These fluffy and flavorful whole wheat healthy banana pancakes are made with naturally sweet ripe bananas, protein-packed Greek yogurt, and hearty whole wheat flour. Prepare a double batch and keep half in the freezer for busy mornings.
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since added new photos and success tips.
One reader, Nicole, commented: “So delicious my husband couldn’t believe they were whole wheat flour! I added semi-sweet chocolate chips to entice my kiddos. They were so moist and fluffy! I’m glad I doubled the batch! ★★★★★”
Do you prefer waffles or pancakes? It’s a hard choice, especially when crispy/fluffy homemade buttermilk waffles are up for debate. But these whole wheat banana pancakes present quite the competition. I make a big batch every so often to freeze and keep on hand for busy weekday mornings. They’re a top choice for “breakfast for dinner” nights, too!
Why You’ll Love These
- Made with healthful whole wheat flour, but still light and fluffy (the same can be said for my whole wheat waffles recipe)
- Packed with protein thanks to eggs, Greek yogurt, and milk
- Natural sweetness from ripe bananas
- Delicious flavor banana bread lovers will adore
- Quick and easy to make
- Delicious with a variety of toppings
Serve the healthy pancakes with sliced bananas on top, a swipe of honey butter, a drizzle of pure maple syrup, nut butter, jam, honey, raspberry sauce, strawberry sauce, whipped cream, or yogurt. Or just enjoy them plain, they’re honestly delicious all on their own!
Ingredients to Use & Why:
- Whole Wheat Flour: Whole wheat flour provides a hearty whole grain base for these banana pancakes.
- Salt, Cinnamon, & Vanilla Extract: Each adds flavor. Cinnamon + banana + vanilla is such a delicious combo—you’ll love it in banana bread and these banana muffins, too.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder helps the pancakes rise and get nice and fluffy.
- Egg: Binds the batter together.
- Milk: Any milk (dairy or nondairy) works.
- Coconut Oil: The recipe calls for a little bit of melted coconut oil, but you could substitute vegetable oil or melted butter if you prefer.
- Banana: Can’t have banana pancakes without bananas! Mash up a super-ripe, brown-spotted banana for all that delicious natural sweetness.
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar adds flavor and moisture while sweetening the pancakes. You don’t need much because a little goes a long way. Feel free to substitute coconut sugar, or maple syrup like I use in regular whole wheat pancakes.
- Greek Yogurt: Greek yogurt adds moisture and protein. I typically use nonfat plain Greek yogurt, but regular (non-Greek) yogurt, another fat percentage, nondairy, or vanilla-flavored will work just fine.
What I love most about homemade pancakes (besides their amazing texture and flavor) is the easy prep. Mixing up the batter takes just a couple minutes. Whisk the dry ingredients in 1 bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients in another, then pour wet into dry and whisk together to combine.
I like to use a large mixing bowl with a pour spout. Makes pouring the batter onto the pan/griddle much easier.
How Do I Know if My Pan Is Ready to Cook Pancakes?
The best temperature for cooking pancakes is 375ºF (190ºC). If you’re cooking on an electric griddle, you can simply set it to heat to that temperature. If you’re cooking in a griddle pan or large skillet, allow the pan to preheat for several minutes over medium heat. Don’t be tempted to crank the heat up to high; that will lead to unevenly cooked, burnt pancakes.
To test if the pan is ready, add a few drops of water to the pan. If they “dance” around on the surface before sizzling out, your pan is good to go.
5 Success Tips for Making Healthy Banana Pancakes
- Don’t Over-Mix: A few lumps are OK! If you mix too much, the gluten from the flour will start to develop, resulting in dense, chewy—or even rubbery—pancakes. Mix until just combined.
- Fresh Is Best: Don’t make the batter in advance. While we all love a good prep-the-night-before breakfast recipe, like this breakfast casserole, the baking powder activates as soon as it’s wet, and its effectiveness lessens over time. Fortunately, whisking up pancake batter is quick and easy.
- Give It a Rest: The batter should sit for a few minutes. While your pan or griddle is heating, let the batter sit, which will allow it to thicken up, making for thicker, fluffier pancakes.
