If you even remotely like banana bread then you will absolutely love these whole wheat banana pancakes. And if you don’t like bananas then you can substitute another fruit (like blueberries or raspberries), but I think the banana is the secret ingredient that adds the right amount of sweetness to balance out the whole wheat flavor (be sure to use ripe bananas!). If you really want some berries in there, consider adding them in addition to the bananas.
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Tips and tricks for making fluffy, delicious whole wheat banana pancakes
If you haven't made homemade banana pancakes before, you're in for a treat! They're the perfect amount of sweetness for a delicious Sunday brunch or, especially when frozen, an easy, healthy meal for busy mornings.
Are these banana pancakes healthy?
These banana pancakes are definitely a healthier option compared to regular pancake recipes. I make all my recipes with real food ingredients, including using whole wheat flour and adding no refined sugar (with a few "treat" recipe exceptions).
When I serve pancakes to my family I also add other healthy options, such as fresh fruit on the side, to make it a complete meal. Check out these Healthy Blueberry Pancakes too!
What is the best kind of whole grain flour to use in pancakes?
I don’t use anything special in this pancake recipe, just the regular King Arthur’s brand organic whole wheat flour that goes into most of my baking. We always use whole grain flour in our house, and we prefer its unique taste and texture.
However, if you aren’t a fan of regular whole wheat flour you can try using whole wheat pastry flour instead. Whole wheat pastry flour is milled from softer wheat and has a similar taste and texture to all-purpose flour, but without being highly processed.
Can these whole wheat pancakes be made with overripe bananas?
Besides banana bread, banana pancakes are one of my favorite ways to use up overripe bananas. You can use fresh bananas that are too ripe to eat or thaw a couple of overripe bananas that have been previously frozen. Try this Homemade Banana Bread for another way to use up overripe bananas!
Really ripe bananas have a stronger flavor, so keep that in mind depending on your preferences. You will love these Banana Pancakes with Protein and these Almond Milk Pancakes!
Can I substitute something for the banana in this recipe?
If you have a banana allergy, no bananas on hand, or just don’t like bananas, you can swap them out for some pureed fruit or veggies. Applesauce or jam will both work, or you could also use pureed sweet potatoes or pumpkins, too. (Seriously!)
Anytime you add a fruit or vegetable puree to a recipe it does affect the flavor, so make sure you like the taste of whatever you’re substituting with. Some purees will alter the pancake color too.
Bananas in this recipe can be substituted with 1 cup of your choice of mashed or pureed fruit/veggies.
How to tell if whole wheat banana pancakes are ready to flip
You can flip your pancakes when the edges start to brown and the middle firms up enough to hold the shape when flipped. Cooking time varies depending on pancake size and cooking surface, but it’s usually between 2 and 4 minutes per side.
Variation ideas for whole wheat banana pancakes
I think these banana pancakes are great as-is, but if you’re feeling adventurous there’s a few variations you can try to change things up.
Add vanilla or cinnamon
Both vanilla and cinnamon are great at enhancing the other flavors, especially the sweet ones. If you feel like your banana pancakes could use a little something extra, experiment with 1 teaspoon of vanilla, cinnamon, or both.
Banana and blueberry (or any berry) pancakes
I love topping banana pancakes with berries, but you can also add some inside your pancake batter. Blueberries, strawberries (cut in small pieces), raspberries, and blackberries all taste great in pancake batter!
How to freeze leftover pancakes
The other great thing about this banana pancake recipe is that the leftover pancakes freeze beautifully (and we usually do have some leftovers). Just layer them in-between pieces of wax paper inside a freezer-safe zip lock bag.
Then one morning when you are racing around trying to get the kids out the door for school, just pull a couple of pancakes out of the freezer, heat for a minute or two in the microwave, and voila! I am all about convenience, plus it doesn't hurt that these are pretty healthy pancakes compared to some other options out there.
