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!
Crystal Watford says
Just made these for the first time today, and may I say, Yum! I put some in the freezer for this coming week, and look forward to seeing how they taste reheated. Thanks for the great recipes. Please keep them coming!
Melissa says
Just found this web site today. Looking for ways to slowly cut out processed food. I would like to try this pancake recipe but we aren't huge fans of bananas. What else could be substituted for bananas?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Melissa. I've used shredded apple and sprinkled in a bit of cinnamon. Yum. ~Amy
Ana Ines May says
Can this recipe be used for plain pancakes if I omit the bananas?,we like different fruits for toppings in hour household.And what about unsweetened applesauce instead of butter in the mix?...I already try your waffles recipe and was a success!!!..:)
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Ana. The consistency will be changed if you omit the banana but feel free to experiment and let us know your results! ...with the applesauce, too. :) ~Amy
Hannah Clark says
We are new to eating whole foods. And I was worried my family would totally reject it! But we started with these pancakes! They gobbled them up, and the next morning they ate all the extras I had frozen! Thank you!!! :)
Amy says
Thanks for this recipe! Just tried it this morning, and it was delicious! I found out I'm not very good at cooking pancakes, though, so I'll have to practice more :)
Ashley says
About how many pancakes does this make? I want to try them but I have gestational diabetes so I need to count carbs to determine my insulin dose but I need the yield to make to sure my numbers are accurate. Thanks :)
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Ashley. I usually get about a dozen medium sized pancakes. But it is a bit different every time. You will have to try and calculate based on your own typical serving sizes. :) ~Amy
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hello Jane. We do not provide nutrition information for our recipes. These posts help explain why: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/ and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/23/portion-size-matters/. ~Amy
jane says
Great ideas! Where do I find the nutritional info..ie calories, carbs, ect?
Janice says
Do you have all your recipes complied in a word or pdf format?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hello Janice. Each individual recipe can be found in printable form in the recipe index: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/real-food-resources/recipe-index/. Hope that helps. ~Amy
Briana LaForte says
Thank you for this recipe! My daughter is allergic to milk and I used vanilla almond milk instead of regular milk and it turned out great! I have been trying different pancake recipes for her and they all have a baking soda taste to me. This is the first one I have tried and really loved! I love the fact that it is all real ingredients!
Jamie says
Just wanted to say that my husband and I have a little girl 5 months old, and since my pregnancy we have been trying to "clean" up our eating. I never had that push until my mother came to stay with me, and I watched how she cooked, and how I learned to cook-- that I realized everything she did was out of convenience (all out of a box, or can!) It was then, that it hit me-- this is how I'm going to teach my daughter to cook? NO way! We made the decision to not buy any processed items, and to start making things from scratch, if it was in the house we could use it, but we could no longer replace it-instead going for the new-healthier choice It has been a such a fun challenge.. at times a little trying because we both work full time, and don't use daycare, but well worth the effort. This was one of my favorite recipies-- my husband actually said it was his all time favorite. We didnt even have any leftovers!! He said- he could remember a time when he was a little boy and he got to eat real food-because thats all there way, since then it's been all convenience foods for him too like premade pancake mix :( . He was so excited- and said they were the best pancakes he has EVER tasted. He went as far as to even ask me to make another batch just we could freeze them. (and I did!)
Aubrey says
Thank you for this recipe!!!! It is a favorite! We just modified it today to add pumpkin puree instead of mashed bananas, and some pumpkin pie spice...YUMMO!
Tiffany says
How much pumpkin did you use? What a great idea!
linda says
This recipe cuts in half great, especially important when you are single and don't need so many. I add blueberries for me, and chocolate chips for the grandkids (we are moving toward real foods for them). Are you are right, they freeze great. Heat on the griddle rather than the microwave. Much better that way.
Ashley says
These were amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
Stephan says
This has become a weekly dinner for our family and the leftovers become the breakfast on the go during the week. Yum!!
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Natalie. Adding banana tends to make pancakes a little heavier but they should cook through without being too dark on the outside. Maybe your heat needs to be lowered a bit. ~Amy
Natalie m says
These are great! But quick question I upped the milk to 2 cups to thin out which I read in a previous comment.. But are they suppose to be kind of doughy on the inside? They get real brown on the outside and feel a little doughy inside. We still ate them because they were great but just making sure.. How long on each side usually?
