Banana Oat Pancakes
This fluffy banana oat pancake recipe is made with 100% oat flour, so it's gluten free. These pancakes are a delicious, healthy and easy-to-make breakfast.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
Good morning! I’m sitting cross-legged on my hotel bed in San Antonio, next to a big window overlooking the Tower of Americas. It’s so cloudy I can barely see the top of it. The fog in my head is slowly lifting as I sip on my cup of coffee, and I just scraped the last bits of my “all natural, super premium” (what does that mean?) instant oatmeal off the sides of its disposable cup with a plastic fork. It’s not bad.
That oatmeal and these photos of fluffy banana pancakes take me back to last Saturday, when I took my time making breakfast, with Cookie by my feet. Cookie loves bananas almost as much as she loves cheese, did you know that? I couldn’t resist making her twirl around on her back feet for bites of banana. Sometimes I think she escaped from the circus, that dog.
These banana pancakes are a little more time consuming than the average from-scratch pancakes, but my oh my, was my work rewarded on my lazy Saturday morning. After making, photographing and fending the cakes from Cookie, I sat down and slid the side of my grandmother’s old fork through three layers of the most creamy, fluffy, heavenly sweet pancakes I have ever tasted.
To my pleasant surprise, I realized that the pancakes inherited oatmeal’s creamy texture thanks to the oat flour, and that the bananas contributed such a lovely, natural sweetness that they hardly needed any syrup. I topped my banana pancakes with sliced banana, toasted coconut flakes and a drizzle of maple syrup, but peanut butter or coconut butter would be a natural fit as well.
So reward yourself after a hard week of work with these banana pancakes while you sip on some freshly brewed coffee from your own mug. You deserve it!
Gluten-Free Banana Oat Pancakes
These fluffy banana oat pancakes are a deliciously healthy, naturally sweetened breakfast for lazy mornings. The recipe is made with 100% oat flour instead of wheat flour, so it’s gluten free, as well as dairy free. Recipe yields about 8 pancakes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup oat flour*
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Scant 1 ¼ cup mashed bananas (about 3 small bananas, mashed, or 9.5 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter or coconut oil, plus more for cooking
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- In a small mixing bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, melted butter, maple syrup, and lemon juice. Add the eggs and whisk until blended. (If your butter or oil goes back to its solid state like mine did at this point, just warm the mixture for short 15-second bursts in the microwave, stirring between each, until it is melted again.)
- Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. With a big spoon, stir just until the dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened. Do not overmix!
- Let the batter rest for 10 minutes to give it time to thicken. If you’re using an electric griddle, heat it to 350 degrees Fahrenheit now. Otherwise, you can wait a few minutes before heating your skillet.
- Warm a large skillet (stainless steel or nonstick) over medium-low heat. You’re ready to start cooking pancakes once a drop of water sizzles on contact with the hot surface. If necessary, lightly oil the cooking surface with oil or butter, carefully wiping up excess with a paper towel (nonstick surfaces likely won’t require any oil).
- Scoop ¼ cup batter onto the hot skillet, leaving a couple of inches around the pancake for expansion. Cook until small bubbles form on the surface of the pancake and the underside is golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Flip the pancake, then cook until lightly golden on both sides, 1 to 2 more minutes. Repeat the process with the remaining batter, adding more butter and dialing down the heat if the pancakes turn dark on the outside before they’re cooked through on the inside.
- Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree Fahrenheit oven. Leftover pancakes can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or frozen for up to 3 months. To reheat, stack leftover pancakes and wrap them in a paper towel before gently reheating in the microwave.
Notes
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking.
Make it gluten free: These pancakes are gluten-free, so long as you used certified gluten-free oat flour or certified gluten-free old-fashioned oats.
*How to make your own oat flour: To make oat flour out of old-fashioned oats, simply pour one cup of oats into a food processor and process until it looks like fine sand. See pictures here.
Preparation tips: This whole grain batter is thicker than most, so it’s more difficult to gauge when the pancakes are ready to flip. I learned that it’s easier to go by the timer: set it for 2 minutes for the first side, then gently check underneath to see if it’s golden (if not, wait up to 1 more minute). Flip and wait another 90 seconds for the other side to finish. The time will vary depending on your temperature setting and subsequent pancakes will cook more quickly, but that’s about the time it should take.
