These healthy banana pancakes are perfectly thick and fluffy and come together in minutes! Made with oats and naturally sweetened, these are naturally vegan and gluten free.
Pancakes have always been my favorite thing to eat for breakfast. Contrary to popular belief, they can make a healthy and satisfying breakfast.
We typically make our healthy oatmeal pancakes but when we want a fruity twist, banana pancakes are always the answer.
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Healthy banana pancakes recipe
I have already shared some delicious healthy pancake recipes, including cinnamon roll and zucchini pancakes. This time around, I got inspired by my favorite banana smoothie and came up with these flourless banana pancakes that don’t contain flour, dairy, eggs, or added sugar.
- No flour and eggs. This recipe uses oats as a flour substitute and bananas as a binding agent. Made with dairy-free milk and no flour, these pancakes are great for vegan and gluten-free diets.
- Perfectly fluffy. Despite being made with no eggs, these banana pancakes turn out thick and fluffy. The secret is using a combination of apple cider vinegar and baking powder.
- Freezer-friendly. If you enjoy having pancakes for breakfast, double or triple this recipe and freeze part of the pancakes for later.
You don’t need any special ingredients to make these flourless pancakes. You most likely already have all ingredients at home.
- Bananas. For this recipe, I recommend you avoid using overripe bananas. Overripe bananas result in a thinner batter which is not what we are aiming for in this recipe.
- Rolled oats. Thanks to their coarser texture, rolled oats work better for this pancake batter. Check the packaging to make sure the oats are gluten-free.
- Milk. Use any milk you like. To keep these pancakes vegan, I opted for almond milk.
- Baking powder. It helps the pancakes rise.
- Apple cider vinegar. Baking powder reacts with the vinegar and provides a better rise for the pancakes.
- Sweetener. Use a tablespoon of your favorite sticky sweetener. We only use a small amount as the pancakes are sweetened with bananas. Maple syrup, honey agave, or even honey are all fantastic options.
- Vanilla extract. To deepen the flavor of the pancakes.
How to make healthy banana pancakes
Just like any other pancake recipe, these flourless pancakes are very easy to make. Here’s how you make them in just two simple steps.
Step 1 – Combine all ingredients
Add all ingredients to a blender. Blend until a smooth mixture remains. Allow the batter to sit for 5 to 10 minutes. In the meantime, preheat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat.
Step 2 – Cook the pancakes
Once the pan is hot and the batter has thickened, pour ¼ cup of batter into the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes per side. Repeat until all batter is used up.
Serve these healthy pancakes with the toppings of your choice.
Flavor variations
You can change up the flavor of these pancakes while keeping them healthy and sugar-free. Here are a few flavor variations ideas.
- Fold dark chocolate chips into the pancake batter once you have blended it.
- Add cinnamon to these banana pancakes to highlight the winning combination of this warm spice and bananas.
- Add a few tablespoons of cocoa powder to make chocolate banana pancakes (a cross between chocolate and chocolate chip pancakes!). As the cocoa powder has thickening properties, you’ll need to use less oats.
- If you don’t have apple cider vinegar at hand, substitute it with lemon juice. While vinegar provides better results, lemon juice is better than nothing.
- Let the batter sit for around 10 minutes before you start cooking the pancakes. The batter will thicken as the oats soak up more liquid.
- Don’t be afraid of the thickness of the batter. A thick batter doesn’t spread too much in the pan, resulting in fluffier pancakes.
- If overripe bananas were all you had and you have ended up with a thinner batter, just add more oats until you reach the desired thickness.
- Make sure the pan is properly heated. This is another key step that prevents the pancakes from spreading too much.
To store. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To freeze. Freeze these pancakes for up to 6 months. Store the pancakes in an airtight container or bag to prevent them from freezer burn. Put layers of parchment paper in between the pancakes so that they don’t stick to each other.
To reheat. Warm up these pancakes in the microwave or on the stove over medium heat.
More pancakes you’ll enjoy
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Almond Milk Pancakes
Pancakes and Waffles
Coconut Flour Pancakes
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Almond Flour Pancakes
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Oat Flour Pancakes
Banana pancakes shouldn’t be mushy inside. Cooking the pancakes on high heat is the main reason why they remain undercooked and mushy in the middle.
Banana pancakes tend to fall apart when there are large chunks of banana in the batter. Use a blender or a food processor to achieve a smooth batter.
It is recommended to make this pancake batter right before making the pancakes. The baking powder will become less effective as the batter sits in the fridge. Additionally, the oats may absorb too much liquid.