Check out some of my other favorite breakfast and brunch recipes:
- Whole Wheat French Toast
- Whole Wheat Pecan Maple Cinnamon Rolls (no refined sugar)
- Whole Wheat Cereal Bars
- Breakfast Casserole Bites
- Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes
- Whole Wheat Oven Pancake
- Whole Wheat Waffles
- Almond Flour Pancakes
Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole-wheat flour (I use King Arthur’s organic white whole-wheat flour)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
- 1 ¾ cups milk (you could use white, buttermilk, or almond milk)
- 2 tablespoons butter (unsalted, melted, + butter for frying (alternatively you could use coconut oil))
- 2 bananas (mashed)
- pure maple syrup (for serving)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Make a well (hole) in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the honey, eggs, milk, and 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Whisk together thoroughly, but do not overmix.
- Gently fold the mashed bananas into the batter with a spatula.
- Heat a griddle or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Swirl enough butter around the pan until it is well coated. Add pancake batter using a soup ladle.
- When the pancakes have begun to turn golden brown on the bottom, flip them over to cook the other side.
- Serve with warm maple syrup and a side of fruit (like an apple, fresh blueberries, or a sliced banana if you just can't get enough). And don't forget to freeze the leftovers for another day!
Jen in NC says
I've been following your blog for about a year now. Great ideas and recipes. My boyfriend and I just embarked on a month (hopefully more) of clean living. We're amazed how much easier it is to eat and lose weight and not feel deprived when you eat real food. No more fake cookies as snacks or weird popped something or other crackers.
But anyway, we made this pancake recipe this weekend. I'm in love. Now I wanted to use plums I had so instead of bananas I put in sour cream, I used buttermilk and when they were cooking on the first side I put sliced plums and walnuts. They were amazing! This king arthur flour is a staple in our house.
Thank you!
Tee says
how many pancakes does this make? Sounds delicious but I need to calculate nutritional value
Jennifer B says
I JUST made them and they are delicious! I got 13 pancakes out of my batch.
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill) says
Hi Tee. Depends on the size, but, maybe 12-14. Jill
Jennifer says
I made these this morning but substituted pumpkin for the banana. I added cinnamon, ginger allspice and vanilla. They were fantastic! I used a "pancake mix" for years, never again.
tammy says
Just made these to get ready for first day of school tomorrow. My kids love them and are eating them for dinner!
Janey says
I made over this past holiday weekend for my husband, brother and myself. Everyone loved them and I was out of honey so I used maple syrup. Loved them, will definately make when my son come home on leave.
cari says
any suggestions on how to reheat from frozen?
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill) says
Hi Cari. I do them in the toaster if they're frozen just like you would do the ones from "the box". Jill
Tonyia says
I didn't have ripe bananas on hand, so I put in a 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, 1/4 tsp of pumpkin spice and 1/4 tsp of vanilla. My entire family ATE IT UP! Then the next day we were headed out and my husband cut them in half & stuck them in a zippie bag so we had a healthy snack on the road! YAY!
Lisa says
I had left over sweet potatoes and apple your side dish recipe. Pureed them and replaced the banana in this recipe with it my whole family lived them
Nicole says
Wow, these pancakes are fantastic! I took the recipe and made them vegan by omitting the egg and butter and using almond milk. I used 3 bananas instead of 2 (because of the omitted egg) and increased my milk to 2 cups. I used safflower oil in place of the butter. They were delicious! They are pretty dense and heavy, but I like it because it limited me to only 2 pancakes because I was so full. Topped them with a little real maple syrup and they were delicious! My batch made 17 good sized pancakes. I also input the recipe into a recipe calorie counter (the vegan way I made it), and it came out to 90 calories per pancake. I ended up freezing the 10 pancakes we didn't eat and now we have easy breakfast for the week! LOVE this recipe!
Nicole says
Just realized that since I did use honey, the way I made it wasn't "true" vegan. I think the recipe would have worked exactly the same if you had substituted maple syrup for the honey... in case anyone out there is looking for a true vegan substitute or does not want to use honey.
