Nutritious, protein-packed banana pancakes (gluten, dairy & refined sugar free)
I know what you're thinking: not again someone promoting banana pancakes that ALWAYS go horribly wrong and end up being a mush. Well, I'm here to tell you they don't always have to turn out that way if you just know a few gimmicks ;)
The recipe and instructions can be found at the end of this post but I suggest you go through the rest of the post as well.
There's nothing better than starting your day with a yummy stack of pancakes or having them as a lil luxurious snack on a Tuesday afternoon! These pancakes are more on the cakey side than fluffy, but they are delicious and customizable - you can easily play around with different flavor combos depending on what you have the mood for.
The key to succeeding is two-folded: firstly, the right choice/quality of ingredients is crucial. Secondly, the consistency of the batter sets you to either success or failure. That being said, I haven't tested these pancakes as a fully vegan version without eggs, but I don't see a reason why they shouldn't work with flax eggs too!
Stable ingredients (and their substitutes) you'll need for these nutritious pancakes:
Banana - you need a fully ripe banana, the browner the peel the sweeter the pancakes!
Eggs - 1 egg & 1 egg white, preferably organic or pasture-raised. I haven't tested these pancakes with a flax egg, but I believe it should somewhat work (I can try it later and give you an update).
Milk - use instead of Greek yogurt. Doesn't matter which kind, plant-based or cow's. Most often I use soy, almond, or rice milk.
Yogurt - not necessary but works better than plain milk as it gives the pancakes a softer and fluffier texture. Haven't tested out a vegan substitute because you can easily leave the yogurt out. Just make sure if you're not using it, add a little more milk.
Blended cottage cheese - another ingredient that’s not 100% necessary, but gives the pancakes EVEN more fluffier texture and adds in protein. Most times if I use cottage cheese in mine, I leave the protein powder out. Blend the cottage cheese with a hand mixer of some sort before adding it to the batter.
Lemon/orange/lime juice OR white wine/apple cider vinegar (ESPECIALLY if not using yogurt) - brings the acidity (and the citrus juice also brings flavor) for the baking soda to work.
Natural sweetener - using additional sweetener isn't necessary, personally, I think banana gives the pancakes enough sweetness. But if you like, you can always add a drop of some liquid sweetener of choice. I recommend maple syrup, honey, agave, or stevia.
Coconut flour - the taste of coconut is very subtle, so even if you don't like coconut I encourage you to try it! I believe other gluten-free flours, such as oat, almond, buckwheat, or teff should work as well but you might need to adjust the wet-dry ingredient ratio. UPDATE: I have started using a ratio of 1:2 of coconut flour and buckwheat flour in my pancakes as the buckwheat gives them structure and holds them together better. I can highly recommend this!
Good quality protein powder - when choosing a protein powder in general, you should look for one that doesn't include artificial sweeteners such as sucralose, aspartame, or acesulfame and also doesn't include a bunch of other additives. If you happen to have some bad-tasting plant-based powder lying around in your cupboards, you could use it for the pancakes because the taste or the texture doesn't come through easily. I have tested the recipe with both, whey and plant-based protein powders and they work equally well. One thing that should be noted is that when mixed with liquid, each protein powder acts a little differently: some extract moisture while others bind it. I will explain about the textural effect further below :)
Baking soda - to give the pancakes some fluff factor
Salt - just a touch for the flavors to pop
YUMMY Add-ins, combos & toppings:
cardamom+cinnamon (makes the pancakes taste a little like French toast)
chai- or pumpkin spice
vanilla extract
Poppy seeds & lemon
cocoa powder
orange juice & chocolate chips
blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, strawberries...
Top with:
any nut butter (peanut, hazelnut, almond, cashew...),
Biscoff spread or jam
berries or fruit
chocolate
coconut flakes or shredded coconut
butter or ghee
Maple syrup or honey
caramel drizzle
cinnamon
even bacon if you're feeling frisky
Method and measurements
Wet ingredients:
1 medium banana (extra ripe if possible)
1 egg + 1 egg white
1 cup of Greek yogurt (if you wish, add another 1/2 cup of blended cottage cheese) or use milk of choice.
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
Dry ingredients:
approx. 1 cup of coconut flour + 3/4 cup of protein powder
OR
approx. 1 cup of coconut flour + 1/2 cup of buckwheat flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
a sprinkle of salt
Some pancake recipes require using an electric mixer, but I say the best result with these comes with just a bowl and a fork. From that simple statement, the rest is fairly simple as well! Mash the banana with the fork, leaving it a bit lumpy. Add in eggs and whisk together with the fork. Then mix in the rest of the wet ingredients as listed. Finally, add the dry ingredients in the order listed and mix again. EASY, peasy!
At this point, you should have a pretty thick batter. The batter cannot be runny, you need to be able to move it to the frying pan with a spoon or a spatula. If the batter is too runny the pancake will most probably fall apart when you're trying to flip it, and it becomes a scramble (which is not a bad result either, tastes the same but looks quite different). If the batter is too runny, which can easily happen, add in a little bit more flour and you should be fine. Again, if the batter is too thick, carefully add some more milk.
Fry the pancakes one or a couple (depending on the size you make them) at a time, on medium-to-high heat in a drop or spray of oil (olive, coconut, avocado, rapeseed e.g.), butter, or ghee. Once the top starts to have air bubbles, the pancake should be ready to be flipped. Frying the first side shouldn't take more than 4 minutes. Using a large and bendy spatula helps with flipping! Once flipped, fry the second side for 1-2 minutes.
Top with whatever you fancy and enjoy!
With love, Stiina