Amanda says
I have a huge bag of Bob's red mill 10 grain pancake mix. Do you think I can get away with just adding banana to the mixing directions?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Amanda. Not sure. You might have to adjust whatever liquid you add a bit. Regardless, give our recipe a try. It is SO good. ~Amy
Gina says
Love 'em! Enought that I should probably stop eating them at night as a snack, but I love 'em!
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Heather. I have used salted butter before and cut the added salt down by half. ~Amy
Heather says
If I only have salted butter, should I leave the salt out?
Ruth says
LOVE these, I added a little cinnamon and real vanilla to the batter, and they were awesome!!! I will NEVER eat pancakes out of a box again!!!
Tina says
I made these this morning and loved them. I'm new to your site but loving the idea of real food. Wish I had payed attention to what I and my family was eating early. Do you have the nutritional info for these. I've been keeping an eye on my calorie intake and would like note these.
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Tina. Glad you enjoyed the pancakes! Sorry though, we do not track nutrition information. There are several nutrition calculator tools available online that can help you do that. ~Amy
John says
My wife and I made these for dinner - they are so good! An excellent recipe - thanks for sharing!
Amy says
I had not tried these because I don't like bananas, but I made them today for my 10 month old. Guess what? They are delicious! The bananas flavor is subtle to me, and I really enjoyed how moist they are. Thank you for a new recipe!
Amy says
Made these today on a snowy morning. They were wonderful. I love the white-whole wheat flour! I used a flax egg instead of a real egg and coconut oil instead of butter with no issues. I also sprinkled some homemade granola on the raw side before flipping them. Fantastic!
Andreia says
Thank you for this recipe. We usually don't have pancakes because I never got a recipe that worked and I refused to buy the box so I tried those today and they are awesome!!!!!!! The best ever
Megan says
These were a hit in my house! Even my non-whole grain eating husband loved them. Thanks for such a great and healthy breakfast!
Noelle West says
Made this this morning, super yummy. Was out of bananas so I used blueberries. Is the nutritional value posted for these anywhere. Just curious how many calories in each pancake
Susan says
Made these this morning for my family and LOVED them! They were absolutely delicious if you like bananas. My 6-yr old ate 3 of them and my 11mo old ate a whole one on his own! My 5-yr old wasn't crazy about them, but she doesn't like banana bread so I wasn't surprised. I think I'll try blueberries next time. This made about 20 pancakes. LOVED that there were leftovers to freeze for quick breakfasts later on. Thank you for this site, Lisa! You're helping a lot of people!
Roxana says
Made these today and they were yummy. I gave it 4 stars because I think that I would've like them better without banana. I like bananas and banana bread, but pancakes I generally like plain. If you were wondering this will make approximately 10-12 pancakes.
Angela says
I just made them with 2/3c applesauce instead of the mashed banana and they turned out great!
alison says
just made these for the first time and my whole family like them. they are lush when you do a really big one, smooth over some runny honey and roll around a whole banana. I shall only make these from now on.
Linda says
These are beyond delicious!! Fluffy and flavourful. My whole family loves them and agrees we should throw out the 'box' stuff for good. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Rachel Frost says
These are soooo good. I make double batches and freeze them all the time. It's my favorite weekend breakfast and sometimes dinner when I don't have anything planned.
Family of 4 says
Delicious! Both kids and adults love them!
Nicole says
I made these this morning. They were very easy to make and I am pretty sure these were the best pancakes I ever had! :)
Jayme O. says
These were soooo good! Didn't have any eggs so I substituted flax seed and also added some blueberries! Thanks so much for all your recipes!
Sarah says
Just made these today and I must say they are delicious! My 5 yr old agrees. He had them as an after school snack with your berry sauce recipe on top. Gotta say I'm lovin' all your recipes so far.
Karis says
Love the healthy options you provide! would love to make waffles, ... is there anything i might need to do to convert this recipe from pancakes to waffles?
THANKS!
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill) says
Here is a waffle recipe...https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/07/23/recipe-whole-wheat-waffles/. Jill
elvia says
May I substitute Milk for Almond or Coconut Milk??
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill) says
Yes, I usually use the unsweetened, unflavored almond milk. Jill