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Banana pancake bites use fluffy buttermilk pancake batter to coat banana slices for the perfect little bite-sized pancakes!
If you’re a fan of light, fluffy buttermilk pancakes, you’re going to love this banana version!
These bite-sized pancakes are just banana slices coated in pancake batter. They’re flavorful, fun, and a favorite of kids and adults.
Banana pancake bites feel special and look impressive, but are secretly really easy to make. They’re perfect for a birthday breakfast, holiday brunch, or as a kid’s mid-morning or afternoon snack. (Toddlers love these too because they can easily pick them up!)
And if you meal prep breakfast for weekdays, these are a good option because they freeze well and make busy weekday mornings run smoother (pull them out to thaw the night before).
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- These bite-sized pancakes are incredibly versatile. This makes a good breakfast, special brunch, snack (especially for kids!), and even dessert. And kids can help make them! If you’re going the dessert route, I highly recommend topping these mini pancakes with whipped cream and chocolate chips.
- You can cook these up to 3 days ahead of time. They freeze well too!
- With the cost of groceries skyrocketing, these are a very affordable breakfast option.
Easy From Scratch Banana Pancake Bites Recipe
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
Banana Pancake Bites Ingredients
- Flour – here we use unbleached all-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar – regular granulated white sugar
- Baking powder – one of the leavening agents we use in this pancake recipe
- Baking soda – we need a little baking soda as a leavening agent in addition to baking powder because of the acidity from buttermilk in this pancake batter
- Unsalted butter – adds rich flavor
- Buttermilk – for the perfect fluffy pancake texture
- Egg – acts as a binder and helps make the pancake batter part of our banana pancake bites light and fluffy
- Vanilla extract – for flavor and aroma
- Bananas – the star of the show
- Coconut oil – this is my favorite fat for cooking pancakes; you can use butter if you prefer
Pro Tip: Don’t Use Brown Bananas
They’ll be too soft and/or mushy! A couple brown spots are okay, but yellow bananas work best for this recipe. Save your gorgeous brown bananas for making banana bread!
How to Make Mini Banana Pancakes
Step 1: Make the Buttermilk Pancake Batter:
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl.
Add the butter, buttermilk, egg, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Whisk just to combine, being careful not to over-mix. The batter will be fairly thick.
For the fluffiest pancakes, let the batter rest for 10 minutes.
Step 2: Slice the Bananas:
Slice the bananas while the batter rests.
Step 3: Batter and Fry the Banana Slices:
Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat (or you can use 2 large nonstick skillets to make the process go faster). Once hot, brush the bottom of the skillet with a little coconut oil or butter.
Dip each banana slice in the batter, let the excess drip off, and place the battered banana slices into the hot greased skillet, leaving an inch or two between them. Turn the heat down slightly to medium-low.
Let them cook on the first side without flipping until they’re golden on the bottom, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Use a thin metal spatula to flip the pancake bites and let them cook on the second side until light golden brown (about 2 minutes).
Repeat this process until all the banana slices are battered and cooked.
Check out my buttermilk pancake recipe for step-by-step photos of how to make pancakes!
How to Serve Pancake Bites
You can serve this any way you like your pancakes! Here are a few pancake topping ideas:
- Cinnamon sugar
- Powdered sugar
- Maple syrup
- Honey
- Whipped cream
- Chocolate chips
- Shredded coconut
- Chopped nuts, such as pecans, walnuts, almonds, or macadamia nuts
- Fresh berries
Storage and Reheating
Once they’re cooled to room temperature, you can store cooked pancakes wrapped well in the fridge for up to 3 days or up to 2 months in the freezer.
You can reheat them in the microwave, on the stovetop, or in the oven. If you’re reheating them in the oven, make sure your oven is preheated to 350F. Put the banana pancake bites on a baking tray, and put them in the oven until warm, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Mini Banana Pancakes FAQs
How Do You Keep Pancakes Warm While You Finish Cooking Them?
It’s easy to keep the cooked pancake bites warm while you finish cooking the rest of them.
While you’re cooking the batter, you can put the cooked pancakes on a silpat or parchment paper-lined tray in a preheated 200F oven until all the pancakes are made (up to 1 hour).
