These fluffy and flavorful whole wheat 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.
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 pancakes with sliced bananas on top, 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 Tips for Making the Best Whole Wheat 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.
PrintWhole Wheat 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)Â 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
Tasted amazing!! I left out the sugar, and some of the baking powder so they wouldn’t be a fluffy, cause that’s how I wanted them. Will make again ^-^ 5 stars 😀
Made  these for breakfast today and they were amazing! Light and fluffy!! I didn’t think it was possible using whole wheat flour…but these were perfect…topped with Nutella and peanut butter…I had a whole stack of them!! Thank you …
These pancakes are amazing! I added blueberries and topped with extra chopped banana, maple syrup & shredded coconut. I’m so glad I found this recipe – thank you 😀 Wish I could share a photo of how they turned out!
Perfection in a recipe! I added some flax, and will sub ground oats for some of the flour next time just to experiment. This really is perfect as is though, especially when fried in butter 🙂 Thank you!
I just want to let you know that I made these pancakes 3 times this week, twice for dinner and then AGAIN! after a long weekend run. I am OBSESSED. These are the greatest. I slather them with peanut butter, slice up more banana, add a smidge of pure maple syrup on top to finish it off. Pancake heaven!
This is my go-to pancake recipe, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Today I used half oat flour, a dash of ground flax, and added in a teaspoon of ginger alongside the cinnamon. YUM. I keep coming back for more inspiration!Â
These pancakes were absolutely fantastic. I made them for me and my sister, and she ate them all! They were so fluffy, I was a bit worried they were going to be too dense when I saw how thick they became, but they were perfect (the only problem was my cooking skills, I let some burn accidentally). Thanks so much Sally! I will definitely be making these again.Â
These are so tasty!! I replaced the yogurt with half coconut peanut butter, half coconut oil (melted). They turned out really well, super fluffy and delicious. I also used local honey instead of syrup. Really delicious. I saved the rest of the batter for another day.
This recipe is awesome! I was looking for a healthy way to use these overripe bananas that we had and I tried these pancakes. My family loved them and gobbled them up in no time. Thank you so much! We will definitely have these again. We have leftover bananas all the time. 🙂
Made these this morning. Doubled the recipe. They turned out delicious!
I made these this morning but I found them to be to thin I added 2 more extra tablespoons of whole wheat flour and they where much fluffier. Great recipe and very flavorful.
I made these this morning and they were soo delicious! My husband loved them! Just wondering if you have a calorie count on the recipe? I’ll plug it into weight watchers and check but if anyone already has the count I’d appreciate it. BTW, this is the first time I have commented on a recipe so it’s gotta be good!
Got to your blog cause of this recipe. Made it today and LOVED it! Coming back for more 😉
Greetings from Brazil!
Oh wow! Made these for brunch this morning! Brilliant recipe very moist and fluffy pancakes –bravo!!!
Thank you for sharing this recipe!! As a mom of 3 young picky eaters, it’s tough to put creative and healthy meals together. These pancakes were amazing and didn’t even need syrup! We buy tons of bananas, so there’s always a ripe one or two readily available. They were very fluffy, sweet, & delicious. I know I’ll be making these again and keeping your recipe as a new favorite!
These were AMAZING! I made these for myself (health nut) and my parents who are not as health cautious, but they devoured them!! I made them two mornings in a row because they were so good! I also posted the link to your website through my blog 🙂 Thanks for the amazing recipe!!
I just made these for my B&B guests and they LOVED them!!!! Thanks for the great recipe!
These were fluffy, sweet and delicious. I omitted the sugar (as am doing sugarfree September) and put in an extra banana and they were amazing!!!
These were simply amazing! We had peanut butter chips in the house and used those as an add-in; only used about 4 Tbsp to keep them extra light, but it added a perfect little hint of peanut butter! They were so tasty, we didn’t even need syrup or anything on top. Your healthy recipes don’t even taste healthy, I love it 🙂
I substituted milk for unsweetened almond milk. And the greek yogurt for a melted organic coconut/palm oil mix and added blueberries. These were amazing..and moist..my family devoured them. Best pan cakes ive ever had. Thank you!
Always like to make something my husband isn’t a huge fan of but I love when he’s out of town, and that’s pancakes. Had some brown bananas in the freezer ready to use up and these were amazing!!! So fluffy and flavorful, froze the rest!! You always have the answer to my “what should I make” question. Next is the almond butter cookies…
Made these today for the first time. Couldn’t believe how amazing these were!! SOO yummy!!! I followed the recipe exactly and used just a drop of organic maple syrup, but they were so tasty it was barely needed. It was a hit with the husband AND my toddler! 🙂 Looking into more of your recipes soon!
These pancakes are AMAZING. They are a staple in my home. I make a batch once a week and freeze what we don’t eat- so we have some through out the week!
My hubby is never a fan of the wheat pancakes I try out. And he loves them, AND my two year old! Score!
I think the trick for others who don’t love wheat, is to try white wheat flour. It changes everything I swear.
I also through in at least 1/4 cup ground flax seed, 1/4 mini chocolate chips (this spreads them farther than if they were big), and some pecans.
This last batch I did all that minus the pecans, and added shredded coconut (which I put in my mini food chopper to make tiny pieces) and on top of other included ingredients I added a dash of maple flavoring.
All I can say is WOW- These were my best batch yet! The coconut with the banana and bit of maple flavoring just sent my taste buds through the roof! No syrup needed!
Thank you for this amazing recipe. I have shared it with all my friends and even posted to Facebook with a link to your site. 🙂
These are great! They obviously don’t taste like pancakes made with white flour but that’s totally ok with us. They were moist, fluffy and had just the right amount of sweetness and spice. LOVE the fact that they have greek yogurt in them and therefore a good bit of protein. I’ll be trying more of your recipes. Many thanks!
These are quite possibly the best thing I’ve ever eaten. Thank you so much!
Hi Sally,
I made these pancakes for our anniversary breakfast today (11yrs!) and just wanted to let you know how much we both enjoyed them. I used chopped walnuts as my add in & they were fantastic! Definitely moist & fluffy! This will be my go to pancake recipe from now on! Thanks so much for all you do….:)
Cannot wait for your cookbook to arrive so I can try all things blueberry!
Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe! Made them this morning exactly as stated but added a handful of mini chocolate chips. Instead of syrup, I mixed heated orange blossom honey with almond butter and we lightly spread that on the pancakes. The best! Thank you!
Just as a tip that I learned from my dad to get a bit of extra fluff in the pancakes – after mixing it up, let it sit for 5 minutes or so and DO NOT STIR IT ANYMORE! It gives the baking powder a chance to start working. I normally time it with how long it takes for my cast iron griddle to be ready for pancake making. It’s just about perfect timing that way.
I made these this morning and wow they are delicious! I didn’t have any plain Greek yogurt so I used low fat sour cream. I also used whole wheat pastry flour instea of regular ww flour. My family loved them! Thanks Sally!
I made these pancakes for my family on Sunday morning, and they were met with unanimous approval! Thanks for the great recipe, Sally!