These banana pancakes have a great texture and are totally banana-sweetened. They’re 100% whole grain and naturally gluten-free and dairy-free with vegan option. Check out the rave reviews below!
I’m pretty picky with my pancakes. I don’t like bready ones. Especially whole grain bready ones.
So don’t worry – these aren’t your usual cardboardy whole grain pancakes! They’re soft and slightly moist.
I often make my Swedish pancakes or paleo buttermilk pancakes when I have some berries I want to use, but these banana oatmeal pancakes are my all-time favorite.
If you’ve got some bananas that are about to go bad, this is what you want to do with them (though these paleo chocolate banana muffins would also be a great choice!).
The bananas don’t need to be banana bread ripe, though. It’s fine as long as the peel has some black spots on it.
Even with just bananas and no added sugar, these gluten-free banana pancakes are nice and sweet and maple syrup is totally unnecessary (but it’s always nice, isn’t it? ;)) Same goes with chocolate chips!
If you need to make some gluten-free pancakes but don’t want to buy any specialty flours, these are a great choice. They just use oat flour, which is nothing but ground up oats.
If you don’t have oat flour on hand, you can whirl some quick or rolled oats in a food processor, high-powered blender (like a Blendtec or Vitamix) or an electric coffee grinder until it’s very fine and powdery. It works just as well as store-bought oat flour.
My favorite way for small amounts is the coffee grinder and if I need more, a high-powered blender. Both get the oat flour really fine.
And if you’d like to use a blender to make pancakes, try these banana Blender Pancakes!
If you have a large food processor, you’ll probably need to grind more oats than you need for this recipe to get it to grind the oats finely enough. I have a large food processor and need at least a cup or two of oats for them to reach the blade.
Just make sure to use gluten-free oats / oat flour if you need these pancakes to be gluten-free! (read here: are oats gluten-free? if you’re new to gluten-free and unsure about oats!)
Overall, these gluten-free banana pancakes are easy to make but one thing that I’ve noticed is that they’re pretty difficult to flip in a cast iron skillet. You can definitely do it but I needed a lot of coconut oil.
My pan isn’t very well seasoned but still… I thought I should warn you. As soon as I switched to a regular non-stick pan, this wasn’t an issue.
School isn’t even out yet here in Bavaria for another two weeks but I know school is starting up soon in some parts of the US. These banana oatmeal pancakes are great to make-ahead for busy mornings as they reheat well and they’re also delicious when cold so they’d be a super dessert for the lunchbox.
These banana breakfast bars from Crazy for Crust also look like a tasty option! And for something without banana, try these protein pancakes, which can be made with whole wheat or gluten-free flour.
I originally posted this banana pancake recipe in 2013 but am re-sharing them today with new pictures and a video because they’re just so darn good (check out the reviews if you need convincing!). Here’s an old picture for reference (for the people wondering if this is really the recipe they’ve been making).
Questions about these gluten-free banana pancakes?
- How can I make these grain-free? I’ve been working on a grain-free version. I’ll post it once it’s as tasty as the oat flour version!
- Can I use something other than flour? Oat flour absorbs liquids differently than other flours so I can’t really suggest anything. If you decide to experiment, let us know how it goes!
- Can I use something in place of the bananas? I wouldn’t really recommend trying something else like pumpkin as nothing else is kind of sticky and really sweet like bananas.
Since it’s the base of the recipe, I think a different recipe would be better if you don’t want to use bananas.
Banana Pancakes (gluten-free, 100% whole grain, dairy-free)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 8-9 medium pancakes
Ingredients
- 3 small or 2 medium overly ripe bananas (270 grams / 9.5 ounces total, without the peel), mashed
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) coconut oil or unsalted butter (for a dairy-containing version), melted
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar (I've tried both white and apple cider vinegar)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs (50 grams each, out of shell) or 2 chia eggs1 for vegan
- 1 cup (95 grams) oat flour (make sure to use GF oat flour, if needed)2
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the wet ingredients (bananas through eggs) and stir until well combined.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients.
- Pour the dry ingredients over the wet and stir just until combined. There might still be some lumps.
- Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat a non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Spray it lightly with cooking spray or lightly butter it.
- Pour 1/4 cups of batter onto the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes until bubbles start to form around the edges of the pancake.
- Flip it and cook for another 90 seconds or until golden brown on the bottom.
- Continue with the remaining batter and serve the pancakes immediately.