Stacy says
Could I substitute the honey for something else? I have wanted to make these as a finger food for my 8 month old but I think they say even baked/cooked honey is still not good for them.
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill) says
Hi Stacy. You could always try maple syrup. Jill
Sydney says
I love these! I have them like every week with a little peanut butter. Subbing applesauce for banana and adding cinnamon would also be good.
Robin says
These look great! Does anyone have a good pancake/waffle mix recipe (wasn't sure if I could just omit the bananas without affecting the other proportions). I'd like to keep the dry mix on hand so I only have to add the liquid ingredients when I make them. Thanks!
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill) says
Hi Robin. Yes, you can do this without the bananas. I've done it and they turn out just fine. And, I've also done the dry ingredients beforehand and that works as well. Jill
Anna says
I have made these pancakes twice this week they are so good! Yum! The only changes I made was using coconut oil instead of butter and putting blue berries in the pancakes....and the second time I used almond milk just because I needed to use that up...tasted the same as when I used milk. I also put a little of cinnamon in the pancakes and 1/2 tsp of vanilla. These were good enough to just eat plain and good with syrup. I'd eat these over Ihop ANY day!! I love that they are 'whole' and healthy as well. Since it's a whole food, they fill you up much faster! My 2 yr old and husband love them also!
Pamela says
I've made these pancakes many times. They are delicious! My younger daughter does not like bananas though, so she won't eat them. I make this recipe for her instead, and they are delicious as well, just use whatever oil (or melted butter) that you're comfortable using:
http://www.food.com/recipe/whole-wheat-pancakes-47669
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill) says
Hi Pamela. You can also just leave out the banana and add a different fruit if you like, the recipe still turns out great. Jill
Mandi says
These are really great! I also tried them subbing about a cup of pumpkin puree for the bananas and also adding nutmeg, cloves,and cinnamon. They were very good too.
Sue says
We are going camping in a couple of weeks and my kids have requested that we have these pancakes. Do you think i can make the batter a day or two ahead of when I will cook them? Or would it be better to cook the pancakes and then re-warm them at the campsite? Thanks for your thoughts.
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill) says
Hi Sue. I find that if I make the batter, I usually have to "loosen" it up with a little milk before cooking. You could also just mix the dry ingredients and add the wet ones later, but, that might be too much trouble. Hope they turn our great for your trip. Jill
Melanie Brown says
I just made these this morning & they were SOOOO good! Definitely a new favorite for me & my kiddos! I have tried several of your recipes & LOVE your blog. It is family friendly, healthy & inspiring. Thank you for helping me to provide better food for my family!
chalynda says
can i use soy milk instead of cow milk?
Lisa says
Chalynda - I have not tried that substitution myself, but I think it would work.
Paige says
My family and I are on the real food bandwagon as of this week! I made these pancakes tonight and they were great! I was a little skeptical because I have tried to make whole wheat pancakes in the past and they were not good. These were great! I did add a little vanilla to the recipe. Thanks!
Jamie says
I made these this morning! Delicious! The kids ate them up... I added some shredded unsweetened coconut to my maple syrup and zapped in in the mirowave for 10 seconds. YUMMO!
Brenda says
In the 4 years I have been cooking egg-free, these are by far, the best when adapted to be egg-free! I just added an extra banana, a Tbsp. of applesauce and a few chocolate chips to look more appealing to the kids, and WOW! They were delicious! Didn't even need syrup. They were loved by both my food allergenic child and my non-food allergenic children! So thanks for sharing and for having this website! I love it!
Jennifer says
I tried making these this morning with blueberries and they looked really promising (nice and thick, good texture, just the right amount of blueberries) and they were coloring really nicely on the outside but I could not for the life of me get them to cool all the way through. I tried adjusting the pancake size, cooking time, heat from medium high to medium to medium low and no matter what they had a gooey center (and I mean completely uncooked on the inside, not just a little gooey). Is there something I'm doing wrong? Maybe add more milk to make them thinner? Any suggestions?
