Jack Johnson is a favorite musician of mine. He sings a song called “Banana Pancakes.”
A verse of the song goes,
“But, baby, you hardly even notice
When I try to show you this
Song is meant to keep you
From doing what you’re supposed to.
Waking up too early
Maybe we can sleep in
Make you banana pancakes
Pretend like it’s the weekend now
And we could pretend it all the time…”
Since hearing this song years ago, I’ve had a hankering to try banana pancakes. Unbelievably, I never have…until Saturday.
This weekend I had 3 pretty ripe (yellow with some browning) bananas. I was making pancakes and breakfast for my friend and kids. I decided to end the long-awaited-yet-highly-anticipated-hankering-for-banana-pancakes (don’t you just love long hyphenated words?) that I’ve had. So, I mashed them up and added a few other ingredients to the pancake mix I had on hand.
A little experimentation resulted in an excellent pancake/flapjack that was even more delicious than I thought a banana pancake would be. Really, these are a ‘must-try.’ They are moist, flavorful, and filling. Also, they hold their shape like a pancake or flapjack.
They are excellent with a variety of toppings: peanut butter, Nutella, honey, syrup, butter, jelly, fresh fruit, and/or whipping cream.
Convenience is always nice for breakfast foods. By using a pre-made pancake mix this recipe can be prepped in just a few minutes! I will be making banana pancakes regularly from now on.
Directions:
- Mix mashed up ripe bananas, syrup, vanilla, water, and pancake mix in a bowl.
- Heat pan or skillet to medium heat or 350 F.
- Spray non-stick cooking spray onto surface of pan or griddle. Once the griddle is hot (test by dropping a drop of water on the pan—it should make a hissing sound and evaporate quickly), pour 1/4-1/2 cup of batter onto the pan.
Because of the banana, these pancakes will be heavier and a little more difficult to flip than a normal one. If the side face-down is cooked to a light brown and most of the air bubbles are popped before you try to flip it, and you get a good scoop underneath the pancake with a spatula, they will flip just fine. Cook the other side until light brown or cooked through as well.
- Top with one or more of the following: syrup, peanut butter, Nutella, butter, jelly, honey, marshmallow creme, fresh fruit, whipping cream, ice cream, etc.
Makes 20 4-inch pancakes
Prep. 5 minutes
Cook 3 minutes per pancake
Supply List
Masher or use two forks
Pancake pan or electric griddle
- 3 Cups mashed bananas (about 3 medium)
- 3 Cups pancake mix
- ½ Cup butter flavored syrup
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2¼ Cups water
- Non-stick cooking spray
- Mix mashed up bananas, syrup, vanilla, water, and pancake mix in a bowl. Heat pan or skillet to medium heat or 350 F.
- Spray non-stick cooking spray onto surface of pan or griddle. Once the pan is hot (test by dropping a drop of water on the pan—it should make a hissing sound and evaporate quickly), pour ¼-1/2 Cup of batter on the pan. Because of the banana, these pancakes will be heavier and a little more difficult to flip than a normal one. If the side faced down is cooked to a light brown and most of the air bubbles are popped before you try to flip it AND you get a good scoop underneath the pancake with a spatula, they will flip just fine. Cook the other side until light brown or cooked through as well.
- Top with one or more of the following: bananas, honey, syrup, peanut butter, Nutella, butter, jelly, marshmallow creme, fresh fruit, whipping cream, ice cream, etc.
For other ‘rich living’ and ‘gourmet recipes’ please subscribe, like me on Facebook, and follow me on Pinterest and Instagram.
Oh man, these look so good! Especially with the Nutella on it!!
What a great way to use up bananas! We always seem to have 1 or 2 that go bad before we can eat them. We’ll have to try this soon 🙂
Thanks for stopping by.
thank you so much! this is great 🙂
You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping by.
I want to leave the syrup out, do I need to add anything to compensate for that?
yes you will need molasses or possibly honey. it definitely needs some type of syrup-y ingredient. Thanks!
Made these this morning for elementary age children. Although some kids are always reluctant to try something (anything!) new, the ones who felt adventurous this morning sampled them and fell in love! We added mini-chocolate chips, too, which is always a bit hit with kids.
The pancakes were super moist and delicious. No need to mess with messy syrup since it’s already in the batter, making the pancakes much easier for the “littles” to eat. (Some haven’t yet mastered using a knife and fork.) Making smaller, silver dollar-sized pancakes made flipping them on the griddle much easier, too. I’m sure I will get requests to make these again!
So glad that the little ones loved them. My kids always request these :). I love the mini chocolate chip idea! My daughter loves chocolate so I’ll throw some in hers next time. Thanks!
I like your description of the proper way to toss the pancakes. A way to hold on to bananas that are past their ripeness is to freeze them and use them whenever you have a banana pancake hankering. I’ve got 6 in my freezer awaiting the call!
Great tip thanks!