Banana Bread Pancakes
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Add some banana, walnuts, and a scoop of brown sugar and you can turn your ordinary pancakes into delicious, perfectly sweet Banana Bread Pancakes.
When you wake up, crawl out of your tent, and find out that somebody is going to make pancakes, you know it’s going to be a good day. In many ways, pancakes are a statement of optimism. They’re a mini-celebration—a way to greet a brand new day. They’re like saying, “Today is so special I’m going to make cake, for breakfast.” It’s amazing how a little early morning positivity can affect the course of the day.
While all that can be said about most types of pancakes, these Banana Bread Pancakes take things to the next level. By adding in mashed banana, walnuts, brown sugar, and a hint of cinnamon to the batter, these pancakes are filled with a warming, wholesome flavor. Like a warm loaf of banana bread coming straight out of the oven, these pancakes offer a wave of comfort and nostalgia with each bite.
The great thing about these pancakes is that they aren’t that hard to make. At home, you can combine all the dry ingredients together into a sealable container. All you need to do at the campsite is combine it with the milk, eggs, and banana. As with actual banana bread, a slightly kicked-around, over-ripe banana works best (which is probably what will end up happening anyway if you’re camping).
So the next time you want to start the day off right with some pancakes, consider kicking it up a notch with this banana bread version!
Equipment needed
↠ Skillet or Griddle: A non-stick skillet or griddle is the key to perfectly browned pancakes that won’t stick to the bottom of the pan. We like to use this GSI skillet, but a well-seasoned cast iron (and lots of butter!) would also work.
↠ Camp Stove: This Camp Chef stove is our go-to camp stove. It has two powerful burners with great heat control so it’s perfect for dialing in the temperature to get your pancakes to juuust the right golden brown color.
↠ Mixing bowl + fork: A medium-large mixing bowl and a fork are all you need to mix the batter together at the campsite.
↠ Spatula: Opt for a silicone or plastic spatula to protect the non-stick coating on your skillet. If you’re using cast iron, a metal spatula will work.
Save 15% on your first order from Backcountry.com when you’re building your camp kitchen by using our code “FRESHOFFTHEGRID” (*some exclusions apply).
More breakfast recipes
↠ Stuffed French Toast
↠ Cinnamon Apple Pancakes
↠ Dutch Oven Banana Bread
↠ 18 Camping Breakfast Ideas
Banana Bread Pancakes
Ingredients
- 3 bananas, (the riper the better)
- 2 eggs
- 1½ cup whole milk
- 2 cups flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped walnuts, (toasted in a dry skillet if desired)
- ghee, butter, or coconut oil for the pan
Instructions
At Home
- Add the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt to a sealable bag or container and pack along with the rest of the ingredients.
At Camp
- Place two bananas in a medium bowl and mash thoroughly with the back of a fork until fairly smooth. Crack the egg into the mixture and add in the milk. Beat the banana, egg, and milk together until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix until well combined with the wet ingredients. Don't overmix - some small lumps are OK. If the batter seems too thick, you can add an additional ¼ cup milk.
- Heat a nonstick pan or well-seasoned cast iron skillet on your stove over medium-low to medium heat. Add a generous dab of ghee, butter, or coconut oil (especially if using cast iron!) and swirl to coat the pan. Pour ⅓ cup of the pancake batter into the center of the skillet and scatter some of the chopped walnuts on top. Cook for a few minutes until the top begins to bubble and the sides are set (2-3 minutes). Using a spatula, flip the pancake and cook the other side until golden.
- Repeat with the rest of the batter, adding more ghee or oil to the pan for each pancake as needed.
- To serve, stack the pancakes and top with maple syrup or butter, sliced banana, and additional toasted walnuts. Enjoy!
Notes
MAKE IT AHEAD
Measure & combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a resealable bag or container at home. Pack the banana, egg, milk, and walnuts separately.Nutrition (Per Serving)
This recipe was first published on July 2, 2017 and was updated on August 27, 2020 with new photos and recipe improvements.
I so love pancakes, my husband makes them for me, so I am going to ask him to make these banana bread pancakes and we’re going to get the ghee to fry them 😉 . Yes to walnuts!!
How sweet of your husband! I hope you both enjoy these 🙂
Yum! Banana bread pancakes sounds so delicious! Love that you added walnuts too for extra flavour and crunch!
How many does this recipe serve? I’m cooking for 8 so I’m wondering if I need to double or triple the recipe! Thanks!
So this recipe is for 8 pancakes. On the recipe card, you can move a slider where it says “Makes 8” and it will scale up or down the ingredients.
This looks so delicious! Perfect for a camping trip!
These look amazing! We love both banana bread and pancakes in this house – no surprise there – so I’m pretty confident this will be a big winner. 🙂
Banana bread is a favorite when we are looking for comfort foods…. the idea of making them into something like pancakes just make me happy… and I know it will make the family happy when I make it on one of Sunday Morning Breakfasts!
Pancakes are one of my all-time favorite foods. I love the idea of making them while camping – Especially with some freshly brewed coffee!
Definitely can’t forget the coffee! 😉
I have made these pancakes and although they are very good, the batter is too thin and the pancakes turn out very flat. I made them again and only used 3/4 cup of milk. Much better. I did add a teaspoon or two more of milk and the batter was perfect.
Thank you for the feedback. We’ll add this recipe to the list for us to revisit and double-check the measurements. We retest our older recipes pretty frequently to make sure they’re still dialed in. We’ll keep your adjustment in mind. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Becky! Thanks again for the feedback – we retested this recipe using 3/4 milk and did find that the pancakes were much fluffier, and easier to turn as well. We’ve updated the recipe 🙂
-Megan
Made these this morning for a rainy day breakfast! Super yummy, thank you 🙂 I might try whipping my egg white next time for extra fluff, but I loved the recipe as is! Totally plan on making these the next time I camp.
So glad to hear you enjoyed these, Spencer!
I love all types of pancakes but banana pancake is my favorite and this so delicious and yummy.
Really can’t go wrong with pancakes! So glad to hear you enjoyed these, Shaun!
How many pancakes per serving about? Thanks!
The recipe makes about 16 pancakes total. We find that 3-4 pancakes per person is about right, unless you have a larger appetite!
We LOVE these…and don’t wave them for camping, lol. Thanks for sharing!
Never heard of banana bread pancakes. When I was a cook doing breakfast for 300, with another cook, 6 days a week, we used water instead of milk. Plus we never used salt, but, I will definitely try the Banana Bread Pancakes.
These were a hit with my sugar-conscious partner and two rather picky toddlers, although next time I might add a few chocolate chips alongside the walnuts for the kids’ pancakes.
My 15 month old twins aren’t fond of bananas but they love these pancakes. After making these on a camping trip a few months back I’ve learned to always keep a stash of frozen for easy breakfasts. Spread a little coconut oil and almond or peanut butter and they are devoured!