These delicious mini banana pancakes take just a few minutes to whip up, but provide protein and sweetness without any sugar at all! Gluten free, grain free, and GAPS friendly, you won’t miss the ingredients that aren’t there. Great for special diets and just about anyone!
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Pancakes are a comfort food.
At least, for many people, pancakes are a favorite breakfast treat. Especially for children, and the kids-at-heart. It may have a lot to do with the syrup and other toppings. But the pancakes themselves can be pretty delicious!
Pancakes are a lot less comforting when they make you sick, though. That is not so fun.
Even if they don’t immediately make you feel bad, if the pancakes are working against you in some other way, you need a new recipe. Just a new recipe. You don’t have to miss out on pancakes!
These pancakes are gluten free, grain free, nut free, and easily made dairy free. If you can have eggs, and coconut, and bananas, you can enjoy these cute little pancakes. They are quick and easy to make, too.
Can’t have eggs? This recipe won’t work for you. Instead, try this recipe with banana in place of butternut squash. We do this with great results. Just be sure your batter is on the dry side– more like a dough– shape them into little pancakes, and use plenty of fat to cook them!
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Why you will love these little pancakes:
- use up very ripe bananas
- use up extra egg whites
- if you have too much batter, you can refrigerate what you don’t need today and fry them up tomorrow– there is no baking powder or baking soda to fail
- simple ingredients– eggs, bananas, coconut flour
- no gluten, grains, refined sugars, nuts, or anything heavily processed
- nourishing– good for breakfast or a hearty snack
- quick to make
- easily double or triple the recipe and use the rest of the batter later
- delicious
- cute!
How to Make Banana Pancakes
It’s best to start with ripe bananas. Overly ripe is even better! Ripe bananas will be easy to mash and will make the pancakes plenty sweet, even without adding any sugar.
Peel and mash your banana. I usually use a fork, and a potato masher also works well. The banana needn’t be perfectly smooth. (If you prefer, use a small food processor, which will be easy and also get the banana very smooth.
Whisk in 2 eggs until smooth. You can use 4 egg whites instead– this is an excellent way to use up egg whites! Also add the coconut flour and a dash of salt.
Let the batter rest for a few minutes. No, it isn’t tired– but coconut flour absorbs lots of moisture, and the pancakes will turn out best if you let this happen before frying them.
While your batter rests, heat the skillet until it is very hot. Add some cooking fat and get that so hot it sizzles. I like to use butter, but ghee, coconut oil, or other fats will also work well. When the fat is hot, add tablespoon-sized portions of batter to it. Try to keep your pancakes smaller than 2″ across.
Let the pancakes cook for a few minutes. The top probably won’t bubble as much as flour pancakes do, but when you see the edges begin to brown, flip them over. Wait until they turn easily, though! They will be sturdy enough to turn when it is time.
Repeat the process on the second side; this side tends to cook very fast, as it has already begin to cook. Don’t burn them! Tiny pancakes cook fast!
Convenient idea:
It is possible to store this batter. Without baking soda or baking powder to deactivate, the batter will store fine overnight. It will turn brown because of the banana, though. Of course, it will turn a bit brown as it cooks anyway… Add a bit of lemon juice or vinegar to minimize the browning, then stir the batter tomorrow before you fry it. Nobody will know the difference!
Remove finished pancakes to a plate and finish cooking all the batter. Serve warm with toppings, if you like.
Topping Suggestions for Banana Pancakes
- if you fry these banana pancakes in plenty of fat, you can enjoy them totally plain– they have plenty of moisture and flavor, much like eating banana bread plain
- maple syrup or honey are, of course, delicious on pancakes (stick with honey for GAPS diet)
- try my berry syrup made with whatever berries you can get– you can sweeten it or not
- add peanut or nut butter, with or without sweetening
- for a decadent twist, try a chocolate-enhanced nut butter, like Nutella (make your own for a healthier version!)
- fresh fruit
- fruit salsa
- whipped cream, sour or cultured cream, cream cheese– possibly with fruit
- cinnamon butter or other flavored butter or cream cheese
- what else sounds good?!
Mini Banana Pancakes
Equipment
- skillet
Ingredients
- 1 banana
- 2 eggs (or 4 egg whites)
- 2 T coconut flour
- dash salt
- cooking fat of choice (butter, ghee, coconut oil, or other)
Instructions
- Preheat skillet while you make the pancake batter. Make sure it is very hot before adding the fat!
- In a small bowl, mash banana with fork or potato masher. It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth. (If you want, you can use a small food processor instead.)
- Whisk eggs into banana until smooth; stir in coconut flour and dash salt. (If you want to add other flavors, do that now– see above!)
- Allow batter to rest for a few minutes so the coconut flour can finish absorbing moisture. While you wait, set a couple of tablespoons of butter, coconut oil, or other cooking fat in pan. Let it melt and turn bubbly.
- Add a tablespoon of batter at a time to form tiny pancakes no bigger than 2" across. When the bottom edges begin to brown, turn them over and cook the other side. Remove to plate and keep making pancakes until all the batter is used.
- Serve hot, either plain or with toppings (see below for ideas).
Notes
Flavors to try
These pancakes are great as-is, just plain banana. Banana purists will appreciate them with nothing extra, and making them this way also makes them amenable to different toppings. However, you can easily vary the taste!
- cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, etc.
- fresh ginger, maybe with a bit of cardamom
- very finely chopped nuts
- grated chocolate (mini chocolate chips or whole berries are too big)
- vanilla
- orange zest
- a combo of two or more of these suggestions
Looking for more ways to use ripe bananas? Checkout these recipes:
banana chocolate muffins with almond flour
chocolate banana muffins with coconut flour
Such a cool recipe! I’ve not tried banana pancakes before. This sounds so super delicious, love it!
Try with chocolate sauce and whipped cream for dessert!