Fluffy and soft banana pancakes are made from scratch and ready in just 15 minutes. They're made with just one banana and a handful of pantry staples.
Have you ever found yourself craving a short stack of soft, fluffy pancakes but hesitated to make them because you'd be left with more than you could eat? If so, you'll absolutely love this easy banana pancake recipe. They're made with one banana and ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.
Why This Recipe Works
- You only need 1 banana: This pancake recipe is the perfect one to use if you have one ripe banana on your counter.
- Short stack of pancakes: You won't be left eating pancakes for days. This recipe yields three soft, fluffy pancakes. If you only want to eat one or two, these pancakes reheat to the same quality as the original.
- Quick and easy: These banana pancakes can be ready and on your table in minutes!
- Tasty: They're so fluffy and soft, perfectly sweet, and just so incredibly delicious! I love topping my pancakes with slices of fresh bananas, pecans, and of course a hefty pour of maple syrup.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
To make a short stack of banana pancakes, you will need:
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour. This recipe has not been tested with other types of flour.
- Baking powder: This ingredient helps the pancakes rise.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar adds flavor and sweetens the pancakes. You don't need much because a little goes a long way.
- Salt and vanilla extract: Both add flavor.
- Egg: One egg binds the pancake batter together.
- Milk: Milk adds moisture to the batter. You can use nonfat milk, whole milk, 1% or 2% milk. Almond and soy milk work great too.
- Butter: The fat in the melted butter makes the pancakes rich and moist.
- Banana: You wouldn't have banana pancakes without a mashed banana. Just one is all you need.
See below for ways to use leftover ingredients.
How To Make Banana Pancakes
See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
- In a separate small bowl, add the egg and whisk in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla.
- Peel and mash the banana on a small plate. Stir the mashed banana into the wet ingredients.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
Pro Tip: When making pancakes, it's important to remember not to over mix the batter. For the fluffiest, lightest pancakes, you only need to stir the batter - no whisking and no beating.
- Melt butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Ladle about ¾ cup of batter onto the skillet to make a pancake. Cook until bubbles break the surface of the pancake and the underside is golden brown, about 3 minutes.
- Flip with a spatula and cook the other side for about 1 to 2 minutes more until golden brown and cooked in the middle. Remove the pancake from the pan and place on a plate.
- Repeat until all of the batter is used up.
- Top with maple syrup, nuts, and fresh sliced bananas, if you like.
Expert Tips
- Keep the batter lumpy. Let lumps remain in the batter. Lumpy pancake batter is absolutely okay. Stir the batter until there are no more flour streaks and still lumpy. But be careful not to overmix.
- Use a hot pan. Make sure your pan is hot before you add the batter. When the butter has fully melted, you will know the pan is ready.
- Cook the pancakes on medium-low to medium heat. This is what cooks the pancakes to perfection. Cooking the pancakes slowly helps the insides of the pancakes cook fully and keeps them from blackening on the outside. Banana pancakes can fall apart and become soggy if they aren't cooked properly.
- Use fresh ingredients: Check to make sure your baking powder is fresh. If it is old or expired you will end up with flat pancakes, not light and fluffy ones.
- Measure ingredients correctly. Flour measurements can be a huge variable when it comes to baking. Weighing ingredients is by far the most accurate, but it isn't done much in the U.S. If you use measuring cups to measure, use this method of measuring the flour:
- Use a spoon to fluff the flour in the container.
- Use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup.
- Use a knife or other straight-edged utensil to level the flour across the measuring cup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! If you want to make more pancakes, just double the ingredient amounts.
Making homemade pancakes is typically healthier than using a boxed mix. These pancakes are also sweetened mostly with bananas. Check out the nutrition label below for calorie and nutrition estimates.
You can leave out the ½ tablespoon of sugar in the recipe if desired.
When you see buttles rise to the top and start to pop, the pancakes are ready to flip.
How To Reheat Pancakes
If you find that you don't want to eat the entire short stack of pancakes, store the pancakes in the refrigerator, covered for up to a week.
If you want to make a double batch of pancakes and freeze some for later, just wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and then store them in a freezer-safe bag or container. They will keep for three months this way.
The best method for reheating single serve pancakes is in the toaster. Heat the pancake(s) for about 60-90 seconds on a gentle setting, like "toast". Each model of toaster is different so you might have to experiment with the time and settings.
When pancakes are reheated in the toaster, the outsides get crispy and the insides stay fluffy - which I love!
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this easy banana pancake recipe, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
- Bananas: Banana Cream Pie, Banana Muffins, Banana Bread, Bananas Foster, Tropical Smoothie
- Baking powder: Tortillas, Biscuits, Blueberry Muffin, Waffle, Pancakes
- Milk: Carrot Cake, Blueberry Coffee Cake, Flan, French Toast, Mini Texas Sheet Cake
- Eggs: Eggs Benedict, Cheesy Baked Eggs, Bacon, Egg and Cheese Cup, Pasta Carbonara, Crustless Quiche Lorraine
- Vanilla: Two Vanilla Cupcakes, Mini Boston Cream Pie, Shortbread Cookies, Peach Scones, Icebox Cake
If you would like additional information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
If you’ve tried these fluffy banana pancakes or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below. Also, if you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see it!
Banana Pancakes For One
See the post above for expert tips,
FAQs and ways to use leftover ingredients.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon butter , melted, plus 1 teaspoon butter, softened
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ripe banana
- Optional toppings: Maple syrup, sliced bananas, pecans
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
- In a separate small bowl, add the egg and whisk in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla.
- Peel and mash the banana on a small plate. Stir the mashed banana into the wet ingredients.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined.Pro Tip: When making pancakes, it's important to remember not to over mix the batter. For the fluffiest, lightest pancakes, you only need to stir the batter - no whisking and no beating.
- Melt 1 teaspoon of butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Ladle about ¾ cup of batter onto the skillet to make a pancake. Cook until bubbles break the surface of the pancake and the underside is golden brown, about 3 minutes.
- Flip with a spatula and cook the other side for about 1 to 2 minutes more until golden brown and cooked in the middle. Remove the pancake from the pan and place on a plate.
- Repeat until all of the batter is used up.
- Top with maple syrup, nuts, and fresh sliced bananas, if you like.
Notes
- Keep the batter lumpy. Let lumps remain in the batter. Lumpy pancake batter is absolutely okay. Stir the batter until there are no more flour streaks and still lumpy. But be careful not to overmix.
- Use a hot pan. Make sure your pan is hot before you add the batter. When the butter has fully melted, you will know the pan is ready.
- Cook the pancakes on medium-low to medium heat. This is what cooks the pancakes to perfection. Cooking the pancakes slowly helps the insides of the pancakes cook fully and keeps them from blackening on the outside. Banana pancakes can fall apart and become soggy if they aren't cooked properly.
- Use fresh ingredients: Check to make sure your baking powder is fresh. If it is old or expired you will end up with flat pancakes, not light and fluffy ones.
- Measure ingredients correctly. Flour measurements can be a huge variable when it comes to baking. Weighing ingredients is by far the most accurate, but it isn't done much in the U.S. If you use measuring cups to measure, use this method of measuring the flour:
- Use a spoon to fluff the flour in the container.
- Use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup.
- Use a knife or other straight-edged utensil to level the flour across the measuring cup.
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.
Colin Upham says
delicious - had it for dinner today.
J.Hegyi says
Great recipe.