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I have fallen hard for these pancakes, let me tell you. If you have an even mild infatuation with banana bread, you need to make these immediately, if not sooner!
I personally go bananas over banana bread (yes, my jokes are usually always this lame), and there is nothing more enticing to me than a brown spotted extra ripe banana.
For inquiring minds, bananas get sweeter as they ripen because their starch is broken down into sugar. Thus, the greener the banana, the higher the starch content. Benefits to unripe bananas? The higher starch content, the more your body has to work to break down the starch, resulting in a slower rise in blood sugar after eating it. This is beneficial for diabetics, in particular, attempting to limit their intake high glycemic foods.
As far as nutrient content, both green and yellow bananas are rich sources of potassium, vitamin B6, fiber and vitamins A & C.
Ok, back to these pancakes! They are gluten free, high in protein, fiber and heart-healthy fats. If you’re skeptical of how similar they’ll taste to banana bread considering how healthy they are, you’ll just have to make them yourself instead of taking my word 😉
Moist from the mashed banana, yet slightly dense, similar in consistency to banana bread. The only way these pancakes could be better is if I added chocolate chips to the batter… which I am going to do right now. Enjoy!
Banana Bread Protein Pancakes
Makes 3 medium-sized pancakes
Ingredients
- 1/2 extra ripe large banana, mashed
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (~21-23 gm); I use and highly recommend Sunwarrior Classic Vanilla Protein
- 3 tbsp almond flour
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
- Optional toppings: sliced banana, crushed walnuts, maple syrup, honey or agave nectar
Directions
- In a small bowl, mash 1/2 banana with a fork until pureed consistency
- Mix in remaining ingredients and whisk with a hand mixer
- Spray skillet with non-stick cooking spray and heat stove-top over medium heat. Spoon mixture onto heated skillet into ~3 medium sized pancakes
- Heat 4-5 minutes, or until bubbly, flip and heat opposite side for an additional 2-3 minutes
- Add toppings of choice and devour!
Nutrition facts (may vary slightly depending on your brand of protein powder)
Calories: 355; Total Fat: 14 gm; Saturated Fat: 2 gm; Cholesterol: 186 mg; Sodium: 290 mg; Carbohydrates: 29 gm; Fiber: 7 gm; Sugar: 14 gm; Protein: 29 gm
Note: Batter should be thick. If it appears too thin, add additional flour until desired consistency is reached.
This recipe came out extremely runny. I even added double the protein powder. Very thin pancakes. Wasn’t good at all.
So yummy! I reduce the baking powder to 2 teaspoons because I think the mix has too much “air” in it with 3. I also add vanilla. 🙂
Hey William! So glad you enjoyed the pancakes! I’m a little confused with the BP, though… The recipe only calls for 1/4 tsp.
This gets five stars because it is both easy to make and tastes really good. I followed another reviewer’s recommendation to let the batter sit for 15 to 20 minutes for a fluffier pancake. It worked out well. My kids love chocolate chips in their pancakes, so that is what I used. Much better than the mix I used to use and will not be buying anymore. Thanks.
Hi Henry, i’m so thrilled you enjoyed them!! I love the idea of adding chocolate chips, too – sounds delicious. Thank you for stopping by! 🙂
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I made these today and the batter was really thin, I added more flour and it did thicken up some but I noticed they burned very quickly even at a low temp. Could I be something wrong?
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Umm YES! Banana bread in pancake form? Count me in. Also I have a new bag of almond flour just waiting to be used!
Perfect timing! I can’t think of a better use for it.. 😀 enjoy!
YUM! These look phenomenal! I am definitely going to try these this weekend, if not sooner 😀 I love bananas and banana bread and pancakes, so I’m sure I’m going to love these! Thank you so much for posting this recipe, and by the way, the pictures are beautiful!!! The pancakes look like they are a filling meal, which is really good!
What would you recommend using in place of protein powder? Is there anything at all? I think I’m on my last cup or two of protein powder, cause I’m not sure if I’d have enough to make these yummy pancakes!
