There are pancakes… after which there are these vegan banana pancakes.
Fluffy as a cloud, with crispy golden edges and bursting with cozy, candy banana taste, these pancakes are the true deal.
This recipe is a riff on my fan-favorite vegan buttermilk pancakes—however with a banana twist that appears like a heat hug on a lazy Sunday morning. They’re critically simple to make, delightfully indulgent, and completely candy (because of these spotty bananas in your counter simply begging for use).
Bookmark these to your subsequent weekend brunch and prepare to do a contented dance in your kitchen 
Desk of Contents:
1. Why this recipe works
2. Ingredient notes
3. Step-by-step directions
4. Ideas for making this recipe
5. Regularly Requested Questions
6. Recipe card with notes
Why this recipe works
A traditional with a twist
In case you already know and love my traditional vegan pancake recipe, you’re assured to like these vegan banana pancakes.
As a substitute of the bitter cream the traditional model requires, right here we’re utilizing ripe mashed bananas. And naturally, we’re heightening these flavors with complementary spices (cinnamon and cardamom) and a few brown sugar.
The outcome? Wealthy butteriness, completely candy banana taste, and nice fluff. What extra might you need?
Fluffiness unlocked, no eggs wanted
Regardless of containing bananas, that are fairly dense and moisture-rich (take into consideration how heavy a regular banana bread may be!), these pancakes are remarkably fluffy.
That’s all because of our buttermilk substitute, which is just a mix of soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Soy milk does some heavy lifting right here—excessive protein content material + acid = lots of curdling, which contributes to fluffiness.
A beneficiant quantity of baking powder and a little bit of baking soda (which will get activated by the acidity within the bananas and brown sugar) additional contribute to the fluff issue.
Straightforward however spectacular
So long as you’ve obtained ripe bananas, these pancakes are tremendous easy to make! Mash ‘em up and mix them with three different liquid substances, whisk collectively the dry substances, then marry the 2! Bada bing, bada growth.
Regardless of the straightforward substances and methods, you’ll be handled to significantly scrumptious pancakes which can be gourmand sufficient to wow a crowd.
Whip them up to your subsequent Sunday brunch or anytime you’ve gotten company!
Searching for one other indulgent weekend brunch concept? Attempt my Vegan French Toast!
Ingredient notes
Soy milk + apple cider vinegar
When combined with an acid like vinegar, soy milk curdles considerably as a consequence of its excessive protein content material, yielding a batter that fluffs up delightfully effectively when uncovered to the warmth within the frying pan. That is the key behind a number of glorious vegan baked items, together with my final vegan cupcakes.
And the acidity within the apple cider vinegar helps break down the gluten strands in flour, lending a young texture (and a really refined tang that balances the sweetness of the bananas).
Substitute: In case you can tolerate soy, use soy milk for the very best outcomes. You probably have a soy allergy, I’d strive a full-fat oat or barista number of almond milk (I like Elmhurst greatest), or pea milk when you’ve got entry to it, because it’s additionally excessive in protein).
Bananas
No shocker right here! As with banana bread, the very best bananas to make use of listed here are overripe or very ripe bananas, the sort with a number of darkish brown spots. These bananas are the sweetest and softest, making them simpler to mash and incorporate into the batter.
Tip: Need to make these now however don’t have very ripe bananas? You’ll be able to bake bananas within the oven to melt them, however in our checks, the banana taste was not as pronounced. See the FAQ part for directions.
All-purpose flour
The usual flour for nearly any pancake recipe.
Substitute: Desire a vitamin enhance? We examined these with 100% complete wheat flour with good outcomes. Use 1 ¾ cups (235g) 100% complete wheat flour with barely extra milk, 1 ⅔ cups (400 mL) soy milk.
Vegan Butter
For glorious buttery taste, a requirement in any glorious pancake.
There are such a lot of nice vegan butter blocks in the marketplace today. Our favourite extensively out there choice is Violife’s plant butter.
Substitute: Don’t have vegan butter? Attempt utilizing melted refined coconut oil or additional virgin olive oil.
Brown sugar
Sugar performs two roles in these vegan pancakes: (1) it provides sweetness (which suggests the pancakes style nice on their very own, even with no or minimal maple syrup); (2) it aids in caramelization, serving to the pancakes brown and develop crisp edges.
I go for brown sugar over white, because it enhances the flavour of the bananas and spices.
Substitute: You’ll be able to at all times use cane/white sugar in case you want. Whereas we haven’t examined this, coconut sugar would in all probability work fantastic.
Cinnamon and cardamom
To enhance the banana-brown sugar taste, I add floor cinnamon and cardamom into the batter. I am going fairly beneficiant with the cinnamon (1 ½ teaspoons) so its taste shines via, however you should utilize much less for a extra refined taste.
And only for enjoyable (and slightly additional class), a touch of cardamom sneaks in so as to add a carefully wealthy spiced heat.
Step-by-step directions
Make the “buttermilk”: Combine the vinegar into the soy milk and put aside to curdle.
In a big bowl, mix the dry substances: flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom if utilizing, and brown sugar. Whisk very effectively to make sure the leaveners get evenly distributed.