Freeze it: These pancakes freeze well. (I’ve never met a pancake that doesn’t.) Commenter Megan had good luck making the batter the night before, refrigerating it overnight, and proceeding with the recipe the next morning (add a splash of milk to thin out the batter).
Make it dairy free: Use coconut oil instead of butter.
Make it egg free: Replace the eggs with flax eggs (I’ve heard this works well from other commenters, but haven’t had a chance to try myself).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
These were delicious. I made them with my 5 year old daughter who said they were 100 percent.
Thanks for sharing
That sounds like a fun time, Adrienne! Thank you for your review.
amazing!!! I love this recipe! great for your back pocket on long bike rides.
Thank you for your review, Andrea!
SO yummy! Put a little almond butter and strawberries on top too for something extra. Plus, they got dad’s stamp of approval :)
Thanks, Nikki!
Thank you. My best friend and I loved these. Did not even need shrub and I made my own flower using steel cut oats. They turned out perfect on a griddle. I will definitely remake them for breakfast over and over again. I also used almond milk to thin the batter a bit.
Thank you for sharing, Mimi!
I absolutely love all your recipes! Thank you so much
You’re welcome, Laila!
This has become my go-to pancake recipe! Ive struggled finding a health you pancake recipe that is still fluffy and delicious and this meets all my criteria! Thank you!
I’ve also had success with whole white pastry flour instead of oat flour.
You’re welcome! Thanks for sharing, Sarah.
wow so good, as a topping I put cocoa nibs and walnut ground with maple syurup and omitted the sweetner in the pancake, I found the banana is sweet enough!
One week after finding I have many food allergies, including cows milk and wheat, I made your banana pancakes. Thank you! So good! I didn’t expect my old fasioned husband to care for them. First taste, he said This is GOOD! After finishing he told me not to make them when we have company next week. He said they would never go home!
I am going to get your cookbook now. :)
I’m sorry to hear about your allergies! I know diet changes can be hard. I’m glad this was a great recipe for you! I do try to provide alternatives to some allergies (like you listed) when I can. Always check the bottom of a recipe to see what I may recommend.
These are a great make-ahead meal for my toddler’s daycare breakfasts. I did add some vanilla extract to the batter. And when I make them, I add frozen blueberries and a few chocolate chips. And then I make sandwiches with almond butter filling. I usually give him yogurt mixed with some applesauce as the topping.
I also make more than a week’s worth at a time so I freeze them (no almond butter) once cooled with parchment paper layers. It’s awesome when I’ve had a busy weekend as something to give him (or myself).
Thank you for this and all your great recipes!
I agree! Great to make ahead. Thanks for sharing.
The flavor was really good but I don’t think there was enough flour in the recipe, the pancakes were overly mushy from the banana and didn’t bind very well (also very hard to flip because of this)
I’m sorry these didn’t turn out well for you. Did you use over the banana amount?
I had some overripe bananas, so I decided to try your recipe (I am gluten and lactose intolerant). All I can say is YUM. They are definitely going on my ‘make often’ list! Leftovers are in the freezer for a quick weekday breakfast.
Thank you for sharing, Dena!
I’ve recently been on a no-gluten kick (trying to help my skin) and I made these with homemade oat flour (I just used a mini food processor and it was perfect!). I also used ghee instead of butter or coconut oil and it seemed to work just fine. My batter was a little bit runny, even after waiting 10 or so minutes to cook them, but I didn’t mind. I also used 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice rather than just nutmeg and cinnamon, simply because I was being lazy! I’m not sure about the texture of these if you were to use true oat flour, but mine were quite grainy and had a lot of texture – which I LOVED! They were so tasty and I’m definitely going to make them again. Thanks so much for the recipe!
You’re welcome!
These are great. But can they be made as plain oat pancakes, that is, without the bananas?
Hi! These were specifically designed to have the banana. Checkout my whole wheat pancakes instead! If you need a gluten-free variation for those, see my notes. :)
Thanks Kate for the suggestion. But I prefer to use only oat flour. The other flour blends taste “MUCH” different. Oat is very good and tastes the nearest to actual wheat bread. Still looking for an “only” oat flour, gluten/dairy free bread and pancake recipe. BUT…I will continue with the banana oat pancakes. They are YUMMY!