God bless,
Olivia
Hi Olivia! They are very filling, indeed! Thank you so much for your kind words.. If you’re a lover of bananas, banana bread & pancakes, I have no doubt you will enjoy these 🙂
As far as replacing the protein powder, I would use one part gluten-containing flour and one part Greek yogurt (for extra protein). The protein powder actually acts as a binder, the way gluten does. If you were to use more almond meal in place of the protein powder, the pancakes may fall apart. You may have to play around with the measurements for desired consistency. I hope this works!
Thank you so much for the suggestions! Yes, I’d probably have to play around with it, but I’d like to try them first with protein powder! 😀
Sometimes pancakes get too thin or some too thick, so to get it to the ideal consistency can be a little tricky! 😀 Thank you so much once again for posting this recipe! I’m going to try these this week, so when I do I’ll post it on my fitness/food blog that I have with my sister. If you want to check it out, here is the link:
http://fit2behealth.blogspot.com
I love your blog, it is so a fun and resourceful at the same time!! 😀
I’m not sure if you have, but it would be great if you could do a cinnamon bun recipe. YUM!
God bless!
Olivia
Thank you so much for the suggestions!! I think that you need to play around with it, like you said. I’m going to first try them how according to the recipe, but then knowing more about them, I can try them different ways. 😀
Since I’ll try them this week, I’ll post it on my blog that I share with my two sisters- pointing the recipe and idea back to you! You can go see the blog if you’d like, here is the link: http://fit2behealth.blogspot.com
Since we are a banana type of family, we ALWAYS have bananas in our house! 😀 That is one of our staple foods! By the way, how many pancakes does this recipe make?
I know I said the pictures were beautiful, but these are sooooo pretty!!
What kind of camera are you using? Is it a phone camera?
I have a request. I’m not sure if you have a cinnamon bun recipe, but I’d love it if you could post one!! I love cinnamon buns, and we eat them pretty frequently at our house, but we are doing it the healthified way 😀
Have a wonderful day, may God bless you!
Olivia
Thank you so much for the suggestions! I’m going to try them first, and then I can play around with the recipe a little bit! We are a banana type of family, so bananas are one of our staple foods. 😀
I’m going to definitely try these this week, so when I do I’ll post it on my blog that I have with two of my sisters. I’ll send you the link for it when I post it!If you’d like to check it out, here’s the link:
http://fit2behealth.blogspot.com/
I know I already told you that I loved the pictures, but I have to tell you again- they are sooo beautiful! What did you use to take them? Are you using an actual camera or a phone?
I have a request. I haven’t seen it on the recipe page or on the blog, but I would love it if you could post a recipe for cinnamon buns! We love them at our house, and make them some what frequently, but I’d love to make them really healthy. They aren’t filled with butter, sugar, or anything not really great for your body, but I’d like to see how you’d bake yours. 😀
Thank you so much for this post, it might be by far my favorite! And if you go to blog love on our blog Nutrisimo/Fit2Be, you can see your blog on the list! Anyway, thank you so much for everything!
God bless,
Olivia
Aw thank you so much, Olivia! I really appreciate your positive reinforcement. I actually take all of my photos on my iPhone. I use PicMonkey to edit them. It’s very user-friendly and free 🙂 I will definitely work on a cinnamon bun recipe. They are an all-time favorite of mine as well. I am looking forward to exploring more on your blog. I love what I see so far! Xo- Jamie
Thank you so much! Yes, I love cinnamon buns, so that would be awesome! I’ve been looking into getting a Canon Rebel, but I could probably use the cell phone to take my pictures! Wow, revelation 😀
God bless,
Olivia
http://fit2behealth.blogspot.com/
Is this for one serving? 🙂
Yes ma’am!
Yum! I actually had all the ingredients and made this for breakfast! The taste is delish!!! I can never get my pancakes as thick as yours, though. Suggestions??
If the batter seems too thin, just add a little more flour. Your scoop size of protein powder may be smaller than mine so adding a tad more of that could also do the trick.