Banana Pancakes

Fluffy, naturally sweet pancakes made with ripe bananas. The perfect weekend morning treat.

By Cressio Rinaldi

Ripe bananas are the best thing that can happen to a pancake. When the peel is covered in brown spots, the fruit inside is soft, sweet and fragrant, and it brings so much flavor that you barely need sugar in the batter. These pancakes use two of them.

The batter is a simple one: mashed bananas whisked with eggs, milk and vanilla, and flour and baking powder folded in. The banana makes it a little thicker and heavier than regular pancake batter, so the pancakes are tender and a bit denser, with a gentle banana flavor.

The one rule is not to overmix. Stirring just until the flour disappears keeps them fluffy. Lumps are fine.

Read this first

1. Use very ripe bananas, with brown spots on the peel.
2. Stir the flour in just until combined. Lumps are fine.
3. Cook over medium heat. Banana batter browns quickly.

Prep time: 5 mins · Cook time: 15 mins · Serves 2

Ingredients

• 2 large Ripe bananas
• 2 Eggs
• 3/4 cup All-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp Butter for cooking

Instructions

1. Mash bananas until smooth. Whisk together with eggs, milk, and vanilla. Look for: A smooth, wet mixture that smells of banana and vanilla.
2. Fold in flour and baking powder until just combined — don't overmix. Look for: A thick, lumpy batter, with only a few dry streaks left.
3. Heat butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Look for: The butter foams but doesn’t turn brown.
4. Pour 1/4 cup batter per pancake. Cook until bubbles form and edges look set, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook 1-2 more minutes. Look for: Bubbles on the surface, edges that look matte and set, and a golden underside.
5. Serve with maple syrup, fresh berries, or extra sliced banana. Look for: A stack of golden pancakes with a banana smell.

Nutrition

Amount per serving. Nutritional values are estimates calculated from the ingredients above and can vary.

• Calories: 490
• Fat: 19g
• Saturated Fat: 10g
• Carbohydrates: 66g
• Fiber: 4g
• Sugar: 18g
• Protein: 14g
• Sodium: 360mg
• Cholesterol: 220mg

Notes

• Ripeness Matters: The riper and more speckled the bananas, the sweeter and more flavorful the pancakes will be.
• Storage: Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.
• Freezing: Freeze in a single layer, then transfer to a bag for up to 2 months — reheat straight from frozen in the toaster.
• Don't Overmix: Stir the batter just until combined — overmixing develops the gluten in the flour and makes the pancakes tough instead of fluffy.

Cook It With Me

Mash and whisk

Peel the 2 ripe bananas and mash them in a large bowl with a fork until mostly smooth. Whisk in the 2 eggs, 1/2 cup of milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla until combined.

Fold in the dry ingredients

Sprinkle the 3/4 cup of flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder over the wet mixture. Fold gently with a spatula until just combined. A few small lumps are fine. Overmixing makes pancakes tough.

Heat the pan

Melt about a teaspoon of the 2 tablespoons of butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Wait until it foams, then lower the heat a little if it browns quickly.

Cook

Pour about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook for about 2 minutes, until bubbles form on the surface and the edges look set. Flip and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more, until golden brown. Add more butter to the pan between batches.

Serve

Serve warm with maple syrup, fresh berries or extra banana slices.

The Ingredients, One by One

Ripe bananas

The riper, the sweeter. Peel with lots of brown spots is ideal. If yours are green, wait, or roast them in the oven until the skin turns black to soften them.

Eggs

Two eggs give structure and richness.

All-purpose flour

3/4 cup makes a tender pancake. Measure it by spooning and leveling, not scooping, so you don’t add too much.

Milk

Any milk works. Plant-based milk is fine.

Baking powder

It makes them fluffy. Check that it is fresh.

Butter

Used to cook the pancakes. It gives a golden, buttery edge.

The Technique Behind It

Why you don’t overmix

Stirring develops gluten, which makes pancakes chewy. A few lumps mean you have stopped at the right time.

Why medium heat

Banana has a lot of sugar, which browns fast. Medium heat gives the center time to cook before the outside is dark.

Why you wait for bubbles

Bubbles show the underside has set. Flipping too early makes the pancake tear.

Mistakes That Cost You the Dish

• Overmixing The pancakes are tough.
• High heat They burn outside and stay raw inside.
• Using underripe bananas The flavor is faint and starchy.
• Flipping too early They fall apart.
• Overcrowding They are hard to flip.

Fix It: If This Happens, Do This

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Pancakes are tough	Overmixed	Mix gently next time.
Pancakes are raw inside	Heat too high	Lower the heat.
Pancakes are flat	Old baking powder	Use fresh baking powder.
Pancakes fall apart	Flipped early	Wait for the edges to set.
Pancakes are bland	Bananas weren’t ripe enough	Use riper fruit and add a pinch of cinnamon.

What Each Ingredient Does (and What You Can Swap)

Ingredient	Its job	Swap, and what changes
Ripe bananas	Sweetness and moisture	Applesauce works, with a different flavor.
All-purpose flour	Structure	Whole wheat flour or a gluten-free blend work.
Milk	Liquid	Plant-based milk or buttermilk work.
Butter	Cooking	Coconut oil works.
Vanilla	Flavor	Cinnamon works.

Plan Ahead

• Make ahead: Make the batter the night before. It thickens, so thin it with milk.
• Fridge: Cooked pancakes keep for 3 days.
• Reheat: In a toaster or microwave.
• Freezer: Freeze with parchment between them for 2 months.

What to Serve With It

Serve with maple syrup, berries, yogurt, toasted nuts or peanut butter.

Questions People Ask

About the Author

Cressio Rinaldi

Cressio Rinaldi is the recipe developer behind Cressio Recipes. He cooks, tests, and writes every recipe on the site himself — refining each one until it's simple enough for a weeknight and good enough to make again. He's not a trained chef, just someone who cooks constantly and pays close attention to what actually makes a recipe work.