Fluffy Vegan Banana Pancakes (Refined Sugar Free and Gluten Free Option)

Unbelievably thick and fluffy, these vegan banana pancakes are the perfect breakfast treat!  The secret ingredient is..

..the secret ingredient is using maple syrup IN the batter in place of any other added sugars!  It pulls the flavor together so beautifully.

I’ve always had one major problem with going out to breakfast – when you go out to lunch or dinner with friends or family, it is socially acceptable to order something to share for the table.  Appetizers, fries, a salad.  But at breakfast, why don’t we order shared food to snack on while we wait for our main courses??

Well, my friends, I introduce to you a million dollar concept – Pancakes for the table.  That’s right, I am proposing that we make it socially acceptable to order a stack of pancakes at any breakfast gathering, that way everyone can get one pancake while they wait for their eggs, or avocado toast, or, well, maybe more pancakes.

Anyway, my dreams of a better society aside, these vegan banana pancakes are the most perfect banana pancakes you will ever have.  They are thick and fluffy, stuffed with banana flavor, and using maple syrup in the batter ties it together perfectly with your maple syrup topping.

Last note – if you’ve found your way here because you LOVE pancakes, but just realized that the bananas on your counter are maybe a little too far gone, or someone else in the household ate them without you realizing it, head over to either my buttermilk pancakes, blueberry pancakes, or chocolate chip pancakes and it’ll all be okay!

How To Make Them

Start off by mashing your bananas.  I find that 2 ripe bananas gives the perfect amount, usually just over a cup.  The recipe is forgiving though, so if you wind up with a little more or less, don’t worry about it!

Add in maple syrup, vanilla extract, soy milk, and neutral oil to the mashed banana.  Once that is smooth, in go the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, salt, and optionally cinnamon or any other spices you want to include.  Of course you can also add in chocolate chips or peanut butter chips or nuts.. go wild!

Here is my secret to making them so thick – I let the batter rest for about 20 minutes before making my pancakes.  You can skip this step if you are in a rush, and the pancakes will still be wonderful, but allowing the batter to rest for a little while will aid in getting you extra thick and fluffy pancakes.  This works especially well if you are using gluten free flour.

When you’re ready to make them, scoop about ¼ cup of batter at a time onto a non-stick or greased pan at medium heat.  I recommend using a spoon or even your fingers to help them form that perfect circle shape once the batter lands on the pan. They will be around 3-4 inches across, and you’ll get about 10 pancakes from this amount of batter. 

If you’ve never made pancakes before, they’re quick and simple!  Let them cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes on the first side, you’ll know it’s time to flip them when the top starts to bubble a bit and you see the edges are cooking.  Flip and cook on the other side for about 2 minutes until golden brown, then remove from the heat and get the next one going!

And that’s it! Make them all, then eat your stack of perfect fluffy vegan banana pancakes!! Nutritional info can be found in the Notes section below the recipe instructions.

Storage:

Who stores pancakes?!  Eat them all!

(I have never stored them.  I’m sure they will keep for a few days, or can be frozen!)

Pro tips and tools:

• Make sure you are measuring your flour either by weight or using the spoon and level method.  Do not scoop directly from the container, as you will wind up with too much! This is so important! If you want to buy a pre-made gluten free flour blend, make sure it’s King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour, it is BY FAR the best one for my recipes, NOT Bob’s Red Mills or any others. If you want to make a homemade blend, here is a link to the one I use.
• Make sure you measure your liquid ingredients using liquid measuring cups.  This will ensure accuracy!  I love this set.

Ingredients needed:

• Bananas
• Maple syrup
• Neutral oil – any will work, I usually use grapeseed.
• Vanilla extract
• Non-dairy milk – any will work, I usually use soy
• Flour – Make sure you are measuring your flour either by weight or using the spoon and level method.  Do not scoop directly from the container, as you will wind up with too much! This is so important! If you want to buy a pre-made gluten free flour blend, make sure it’s King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour, it is BY FAR the best one for my recipes, NOT Bob’s Red Mills or any others. If you want to make a homemade blend, here is a link to the one I use.
• Baking powder – I recommend using baking powder that has no added aluminum. This one is my go-to.
• Salt
• Cinnamon – optional

What To Bake Next:

• Have more bananas to use up? Try this Vegan Marbled Banana Bread, or these Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Muffins, or these Vegan Banana Bread Cookies.
• Want more fun breakfast options? Try these Vegan Cinnamon Sugar Donuts, or these Vegan Lemon Blueberry Scones, or these Vegan Coconut Donuts.
• How about some breakfast muffins!? Try these Vegan Blueberry Muffins, or these Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Muffins.