Banana Oatmeal Pancakes (4-Ingredients!)

We aren’t done with breakfast foods yet, though the recent warm weather has gotten me thinking about moving on to summer recipes soon!

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’ve been teasing these pancakes for weeks now (and if you don’t follow me over there, I post daily content and sneak peaks into what I’m working on for the blog and YouTube channel and would love to get your support in all facets of the internet <3). I’ve actually had this recipe solidly locked in since the early days of switching to a plant-based diet, but had fallen out of the habit of making them. Ironically, since shooting the video for YouTube I’ve had them for breakfast almost every day. That’s also a testament to just how good and how easy they are to make.

I’ll start off by saying that this recipe is already all over the internet. Bananas and oats are a solid combo for a plant-based, gluten free pancake that tastes awesome, so it makes sense that it’s a popular, well-known recipe.

The real wonder of these pancakes is how easy they are to prep – it’s literally just four base ingredients thrown into a blender and viola, you’ve got batter ready to cook up in a nonstick pan. Their texture is also great compared to a traditional pancake, and won’t leave you feeling like you’re eating a “health food replacement” or like you’re missing out on that good-pancake experience.

But given it’s existing popularity, I’d prefer to cover why and how I make this recipe, the tips I’ve learned for making it, and the one ingredient I think is necessary to make the perfect pancakes rather than giving you the more typical pitch-points (though I do a little bit of that below).

The Ingredients:

• Oats: Oats are a perfect pick for gluten-free cooking and they are my go-to for flours, batters and bakes. They’re a whole grain, a staple in my pantry, they’re cheap, low in fat and I’ve become so accustomed to making food with them that I tend to prefer them to wheat these days. Oats in any form are one of my probably top five ingredient picks, so it’s no surprise they’re the base for my pancakes.
• Bananas: You can get by making a pancake with oats and water in a pinch but the batter will be thin and more like a crepe (making note of this for future testing as I type!) than a pancake, and just…leaves something to be desired. Again, if you’ve poked around my other recipes you’ll know that an oats and banana (or other veggie/fruit/starch blend – i.e. Marbled Chocolate Pumpkin Bread or even Chickpea Meatloaf) is a beloved combination on this blog. Bananas add some thickness to the batter and sponginess to the pancakes that gives them that great pancake texture.
• Baking Powder: If you don’t know the difference between baking powder and baking soda, here’s you’re info! Baking soda requires both a liquid and an acid to activate, releasing carbon dioxide that allows for that well-known rise in baked goods. Baking powder already contains the acidic component, making it a “complete leavening agent,” so all it needs to activate is water. Baking powder is also double-acting, meaning it activates once when added to a liquid, and a second time when it is heated (during cooking). The real difference when it comes to cooking with either is that baking soda can be bitter and produces more of a browning effect than baking powder. So for this recipe, baking powder is the better option because no acid is required and it will make you pancakes a nice, golden brown color rather than a dark, overcooked brown color.

So if there is a secret ingredient to these pancakes, it’s really the baking powder. The recipes that use just bananas, oats and water are still tasty, but they come out flat and a bit disappointing, and any that use baking soda are missing some knowledge that you now possess!

The great thing about using baking powder is that because it’s double activating, you can choose to make these pancakes on the spot or store the batter in the fridge for days to use as you please. The pancakes themselves can even be made ahead of time and warmed up or eaten cold for on the go.

You can spice these up further with a additional ingredients like cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, etc. and I’ve included info for that below, but I typically prefer the simple recipe and add a fresh topping to make it interesting each day.

When it comes to taste, this recipe is:

• Chewy
• Fluffy
• Mildly Sweet
• Delicious

The pancakes are already naturally sweet from the oats and bananas, and perhaps my palate is used to the combination, but I personally think that blending the bananas and oats together and cooking them stovetop into a little pancake somehow negates any strong banana flavor, making them the perfect base for whatever toppings you choose. I love these pancakes with fresh fruit (as you can see from the photos) but also love throwing together a quick compote that I’ll either cook stovetop-proper if I have the time or microwave quickly if I’m feeling lazy or in a pinch.

The versatility you can get out of the batter itself is also wonderful. If you make it day-of and let it sit for 5-10 minutes, it’ll thicken a little but you will get that low rise, thin and chewy pancake. Adding a bit more oats (1/4-1/2 cup more) will thicken your batter during that same amount of time and give you thicker, higher-rising pancakes. My favorite way to enjoy the batter, though, is to refrigerate it; this gives super thick, rustic pancakes that have wonderful, fluffy texture.

While any size of pancake can also be made with this batter, I’ve become a superfan of mini pancakes, not just because they are cute, but also because they cook up faster in the pan on a lower eat and are perfectly bite sized already so you don’t even have to cut them.

If you try out this recipe, please share it with me by commenting here or on my YouTube channel, or even tagging me in a photo on Instagram @plantsnotplastic. I read every comment and love hearing from you. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Banana Pancakes

Plants Not Plastic

These banana oatmeal pancakes are a perfect breakfast recipe that can even be made during the week because they're so easy! They go great with fresh fruit and agave or maple syrup, or a quick fruit compote of your choosing.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time Per Pancake 5 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 12 medium pancakes [note#1]

Equipment

• Nonstick frying pan
• Mixing bowl

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 medium ripe spotty banana
• 1.5 cups water sub plant milk

Optional Additions

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• dash nutmeg
• 2 tsp maple syrup or agave
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• fresh/frozen fruit or chopped nuts ~1/3 cup for folding into batter
• other toppings of choice (maple syrup, powdered sugar, fresh fruit, etc.)

Instructions

 

• Combine all ingredients and desired additions (except optional fruit or nuts) in a blender and blend on high until the texture of the batter is smooth and even.
• Let batter rest for at 3-5 minutes to thicken [note #2], then stir in fruit or nuts [note #3].
• Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. The pan is ready when you can sprinkle water onto it and the droplets 'dance.'
• Lower the heat to low/medium-low and use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to pour each pancake into the pan.
• Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side [note #4&5].
• Serve immediately and top with maple syrup or agave, fresh fruit, compote, jam, or whatever else your heart desires.
• Enjoy!

Video

Notes

1. I typically use a 1/4-1/3 cup measuring cup to measure out the batter for each of my pancakes. This will make as many as small pancakes (3-4 inches in diameter).
2. These are not big, fluffy pancakes but if you want to achieve that texture, chill your batter or leave it in the fridge overnight. It will thicken even further and you'll be able to make big, thick pancakes with. Keep in mind you won't be able to make as many this way.
3. Using frozen fruit will cause the color to bleed into your batter, so just keep that in mind.
4. You'll likely want to use a single pancake first to test the heat of your pan. The pancake will be ready to flip as soon as it unsticks from your pan. You want your heat low enough that when flipped, your pancake is a nice golden brown.
5. To keep your pancakes warm as you're making them, store them on baking tray in your oven set on the lowest temperature.

Keyword agave, banana oatmeal pancakes, compote, maple syrup, oatmeal pancakes, pancakes, vegan pancakes