In a medium bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork (small chunks are fantastic).
Pour the remaining liquid substances into the bananas: buttermilk, vanilla, and melted butter.
Whisk the liquid substances till effectively mixed. Pour the liquid substances into the dry combine.
Swap to a wood spoon and gently fold to mix, simply till the flour pockets are gone. Don’t overmix, as it might toughen the batter.
Preheat your frying pan over medium to medium-low for a couple of minutes, then add 1 teaspoon of cooking oil. As soon as the pan is sizzling, ladle in ⅓ cup (80 to 90g) of batter per pancake.
Cook dinner for two to 2 ½ minutes, or till the sides are setting and a few bubbles seem on the floor, and the underside is golden brown. Fastidiously flip and prepare dinner for one more 1 to 2 minutes till the second aspect is golden brown.
Ideas for making this recipe
Use soy milk in case you can
In my many rounds of testing these traditional vegan pancakes, we realized that soy milk was the clear winner for pancakes. They produced probably the most fluff, by far.
So in case you don’t have a soy allergy, use soy milk for the very best outcomes.
In case you do have a soy allergy, I’d strive a full-fat oat or barista number of almond milk (I like Elmhurst greatest), or pea milk when you’ve got entry to it, because it’s additionally excessive in protein).
Gently combine
When it’s time to mix moist and dry substances, change to a wood spoon and gently fold till simply mixed and the flour pockets are gone. A number of lumps are good–you don’t desire a clean batter!
Over mixing can toughen the gluten within the flour, yield much less mild and fluffy pancakes.
Preheat the pan correctly and modify the warmth
Whether or not you make these in a nonstick frying, forged iron or carbon metal pan, or griddle, preheating the pan is essential for nice pancakes.
For this recipe, warmth the pan (or griddle) dry for a couple of minutes over medium to medium-low warmth.
Then add the oil (I exploit high-heat oil to attenuate smoking or burning) and let that warmth for ~30 seconds. To check if the pan is sizzling sufficient, add a drop of water. If it sizzles instantly, the pan is prepared (wipe out the water droplet so it doesn’t spit up at you!)
After flipping the primary pancake, assess the warmth stage. And as you prepare dinner the subsequent pancakes, you’ll doubtless have to decrease the warmth a bit to forestall the outsides from absolutely browning earlier than the inside cooks via.
Need crispy edges? Use this methodology
If you’re like me, you need your pancakes to have these delectable crispy, buttery edges, not be floppy and dry.
INSTRUCTIONS
To realize the crispy edges and that traditional golden ring across the pancakes, right here’s what to do:
- Grease the pan with high-heat oil, as butter—even vegan butter—tends to burn a bit. I like utilizing melted refined coconut oil for the flavour. Or, you should utilize avocado oil, canola oil, and so on.
- Be beneficiant with the oil when cooking. I exploit a heaped teaspoon of oil per pancake.
- About 30 seconds after ladling the batter into the pan, swirl the oil within the pan in order that it strikes in direction of the sides of the pancakes. Ideally, repeat this course of a few times earlier than flipping.
- Flip the pancake and let prepare dinner for 20 to 30 seconds. If there’s any oil remaining within the pan, swirl once more. NOTE: Don’t flip the pancakes forwards and backwards, simply the one time. This makes pancakes much less fluffy with out a uniform golden brown exterior.
- NOTE: If cooking two pancakes directly in a big skillet, use 1 ½ to 2 teaspoons of oil.
Want to attenuate the oil whereas cooking? That’s fantastic, so long as your cooking floor is nonstick! These pancakes will nonetheless be tasty and fluffy however they received’t have crisp edges.
For fluffy pancakes
Attempt to not let the batter relaxation for too lengthy earlier than making the pancakes, as you’ll lose out on a few of the leavening energy of the baking powder, which will get activated as soon as combined with liquid substances.
Preserve the measuring cup on the aspect. In case you let the cup relaxation within the batter, it would deflate the air pockets.
Variations and serving concepts
Be at liberty to swap the cardamom for freshly grated nutmeg, or add in ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon floor cloves or allspices.
Love banana bread with chocolate chips? After all you do, who doesn’t? Merely fold roughly 1 cup (6 oz / 170g) of chocolate chips into the mixed batter–simply be light and fold solely as a lot as needed. I strongly suggest utilizing darkish chocolate chips, because the bittersweetness will properly steadiness the sweetness of the bananas.
Want much less candy pancakes? Skip the maple syrup for serving. Due to the brown sugar in these pancakes, they’re already calmly candy.
I usually forgo the maple syrup and easily add recent sliced bananas on prime for the right candy end and extra banana taste. This would possibly make me sound like an animal, however my favourite strategy to eat these is to tear aside a bit of pancake, prime it with a banana slice, and fold it over like slightly sandwich.
For one thing heartier, serve a dollop of yogurt on every pancake and prime with sliced bananas or berries and toasted pecans or walnuts.