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill) says
Hi Jennifer. I often add blueberries to mine and have not experienced this problem. I usually cook them on medium low. Was your flour fresh? Perhaps that could have been the problem? Jill
Jamie says
If they were cooked nicely on the outside but not done on the inside you may need to turn down the heat and cook them longer. Only thing I can think.
Heather says
These are the best! All 3 of my kids loved them. The only change I made was I added only 1 banana and a pouch of Happy Family stage 1 organic mango(its just pureed mango-no added sugar). Yum!!! Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes and ideas:)
mom2lo says
I made these pancakes this morning and my kids loved them! I did use 1/2 white flour and 1/2 white wheat flour to ease us into the transition of eating whole grains. I used a tad bit more honey and also added blueberries... delicious! I cannot tell you how much satisfaction I get from making food from scratch for my family using only real food! So pleased with all of your recipes, Lisa! Thank you SO MUCH!!!
mom2lo says
I'm writing about our real food journey here: http://amamafoodie.blogspot.com if anyone is interested in following along. I'm pulling most of my real food recipes from 100 Days of Real Food and post reviews and pics of everything I make. It's amazing to see how my kids have adapted quickly and easily to eating real food and eliminating the processed junk they've grown so accustomed to! :)
Justyna says
Oh. My. Gosh! These are wonderful! I did brinner (what we call breakfast-for-dinner) this evening and did these pancakes. My little tyrants ate them so fast that I couldn't keep up! LOL. So thankful that they are really filling and that I have a ton to freeze for my oldest, who has some food restrictions and is very picky (he's a foodie really and will not settle for "inferior" food) and will not eat any kind of cereal. These are going to be perfect for school mornings next year too. Thanks, Lisa!
Lora says
Just made these for me & my girls and they were absolutely amazing. While I was preparing them my middle daughter was like oh mom banana in pancakes and really even our pancakes have to be whole wheat (we are new to the real food way of eating) but in the end everyone loved them. Thanks for all of your amazing recipes.
Lauren says
These were amazing!! Yummy!! How do you eat them after they are frozen? Do you just thaw them then put them back on the griddle? Or can you do it with them frozen?
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill) says
Hi Lauren. You can just pop them in the toaster or microwave. I usually defrost mine the night before in the refrigerator. Jill
Candida says
I made these this morning, and added 1 tsp Vanilla Extract & a sprinkle of cinnamon to the batter. They were amazing & I love the fact that they tasted just sweet enough with the honey, rather than a granuated feel from white sugar! I threw in a few chocolate chips for the kiddos and they were devoured. Next time will add blueberries instead of chocolate. My picky 3-year-old requested seconds, and my husband who often asks me just to make them "normal" (ie: not healthy) raved about them. This recipe is a WINNER!
Erin F says
We tried these for the first time this morning. My husband didn't think the banana part sounded good, so I substituted applesauce for the bananas. They were great! I added a handful of blueberries to mine. I couldn't believe how light and fluffy they were. Thanks for sharing!
Haley says
We just had these pancakes for dinner...delicious!! We are new to trying to eat this way and this is the first recipe we have tried from your website. We're off to a good start! ;) Thank you so much!!
Christi says
Wow! These were great!
TC says
I just made this for the first time this morning for my 1 yr old and 2 yr old. I was so excited to try -- went to Earthfare yesterday and bought whole wheat flour for the first time, etc. I made these this morning and OMG so delicious! They did not disappoint. I am not a chef by any means but it made me feel so good to make this from scratch for my kids and to see them love it and know that it was 100% real food. We eat pretty well anyways but one of my last vices was hte frozen pancakes I had in the freezer for days when I was running behind getting ready for work, etc. They were frozen ones I had purchased at Earthfare...but still they were not "real". The taste of these reminded me of fried bananas that we used to get at chinese restarants for dessert when I was growing up. I need to experiment with adding other fruit or I guess substituting it for the bananas. SO yummy, thank you. I know this sounds silly, but I feel like a better mom.:)
I have printed off multiple other recipes that I plan to try soon. My husband commented maybe we would save $$ by cooking more...but I'm not so sure with the $$ I spent at Earthfare yesterday.;) It's worth it, though, I know.
