Vegan Banana Oat Pancake Bites
Fluffy mini pancakes made with oats and banana—naturally sweet and plant-based
- 2 cupsrolled oats(blended into flour)
- 2ripe bananas(mashed)
- 1 cupoat milk(or any plant milk)
- 2 tbspmaple syrup(plus more for serving)
- 1 tspvanilla extract
- 1 tspbaking powder
- 0.5 tspcinnamon
- 1 pinchsalt
- 1 tbspcoconut oil(for cooking)
Batter can be made night before and refrigerated. Pancakes can be kept warm in 200°F oven.
- 1Blend oats in food processor until flour-like consistency
- 2Mash bananas in large bowl
- 3Add oat milk, maple syrup, and vanilla to bananas
- 4Mix in oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt
- 5Heat coconut oil in non-stick pan over medium heat
- 6Drop tablespoon-sized portions into pan
- 7Cook 2-3 minutes per side until golden
- 8Serve warm with maple syrup drizzle
Use very ripe bananas for natural sweetness. Do not overmix batter. Add blueberries or chocolate chips for variation.
Banana pancakes — made with mashed banana as both a primary flavor and a binding agent — became part of the American health food repertoire when plant-based and allergen-free eating moved into the mainstream from the 2010s onward. The preparation draws on a specific property of ripe bananas: their natural sugars (approximately 15% by weight in a fully ripe banana) caramelize easily during cooking, and the starch-to-sugar conversion that occurs as bananas ripen creates a smooth, sticky texture that functions as a binder in the absence of eggs or gluten. Bananas (Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana) are native to Southeast Asia and were first cultivated approximately 8,000 years ago in Papua New Guinea, making them among the first domesticated fruit crops in human history. They spread through the Pacific, South Asia, and Africa before European contact, and Spanish and Portuguese sailors introduced them to the Americas in the 16th century. Commercial banana cultivation in Central America expanded dramatically in the early 20th century through the United Fruit Company and Standard Fruit Company. Rolled oats — the other primary ingredient — are steamed and rolled whole oat groats, a process patented by Ferdinand Schumacher of Akron, Ohio, in 1877 and commercialized by the Quaker Oats Company beginning in 1901. The combination of bananas and oats became a standard of American health-food baking as both ingredients are naturally binding and satisfying.