Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
How do you feel about using the “L” word? Does it roll automatically off your lips when you are talking to anyone you care about, including your dog? Or do you reserve it for only the most intimate of situations? Maybe you don’t feel the need to say it at all. Whatever your approach, these Heart-Shaped Banana Oatmeal Pancakes are a sweet way to show someone you care, no words necessary.
I grew up in an “L” word family. My dad said “I love you” every time he left the house and at the end of every phone call, so I did too. Ending phone calls with “I love you” got to be such a habit, that, to my total mortification, I once said it to my friend’s mom when I’d called her house to ask about a school project. Remember when you used to have to call a friend’s landline to speak to him/her?
And Mrs. B, for what it’s worth, I still love you, even if I’d be more likely to text it to you now.
I’m still pretty comfortable with the “L” word. If anything, I should use it less and focus on my actions more. It’s easy for an “L” word user like me to tell my family and friends that I love them—to show them I love them is harder. Too often, I let the busyness of everyday life monopolize my day. I miss small opportunities to show my affection, whether it’s through a simple text to a friend, taking out the trash for Ben, or sending a birthday card.
These Banana Oatmeal Pancakes are a delicious reminder that showing someone you care doesn’t need to be complicated. This easy recipe is made right in your blender using healthy ingredients. Waking up to a fresh batch of these banana beauties would make anyone feel loved, indeed.
I adapted this easy oatmeal pancake recipe from my Blender Banana Oatmeal Muffins. Like the banana muffins, these Banana Oatmeal Pancakes contain no flour, no butter, and no sugar but still taste light and sweet. Greek yogurt and mashed banana replace the butter and sugar, and the Banana Oatmeal Pancakes are made with entirely with oatmeal instead of flour.
These swaps make the Banana Pancakes 100% whole grain and gluten free, and they have a decent amount of protein too (at least for a pancake). The texture isn’t as “bready” as traditional pancakes, but I still found them absolutely scrumptious.
I originally envisioned these Heart-Shaped Pancakes for your Valentine’s Day morning, but I think I love them even more for a casual weekend morning. The blender makes the oatmeal pancakes so easy to prepare that you can enjoy them anytime, and the fact that you are taking time to make Banana Oatmeal Pancakes from scratch, to me, says I love you, with or without the heart shape.
If you would like to make heart-shaped pancakes (because, CUTE), spray the inside of metal cookie cutters like these generously with baking spray, place them on a warm griddle, then portion and spread the batter inside. It takes a little extra effort, but I’m ok with that right now.
Happy Valentine’s Day, and Happy Every Day! Guess what? I really do love you.
Tools I used to make this recipe:
- Nonstick skillet
- Fish spatula—I use this to flip pancakes, fry eggs, stir roasted veggies…everything!
- Heart-shaped cookie cutters
Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
Easy Blender Banana Oatmeal Pancakes. These healthy oat pancakes use mashed banana and Greek yogurt and contain no butter, no sugar, no flour, and no oil. Make them into heart shapes for a special breakfast, or enjoy them as-is. Either way, you will love this simple and delicious breakfast.
Yield: 10 pancakes (1/4 cup batter each)
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats or quick oats (gluten free if needed; do not use steel-cut oats or instant oats)
- 1 1/4 cups mashed banana (about 2 very large bananas)
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons nonfat milk (or substitute milk of choice)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (I recommend aluminum free)
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Optional for serving: maple syrup, butter, honey, Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, peanut butter, or any other pancake topping you love
Directions:
- If you’d like to keep the pancakes warm between batches, preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
- Place the oats in the bottom of a blender. Process a few times to grind, then add the mashed banana, Greek yogurt, milk, eggs, honey, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. (See notes to make this recipe in a food processor instead.) Blend on high speed, stopping to stir a few times as needed, until the batter is very smooth and well combined, about 2 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes.