Delicious. Every recipe I try of yours is a complete winner with my family. These past few weeks I have relied on your recipes more than usual…we live in Bolivia where the country is in a state of political unrest due to a corrupt Presidential election which took place on the 20th October. Everything is shut down, schools, businesses and as of today to make a stronger statement, government offices are shut down too. Markets are open to buy food, but it’s very limited. Streets are blockaded in protest against corruption and for justice and liberty. We stocked up on food in advance, so at present we are ok. For Bolivian people living day by day, it’s becoming a crisis. Most foreigners are ok as we have resources to call upon if needed. I am not used to cooking 2 meals every day for 5 people as normally we’re in and out during the day! Thanks for sharing your love of food with us! It’s not everyday you get a comment such as this…every blessing.
You’re so sweet! I’m happy you are loving these recipes, Lisa.
Can this recipe be used for waffles too or does it need some tweeks?
Hi! I would suggest my banana waffle recipe instead: https://sooka.info/gluten-free-banana-oat-waffles/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
I have made this recipe a few times and it is my favorite gf pancake recipe! The pancakes taste amazing and the texture is both fluffy and creamy… so good! They are easy to make, too! Thanks for including the timing tip for when to flip – it worked perfectly for me! I have made this recipe both with and without a little added milk as the batter sits, to thin it out – adding a little milk has given me the best results. Thank you, Kate!
You’re welcome! I’m happy the recipe and tips were helpful.
Loved these Pancakes. I made them for our New Year’s Day breakfast. Delicious. Best pancakes we’ve ever had. I have to go back to the grocery store tomorrow for more bananas. I’m going to make a double batch for the freezer. Thank you, Kate for the delightful recipe.
I doubled the recipe and included more banana than recommended (since I wanted to clear my freezer of bananas). Pancakes had a great consistency and flavor. So yummy and easy!!
I’ve made this 3 times in the past week! (I bought 2 bags of over ripe bananas & wanted to go ahead & use them) I triple the recipe & add some flax seed, chia seed, hemp hearts & matcha powder to the flour to provide my kiddo with all that healthy stuff she doesn’t usually want to eat & bake it in an 11×17 pan. I have plenty frozen now to last us a couple of months. Delicious & it smells amazing!
I love that (and pancakes!) thank you for sharing.
Delicious! I’m always experimenting with oat pancakes so my gluten free husband has some options but most recipes don’t pass the kid test. This was a thumbs up from the whole crew. Only suggestion for others experimenting with this recipe – Oat pancakes are sometimes hard to gauge cooking time. It’s always a guessing game depending on the thickness of the batter and the liquid. I added some oat milk to thin the batter but made sure it wasn’t too loose and then I spread out the batter with the spatula to shape the pancake and make sure it wasn’t too thick. This keeps the cooking time manageable and a little more predictable.
Thank you for sharing, Stacey! I’m happy your crew loved this one. For me, it’s about cooking time and seeing the bubbles start to form on the top. If you have a method that works, great!
Delicious!!!! We had a snow day in Utah today so I made these and they were so good and so flavorful! I didn’t have lemon juice so I subbed a teaspoon of sour cream to give it that balance of flavor.
These were great! Made 4 more regular sized pancakes this morning for 2. Healthy but yummy. Mixed and matched toppings: plain Greek yogurt, maple syrup, homemade apple sauce and jam… Yummm. Thank you for the recipe!
Another wonderful recipe!
Made these twice in the past week because they are that good! So happy I found this recipe!
These are really good but for some reason they don’t seem to cook well. I cooked them long enough – until they were almost burnt – but they were still gooey on the inside when I went to eat them. Any ideas as to why?
Hey Elise! I’m sorry to hear that. I think that you need to dial down the heat next time.
Another winner!
Thank you for including the weight of the bananas in this recipe. It is very helpful for those of us with a freezer-full of mushed bananas.
Made these this morning and were very happy! They were fluffy and delicious, with just the right amount of sweetness. We could have done without syrup but did use it for a bit of wetness. Plan on making the pumpkin ones next. Thanks!
Hi, can i use chickpea flour instead of oat?
Hi Laila! I’m sorry, I’ve never tried substituting chickpea flour for oat. That would be a very experimental substitution and I’m not really not sure how it will work out.
I am so confused. Is something wrong with the recipe?? The video says add almond milk and obviously it looks really white but The Recipe doesn’t say anything about almond milk?? Too bad I already started and here I have eggy yellow colored batter resting….
Hi K, I’m sorry for the confusion. The recipe is written correctly. You must have watched a different pancake video, because this recipe doesn’t have a dedicated video. Hope your pancakes turned out well!
