Hands down THE best Vegan Banana Pancakes. They are soft, fluffy, super delicious and so simple to make, from scratch, in a blender. This is an essential, keep handy in your back pocket, recipe that everyone needs for an easy, yet decadent breakfast!
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoonoil of choice, or cashew butter for oil free but they won't be quite as light and fluffy
1 medium banana, peeled, weighing around 170 g in it's skin
200 g / 1½ cups + 2tablespoonsall purpose flour (plain flour in the UK), Or spelt flour but you must weigh it and use 200g - the cup measurements given won't be accurate for spelt as it's lighter than all purpose flour)
2tablespoonssugar
1tablespoonbaking powder
¼teaspoonbaking soda(bicarbonate of soda in the UK)
½teaspoonsalt
1teaspoonground cinnamon
¼teaspoonground nutmeg
Instructions
Add all of the ingredients to a blender . It blends up much easier if you add the liquid ingredients first, followed by the dry ingredients. If you don't have a blender you can make them by hand. I will include instructions at the end.
Blend the ingredients until smooth. Don't over blend. turn it off as soon as everything is smooth and combined. It should take less than a minute.
Leave the batter to rest for at least 10 minutes. It will be thick. Don't be tempted to thin it. While it rests, preheat your griddle to medium (about 325 °f) or use a skillet or frying pan .
Lightly grease (with a little oil or vegan butter) the pan/griddle with a brush, then pour the batter on in rounds, about 1 ladle full per pancake or roughly ⅓ of a cup. Leave to cook until bubbles appear all over the top and begin to pop, then flip very gently.
Allow to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until golden then remove from the pan and serve immediately.
To make by hand:
Mash the banana really, really well until it is a puree consistency. Beat it together with the milk and oil until combined well.
Add all of the dry ingredients to a bowl, whisk them together, then gradually pour in the milk, stirring as you go to work out the lumps. Stir until all of the flour is absorbed and the batter is smooth, then leave to rest for 10 minutes before carrying on as above.
Video
Notes
Success Tips
Don't over blend/mix the batter. Just keep going until no dry flour is visible. A few small lumps are ok.
Don't thin the batter. If you want thick and fluffy vegan pancakes the trick is to keep the batter thick.
Cook the pancakes long and slow. Don't rush them. Vegan pancakes take longer to cook through and become fluffy than non-vegan pancakes do.
Don't use more banana than the recipe calls for as it will affect the texture. The pancakes have been tested carefully and the amounts listed give the best results.
Don't press the pancakes down with the spatula while they are cooking or you will push out the air and lose some fluff.
For optimal visual appeal, I have found that vegan butter works much better than oil when cooking pancakes. You can see the difference between the 2 in my video and photos. The video pancakes were cooked using oil, the ones in the photos were cooked using vegan butter.
These pancakes need the little bit of oil in them to have the perfect texture. If you omit it they won't be nearly as light and fluffy. Adding the nut butter as per my substitution suggestion provides a little bit of fat and helps somewhat for an oil-free version, but for the very best results, the oil is necessary.
Measure the flour correctly. Weighing with a digital scale is always best for accurate results.
Storage and freezingLeftover vegan banana pancakes can be refrigerated for a day or two then reheated in a pan over medium heat, in the microwave, or in a toaster.To freeze banana pancakes, allow them to cool completely on a cooling rack then stack them up with parchment paper between them so they don't stick together. I sometimes don't use the parchment paper and they stick together a little but are easily released. Place in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat in a toaster from frozen. You might need to put them in for a couple of rounds to make sure they are heated through properly. You can also microwave them on low until they are warmed through.