I have to start out by telling you I was very leery of the whole wheat pancake. But when a pancake craving strikes and you have vowed to eat clean, making these fluffy wonders is sadly out of the question so you curse yourself a little and give the darn wheat ones with no sugar a chance. Then you find a banana version and sing Jack Johnson’s “Banana Pancakes” the whole time you make them which totally turns your mood around.
You know what’s even better, sitting down to eat these Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes and they taste like banana bread. Yep, totally my new second favorite pancake. Sorry folks but there’s just no way any pancake will beat the glorious buttermilk.
These are light and fluffy and have a nice sweetness from the ripe bananas. I decided to add cinnamon, nutmeg, a hint of cloves and nuts in the hopes that they would resemble banana bread and as I mentioned above, my plan worked.
I served these with the leftover breakfast sausage patties that I had frozen (while still raw). Just grab them out of the freezer and cook in a skillet preheated over medium heat while you cook the pancakes on a griddle.
- 2 cups whole-wheat flour (preferably whole wheat pastry flour)
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
- Pinch of ground cloves
- 1 Tbsp. honey
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 ¾ cups milk
- 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled + butter for frying
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed
- 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
- 100% pure maple syrup for serving
- Preheat a griddle over medium heat. Heat oven to lowest temperature (mine is 170 degrees F). In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
- In another bowl, whisk together the honey, eggs, milk, 2 tablespoons butter, bananas and nuts, if using. Create a well in the dry ingredients and pour the liquid mixture into it. Carefully fold ingredients together until they are just combined. Be careful not to overmix which will create a tough, flat pancake.
- Brush griddle with melted butter and ladle on batter with 1/3 cup measuring cup. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until bubbles form on the surface. Flip and cook another 2-3 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Remove pancakes and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve warm with pure maple syrup.
