Healthy Pancakes are the perfect nutritious breakfast. This healthy pancake recipe uses whole wheat flour, no added fat, and the pancakes are sweetened only with mashed bananas!
For most of our childhood, We grew up eating homemade pancakes for breakfast on the weekends, and we enjoyed them all summer long at the lake with our family. It wasn’t until we had buttermilk pancakes in a restaurant as adults that we realized just how prized our mom’s buttermilk pancake recipe is!!
Homemade buttermilk pancakes are so light and fluffy and they’re the perfect breakfast comfort food.
When it comes to breakfast foods, we are all about taking the healthy route while still enjoying our favourite classic recipes. Our kids love pancakes, so finding a way to make our mom’s traditional buttermilk pancake recipe a little healthier was a must!
Many buttermilk pancake recipes are high in fat and some are even high in sugar, but we’ve removed the fat and sugar, replacing it with mashed bananas to make it healthier for the whole family!
Don’t let the bananas scare you off if you’re not a big fan; you can hardly taste them and they do a great job of adding moisture and a just touch of sweetness!
Of course, if you plan to douse the healthy pancakes in maple syrup it kind of defeats the purpose, but we serve these to our kids on weekend mornings with some chopped fruit thrown into the batter. Apples, bananas, pears, strawberries, or blueberries all work well. Just a mountain of blueberries piled on top of the healthy buttermilk pancakes is delicious… no syrup required!
But if you just can’t bear the thought of pancakes without maple syrup, at least use the real stuff!
You will need these items on hand to make this healthy pancake recipe (affiliate links):
HEALTHY WHOLE FOOD RECIPES AND COOKING TIPS
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These are the ingredients you will need:
- bananas (well mashed)
- low fat buttermilk
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- whole wheat flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- cooking spray
Time needed: 25 minutes
Follow these steps to make these delicious healthy banana pancakes!
- Measure.
Measure out the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.
- Mash the bananas.
In a separate bowl, mash the bananas very well (it’s ok if they go a little bit liquidy…you don’t want any large chunks). Add the eggs and the vanilla and beat with a fork until they’re combined well.
- Wet Ingredients.
Measure the buttermilk into a separate liquid measuring cup and pour the buttermilk and the egg mixture into the flour mixture.
- Don’t over-mix!
Stir everything together carefully, making sure you don’t over mix, until everything is combined.
- Let batter sit.
Let the batter sit in the bowl for about 5-6 minutes before you start frying. This will allow the leavening agents (the baking powder and baking soda) time to begin their work and you’ll start to see the batter start to rise slightly as air bubbles develop below the surface.
- Make the pancakes.
On Medium-low heat ladle 1/3 cup of batter into the pan for each pancake.
- Watch for brown edges.
Once you see the edges beginning to brown slightly and a few bubbles breaking the surface of the batter, flip the pancakes over. You can check the underside by lifting up the edge of one of the pancakes using a spatula; if the underside is brown, it’s time to flip!
- Serve!
Serve the pancakes hot off the griddle with some fresh berries and maple syrup!
Are pancakes healthy?
Yes, these pancakes are made with whole wheat flour and mashed bananas, there is no added sugar or fat.
How many calories are there for one pancake?
One pancake has 161 calories.
How do I keep my whole wheat pancakes from getting too dense?
Try to disturb the batter as little as possible. This will help the air bubbles stay intact as the pancake cooks and create a light and fluffy texture. This is especially important when using whole wheat flour because the wheat particles in the flour actually interfere with gluten development, making baked goods made with whole wheat flour denser and generally less fluffy than their all-purpose flour counterparts.
How many pancakes does this recipe make?
The number of pancakes you make will vary based on the size you choose and the pan you’re using, but this recipe feeds our family of four with several pancakes left over for the next day (usually around a total of 12-16 pancakes).
Can these healthy pancakes be frozen?
Yes that is our favourite thing to do. We freeze any leftover healthy buttermilk pancakes individually, then bring them out on weekday mornings and pop them in the toaster for a quick and easy breakfast!
