I first made banana pancake bites when I started giving the first foods to my baby daughter for about three years ago. I wanted something with a lot of nutrition in it, gluten free and with eggs in it. She was not impressed in the beginning with eggs so I had to find a way to give her eggs mixed in some food that she would find delicious.
So I found this two ingredient recipe somewhere on the internet. It was so easy to make that it was a no-brainer to me. Also, my daughter liked it so I continued making it week after week during the following years.
Why banana pancake bites?
I started making the banana pancake bites as a variation to the larger banana pancakes that I usually made. I immediately noticed my daughter preferred them as bites instead of a big banana pancake. For babies and toddlers, the shape could make a difference.
Another reason to making banana pancake bites instead of making bigger banana pancakes is because the smaller bites are easier to flip in the frying pan.
Ingredients
The ingredients of the banana pancake bites are simple.
- One egg
- A half to a whole banana depending on the size of it
If you have a big banana. you can use a half of it. If you have a small banana you can use a whole.The exact quantities do not matter that much.
Optional add-ins to the banana pancake bites
The ingredients above are enough to make the most delicious, baby- and toddler-friendly banana pancakes you would dream of. If you have time and you wish to experiment a little bit, the following ingredients are good options:
- Baking powder – This will make the pancakes fluffier
- vanilla extract – for the cookie smell
How to make banana pancake bites
The banana pancake bites are easy to make.
Start by mashing the banana with a fork in a container. The riper the banana, the easier it is to mash it with the fork. If you still have lumps in it, don’t worry, the banana pancake will still taste good. It just adds a little bit of texture to the pancake.
Mix in a whole egg and whisk it lightly with the fork until you get a somewhat homogeneous batter-
Preheat a pan to use for the pancakes and grease the pan with your preferred grease.
I use a cast iron pancake pan that you can easily find in Sweden, but a regular one will do just fine. In the beginning when I didn’t have this pan, I just put one tablespoon of batter at the time into a regular iron cast to make the bites small. Here is a link to a pancake pan on Amazon.
Preheat on medium heat and grease the pan.
Place one table spoon of the batter into each slot. The batter separates after a while. Make sure to whisk the batter before you place it in the frying pan. Making several small banana pancakes instead of a large one makes it easier to flip the pancakes.
Check with a spatula if the bottom of the pancake is done. If you can slide the spatula under the pancake then you can flip it to see how it looks. A golden brown is what you are looking for. The browning of the pancake come from the sugars in the bananas that caramelize in contact with the frying pan when heated.
The pancakes are ready as soon as both sides look golden brown
How to serve the banana pancake bites
The banana pancake bites are delicious as they are. They don’t need any additions on top.
If you still want to top them, here are some options:
- Salted butter
- Whipped cream
- Greek yogurt
- Fresh fruits
- Ground cinnamon
- Powdered sugar
The banana pancakes are delicious warm but they are still perfect cold as a quick snack during the day. I usually make a batch and keep some extra in the fridge. You could make a larger batch and freeze some of them too. They could also be re-heated in the frying pan at the next meal if you prefer them warm.
Can bananas be too ripe for pancakes?
The easiest banana pancakes are made out of ripe bananas, because they are so easy to mash with the fork. The riper a banana, the sweeter the pancake. I’ve made delicious banana pancakes with overripe bananas.
If you have to choose between a very ripe banana and a greener one, I would go with the ripe banana. There is a point where a ripe banana is too ripe to eat for my taste. but still perfectly good to use in the pancake batter. Using the overripe bananas means you can reduce the food waste in your kitchen too.
The greener the banana, the more lumps you are going to get in your batter. This will make the banana pancakes more textured.
Are the banana pancake bites gluten-free?
The answer to this question is Yes, these banana pancake bites are gluten-free. This recipe uses only two ingredients, eggs and bananas. Both of them are naturally gluten-free.
Are the banana pancake bites dairy-free?
Yes, this recipe is dairy-free. Make sure to use other alternatives to butter when you grease your frying pan in order to make this recipe completely dairy free. This could be coconut oil, tallow or lard.
Banana pancakes in different shapes
Make the banana pancake bites in the shape you like. Using the pancake iron cast has made a difference to my daughter because she likes how they look. You could also make a big pancake in a regular frying pan and cut the pancake in the desired shapes, like squares or rhombs. Use cookie cutters if you want to cut circles, flowers or stars out of the banana pancake.
You could also place the batter into a cookie cutter on the frying pan and shape the pancake that way. This is way you won’t get any waste of batter or pancake.
What can you substitute bananas for in pancakes?
The easiest substitute for bananas in banana pancakes is using applesauce. But then it won’t be a banana pancake.
I’ve also substituted the bananas with raspberry, strawberry, blueberry and currant jam. A table spoon of jam instead of a banana is enough. The pancakes will be smaller because you lose some volume when substituting the banana. If you want them larger, just make fewer or double the recipe.
Experiment
Have fun with this recipe. Make it as simple as it is at its core as a start then add some of the extra ingredients to the mix to see if you find a favorite among them. In our house we keep it simple and I’m happy to notice this is a good way of making my daughter eat eggs. It’s also a good way of reducing the food waste in our house, which I’m a big fan of. I only substitute the bananas with other ingredients when I’m out of the bananas.
Find more food from scratch here.