Can I Use a Pancake Mix to Make Banana Pancakes?
Yes! You can use any type of pancake mix you like instead of making the batter from scratch. Make enough batter for 4 servings of pancakes so you can coat all the banana slices.
What Do You Serve with Banana Pancakes?
You can top these with any pancake toppings you like!
If you’re serving these mini banana pancakes as part of brunch, here are a few things they pair well with:
- Fruit salad – chop up any fruit you like for a fruit salad; try to avoid fruits that get mushy easily (like raspberries) and fruit that turns brown quickly (like apples); I like to include fruit like chopped pineapple, blueberries, grapes, orange segments, strawberries, and cubed melon
- Eggs – you can make them any way you like; when I’m making them for brunch, I like to scramble them so I can cook a big pan of eggs at the same time
- Bacon – my favorite is beef bacon (also called beef navel), use whatever type of bacon your preference is
- Apple Onion Chicken Breakfast Sausage – it’s easy to make, good if you need a paleo sausage option, and perfect for meal prep, so you can have it made ahead and stashed in your freezer
- Savory Swiss Cheese and Thyme Scones – scones are even easier to make than biscuits, and everyone will love this cheesy savory version
More Special Breakfast Ideas
- Strawberry Cheesecake Pancakes – definitely blurring the lines between breakfast and dessert
- Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding – you make this one the night before so in the morning all you have to do is pop it in the oven
- Mug Cinnamon Roll – this is made in the microwave for the perfect special breakfast
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Banana Pancake Bites Recipe
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Ingredients
- 18 tablespoons all-purpose flour (18 tablespoons = 1 cup + 2 tablespoons)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk at room temperature
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 5 large bananas peeled and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
- Coconut oil or butter (for greasing the pan)
Optional Topping Suggestions:
- Maple syrup
- Honey
- Powdered sugar
- Cinnamon sugar
- Whipped cream
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl.
- Add the butter, buttermilk, egg, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Whisk just to combine, being careful not to over-mix. The batter will be fairly thick. For the fluffiest pancakes, let the batter rest for 10 minutes. Slice the bananas while the batter rests.
- Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat (or you can use 2 large nonstick skillets to make the process go faster). Once hot, brush the bottom of the skillet with a little coconut oil or butter.
- Dip each banana slice in the batter, let the excess drip off, and place the battered banana slices into the hot greased skillet, leaving an inch or two between them. Turn the heat down slightly to medium-low.
- Let them cook on the first side without flipping until they’re golden on the bottom, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Use a thin metal spatula to flip the pancake bites and let them cook on the second side until light golden brown (about 2 minutes).
- Repeat this process until all the banana slices are battered and cooked.
Notes
- Nutritional Information: The nutrition information for this recipe was calculated without the optional topping suggestions.
- Recipe Yield and Serving Size: Slice each large banana into 1/2-inch thick slices. You’ll end up with 15 to 18 slices per banana. Each serving is about 1 banana, or 15 to 18 banana pancake bites.
- Don’t Over-Mix the Batter: This is crucial to light and fluffy pancakes!
- Keep the Pancakes Warm: While you’re cooking the batter, you can put the cooked pancakes on a parchment paper-lined tray in a preheated 200F oven until all the pancakes are made to keep them warm (up to 1 hour).
- Make-Ahead: You can store pancake batter covered in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- Storage: Once they’re cooled to room temperature, you can store cooked pancakes wrapped well in the fridge for up to 3 days or up to 2 months in the freezer.
- Reheating: You can reheat pancakes in a toaster, in the microwave, on the stovetop, or in the oven. The toaster is super easy, especially if you’re only reheating one serving of pancakes!
To Reheat Pancakes in the Oven:
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Arrange your pancakes in a single layer on the prepared tray.
- Sprinkle a tiny bit of water on the pancakes. I like to wet my hand and just flick the water a couple times on the pancakes. This will steam the pancakes and help them stay moist!
- Cover the tray with foil.
- Put it in the oven until the pancakes are warm, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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Look delicious, going to make these for my little granddaughter, I bet she loves them, 😍