Banana Protein Pancakes

These banana oat pancakes come together with simple ingredients like ripe bananas, eggs, oats, and a touch of vanilla for a fluffy, healthy breakfast you can make fast. They're gluten-free, low-calorie, and made without protein powder while still offering all the power of a high-protein morning meal. You'll learn exactly how to make them soft and satisfying with just a few easy steps. Pin this recipe now, so busy mornings always have a quick, homemade low-carb option ready to go.

Pin

Why is this the best banana protein pancake recipe

These banana protein pancakes are delicious! The combination of smooth, fresh banana and sweet vanilla bean contrasts with the texture of a scoop of rolled oats and the optional topping of sweet fresh raspberry sauce makes this a breakfast treat full of wholesome ingredients, packed with sweet flavor that will delight both kids and adults alike. You won't want to stop at one fluffy banana pancake!

This is a quick and easy breakfast or brunch recipe. Mix the ingredients in a blender and blend. Your batter is ready! Use a measuring cup to pour the mixture onto the hot griddle. That's all there is to it!

Pin

The ingredients for this easy recipe are common and easy to find. You likely already have most of the simple ingredients for this easy pancake recipe in your pantry. If you need an ingredient or two, you can easily find them in most local grocery stores or on Amazon!

The ingredients for banana protein pancakes are very inexpensive. Bananas, almond milk (or dairy milk), baking powder, vanilla bean paste, butter, cinnamon, and rolled oats are totally affordable ingredients! I think this recipe cost me less than $6 total, including the vanilla bean paste. (Probably even less than that, but I didn't calculate it since I had everything but the bananas on hand already.)

What you'll need to make easy high-protein banana pancakes

Equipment

• Blender - I recommend making this pancake batter in the blender because it's impossible to get a smooth batter using mashed bananas and oats without a blender or food processor. The blender will not only break up clumps of banana that you probably couldn't get with a fork, it will also grind up the oats into a smooth powder so that you don't have actual whole oats in your pancakes.
• Electric griddle - You could use a large, flat-bottomed skillet if you needed to.

Ingredients  

Pin

See the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page for all measurements and nutritional information.

• eggs - The eggs and bananas combine by magic to make a batter that cooks up like traditional flour-based baked goods. I can't explain it, but it works.
• banana - I have read that you may be able to substitute other foods for the bananas here, including applesauce and pumpkin puree. I've never tried these, however, and I would not feel comfortable recommending them. Your best bet is to enter "applesauce protein pancakes" or "protein pancakes with pumpkin puree" into a search engine and try to find a recipe without AI.
• old fashioned rolled oats - You need some kind of binder to hold the batter together, and we are using oats because they are a whole grain (lots of fiber) and have a lower carb content than traditional flour.
• unsweetened vanilla almond milk - I used unsweetened almond milk because it has the lowest number of calories of all the milk substitutes. You can substitute unsweetened vanilla coconut milk or even dairy milk such as skim milk in this recipe.
• baking powder - This makes your pancakes puff up and get fluffy.
• vanilla bean paste - This is for flavor. I prefer vanilla bean paste to vanilla extract because the paste has a much stronger and richer vanilla flavor. Vanilla extract is made by soaking vanilla beans in alcohol and then removing the beans. Vanilla bean paste is made by mixing crushed vanilla beans into concentrated vanilla extract. You can use them interchangeably in equal amounts.
• cinnamon - This is also for flavor and can be left out if you prefer, but I would replace it with something like pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice. Otherwise, your pancakes may taste a little flat.

How to make the best easy protein pancake recipe

1. Add all ingredients into blender and pulse until smooth.
   
   PinPinPinPin
2. Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat. When hot, spritz a bit of cooking spray on the surface then pour ¼ cup of batter onto the griddle. Bubbles will form in the pancake as it cooks. When these bubbles begin to pop, flip the pancake over and cook an additional minute or two, until golden brown on the bottom.
   
   PinPinPin
3. Serve pancakes warm with butter and your favorite fruit topping. I recommend raspberry sauce which you can find here, though it does have sugar in it, so if you are limiting carbs, stick to the whole fresh berries and sugar-free syrup.
   Pin

Substitutions & variations

This recipe is a particular blend of eggs and bananas that sets up like a batter. You can't replace the eggs or the bananas and get the same result, so there aren't many variations that will work here.

Use different extracts, such as almond or butter extract. Or add additional spices like nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice.

If you're not watching carbs, you can add a small handful of chocolate chips.

You can add in your favorite nuts, like chopped walnuts or chopped pecans or stir in 2 tablespoons of peanut butter (or any nut butter). Or simply spread the pancakes with the nut butter, add some sugar-free jelly, and eat them like a pb&j! (I love them this way!)

And you can add protein powder if you're looking for double protein: chocolate, vanilla, or unflavored whey protein would be perfect for this recipe.

Pin

Storing leftovers

You can safely keep these pancakes on the counter, at room temperature, for 2 hours. Then you should refrigerate.

Let the pancakes cool completley so condensation doesn't make them soggy. Stack them with parchment paper in between each pancake. Place in an airtight container. They will stay fresh in the fridge for 3-4 days. Baked goods get stale quickly in the refrigerator, but there's nothing you can do to avoid that given these pancakes will spoil if kept at room temperature.

Check out this post about 5 ways to reheat pancakes for best results.

For freezing: cool completely. Place pancakes in a single layer on a lined baking sheet and freeze for one hour or until solid and no longer sticky. Transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container. Keep up to 2-3 months.

You can reheat from frozen. Simply pop one or two pancakes into the microwave and heat for 20-30 seconds at a time until they're heated through.

Pin

Check out more delicious pancake recipes

• Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
• Pumpkin Spice Pancakes
• Bananas Foster Pancakes
• Easter Bunny Pancakes - Even if you don't make them into Easter bunnies, this is a wonderful from-scratch pancake recipe that cooks up light and fluffy.
• Fruity Pebbles Pancakes
• Carrot Cake Pancakes
• Apple Ring Pancakes
• Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes From Scratch - These are egg-free.
• Sweet Potato Pancakes
• Lucky Charms Pancakes - These are bright green.
• How to Make Heart-Shaped Pancakes
• German Pancake Recipe - This is sometimes called a Dutch Baby.
• Baked Apple Pecan Pancake

Recipe