- Use the Proper Pan: A griddle pan is best for cooking pancakes, but if you don’t have one, use your widest, shallowest skillet/pan. You want a thick-bottomed pan to prevent burning.
- Don’t Flip Too Early—Watch for Holes: Many pancake recipes instruct you to flip when you see bubbles forming on the surface, but you’re actually looking for holes. Your whole wheat pancakes are ready to flip when the bubbles are popping, forming little holes in the surface. Cook until the edges look set and you notice holes in the pancake’s surface around the border, about 2 minutes.
If serving these pancakes as part of a big brunch, they plate nicely with fresh fruit, eggs, quiche, frittata or breakfast egg muffins, bagel breakfast casserole, baked oatmeal, or ham and potato casserole. And for even more inspiration, see my complete list of 30+ healthy breakfast recipes.
Print
Healthy Banana Pancakes
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 10 pancakes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These whole wheat banana pancakes are made with protein-packed Greek yogurt, sweet banana, and hearty whole wheat flour. For best taste and texture, see success tips above and avoid making any ingredient substitutions.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (195g) whole wheat flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 cup (240ml) milk (dairy or nondairy), at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (115g) mashed banana (about 1 large ripe banana)
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) melted coconut oil or butter
- 2 Tablespoons (25g) packed light or dark brown sugar*
- 1/4 cup (60g) Greek yogurt*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional: 1/2 cup add-ins (chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, etc.)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, preferably with a pour spout, whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, whisk the egg, milk, and banana together. Add the oil, brown sugar, yogurt, and vanilla extract and whisk until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently whisk to combine. Make sure there are no patches of dry flour at the bottom of the bowl. The batter is thick and a few lumps are fine.
- Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Coat generously with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Once it’s hot, drop/pour a heaping 1/4 cup of batter on the griddle. Cook until the edges look set and you notice holes in the pancake’s surface around the border, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until cooked through, about 1–2 more minutes. Coat griddle/skillet with butter or nonstick spray again, if needed, for each batch of pancakes.
- Keep pancakes warm in a preheated 200°F (93°C) oven until all pancakes are cooked. Serve pancakes immediately with toppings of choice.
- Cover and store leftover pancakes in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Pancakes freeze well up to 3 months. Reheat frozen pancakes in the microwave. Or you can reheat frozen pancakes in a 350°F (177°C) oven. Place pancakes on a lined baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 6–8 minutes or until defrosted and warm.
- Can I make the batter the night before? No, I don’t recommend it. Baking powder is activated once wet.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Mixing Bowls (preferably with a pour spout) | Whisk | Electric Griddle, Griddle Pan, or Shallow Skillet/Pan
- Milk: I usually make these with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, but any milk (dairy or non) works fine.
- Brown Sugar: I tested this recipe without the sugar and the pancakes tasted pretty bland, so I don’t recommend skipping it. Feel free to substitute with the same amount of honey or maple syrup or use 3 Tablespoons of coconut sugar.
- Yogurt: I use plain 0% Greek yogurt. Regular yogurt, any milk fat, and your choice of flavor works.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 pancakes
- Calories: 253
- Sugar: 8.4 g
- Sodium: 177.3 mg
- Fat: 8.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 39.2 g
- Protein: 7.9 g
- Cholesterol: 39.1 mg
I’ve made this twice now and loved it both times!
Hi Sally, can I substitute AP flour in this recipe? I am all out of whole wheat at the moment. I have everything but actually rye, semolina, cassava, but I do not have whole wheat…
Hi Jean, yes, you can use the same amount of all-purpose flour instead. Enjoy!
I make these pancakes more than anything else, they’re the best! I just recently started replacing about a third-half of the flour with my favorite protein powder! It works great and tastes amazing so I wanted to recommend it to anyone looking to add some extra protein into their breakfast!
I just made this recipe because I had some extra whole wheat flour on hand from another of Sally’s recipe that I made last week. The whole wheat flour isn’t something I typically keep on hand or use very often, so I figured I would try out a couple of other recipes that called for this ingredient.