Shannon says
TC
I too felt that initially I was spending alot more money but there were some initial ingredients I didn't have. Now that I have them the weekly expense has gone way down. Obviously these items will need to be replenished but that doesn't happen every week nor all at once. I also LOVE Lisa's theory that her kids can have ANYTHING in her pantry/fridge to eat. Nothing is off limits because it's all good for them. This was a constant battle between me and my son. Lastly I realized the following was true after cleaning out my pantry and replacing things with real and basic ingredients: pre-packaged items typically are only good for a very specific meal or dish but with REAL ingredients I can make anything anytime with the items in my pantry. I use the same flour to make bread, pancakes, muffins, etc so in the end it's less planning and less stock to keep up with. Hope this gives you a new take on the $$ part. :)
Jessie says
I think I've already commented on this recipe before (Sorry!). Anywho, every couple Sundays, we make a huge batch to freeze for weekly breakfast. Yesterday we did one batch with bananas and one batch with some blueberries we had frozen. THEY WERE SO GOOD! Even our super picky three year old ate them! As always, thanks for sharing all your great recipes!
Cindy says
Ive had these pancakes bookmarked for quite a while and just got around to making them this morning...yummo:) I took a reviewers advise and switched the bananas out for 1/2 cup of applesauce...just wasn't in the banana mood today and then switched the butter out for coconut oil only because it is supposed to be better for you but half way through cooking the batch it hit me to throw some orange peel in...OMG!! So good. I sure wish you had a book so I could flip through your recipes easier. Ive made your whole wheat bread, cinnamon raisin ww bread, zucchini bread, granola, waffles, and berry sauce. I have several other things bookmarked but need to pace myself as I need to lose weight and know that even though these things are healthier they still contain calories:( Thank you for doing what you do. I started out Paleo and its fine but don't like the idea of giving up wheat and dairy altogether so I am so happy to have found your recipes which allows me to stay away from white flour and refined sugars and still have yummy foods:)
Beth says
These sound really good - I'm just wondering, do you know if they would be safe to feed to my 8-month-old because of the honey? I know babies under 1 shouldn't eat honey due to the bacteria, bubt do you know if honey is okay in baked goods?
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill) says
Hi Beth. Our team would suggest that you check with your pediatrician for a definitive answer, but, our guess is that as long as it is cooked you should be ok.
Carisa says
I've been following your website for almost a year. I can't believe it took me this long to try these pancakes. They are so good. My boys (who balk at most whole foods) loved them. Said they tasted like banana muffins.
plattergirl says
Oh my goodness! Just made these for the first time and they are delicious!!! Thanks so much!!! Love all of your recipes so far!!
eLaiNe says
I made these on Saturday afternoon. The family, sans my very picky daughter, loved them. I added walnuts to mine and that made them just perfect in my opinion. I made a huge batch and plan to freeze them. Thanks for a great recipe!
Courtney Garriso says
Hi there - want to make these but have a son who has severe food allergies to egg, dairy and soy! SOooo....can I sub applesauce for the eggs? And cocunut oil for the butter? Maybe almond milk for the milk? I have a feeling changing all this will change too much! Thoughts!?!?
100 Days of Real Food says
Oh wow I wish I could help, but I am not very experienced with the food allergy substitutions. It's such a small amount of butter I think the coconut oil should be fine. I also think the milk substitution will work. I am not sure about the egg replacement though. Good luck experimenting!
Monica says
I made these tonight for the second time and loved them. I threw a couple handfuls of dry oats into the mix too for some extra filling power. My husband wanted walnuts in his so I sprinkled them on top of the batter once I poured it onto the griddle. He loved them. I especially love that I always have the ingredients for these on hand so they are great for dinner when I am short on time or just don't feel like preparing a big meal.