Best Banana Oatmeal Pancakes Recipe

Recipe

These banana oat pancakes cook up soft, fluffy, and hearty with sweet banana flavor in every bite.

These oatmeal banana pancakes are worth waking up for. They’re super soft with a hearty texture and a lightly sweet flavor that makes them irresistible.

Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

Laura fuentes holding a skillet of food standing in front of a blue door

This recipe combines the epic texture and heartiness of my oatmeal pancakes with the delicious taste of my best banana pancakes, with those sweet banana tidbits in every bite. You’ll love how easy it is to make, plus it’s the kind of breakfast everyone gets excited to eat.

Benefits of Banana Oat Pancakes

The oats and bananas make these pancakes feel a little more wholesome without sacrificing that soft, fluffy texture everyone wants in a great pancake stack. The bananas naturally sweeten the batter, and with 3g of fiber and 10g of protein per serving, they're one of those easy breakfast upgrades no one complains about.

Ingredients

Banana: the riper the better because it’s sweeter.
Milk: both dairy and non-dairy work for this recipe.
Eggs: to bind the ingredients in the batter.
Old-fashioned oats: their larger flake size provides a heartier texture that holds up better in this batter.
All-purpose flour: combined with oats, yields soft pancakes. Follow this healthy oat pancake recipe if you only want to use oats.
Baking powder: the ingredient that gives pancakes a fluffy texture.
Sugar: a little to sweeten the batter. Can be omitted if your banana is very ripe.
Vanilla: adds that iconic pancake batter flavor.
Salt: a little to enhance the flavors in the batter.

How to Make Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

Mash the banana and soak the oats in the wet ingredients for 10 minutes.
Mash the banana as smooth as possible, then mix it with some of the other wet ingredients. Then, you’ll add the oats only so they soften up and thicken.
Mix the rest of the batter ingredients and wait 5 more minutes.
You'll add the dry ingredients and butter, mix, and let the batter sit again for the flour to assimilate into the oatmeal mixture and thicken.
Cook the pancakes over medium heat.
Pour the batter onto a hot, greased pan, scooping from the bottom of the bowl to pick up the oats that settle. Cook them for about 2 minutes per side.

Stack them high and make happy plates.
I usually top them with more sliced bananas and pancake syrup, although a peanut butter drizzle would be epic too.

Batter and Pancake Texture

The key to great oatmeal batter is letting the oats soak up the liquid, then letting the batter sit after it’s fully mixed before cooking. This results in hearty pancakes that don’t fall apart. Skipping those steps leads to a runny batter that doesn’t cook up.

2 image collage. on left there's the liquid ingredients and old fashioned oats in a bowl. On the right is the banana oatmeal batter close up inside a measuring scoop to show what the batter should look like

Laura’s Tips for Perfect Banana Oat Pancakes

Can I use quick oats?

Since quick oats don’t hold as much liquid as old-fashioned oats, I don’t recommend them, as the results are mixed and they often yield pancakes that feel wet (undercooked). If that’s all you have, you’ll need to adjust the recipe (add about 3 tablespoons) and still wait.

Can I add chocolate chips to the batter?

Sure! Mix in ⅓ cup of chocolate chips right before you cook them.

Can I make the batter ahead?

Yes, it can sit in the fridge overnight. However, it will need to come to room temperature for about 20 minutes before cooking the pancakes.

How long do leftovers keep?

These usually disappear faster than I can cook them, but leftovers keep great in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat them for 30 seconds in the microwave or in a toaster.

My banana isn’t ripe enough. What now?

To ripen your banana in a pinch, peel the banana and microwave it in 15-second intervals, mashing it with a fork as it softens. This will quick-ripen the banana and bring out its sweetness. Then, allow it to cool down completely before making the batter.

sliced stack of banana oatmeal pancakes on a fork to show hearty texture with stack on a plate topped with sliced bananas and a drizzle of pancake syrup

More Oatmeal Pancakes

If you love the heartiness of using oats in your pancake batter, try my protein powder oatmeal pancakes, 3-ingredient oatmeal banana pancakes, these apple oatmeal pancakes, high protein cottage cheese oatmeal pancakes, and these pumpkin oatmeal pancakes. They’re all delicious!

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Banana Oatmeal Pancakes Recipe

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 15

These banana oat pancakes cook up soft, fluffy, and hearty with sweet banana flavor in every bite.

5 from 63 votes

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Ingredients

1 ripe banana, ½ cup mashed
1 cup milk, any
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon, optional
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 tablespoon butter, melted
⅔ cup all-purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
Pinch salt, omit if butter is salted

Instructions

Make the batter:

In a large bowl, mash the banana until mash the banana until it resembles a thick paste. Then, add the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon (if using). Add the oats to the liquid banana mixture and mix.
Let them sit in the bowl for 10 minutes to absorb the liquid. You can’t skip this step. Melt the butter, then let it cool down while the oats sit.
Give the oats in the bowl a quick mix. Add the melted butter, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix to combine the batter, then let it sit for 5 more minutes.

Cook:

Heat a non-stick pan or griddle over medium heat. Once hot, grease it and immediately pour up to ¼ cup batter per pancake. Always fill the scoop from the bottom of the batter up to pick up the oats that settle.
Cook the first side for 2 minutes, until the edges begin to look defined and bubbles form on the pancake. Flip the pancakes over and cook the second side for another 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate or a 200F oven to keep warm while you cook the rest.

Serve & Store:

Serve warm, topped with additional banana slices and pancake syrup.
Refrigerate leftover pancakes in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat pancakes in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute or in the toaster.

Notes

Add ½ to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter for more flavor.
If your banana isn’t very ripe, you can add 2 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup to sweeten.
I recommend aluminum-free baking powder since this ingredient often leaves a salty/metallic aftertaste.

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