- Cover and refrigerate any leftovers for up to 4 days. They're great reheated and cold.
Notes
- To make 2 chia eggs, mix 2 tablespoons ground chia with 5 tablespoons water and let sit for 5 minutes.
- To make your own oat flour, grind quick or rolled oats in a coffee grinder or food processor until it resembles flour.
Adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking
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227 comments on “Banana Pancakes (options for gluten-free/vegan)” — Add one!
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These pancakes sound delicious! I love making healthier pancakes. I usually use whole wheat flour and add banana. (And my kids love it when I add chocolate chips 😊) I’ve used Greek yogurt and/or almond milk too but I’ve been wanting to experiment with out flour. I’m excited to try your recipe. Thanks!
I love whole wheat pancakes, too, but prefer the milder taste of oat flour. And it’s still 100% whole grain so I’m doubly happy. ;) I hope you’ll enjoy the pancakes! Thanks for your comment.
Haven’t been able to try this recipe yet, but just wanted to say that I LOVE that you posted the weight of the bananas without the peels – “2 large banana” recipe listings are so annoying, and I love that you’ve made it easy for me to make sure to do this correctly! Thank you! :)
Oh my gosh. Don’t even get me started on those recipes. ;) I won’t even make recipes with measurements like that because my final product won’t be anything like theirs! I’m happy you appreciate the gram measurements. :) Thanks for your comment!
These pancakes are delicious! I made them for the first time following the recipe exactly and poured maple syrup over top. Next time, I plan on trying the suggestion of substituting the butter for applesauce in order to reduce the fat. I don’t eat gluten free, but I am trying to cut way back on the wheat in my diet. It’s nice to find delicious, easy to make recipes like this gem instead of buying processed pre-made foods or mixes. Thank you!
I’m happy that you enjoyed the pancakes! They sure are delicious with maple syrup. I’m not GF, either, but GF recipes really are delicious sometimes. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment!
These were SO good! I made them for my husband and I this morning and added a few chocolate chips to the batter after I poured the pancakes onto the skillet. One slight modification that I made – I did about 1 tbsp. coconut oil and 1 tbsp applesauce and I thought it was perfect. Will definitely be making again!
Adding chocolate chips is always a good idea. :D I’m so happy you enjoyed them! Thanks a bunch for your comment.
As someone who is allergic to dairy and not a fan of the flavor of coconut oil I decided to experiment with 2 TBSP of plain applesauce and it worked all the same! Just about 25 less grams of fat ;) delicious and so easy to modify! Thanks!
Awesome! That’s great to know. :) Thanks for your tip and the feedback!
These were great! I usually keep bananas on hand explicitly to freeze and keep for smoothies but wanted something more today. I love the texture of oat flour. I ground my own in the food processor and left some pieces so the texture looked very similar to yours. And added some walnuts for extra crunch. Thanks – these will be a great go-to pancake recipe!!
Yum! I love that you added walnuts for some extra texture. I’m so happy that you gave these a try and enjoyed them! Thanks for your comment. :)
How much is one serving? It says it makes 8-9 pancakes…but is that more than one serving? Thanks for your help, I can’t wait to make these!!
That’s hard to say because it depends on how much you want to eat! I wouldn’t suggest a serving of 8-9 medium pancakes for one person, though. ;) I think 2 or 3 pancakes would be more reasonable. I hope you’ll enjoy them!
My kids love these (as do I)! So easy and they’re just delicious. You have such a talent!! I always look forward to seeing what recipes I can try next!
Aww, thanks! What a nice thing to say. :) And I’m so happy you and your kids enjoy the pancakes so much! Thanks a bunch for your comment and feedback.
These are just fantastic and were delicious! And we’re so quick to whip up for eveyone at breakfast. thanks for sharing :)
And thank you for your feedback! I’m so happy you enjoyed them. :)
These pancakes are so delicious! It’s a hit in my family every time I make them.
Yay! So happy to hear that. Thanks for your feedback. :)
These pancakes are deeeelicious! My family loved them. They are very soft and moist. I tried a few oat pancake recipes that were disasters. This is hands down the best banana pancake recipe, and super healthy! Thank you for the recipe Erin!!
Aww, yay! I’m so happy that these turned out well for you. I’ve also tried some oat pancakes that weren’t the best so I was happy to come across these. ;) Thanks a bunch for your feedback!
I usually never comment but this time I just had to ! Theses babies are amazing ! The best in fact, definitely a keeper. Thank you !
