Banana Oat Pancakes
Fluffy little pancakes sweetened only with ripe banana, made soft and hearty with ground oats. A gentle, no-added-sugar breakfast that little hands can hold and dip.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Grind the oats
Blitz the rolled oats in a blender or food processor for about 30 seconds until they turn into a fine flour. This is the trick that makes the pancakes fluffy instead of gluey or dense.
- 150 g rolled oats
✅ Done when: oats look like a fine flour, similar to store-bought oat flour
Mix the dry ingredients
In a bowl, whisk together the oat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and cinnamon.
- 150 g ground oat flour (from step 1)
- 120 g all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
✅ Done when: no streaks of baking powder or cinnamon remain
Mix the wet ingredients
Mash the bananas very well with a fork until almost smooth. Whisk in the eggs, milk and vanilla until combined; the riper the banana, the sweeter the pancakes, so no sugar is needed.
- 2 (about 240 g) mashed ripe bananas
- 2 large eggs
- 240 ml whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
✅ Done when: mixture is smooth with no large banana lumps
Combine and rest
Pour the wet mix into the dry ingredients and stir gently just until no dry flour streaks remain; a few small lumps are fine. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes so the oats soften and the baking powder starts working.
- all dry mixture (from step 2)
- all wet mixture (from step 3)
✅ Done when: batter is thick but pourable, with a few small lumps
Cook low and slow
Heat a 25–28 cm non-stick pan over low-medium heat and melt a little butter. Spoon small rounds of batter (about 6 cm) into the pan, leaving space between them, and cook for 2 minutes per side.
- 1–2 tbsp butter or neutral oil
- all batter (from step 4)
✅ Done when: pancakes are golden brown on both sides and set in the middle
Make a happy face
Arrange a pancake on the plate and use banana slices for eyes and a smiling mouth, with a dollop of yogurt as a cloud; little ones eat better when breakfast looks friendly.
- 1 cooked pancake (from step 5)
- to serve sliced banana and yogurt
Store or pack
Cool leftover pancakes completely, then stack with parchment between them. Keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months and reheat straight from frozen in a toaster or warm pan.
- all remaining leftover pancakes (from step 5)
✅ Done when: when reheating, pancakes are heated through and lightly crisp on the outside
Grind the oats
Blitz the rolled oats in a blender or food processor for about 30 seconds until they turn into a fine flour. This is the trick that makes the pancakes fluffy instead of gluey or dense.
- 150 g rolled oats
✅ Done when: oats look like a fine flour, similar to store-bought oat flour
Mix the dry ingredients
In a bowl, whisk together the oat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and cinnamon.
- 150 g ground oat flour (from step 1)
- 120 g all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
✅ Done when: no streaks of baking powder or cinnamon remain
Mix the wet ingredients
Mash the bananas very well with a fork until almost smooth. Whisk in the eggs, milk and vanilla until combined; the riper the banana, the sweeter the pancakes, so no sugar is needed.
- 2 (about 240 g) mashed ripe bananas
- 2 large eggs
- 240 ml whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
✅ Done when: mixture is smooth with no large banana lumps
Combine and rest
Pour the wet mix into the dry ingredients and stir gently just until no dry flour streaks remain; a few small lumps are fine. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes so the oats soften and the baking powder starts working.
- all dry mixture (from step 2)
- all wet mixture (from step 3)
✅ Done when: batter is thick but pourable, with a few small lumps
Cook low and slow
Heat a 25–28 cm non-stick pan over low-medium heat and melt a little butter. Spoon small rounds of batter (about 6 cm) into the pan, leaving space between them, and cook for 2 minutes per side.
- 1–2 tbsp butter or neutral oil
- all batter (from step 4)
✅ Done when: pancakes are golden brown on both sides and set in the middle
Make a happy face
Arrange a pancake on the plate and use banana slices for eyes and a smiling mouth, with a dollop of yogurt as a cloud; little ones eat better when breakfast looks friendly.
- 1 cooked pancake (from step 5)
- to serve sliced banana and yogurt
Store or pack
Cool leftover pancakes completely, then stack with parchment between them. Keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months and reheat straight from frozen in a toaster or warm pan.
- all remaining leftover pancakes (from step 5)
✅ Done when: when reheating, pancakes are heated through and lightly crisp on the outside
The Story Behind the Dish
Pancakes have been a staple of the American breakfast table since colonial times, usually made from a simple wheat batter and served with butter and syrup. As home cooks looked for ways to use up ripe bananas and add more whole grains to breakfast, oats and mashed banana found their way into the batter, giving a softer, naturally sweet pancake.
This style became especially popular as parents looked for breakfasts with less added sugar for young children, leaning on fruit instead of syrup for sweetness.
⭐ Why It's Famous
They taste like a treat but are made from fruit, whole grains and eggs, which makes them a favourite both with toddlers and the parents feeding them.
💡 Fun Fact
Mashed overripe banana works as a natural sweetener and egg-binder in many American baking recipes, from banana bread to these pancakes.
United States
39.83°N, -98.58°W
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