Regularly Requested Questions
These pancakes will style greatest with naturally overripe bananas, however in case you actually need to make them now, right here’s how you can rapidly ripen bananas:
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C. Place complete, unpeeled bananas on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake for 15 to 35 minutes, or till the skins flip black throughout. If the bananas are already considerably ripe, stick with the decrease vary.
2. Pressure the bananas over a fine-mesh sieve to do away with extra moisture, as much less ripe, baked bananas can have extra moisture, which might overwhelm the bread.
Want to attend to your bananas to ripen naturally however nonetheless craving nice pancakes? Make my traditional vegan pancakes!
Sadly, we haven’t been capable of adapt these to be gluten-free with good outcomes. Our take a look at with gluten-free substitutes yielded good banana taste and a good exterior texture however a gummy inside.
You’ll get the very best outcomes in case you prepare dinner the batter freshly made (the baking powder begins to activate as quickly because it’s combined with the liquid substances).
That stated, you possibly can retailer batter within the fridge for 1 to 2 days and nonetheless get fairly good outcomes.
You’ll want to refrigerate the batter in an hermetic container (don’t retailer uncovered or loosely coated).
Sure, however provided that your pan is well-seasoned and never model new! In any other case, the pancakes will stick.
We’ve got additionally examined these pancakes in a carbon metal pan and carbon metal griddle, and that works nice too (so long as the pans are well-seasoned).
Whereas these by no means last more than a pair hours in my home, right here’s what we do to retailer or freeze our traditional pancakes.
Retailer: Wrap the pancakes in plastic wrap or retailer in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days. You’ll be able to revive the crispy exterior by reheating them in a skillet for a couple of minutes, or in a 350ºF/175ºC oven for 10 to fifteen minutes.
Freeze: As soon as cooled, layer them between parchment or wax paper in an hermetic container or freezer bag. Freeze for 1 to 2 months.
Huge Vegan Taste
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Crispy on the sides, fluffy inside, and stuffed with heat banana taste—these vegan banana pancakes are the right manner to make use of up ripe bananas. Straightforward and fast to whip up and excellent for a eye-catching brunch!
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Word: If utilizing a stovetop griddle, I prefer to preheat mine within the oven for 10 minutes at 350ºF/175ºC for even heating.
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In a measuring glass, stir the milk and vinegar collectively. It ought to curdle fairly rapidly. That is the “buttermilk.”
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In a big bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom if utilizing. Whisk effectively to mix.
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In a medium bowl, mash the bananas with a fork however go away some small chunks for texture. To the mashed bananas, add the curdled buttermilk, vanilla, and melted butter. Whisk effectively to mix.
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Pour the moist substances over the flour combine. Use a wood spoon to fold the substances till simply mixed. Don’t overmix—a number of lumps are fantastic.
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Relaxation the batter for five to 10 minutes. However don’t stir after resting, because the batter will lose air bubbles and prove much less fluffy. Whereas the batter rests, begin preheating the pan.
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For forged iron or carbon metal directions, see Word 5.
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Warmth a nonstick frying pan over medium to medium-low warmth for a number of minutes (see Word). Add 1 teaspoon coconut oil. Enable to warmth ~30 seconds. Take a look at to see if the pan is sizzling sufficient by including a droplet of water—if it sizzles and dances, it’s prepared.Add ⅓ cup (80 to 90g) pancake batter to the pan, utilizing a versatile spatula to get the batter out of the cup.After the primary 30 seconds, swirl the oil within the pan across the edges of the pancake. Cook dinner for a complete of 2 to 2 ½ minutes, or till the sides begin to dry out and a few bubbles seem on the floor.Flip and prepare dinner on the second aspect for 1 to 2 minutes, swirling any remaining oil across the edges once more. You might have to decrease the warmth to medium-low.
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Repeat with the remaining batter, including a teaspoon of oil to the pan to preheat per pancake earlier than including extra batter. You’ll doubtless have to decrease the warmth all through cooking to forestall burning.
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To maintain pancakes heat, add to a wire rack-fitted sheet pan within the oven at 200ºF/95ºC till able to serve.
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Serve pancakes with maple syrup and recent sliced bananas, if desired.
- Please use soy milk except you’re allergic because it contributes considerably to the fluffiness.
- If utilizing complete wheat flour, use 1 ¾ cups (235g) 100% complete wheat flour with 1 ⅔ cups (400 mL) soy milk.
- For a extra refined cinnamon taste, use ½ to 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Utilizing the complete quantity of cinnamon will make the pancakes darker in colour.
- You probably have a scale, use that to measure out 275g (a scant 10 oz) of bananas, after peeling. This may yield probably the most correct outcomes, since banana measurement varies.
- If utilizing forged iron or carbon metal: Guarantee your pan is well-seasoned (if not or it’s model new, the pancakes will stick). Preheat the pan dry over med-low warmth for two to three minutes. Add your oil and let it warmth up for 30 to 60 seconds. Add the batter, and prepare dinner for 2ish minutes, then flip and prepare dinner one other 2ish minutes. Add a bit extra oil and repeat with the remaining pancakes, decreasing the warmth as you go to forestall burning.
