Banana Oat Pancakes

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If you’re looking for a flourless banana pancake recipe that’s still airy, fluffy, and moist, you have to try my banana oat pancakes, made by grinding rolled oats into oat flour. This is a great way to incorporate more heart-healthy whole-grain oats into your breakfast, especially if you have picky eaters. They won’t be able to tell the difference between these banana oat pancakes and ones made with regular flour!

These gluten-free banana oat flour pancakes make for a delicious, easy, and healthy breakfast that the whole family will love! It’s so easy to make your own oat flour, and it has a neutral taste, so it’s just perfect for these pancakes.

Oat flour is not only gluten-free, but it’s also full of whole grains, which contribute to good heart health. Pancakes always feel like a treat, but by making this simple swap, it adds more nutritional value to the breakfast. The addition of banana to the batter also adds sweetness and moisture to the pancake that traditional recipes just don’t have!

“Made them today! Were really delicious !! Best oatmeal pancakes I have ever tried. Thank you so much for the recipe!” – Sarra

Recipe at a glance

Cuisine Inspiration: American
Primary Cooking Method: Pan fry or Griddle
Dietary Info: Vegetarian & Gluten Free
Key Flavor: Sweet Bananas
Skill Level: Easy

Summary

• Refined Sugar-Free: In this recipe, we get our sweetness from beautiful ripened bananas and vanilla extract. No refined sugars here!
• Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free: Oatmeal and oat flour are naturally gluten-free, but just to be sure, check your oats for gluten-free certification. 
• Quick and Easy: Easily whip up oat flour pancakes in the blender. Keeps the prep and clean up very easy to clean too. Then just pour from your blender and start cooking!
• Perfect for any occasion: Great for breakfast, but if you’re a breakfast-for-dinner person, oat flour pancakes are perfect for that too! 

Ingredients you’ll need to make banana oat flour pancakes

• Oats: Rolled oats (also known as old-fashioned oats) are the best ones to use in this recipe.
• Baking powder: For light and fluffy pancakes. Use aluminium-free to avoid a metallic aftertaste.
• For flavor: Cinnamon, salt, and vanilla extract.
• Milk: I like to use almond milk in this recipe, but you can use dairy or another plant-based milk.
• Egg: To bind the ingredients together.
• Banana: Use a ripe or overripe banana for this recipe. They are softer and easier to combine with the other ingredients and naturally sweeter too.
• Chocolate chips: Because a chocolate chip pancake is never a bad idea!
• Oil: For cooking. I like to use coconut oil, but any high-heat oil will work well.

Popular substitutions & additions

• Make them vegan: Swap out the egg with a flax egg, a chia seed egg, or your favorite egg replacer to make this recipe vegan. 
• Swap out the spice: Swap out the cinnamon for a pumpkin pie spice or an apple pie spice combination. Perfect during the fall with those warm spices.
• Banana swaps: If you don’t have a ripe banana, you can use applesauce, greek yogurt, buttermilk, silken tofu, or even pumpkin puree. These will still provide moisture, sweetness, and a similar binding effect that the banana had.

How to make oat flour from oatmeal

Oat flour is rolled oats that you grind in your food processor to become flour-like. It only needs 30-60 seconds in the blender until the mixture becomes finer and resembles actual flour.

I usually make a big batch at once, and then I have it handy when I want to use it for recipes like Pumpkin Spice Balls or Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars. Because rolled oats are generally gluten-free, the lack of gluten in oat flour can make baked goods feel heavy or fall apart. So I learned to remedy this by adding more liquid or baking powder, and usually that does the trick!

How to make banana oat pancakes

Once you’ve made the oat flour, you can mix it with the dry ingredients, including baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Transfer those dry ingredients to a small bowl. Then add the wet ingredients, including the milk, banana, egg, and vanilla extract, and blend.

Now, you can blend the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and blend together.

Next, use a griddle or pan to cook the pancakes as you normally would, looking for the air bubbles before flipping to the other side.

“These were just like what we wanted and needed. I am new to these flours and want to find some go to recipes. My very picky eater teen like them. ! Thank you” – Laura

Tips for making the best banana oat pancakes

• Make sure you start with more rolled oats for the amount of oat flour you need in a recipe. It takes about 1 ¼ cups of rolled oats to make 1 cup of oat flour. Be sure to measure after grinding if you’re making your own oat flour.
• Don’t add the chocolate chips or other heavy add-ins to the batter. That’s because they will sink to the bottom since the batter is pretty thin. Instead, just sprinkle them on top of the batter when you transfer it to a pan to cook.
• Use a really ripe banana to make the pancakes. It has a lot more natural sweetness, which means you don’t need to actually add any sweetener to the batter. And it’s also much easier to combine with the other ingredients so you don’t end up over-mixing.
• Don’t leave the batter sitting for too long. Since the oats are not cooked, they will continue to absorb the moisture in the batter, making the batter thicker as it sits. If the batter is too thick it makes it more difficult for it to spread in the pan.

What to serve with banana pancakes

Pair your oat flour pancakes with an array of complementary sides and toppings. Here are some ideas for you!

• Homemade Nutella
• Strawberry Sauce
• Breakfast Coffee Smoothie
• Sweet Potato Breakfast Bowl

How to store & reheat oat flour pancakes

Before storing, let your pancakes cool on a wire rack; this will help to prevent any condensation which will make your pancakes soggy. To prevent sticking, place each pancake in a stack with a piece of parchment or wax paper in between. Place them in an airtight container or wrap them with plastic wrap and store them in the fridge. 

How long will oat flour pancakes last in the fridge?
Store the wrapped pancakes in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.

Can I freeze oat flour pancakes?
Yes, these gluten-free pancakes freeze very well. Cook them and cool them completely. Then place in a freezer-safe bag flat in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

Reheating pancakes: To reheat, just pop them in a toaster or in the microwave before serving.

Frequently asked questions

I love how easy it is to turn a favorite family breakfast into a lighter one. It’s basically like having oatmeal in pancake form! We like topping it with bananas and chocolate chips, but you can also go classic with butter and maple syrup and any fruit you’d like. It’s like a gluten-free pancake makeover!

More pancake recipes:

• Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes
• Protein Pancakes
• Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
• Flourless Strawberry Pancakes
• Sweet Potato Pancakes
• Pink Pancakes (made with beets)
• Banana Pancake Dippers
• 3 Ingredient Pancakes

If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feelgood Oat Flour Pancakes recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!

This Oat Flour Pancakes recipe was originally published on March 9, 2017. I’m re-sharing it today with step-by-step photos an a video tutorial. Here’s that glorious original photo 🙂