- Heat a griddle or skillet over medium low. Brush lightly with olive oil or melt a little butter in the pan. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the hot griddle into the shape of a heart and cook 3 minutes, until the edges look dry (bubbles may not form on top). Flip and continue to cook for 1 to 2 additional minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding a little more oil to the pan between batches as needed. For perfectly shaped heart pancakes, coat the bottom edges and the insides of a heart-shaped cookie cutter with oil or cooking spray. Lay it on the griddle and pour the batter inside. Cook until the edges are dry, then remove the cookie cutters, flip, and continue cooking as directed. Keep the pancakes warm between batches in a 200 degree F oven, if desired. Serve warm with desired toppings.
- To make this recipe in a food processor, grind the oats until they become a flour. In one bowl, combine the oat flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, whisk together the banana, yogurt, milk, eggs, and honey. Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry, then cook as directed.
- To freeze, lay the pancakes in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then place in the freezer. Once the pancakes are frozen, transfer them to a ziptop bag and store for up to 2 months. (Do not put unfrozen pancakes in a ziptop bag without first freezing them flat or they will turn into a big, hard pancake blob.) Reheat in the toaster, directly from frozen.
- Leftover pancakes can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, then reheated in the toaster as mentioned above.
adapted from my Blender Banana Oatmeal Muffins
// All images and text ©/Well Plated.Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1 pancake
- Amount Per Serving:
- Calories: 112 Calories
- Total Fat: 3g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Cholesterol: 1mg
- Sodium: 76mg
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Fiber: 2g
- Sugar: 6g
- Protein: 5g
Did you try this recipe? I want to see! Follow Well Plated on Instagram, snap a photo, and tag it #wellplated. I love to know what you are making!
About Erin Clarke
I’m fearlessly dedicated to making healthy food taste incredible. Wearer of plaid, travel enthusiast, and firmly convinced that sweets and veggies both deserve a place at the table. MORE ABOUT ERIN…
I’m all about the “L” word, although sometimes I use it too much, especially when talking about food!! ;) Like these pancakes! I LOVE this recipe and I’m definitely going to make these for my boyfriend and I for Valentine’s Day Breakfast. <3
I’m guilty of the exact same thing. 😂 Thanks Marina! I hope you and your boyfriend enjoy them.
This is a great way to use oatmeal (which I don’t much care for as cereal) other than cookies (which I LOVE).
I will make these I think this Sunday for breakfast. We all LOVE your blog as you can tell. Have a great weekend with this arctic weather – at least the sun is out.
Thank you so much, Chris! I hope the pancakes are a hit!
Your Blender Banana Muffins are awesome, so I canny wait to try these pancakes! Your recipes are 👌🏻 We enjoyed your Roasted Carrot Soup + ham & cornbread for lunch today. 😋
I saw the pic on Insta Kori! I am so happy to know you loved the soup, and since you are fans of the muffins, I know you’ll love these pancakes too.
I made these this morning for the kids. Delicious.
I am so happy that you all loved them Heather! Thank you so much for letting me know.
I love you how you made a pancake out of those healthy breakfast ingredients. Great way to get kids eating more healthy without them knowing it ;)
Doesn’t apply certainly to this recipe but I forgot to tell you that with the butternut squash soup recipe I use, I also add some lightly salted pepitas as garnish – really tasty! And maybe sort of healthy also – not sure.
That sounds DELICIOUS Chris. I’m going to try pepitas on this myself next time!
hey girl- These pancakes look so yummy! Love ya- have a great weekend!
Thanks so much Shawnna! I hope you had a wonderful weekend!
This recipe sounds like a real winner. My pancakes would be whatever strange shape they might turn out to be after pouring the batter onto my griddle (my last batch turned out to be sort of triangular because they landed in the corners of the griddle). I really like the idea of doing a simple batter in the blender, so on my next time cooking, I’ll have to try these (I cook for two weeks, then my husband cooks for one week, and my two weeks are about up for this cycle).
I hope you and your husband enjoy the pancakes Susan, whatever shape you choose!
Tried these this morning and they came out great. I didn’t believe you about two very large bananas, so I came up a little short in that department, but they turned out well despite that. My husband approved of them, and I also liked pouring them onto the griddle from the blender pitcher. This recipe is a definite keeper – easy and tasty.
