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) 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
These and your whole wheat blueberry pancakes are our 2 favorite pancake recipes!! I use 2/3 whole wheat flour and 1/3 white flour, oat milk, and plain nonfat greek yogurt. We often eat them topped with biscoff – so delicious!
Thank you for your amazing recipes! Can I sub oat flour for the whole wheat flour?
Hi Miriam, we haven’t tried it ourselves, but you can give it a go. You may need to tinker a bit with the wet ingredients to get the right consistency for pancakes, since oat flour is different from whole wheat flour. Let us know how it goes!
Sally if I intend to make plain pancakes, can I simply omit the bananas or can I sub that quantity with yogurt?
Hi Cheyenne, we’d recommend these whole wheat blueberry pancakes (simply omit the blueberries) or these whole wheat oatmeal pancakes instead.
Will try those instead, thank you
Great for kids as a before school breakfast. Love that I can freeze them and then pop them in the microwave for busy mornings. I used vanilla Greek yogurt because that’s all I had. They could’ve used a tad more flavor. I probably would add more cinnamon or maybe a touch of nutmeg next time I make them.
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!
great balanced flavour, nice and puffy! I used buttermilk because I had it in the fridge.
Hello Sally!! I absolutely love these pancakes!! I was wondering if I can swap out the whole wheat flour for blanched almond flour?? And if so is it a 1:1 conversion? Thank you!!
Hi Cathy, Almond flour isn’t a 1:1 substitute for whole wheat flour and would require additional recipe testing. I fear your pancakes would turn out dense and flat without making other changes but let us know if you try anything!
Dear Sally, This is by far the best pancake we have ever tasted. Tremendous flavor and the greek yogurt makes it so moist. Thank you for allowing us to enter a new world.
I do not know why you think brown sugar is “healthier” than regular sugar…. as stated in your recipe. There is nothing to substantiate that belief. Most sugar spikes your blood sugar. Dates, honey, syrup…anything less processed is typically. Low glycemic sweeteners are better, surrounding sugar with protein, fat or fiber slows down the absorption… so that is better.
In additon to being HIGHLY processed, sugar is a GMO crop …
brown sugar is sugar + molassas
Hi Madelyn, It’s the quantity of the brown sugar – only two TBS in the recipe compared to others that use a lot more – not the sugar itself that make these different than other pancake recipes 🙂
Best Pancakes ever !!!!! Thank you !!!
I love IHOP harvest grain pancakes, these are better. I made these and added some chopped walnuts…so good and filling!!
Good flavors but mine came out pretty dense and slightly dry instead of light & fluffy as others posted. Followed original recipe to a “T” other than using Splenda brown sugar, with suggested addition of 1/2c shopped walnuts. Checked my ingredients, it’s possible I may need to refresh my baking powder (dated 2018) and try again. As mentioned, flavors were great, although I do like more banana flavor so might increase to 2 bananas…. that’ll add more moisture as well.
Thanks for a good recipe for healthier pancakes.
Hiya, from reading other comments on other recipes (haven’t personally used splenda brown sugar substitute), splenda drys out baked goods more than real sugar. Plus old baking powder doesn’t rise baked goods as much as they would if it was fresh, the culprit for dense pancakes. Like you already diagnosed, adding extra banana and using fresh baking powder will fix your issues 🙂
Could you use regular white flour?
Would that change anything else in the recipe?
You can use all purpose flour, Rosa. Enjoy!
I really enjoy these and make them all the time. They hold up well for a few days. However, I think 2 tsp of baking powder is too much. It makes the pancakes taste VERY bitter. I use a scant 1 tsp. The pancakes still rise, and there is no bitter taste.
Holy wow! These are the best pancakes ever. There weren’t even leftovers to freeze, we ate them all! So perfect.
Easy to make recipe and the pancake came out delicious using whole wheat flour. Will be making it again.
I lost my favorite ww flour recipe to a crashed computer. This was a Great recipe to substitute (may replace mine). I didn’t have any buttermilk, so I added apple cider vinegar to my milk. Also substituted 1/3 cup flour for plant based protein powder. Worked like a charm!
Do I have to use yogurt? What could I use instead? 🙂
Hi Laya, yogurt is used here for flavor, structure, and moisture. If you don’t want to use it I recommend trying a different pancake recipe – I have many of them on the blog!
Made these today with walnuts and chocochips. They were so fluffy and tasty. This will remain my goto ww banana pancakes recipe. Thank you.
Just made these for my girls. Only had strawberry Greek yogurt in the house. Also added 2 tablespoons ground flax. Yummy. Thanks Sally!
Thank you for this gorgeous recipe. My husband and my two year old absolutely loved their breakfast today!!
I made these for breakfast this morning. They were delicious Sally! 🙂 I added chocolate chips & pecans.
Made these for breakfast on labor day and they came out perfect! I’m a complete rookie in the kitchen, but found the recipe incredibly easy to follow. Thanks for a great recipe. My family loved it 🙂
These put my mom’s famous homemade pancakes to shame! So darn fluffy and tasty… I always make extra to freeze and eat on weekdays!!
These are great! So fluffy and delicious! I add mini chocolate chips and cook them on a sheet pan in the oven so I can cut out shapes with cookies cutters. My kids love them!
I would love to know how you make that process work!!
Oh my goodness! THESE PANCAKES WERE AMAZING! Super light and fluffy!
I’m only ten, but these were really easy to make. I added blueberries and my entire family LOVED IT! Thank you so much Sally for this amazing recipe!
These pancakes are the bomb! I bought my first cast iron pan and this is the first thing that I cooked on it. Might I say I was blown away, so delicious! I added some chia seeds as well as chocochips and ate them with freshly made strawberry coulis (didn’t add much sugar to the sauce since pancakes had enough sweetness). Gave one to my banana-hating roommate (without telling her the ingredients, of course) and she loved it too! This will be my go-to pancake recipe 😀