Gluten Free Banana Pancakes

Light and fluffy gluten free banana pancakes get their ultra-tender texture from plenty of buttermilk in the batter with oat flour to give them structure. Totally gluten free, you'll love the touch of natural sweetness from the mashed bananas and a little maple syrup.

Gluten Free Banana Pancakes Recipe

My girls love pancakes and I love having a quick breakfast on hand for busy mornings. These gluten free banana pancakes are perfect for making ahead - you can enjoy a big stack doused with maple syrup in the moment, then pack the rest away for breakfast or snacking on later in the week.

Banana pancakes are a great way to use up ripe bananas, and add gorgeous natural sweetness and light fruit flavor to the pancakes. And did I mention the texture? Buttermilk keeps things marvelously light while oat flour adds whole grain fiber and is the only gluten free flour you need. This easy recipe is adapted from the NY Times and has become a favorite in our kitchen. We especially love them with a banana strawberry smoothie or blueberry banana smoothie, or topped with strawberry honey jam! You could even serve a stack of pancakes as dessert, topped with one-ingredient banana ice cream.

Jump to:

• Gluten Free Banana Pancakes Recipe
• Pancake Highlights
• Ingredient Notes
• Add Ins
• How to Make Gluten Free Banana Pancakes
• Recipe Tips & Substitutions
• Serving Suggestions
• Proper Storage
• More Pancake Recipes
• Gluten Free Banana Pancakes

Pancake Highlights

Who doesn't love pancakes? While we love a nice tried and true basic pancake, we also love changing it up a bit. Mashed bananas are lovely in pancakes, adding sweetness and moisture. These beautiful pancakes are:

• Not your ordinary pancakes! My daughter said "these pancakes taste like banana bread in a pancake" and she's not wrong! Think of all the things you love about banana bread, then turn them into pancakes. Sometimes I'll add more cinnamon and a handful of walnuts to makes these into banana bread pancakes.
• Simple ingredients - Pantry ingredients and a few fridge (and counter) staples are all you'll need to make these little hot cakes.
• Dress them up or down - Like most pancakes, banana pancakes are fantastic with all the extras like chocolate chips, nuts, or berries. But, they are equally as nice with just a bit of maple syrup drizzled over the top.

Ingredient Notes

Here's a look at what you'll need to make these gluten free banana pancakes. The full ingredient amounts and detailed instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post.

• Oat flour - Whole grain gluten free oat flour is the only gluten free flour needed in these banana pancakes. If you can't eat oats, try sorghum or brown rice flour.
• Leavening - Baking powder and baking soda.
• Cinnamon - I love adding a little ground cinnamon to banana pancakes. You could also try ground ginger.
• Salt - I always use fine sea salt in my recipes and table salt works fine, too.
• Buttermilk - This is what gives the pancakes their extreme light and fluffy texture! Use real buttermilk if you can, or else try an equal amount of yogurt and milk.
• Maple syrup - Or substitute brown sugar, granulated sugar, or honey.
• Mashed bananas - This is a perfect recipe to use up those browning, very ripe bananas on your counter. They'll infuse the pancakes with loads of natural sweetness and flavor.
• Eggs - I use large eggs to make these pancakes.
• Butter - You can use salted or unsalted butter, both in the batter and for greasing the pan.

Add Ins

You can stir in whatever additions you like to make these banana pancakes your own. Some of my favorite extras include:

• Chocolate chips - Semisweet or milk chocolate chips!
• Nuts - Turn these into banana nut pancakes with walnuts or chopped almonds!
• Coconut - Shredded coconut will give a tropical feel
• Fruit - Add chopped strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and more.

How to Make Gluten Free Banana Pancakes

I've given a quick overview in the photos below of my method for making gluten free pancakes.

• Combine the dry ingredients: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Make wet mix: In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, maple syrup, banana, eggs, and melted butter.

• Make batter: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold them together lightly. Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes.
• Melt the butter: Heat a skillet over medium heat and melt in some butter.

• Cook the pancakes: Drop about a scant ¼ cup per pancake in the heated pan and cook until the edges are set and bubbles start to appear in the center.
• Flip: Flip and cook until the pancakes are set throughout, another 1 to 2 minutes.

Recipe Tips & Substitutions

Pancakes are pretty easy to make, but there are some best practices specific to pancake-making - like resting the batter - that I try to follow every time so that they turn out perfectly. Once you get the hang of it, I know your pancakes cook up beautifully every time. For example:

• Don't over mix the batter: Using a light hand with pancake batter is essential, and leaving in some lumps is more than OK! Lumps mean that the pancakes won't spread out too much during cooking. In addition, if you don't vigorously stir the batter this will keep some air in it, leading to lighter pancakes.
• Rest the batter: This is a tip that should be included in every pancake recipe, regardless of whether or not the batter is gluten free! Why rest pancake batter? A short rest allows the flour to hydrate, the protein to relax, and any of those little lumps to dissolve. Resting the batter will also allow the baking soda and baking powder to activate. All of these things happening will make for lighter and fluffier pancakes.
• Make sure the pan is hot enough: To test whether your pan or griddle is ready to cook off the pancakes, flick a few drops of water onto the surface. If they sizzle, the pan is ready. If not, give it a little longer to heat up.
• Don't flip too soon: Look for a few bubbles in the top of the pancake as it's cooking on one side. The edges should be slightly set and the top should show broken bubbles. Then, gently flip the pancake over to finish cooking.
• Oat flour substitute: Use your favorite 1:1 gluten free all-purpose flour mix in this recipe, or swap in sorghum or brown rice flour by weight for the oat flour.
• Make them dairy-free: Use coconut oil or olive oil for the butter in the batter and the pan. Make dairy-free buttermilk by mixing in 1 tablespoon of vinegar to 1 cup of non-dairy milk.

Serving Suggestions

Of course, all you really need for any type of pancakes is maple syrup, maybe a little (salted) butter if you want to dress them up. But if you make banana buttermilk pancakes for a more special occasion, or you just feel like treating yourself on a Saturday morning, try:

• Honey - Add a drizzle of honey to your pancakes instead of maple syrup.
• Whipped cream - Top a pile of pancakes with softly whipped cream for a treat!
• Nut butter - I love serving pancakes with a little peanut or almond butter for an extra hit of protein.
• Nutella - Add a drizzle or swipe of Nutella to banana pancakes - it's utterly heavenly!
• Fruit - Add fresh fruit like blueberries, raspberries, sliced bananas or nectarines, or whatever is in season on top of your pancakes.

Proper Storage

Pancakes keep so well, in the fridge or in the freezer. I like to make a big batch at the start of the week and heat them up for quick school morning breakfasts (it's a little gift I give myself). Here's how to store them:

• Fridge - Store leftover pancakes in a zip-loc bag, with a piece of parchment between each pancake, for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds per pancake.
• Freezer - You can also freeze leftover pancakes: place the pancakes in a freezer-safe, sealable bag with a piece of parchment paper in between each pancake, and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before heating.

More Pancake Recipes

If you tried this recipe please let me know! Or if you have any recipe questions, always feel free to reach out in comments or email. I hope you love it! ❤️