I’m glad it’s a keeper, Susan! Thank you so much for trying them out and letting me know how it went. :)
I made these this morning and am so glad I did. They were quick, easy and fit perfectly into my weight loss diet. Next time I’m going to add flaxseed meal as well. Thanks for a great recipe!
Kerry, I am so happy to hear you loved these! Thanks so much for taking time to leave this positive review, and I love your idea of adding flaxseed also!
Made these this morning for a late breakfast – very good. They were totally nothing like regular pancakes but that was a good thing. We liked them alot. Was surprised how easy it was to make oat flour in the food processor – I’m thinking that it could be a little more costly if you were to buy ready made. Thanks for another good one!
Chris, I am so happy to hear that these were a hit! And oat flour is so easy to make at home. I just have to convince myself to wash the food processor ;-) Thanks for trying the recipe and leaving this lovely review!
That’s definitely my kind of breakfast! I love to start my day with something sweet. And then, I see fruits on top of that… Mmmmm…
Fruit is just the perfect finishing touch! Thanks, Gustavo!
Made these this morning for breakfast and they were wonderful. They tasted very much like pancakes and cooked exactly like them as well. I used some coconut oil to make them not stick! After finished cooking put a small amount of butter and dipped in a small amount of syrup and paired with fresh raspberries and blueberries! LOVE
That sounds delicious, Madelyn! I’m so glad you enjoyed the pancakes. :) Thanks for taking the time to report back!
I made these on Sunday morning for me and my boyfriend. I’m not a huge fan of bananas, but I will eat them if they’re baked or cooked. These were delicious! I added some chopped walnuts for texture. Definitely going to make these again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these, Lauren! Chopped walnuts sound lovely. Thank you so much for leaving this review!
Made the pancakes for lunch. We really liked the texture. Have you tried the recipe for waffles?
Hi Rose! I haven’t tried this as waffles, and I probably wouldn’t recommend this as I suspect the waffles would turn out somewhat soggy…they need some fat to crisp up. If you’re looking for a blender waffle recipe, my Blender Whole Wheat Waffles would be a great option!
Hi I love this recipe! I was wondering if I added a few scoops of whey protein to this would I need to change any other part of the recipe? The batter gets really thick!
Hi Melissa, I’ve never tried the recipe that way myself, so I can’t say for certain. I think you could experiment by adding just a few tablespoons of powder, then adding in milk if the batter seems too thick. If you decide to play around with it, I’d love to hear how it turns out.
These are great! I’ve made them twice. The first time they were too liquidy so I ended up having to add some regular pancake mix to get a batter. The second time I just omitted the milk and added a little ground flax and they were absolutely perfect! I’ll definitely keep making them :)
Caitlin, I’m so glad to hear you enjoy the recipe, and I really appreciate your taking the time to share your tweaks! Thanks for this lovely review!
This recipe is perfect! The pancakes were fluffy and delicious! My whole family enjoyed them. The only change I made is using 2 eggs and 2 tbsp of flour instead of 3 eggs. Thank you so much for your wonderful blog and recipes!
Forgot to rate it :)) highly recommend!
YAY! Thank you so much Anna. I am so happy to hear the pancakes were a hit!
Hi,
I made these pancakes but they were kind of gooey from the inside. I tried pouring a thinner batter on the skillet and still found them way too soft (like melt in mouth soft). I have never made pancakes without flour so dont know how these ones are supposed to be in terms of texture and taste. I didnt get them fluffy at all :( Would love to know where I went wrong.
Hi Sabby, these pancakes are definitely very soft, which is a result of them being both low in fat and made without butter. They definitely shouldn’t be raw/gooey on the inside at all though, so if that was the case, I’d recommend cooking them for longer.
I made these for my husband and me this morning, and they were DELICIOUS! I cut the recipe in half, because I only had one banana. It was the perfect amount for the two of us. I also used maple syrup instead of honey, and it worked out very well. These are easy, healthy and yummy. Thank you! My husband asked that I save this recipe. I will definitely make them again. :)
YAY Sara, I’m happy to hear the pancakes were a hit! Thanks so much for giving them a try and reporting back. :)
Nice presentation , I will surely try this, thanks for recipe :)
Thank you, Komal! I hope you enjoy.