Authentic Vegan Banana Pancakes (20 Minutes)
- Updated on Nov 04, 2015
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This has been one of our longest recipes in the creation.
We’ve been testing various ingredients and methods for weeks now, and it was hard to get these vegan banana pancakes exactly how we wanted them.
But we did, and not without a little help.
Tasty, fluffy pancakes without eggs and are difficult to make. They tend to go soft and ‘boring’ in the middle, and they’re usually a pretty poor substitute for real pancakes.
We perfected these 2 Ingredient Banana and Egg Pancakes last year, and followed it up with these ridiculously High Protein Cottage Cheese Pancakes earlier this year.
We love pancakes!
And we were having trouble making good pancakes without eggs and dairy.
We tried many replacements – various starches, flax ‘eggs’ (flax seeds mixed with water), expensive flours, with varying results, but none really reached out to us. So we reached out.
We got some fantastic tips from fellow food bloggers, and we’re really grateful. So much of an awesome pancake is in the cooking.
We learnt that to cook an amazing vegan pancake there are few must-dos, and they couldn’t be simpler.
They are:
- Make sure the batter is smooth.
- Keep the pancakes small and thick.
- Cook on a low-medium heat. Don’t be tempted to go higher.
- Use a non-stick pan.
- Cook with a lid on.
- Flip the pancake when the face-up side begins to bubble.
And that’s it. That’s all there is to it.
By following those few easy rules you can have a pancake that tastes awesome alone or with a load of different topping possibilities, is fluffy and pancakey in the middle, is very healthy, and completely vegan.
Who’d have thunk it was so easy?
Health Benefits – Vegan Banana Pancakes
Where to start? Getting a banana down you is never going to hurt – just think of all that lovely fiber and potassium.
Fiber makes the world (and our insides) go round – and most people fall well short of the optimal amount (1).
Potassium lowers your blood pressure and is great for cardiovascular health. It is also believed to lower cramping in athletes (2).
Oats are awesome too – for a load of reasons – but the one I want to point out here is their blood-sugar stabilising properties.
Starting the day with a good blood-sugar balance is a reward your body will reap for the whole day.
The magnesium contained in oats also cuts your risk of type 2 diabetes (3). Great little things really, aren’t they?
And finally, another very important health benefit of these vegan pancakes is one for the health of all those animals not involved.
Yep, no animal product even gets close to these delicious banana pancakes. Everyone’s a winner!
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup soy milk (or your fave non-dairy)
- ⅓ cup wholegrain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- Salt to taste
- 1 medium banana (ripe)
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 2 tsp coconut oil (or vegetable oil work great)
Instructions
- Put all the items (except the oil) into a large bowl and blend them using a hand blender.
- Put your oil in a non-stick pan, and spread around with a paper towel. Heat on a low-medium heat (don’t go higher!).
- Pour in a small amount of the batter. The pancakes should be small and thick (see our pics for an idea).
- Pop a lid on and let the pancake cook gently. When the side facing you starts to bubble, the other side is done. Time to flip! A spatula is easiest.
- Once flipped, let the other side cook too. Have a peek at the underside using the spatula after a minute or so. When it’s nice and brown (but not burnt!) it’s ready. Woo!
- Repeat. If you have a large pan then it’s possible to cook two or three small pancakes at the same time. Alternatively, if you’re feeling particularly flash then you can cook with two pans at the same time too. Serve straight away or stack the pancakes on a plate in a warm oven ‘til you’re ready to eat.
NOTES
- Make-ahead? Yes, either just the batter or the pancakes themselves.
- Freezable? Yes! Again, either the batter or the pancakes.
Nutrition
Comments
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179 comments
What alternative could I use to rolled oats
You could use a little more flour instead 🙂
What’s wrong with rolled oats?
Mine were a colossal failure as far as pancakes were concerned. After trying two pancakes and not being able to flip them or get them out of the pan, I put the rest of the batter in an 8 x 8” pan and baked it in the oven. Double recipe minus two failed cakes – took 30 minutes to bake at 350 degrees, and looks like it turned out well. Like one of my kids said, the messy pancakes that were scraped out of the pan just tasted like banana oatmeal, so we like the taste; they just don’t work to cook up like pancakes.
Ah, I’m sorry to hear that Cindy! They do take a little practice to get right. The oil, a good quality pan, keeping them small, and cooking with a lid on are all very important! I’m glad they still tasted good though 🙂
Could this recipe work using quick oats instead of rolled oats?
Absolutely! They’re finer than rolled oats, so no problem 🙂
I tried your recipe twice. The first time I used whole wheat pastry flour and omitted the salt. Everything else I did exactly. The oats did not blend up enough and the batter was lumpy and the taste was a little off (maybe due to old flour). Not to be discouraged I tried again. This time used my counter top blender, put the oats in first and turned them to flour, added the other ingredients but used buckwheat flour instead of whole wheat, blended longer so the batter was super smooth. These turned out better. The low heat and covered cooking are the secret. All my other attempts at vegan pancakes have failed) I made half the recipe each time and made my cakes quite small so the yield was six little cakes. These were/are awesome. Not too sweet and great even cold with nut butter, dessert hummus, or fruit jam on top. Thanks for developing the recipe and sharing.
Thank you for the feedback Anne, and awesome that you didn’t give up after the first attempt! Vegan pancakes can indeed be a bit tricky. Really glad you’re enjoying them, and thank you for the cooking tips – I’m sure others will find them helpful too! 🙂
Would this work using a normal blender or food processor rather than a hand blender? Thanks!
Oh I just read all the other comments and saw you answered this already 🙂
Hi Shellie! I’m glad you found your answer 🙂 any sort of blending will do. Enjoy!!
It’s a good recipe indeed, thanks! Love the colour, structure and taste! I use buckwheat flour and that makes really good pancakes too.
Thanks for the tip, Esther! Will try out buckwheat for my pancakes next time. I always wanted to try it out anyway 🙂
I followed the recipe and cooking instructions. Unfortunately, my pancakes were awful . The inside of my pancakes were raw. I used a lid, lowered the flame when pancakes were brown, spread batter, nothing worked.
That’s a bummer! There is not much else for us to do than endure your devastating review. Though I’d like to ask you one thing: If you find a vegan pancake that meets your requirements, could you share it with us, please?