Wow, thanks! I’m so happy you liked them and even felt the need to comment. :) Thanks again!
These look amazing, and I’m glad so many commenters liked them! I don’t tolerate dietary fats very well, do you know if I could sub in applesauce for the oil without too many problems?
Thanks! And I think it’s so little oil that you’d be fine with applesauce. I haven’t tried it so I’m not positive, but I think it’ll be okay. I hope you’ll enjoy them! :)
They were AMAZING! They turned into my go-to snack for the whole week! Making another batch tonight!
Yay! So happy to hear that you liked them. :) Thanks a bunch for letting me know how they came out!
Being gluten free and a clean eater, I LOVED the idea of your recipe! gave it a try, was delicious, although, my batter was quite thick…Is it suppose to be runny? the only thing I didn’t have was the lemon juice, but one person had said she subbed the lemon juice with vinegar, wich I did, but, my batter was very thick, very difficult to cook. Any suggestions?
I’m sorry that they were difficult to cook! The batter isn’t super runny, but it shouldn’t have been thick or hard to cook. I’m sure your vinegar sub wasn’t the problem. Did you happen to weigh your oat flour? The only thing I can think of is that you packed your cup too full, or maybe your bananas weren’t mashed well enough. I hope they were still enjoyable! :)
No worries! they were still super delish!!! I did weight my bananas! I put 1 cup of oat flour like the recipe says…not certain but, will definitely try them again!
Thank yous for this recipe!
Try weighing the oat flour, too, if you didn’t last time. It’s easy to overpack the oat flour cups. Good luck with next time! :)
Thank you for this recipe, Erin! I’ve been trialing a bunch of different gluten & dairy free recipes to make pancakes for a friend’s birthday (as a regular eater of gluten and dairy I’m not well versed in what works and what doesn’t so there’s been some trial and error).
These are totally delicious – quite different to my regular pancakes but packed full of flavour and a lovely moist texture. I will definitely be making them again, for myself as well as for my friend.
That’s nice of you to try out different recipes for your friend’s birthday! Pancakes sounds like a great change from regular old birthday cake. :) I’m happy that you liked these enough to make again (especially considering you can have gluten). Thank you so much for the feedback!
I have just tried your recipe and that’s what I call perfection!
Fluffy, fragrant, perfectly golden brown, with the right point of sweetness!
I am allergic to lemon so I used white vinegar. And I didn’t have any coconut oil at hand so I used virgin olive oil instead, and everything worked like a charm!
Thank you! You saved my saturday breakfasts now that I can’t eat wheat and dairy products!
I’m happy to hear that Saturday breakfast has been saved! :) And awesome that olive oil works here. I think I’ll try that next time. Thanks a ton for the feedback!
I love these! I ran out of soy milk, so I searched for a milk free pancake recipe, and these are beautiful!
I’m so happy that you liked them! Thanks for the feedback. :)
These were delicious! Just what I was looking for, my one-year old is gluten, dairy, soy, nuts and egg white free (I used just yolks instead) and he loved them! And they were just as great for the adults with some real maple syrup…not that they needed it. Thanks for the great recipe!
I’m so happy your little one could eat these and that you all enjoyed them! And you’re right – maple syrup isn’t necessary here but pretty much everything is better with it, right? ;) Thanks a ton for your feedback!
Does anyone know how well these freeze?!
I haven’t tried it but I’m pretty sure they freeze well! Pancakes normally do and I don’t these are an exception. :) (but I could be wrong!)
I made these (and love them!) And I freeze them and they do freeze well. After I make them I put them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and out it in the freezes. Then when they are just barely frozen I transfer them to a gallon zip lock bag. Works great.
I like your method of freezing these! Sounds great. I’m so happy you like the pancakes and thanks for your freezing tip and the feedback!
When I read this I thought here’s another whole wheat recipe that probably takes like card board. Well was I surprised when I tasted these pancakes. I didn’t have any bananas in the house so I took a can of pineapples and blended about 10oz and used then instead. I couldn’t stop eating them. The first one I ate without any syrup, it was good but I tried the second one with syrup and it was even better.
There was a comment by someone that said she couldn’t eat bananas so this pineapple substitute would probably work for her.
Haha. I don’t do cardboard-y tasting goodies, either. ;) I’m so happy that you liked the pancakes! The pineapple idea is a great one. I’ll pass that on to anyone else who asks about a sub for bananas! Thanks so much for your feedback. :)