3 Ingredient Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

3 ingredient whole wheat banana pancakes

These aren’t your traditional pancakes like the ones you’d expect from an iHOP or somewhere similar. Instead they are healthy pancakes packed with 10g of protein. Even better, they serve one person and contain just three ingredients:

a banana
flour
an egg

Seriously, can a pancake recipe get any easier than this and NOT be from a box? Win-win for sure!

As I said, these are not your typical pancakes, so don’t expect them to taste like regular ones. With that said, they are still good. The texture and taste kind of remind me of the sweet, eggy-inside of french toast. They are denser, and not as fluffy or billowy like the boxed version.

3 ingredient whole wheat banana pancakes — Combine banana, flour and egg. Make sure the banana is completely mashed.

These three-ingredient pancakes also get the stamp of “kid-approved”. While they aren’t Harper’s favorite pancake recipe (these banana protein pancakes are her favorite), she still enjoyed them.

If desired, top your pancakes with a little little wheat germ, flaxseed, fresh berries and pure maple syrup. Or top with a pat of butter if you just don’t care. 🙂

halloween baby — Harper taking in the pretty fall weather.

Enjoy!

3 Ingredient Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 1

Source: Cooking Light

Ingredients

1 medium ripe banana
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp. whole wheat flour

Instructions

Mash banana with a fork until smooth. Add flour and egg; stir well with a whisk.
Heat a few teaspoons of coconut oil in a large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Spoon pancake batter onto skillet, using one third of batter for each pancake. Cook 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.

Serving size: 1 Calories: 228 Fat: 5.5g Carbohydrates: 38g Sodium: 72mg Fiber: 5g Protein: 10g Cholesterol: 186mg

Yogurt Pancakes

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day, especially when pancakes and bacon are involved. If you’re looking for a simple, homemade pancake recipe, this one is for you.

Instead of buttermilk or milk, we used plain Greek yogurt, which adds a ton of protein and makes these pancakes extra thick, and healthy-ish. There’s no whole wheat flour or oats, so that’s why I added the “-ish”.

Plus, when you add butter to them, you are adding some serious calories. Even though we used Smart Balance and 100% pure maple syrup, these actually kind of taste like McDonald’s hotcakes.

At least, that’s what my sister and I think. Brittany and I used to go to McDonalds for breakfast with my grandfather Poppy every time we visited him. Don’t worry, he lived 2.5 hours away, so it’s not like we were eating McDonalds for breakfast every day! 🙂 Brittany and I would get a sausage biscuit and orange juice, while Poppy would order the big breakfast with hotcakes.

Brit and I would each try a bite of Poppy’s pancakes, who wasn’t shy about topping them with butter and syrup.

Weird as it may sound, I actually never eat pancakes with butter on top, but for the photos in this post, I thought I’d add some. I think I could have added butter and syrup on top of anything, and it would have tasted like those hotcakes just because I wasn’t used to it. I can definitely see why people add butter…. but I probably shouldn’t start that bad habit up!!! Haha.

For now, I’ll continue to simply add fresh fruit to my pancakes and a little wheat germ, and we can continue to call these pancakes “healthy”. lol

Enjoy!!

Yogurt Pancakes

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups (16 oz) plain yogurt (we used 0% fat Fage Greek yogurt)
1/4 cup water

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.
In another bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt and water. Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.
Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a hot griddle coated with cooking spray. Turn when bubbles form on top. Cook until the second side is golden brown.

Notes

Source: Taste of Home

Neil’s Pancakes

We had our family Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve instead this year, so when we woke up on Christmas Day, there was absolutely no pressure of cooking a large meal. Instead, we woke and had a delicious and savory brunch with leftover ham, fruit, coffee, orange juice and these amazing pancakes!!!

Don’t get confused by the name because Neil is neither a relative nor family friend. Neil Kleinberg is actually the owner of Clinton Street Baking Co & Restaurant, in which his pancakes were voted best in New York.

This pancake recipe is from the “Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook: Breakfast, Brunch & Beyond from New York’s Favorite Neighborhood Restaurant” by DeDe Lahman, Neil Kleinberg and Michael Harlan Turkell; and if you don’t have the book, it’s definitely worth looking in to.

I honestly thought these were the best homemade pancakes I’ve ever tasted. The batter was light, airy, and buttery. The recipe called for whole milk, but we didn’t have any and thus used skim milk. The pancakes were already outstanding, but I can only imagine how they would taste had we used whole milk!!!