I just made a double batch of pancakes with the idea that I would keep them in the freezer so I could have a quick and easy, yet healthy hot breakfast option on hand for my kids. Of course, we had to try one or two of the pancakes before we froze them. They are delicious! They come out light, fluffy, and moist. The whole family liked them, and that’s really saying something. It’s incredibly rare that all of us can agree on any food item. These pancakes were a hit!
Sally, thank you so much for this recipe. I will absolutely be making it again! And I think the whole wheat flour will have to become a new staple ingredient in my pantry. I’m starting to see a lot of it in my future.
Do you have nutrition facts for the recipes? I can’t find them anywhere
Hi Kinsee, we don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
This looks delicious, is there an easy way to convert this to waffle batter? Or am I better off with a different recipe?
Hi Lexi, We haven’t tested this but you should be able to use this batter in your waffle iron. Or you might enjoy our Whole Wheat Waffle recipe.
hoping to try this recipe soon! i was wondering however, does anyone know the nutrition facts on these pancakes?
Hi Jana, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Really, really good!!!!!
Hi Sally and team. Thank you for your excellent work! Do you have a recipe for regular pancakes not whole wheat or with fruit additions?
Hi Suzy! These buttermilk pancakes (without the added strawberries) are our go-to plain pancake recipe 🙂
Hiii can’t wait to try out this recipe. Just wondering if the yogurt should be brought to room temperature as well xx
Hi Niamh, ideally, yes, but it’s not as important in this recipe as it is in some baking recipes. Enjoy!
I added chocolate chips, frozen raspberries, and frozen blueberries. Yummy.
these are the BEST pancakes i have ever made they are the absolute most delicious pancakes ever i cant believe it thank you so much
I’ve been using this recipe for years since it was originally published. I’ve used the batter for both pancakes and waffles. It works beautifully and I love adding blueberries to the batter
These whole wheat banana pancakes are a delicious and nutritious breakfast option. The combination of Greek yogurt, ripe banana, and whole wheat flour creates a hearty and satisfying pancake. The recipe is easy to follow, and the optional add-ins allow for customization. Perfect for a wholesome start to the day!
These are delicious pancakes! The recipe inspired me to buy a stovetop griddle and it worked beautifully! Next time I’ll add chopped pecans and a little more cinnamon! Thank you, Sally, for another wonderful recipe!
They are very good, however, I leave out the vanilla…they taste more like a pancake w/o the vanilla to me.
Do you think I could add non-flavored collagen powder to the batter for an extra boost of protein?
Hi Jessica, we haven’t tested adding collagen powder to these pancakes, but you could try replacing a small portion of the flour. Let us know if you give it a go!
Absolutely delicious and fluffy.
Truly the best banana pancakes i’ve ever made! It’s delicious, fluffy and healthier! This will be my go-to recipe from now on. Thank you❣
Could all purpose flour be substituted for the whole wheat flour?
Yes, you can use all purpose flour, Hannah. Enjoy!
These are delicious! My husband, the Sunday morning breakfast maker, treated me to these today. Yum! It’s his second “Sally recipe”. On the first bite, I loved the taste of bananas and cinnamon. We topped them with blueberries, sliced bananas and chopped pecans. Also added chocolate chips to a few for “dessert pancakes”. I’ve made many, many, Sally recipes over recent years, which we all have enjoyed. Now, he’s making them for me! Thank you, Sally!
Very tasty. I experiment with healthy pancakes all the time and these are a keeper. I even forgot the egg and they turned out fine. I am guessing because I used a little extra banana. Love that they have no butter or oil too. Great weekday recipe.
Can I use sour cream instead of yogurt just because I don’t have any yogurt right now?
Yes, you can!
Recipe taste amazing I love these pancakes because I have a strong sweet tooth and it helps me stay on track.
Trying to figure out the macros is fairly difficult though even using MyFitnessPal. Would anyone be able to tell me what the macros (fats, calories and protein) for each pancake if you followed the recipe to a tee and each pancake was exactly 1/3 cup?
I had to substitute the milk (coconut) and flour (best for bread) and yogurt (0% not Greek) they were still delicious, fluffy, quick and easy!
I haven’t tried these yet but I will this week. I wondered if you could sub the eggs for something nondairy.
Hi Dulcie, we haven’t tried these with an egg substitute, but let us know if you do!