We hope you enjoy this healthy pancake recipe! Let us know in the comments below, what’s your favourite way to enjoy pancakes?
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Healthy Buttermilk Pancakes (healthy pancake recipe)
Recipe: Ingredients
- 2 bananas very well mashed
- 3 cups low-fat buttermilk
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups whole wheat flour I’ve also had success using whole wheat flour and oat flour, 1 1/2 cups each,
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Your favourite cooking spray
Recipe: Instructions
- Measure out the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, mash the bananas very well (it’s ok if they go a little bit liquidy…you don’t want any large chunks). Add the eggs and the vanilla and beat with a fork until they’re combined well.
- Measure the buttermilk into a separate liquid measuring cup and pour the buttermilk and the egg mixture into the flour mixture.
- Stir everything together carefully, making sure you don’t over mix, until everything is combined.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat.
- Let the batter sit in the bowl for about 5-6 minutes before you start frying. This will allow the leavening agents (the baking powder and baking soda) time to begin their work and you’ll start to see the batter start to rise slightly as air bubbles develop below the surface.
- Once the oil has heated for a few seconds, turn the heat down to medium-low heat and carefully ladle about 1/3 cup of batter into the pan for each pancake, trying to disturb the batter as little as possible. This will help the air bubbles stay intact as the pancake cooks and create a light and fluffy texture. This is especially important when using whole wheat flour because the wheat particles in the flour actually interfere with gluten development, making baked goods made with whole wheat flour denser and generally less fluffy than their all-purpose flour counterparts.
- Once you see the edges beginning to brown slightly and a few bubbles breaking the surface of the batter, flip the pancakes over. You can check the underside by lifting up the edge of one of the pancakes using a spatula; if the underside is brown, it’s time to flip!
- Repeat this process until all your batter is gone. The number of pancakes you make will vary based on the size you choose and the pan you’re using, but this recipe feeds our family of four with several pancakes left over for the next day (usually around a total of 12-16 pancakes).
- Serve the pancakes hot off the griddle with some fresh berries and maple syrup!
Recipe: Notes
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
HEALTHY WHOLE FOOD RECIPES AND COOKING TIPS
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I Love pancakes! Thanks for adding this recipe to the Healthy Living Link Party. We appreciate it!
Glad you like this recipe! 🙂
our weekend always include pancakes, and these sound delicious! I love adding banana to our bater
They are delicious indeed! Thanks for the comment! 🙂
Have you tried these with white whole wheat flour? Just curious if that will mess up the recipe? Thanks
Yes I have! It works perfectly well 🙂
Thanks so much. I’m making them now 🙂
Delicious!!
Glad you liked them!! 🙂
Lovely buttermilk pancakes I’m always trying to make healthy pancakes but this with the buttermilk was heavenly! Mine rarely taste good .
I’m so happy you enjoyed them! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
These are so good! My families favorite healthy pancakes.
Thank you Jenn! This is my go-to pancake recipe also!🙂
These are some of the BEST pancakes I’ve had. Delicious! Very soft and fluffy and taste great. I was worried the banana flavor would overpower but it didn’t. My kids raved about them and they actually look pretty perfect, like any other batter I’ve made. Enjoy!
I’m so glad you love them as much as we do!
Is the calories mentioned here for 1 pancake ?
Hi Jenifer, yes it is, one pancake has 161 calories!
The best pancakes; my kids and hubby love them!
Great!! Thanks so much Sara!
Hello
Is it possible to replace the flour for almond flour?
I’ve never replaced the flour in this recipe with almond flour, so I can’t comment on how well it would work. But I’m currently testing a low-carb almond flour pancake recipe, so stay tuned for that one!
The banana flavor is really good. The texture is the same and it’s easy to make.
Thanks so much for letting us know! Glad you liked them!!
I e made these pancakes many times, and my family loves them! However, I can no longer see the amounts for the ingredients on your web page, just what the ingredients are. Kinda hard to follow the recipe that way…..
There’s a button at the top of the page that says “jump to recipe” if you click on that it will take you to the complete recipe card that you can also find by scrolling to the bottom of the page.