syrup. If you are hosting a brunch, here are a few recipes that you may enjoy.

• Crispy, cheesy hash browns
• Gluten-free breakfast cookies
• Pumpkin scones
• Coconut Bread
• Restaurant-Style Bloody Mary

Helpful tools and equipment

• Whisk – You’ll need a good whisk to mix up the batter.
• Sauté pan – This is the pan I used for this recipe. It has a large surface area, so you can cook a few pancakes at a time. The sides do not have a steep slope, so the bottom of the pan is larger.

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Thanks for stopping by! Have a delicious day 🙂

Questions? Send me an email, I’m happy to help. I’d love to send you weekly tips and recipes, so you can get updates about what’s happening in the kitchen!

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Originally published 12/18/12, most recent update 10/27/23.