Just made these and they were absolutely delicious! Such nice banana flavor and sweetness from the banana, and the nutmeg in there is genius!
My kids, 4 year old and 8 month old, LOVE these pancakes! I was wondering if I could make these into mini muffins, do you think they would turn out ok?
Hi Amanda! That is a great question. Unfortunately, I don’t think these will work quite right. But, have you tried my banana muffins? You could sub with oat flour instead if you like.
Great recipe. Used frozen ripe bananas. Poured some of the water out that accumulated after they were defrosted. Super moist and tasty. Not too sweet either which is good when syrup and butter is added.
Used the guidance of 3 minutes on one side and 90 seconds after it was flipped. Defiantly would make again.
It’s so yummy thanks for sharing this recipe
Soooo good! This is our new go-to pancake recipe. And so easy to make!
We make these all the time now. Just love them. If I wanted to make these as waffles, do I need to change the recipe at all?
Hi Patricia! I’m glad you love it. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t work well as waffles. But, check out my oat waffles recipe instead.
Thank you Kate!!! These are gluten & dairy free and easily turned into vegan. They were fluffy and delicious… my son came downstairs and barely let me put them on the table. Simply wow!
I always love your recipes. They are the best- and your substitutions for vegan/dairy free/ allergen friendly are soo appreciated. And maybe you’ve had this feature for a while, but being able to double or triple the recipe ?!?!!?! That was SO awesome! This recipe turned out great. Definitely different in terms of texture – there were banana chunks in them. Which honestly tasted great. But next time I will blend up the banana to make it smooth :) the spices were yummy! Love the nutmeg. Thank you!
Delicious! Thank you for giving me a new go-to healthier pancake. My daughters loved them too!
Wonderful, Sarah! Thank you for taking the time to review.
These are delicious! Thank you
Hello everyone… how many does this recipe make or to serve how many people approximately. Thank you. I live alone so was just wondering.
Hi Lorriane! You will see the serving in the recipe note and nutrition facts. I hope this helps!
I made these pancakes this morning after trying to discard a large bag of oats- so I blended them up and made these. They were amazing! The one thing I would change is adding 1/2 a cup of milk to the recipe, it says it’s optional but I found it necessary. Without the milk I found it way too thick and I wanted it to be the perfect pancake consistency. Overall the flavour was amazing and this will be replacing boxed pancake mix for me !
Hi Kate! For the Banana Oat Pancakes (which sound AMAZING) I saw from the previous comments that the recipe yields 8 cakes, but how many pancakes are in a single serving? I’m doing Noom and trying to keep my portions in check.
Thanks!
Katie
Hi! The nutritional information is below the notes section. I hope that helps!
So so good! My whole family love them, especially my 1 year old!
That’s great, Hannah.
Hello! I’m wondering why you need a lemon? I’ve never made pancakes from scratch before. Thank you!
Great question! The acidity helps the baking soda make the pancakes fluffy :)
These are possibly the best vegan pancakes I have ever tried.
Super easy and perfect in texture and taste.
And super easy! You can customize them and prepare the batter the night before ready to make them in the morning.
PERFECTION
I’m glad you were able to enjoy them! Thank you for your review.
The oat pancakes were very successful! I love the consistency that the oats give, very fudgy! Also, they were very sweet and they did not need extra maple syrup! I loved them!
Great! Thank you for your review, Joanna.
Just made these. They looked like your pictures! I chose to substitute the eggs for Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer and was pleased with the outcome. They are hearty and so very delish! Kate, I have to say that any of your recipes I try, they usually go into the rotation! Tonight, sweet potato and black bean enchiladas. Thanks for being here. Hugs to Cookie
Great to hear, Karen! Thanks for sending some love to Cookie, too :)
You are showing some liquid in your picture but I do not see any liquid in the ingredients.
Mine was like a dough so I added about 2.5 cups of almond milk to make it liquidy. I yet to make them and will see how they taste.
Hi! Did you see the ingredient list? Water is the second ingredient.
It’s been so hard enjoying meals anymore since cutting out gluten and dairy (and seriously decreasing sugar). This recipe really was a savior! Incredible and our bananas were not even ripe enough.
Wonderful to hear, Catherine! Thank you for your review.
I was scared to make these because I’ve tried others recipies before and it was tough and gummy, but these were delicious. I would hold back on the nutmeg personally but other than that they were so soft. +Kate I can always count on for recipies