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Healthy Banana Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats gluten free, if needed
- 1/4 cup milk I used almond milk
- 1 large banana
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Allow the batter to rest for five minutes, giving the oats time to absorb liquid and thicken.
- Preheat a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, pour in about ¼ cup of batter.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes or until you can easily slide a spatula underneath. Flip. Cook for another 1-2 minutes on the second side.
- Repeat until all the batter is used up.
Notes
Nutrition
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Is there a way to make it paleo with almond flour or coconut flour? hey look so good, but I can’t eat oatmeal
Hi Mary! I have several low carb pancake recipes on here, they don’t contain bananas, but you can add some on top 🙂
The thickness to fluffiness ratio is soooooooo on-point here! Natalie, these are some EPIC pancakes <3
😀 You said it!
I haven’t made pancakes in ages. I love the idea of them, but I’m super impatient in the kitchen haha. These look totally worth it, though!
Haha, I LOVE The TJ’s boxed pumpkin kind 😉
Mine didn’t come very fluffy and at first I was not happy with them, until I sat down to eat them with a little sugar free syrup. They were delish!
That’s what I like to hear! 🙂
Can’t believe how fluffy these are!! *Cue quote from Despicable Me*: It’s so fluffy I’m gonna dieeeeee <3
😀 YAAAAAAS!!!
These are great! I had to add more almond milk as they were too thick. The taste and smell reminded me of banana bread. They weren’t as fluffy as your pic, but it didn’t matter, still really good! Definitely making again.
YES! It totally does smell and taste like banana bread right? SO GOOD!
Woah! Those bad boys are flourless!? They look so fluffy and amazing. I’d like to order 2 stacks please! Also, I love me some banana bread, so I’m pretty sure I’d love these pancakes. And I’ve been craving pancakes like you wouldn’t believe lately…
These are the best of both worlds- Banana bread AND pancakes in one!
Fabulous fluffyness! You are SO on point about the first pancake never being quite right too! Terrific taste on these (I added the cinnamon). And VERY filling! I had half the batch and was quite satisfied – which made it Weight Watchers points-friendly for me! Woo hoo we have a winner! Love your website, thank you!
😀 So glad to have you here, Kathy! 🙂
Words do not describe my excitement for these pancakes. They are awesome. I did add more almond milk to thin them out a bit and added cinnamon. Will definitely be making these again and again and again!
YES!!!! Thanks so much, Stephanie!
I really liked these. I’m wondering if you need that much baking powder. 1 tablespoon seems like so much for such a small recipe. I know nothing about the hows and why’s of baking powder, so I’m just wondering.
They were quite thick, so next time, I’d add more milk. It was too much to eat all at once, which was great. I froze the remainder, and reheated in the microwave.
Thanks for your fun recipes!
Hi Linda, it is needed for the fluffiness 🙂 So glad you enjoyed them, freezing them is a fantastic idea!
These look and sound amazing, and I love that they’re so healthy!
You said it! Enjoy, Valentina!
Just made these for breakfast and they are BRILLIANT!!!!! I did have to add a little extra almond milk but that’s it!!!! I had mine with a little unsweetened apple sauce on top and my spouse used them as toast to put his fried eggs on!!! We both fell in love 🙂 Thank you so much for the recipe!
I’m thrilled the recipe worked out so well for you. Unfortunately I didn’t have the same experience even with adding more almond milk. I think the bananas I used were not ripe enough. Perhaps very ripe bananas are the key to the recipe. I think I’ll try again and this time use very ripe bananas.
Yes, overripe bananas are key- I’m not sure why it hasn’t worked for you yet!
OMG With fried eggs- What a fantastic idea, Rhonda! You are so welcome!
Made these twice. Wasn’t so sure about them on the first attempt. The second attempt made me a believer. I follow a no flour and no sugar diet and have been looking for something like this to be able to get pancakes back into my menu. These are amazing. With the second attempt, I pulsed all of the ingredients in the blender, minus the banana. When it looked like the oatmeal was very fine, I then added in the banana and pulsed again until it was mixed well. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
😀 That’s what I like to hear! Thank you sO much, Kim!
Can these be flash frozen and reheated for kids on school days? Any tips?
Hi Steph! Absolutely- Simply freeze them individually and then thaw completely before enjoying 🙂
Made these this morning.. They are so light and fluffy… loved them. The only thing different i did was to add a cup of almond milk instead of 1/4 cup.. I dont know if maybe a high powered blender like a vitamix makes a difference or not, i have an old fashioned blender so maybe that is why i had to add more milk? Still they were really good…
Fantastic- Thanks so much for letting me know, Laurie! 🙂