Neil's pancake batter — Fold the dry ingredients into the wet. Whip the egg whites and mix them in with the batter.

One secret is that the egg whites are folded into the batter. By applying French techniques – that is, you make a cake lighter by folding in whites (almost like a soufflé) – Neil was able to make the batter lighter, but have it retain its springy resiliency that yields one perfect pancake.

The other secret is to avoid over mixing, which creates gluten in the flour and makes them tough.

One common mistake among many cooks is that they don’t heat the griddle long enough, which is why the first pancake is usually a dud. Make sure the griddle is very hot, then put the butter on. A teaspoon or tablespoon is just fine, but make sure you use enough so the pancakes don’t stick.

Neil's blueberry pancake batter — Optional: add 1 tablespoon of blueberries or sliced bananas and 1 teaspoon walnuts before turning the pancakes. Never add the fruit to the batter; always add the fruit to the pancakes once they’re on the griddle.

Neil's pancakes — When the pancake is golden brown on both sides, remove with a spatula. Repeat with remaining pancake batter.

These pancakes don’t just have to be served on Christmas Day. We definitely plan on making these next weekend and Saturday mornings to come. Enjoy!!

Neil’s Pancakes

Serves: 18-20 (3-inch) pancakes

Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
6 large eggs, separated
3 cups whole milk
3/4 cup (12 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 tsp. unmelted for the griddle
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups blueberries or sliced bananas and 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar or cinnamon sugar for dusting (optional)
Pure maple syrup

Instructions

Sift flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in large bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks, milk, melted butter and vanilla until combined. Whisk yolk mixture into flour mixture until just combined; the batter will be slightly lumpy.
Place egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or whisk by hand, until *medium peaks form. Gently mix half the egg whites into batter with a rubber spatula. Gently fold in remaining whites. The egg whites should not be fully incorporated into the batter.
Heat a griddle until hot, about 350-375 degrees. Add remaining unmelted butter to hot griddle. Add 1/4 cup pancake batter and let set. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon blueberries or sliced bananas and 1 teaspoon chopped walnuts, if using, over pancakes. When bubbles begin to form, lift pancake; if golden brown, turn. Cook until golden brown on remaining side.
Transfer cooked pancake to a plate and keep warm. Repeat process with remaining batter, fruit and nuts. Garnish with confectioners’ sugar for blueberry pancakes and cinnamon sugar for banana-walnut. Serve warm with pure maple syrup.

Notes

*Peaks are “soft” when you put your finger in the whites and they fall over. Peaks are “medium” when you put your finger in and they drip over a bit and stand up. “Stiff” peaks develop when you whip the whites longer and they stay up.

Happy Father’s Day!

Happy Father’s Day to all those dads out there! If you need a last minute idea on what to make your dad on this special day, here’s some foodie inspiration! (All of these recipes are my dad’s favorite picks.)

Let’s start with breakfast. My dad LOVES pancakes, and here is his favorite recipe: Nigella’s pancake mix….and no, they’re not from a box!

Since its Father’s Day, and you probably slept in and had brunch, let’s move onto dinner ideas. My dad LOVES grilling out, and here is his famous chateaubriand steak recipe. Enjoy!

Let’s forget the sides! Men like my dad and husband would be fine just eating steak and dessert, so let’s take a look at some sweets! Notice how they are all chocolate? My dad is a chocoholic. Take your pick or make all three!

This first recipe is a chocolate ice box pie. My dad requests this one a lot, whether it’s his birthday or not!

Next up…Paula’s 4-layer pudding dessert. This is my dad’s new favorite. Ever since I got the recipe from my mother-in-law Paula, my dad requests I make it every time I come over.

Finally, are you ready for something super chocolatey? Mom’s secret ingredient brownies are just that….rich, sweet, and loaded with chocolate chips. My dad brings these to work for every company luncheon they have. He loves telling people there is a “secret ingredient” and always asks if they can guess it!

Banana Protein Pancakes

Here’s another healthy breakfast recipe that you must try. Again, they are from Peanut Butter Fingers blog, and they’re a big-time winner! These pancakes are nearly identical to the healthy protein pancakes I’ve made before. The only difference…. these have a mashed banana, which I am a huge fan of!

As far as nutrition, this recipe is just about as healthy as you can get! Great for diabetics, like my uncle Bobby, these have no added sugar. Rolled oats provide for a source of whole grains, egg whites are 0g of fat & 17 calories each, cottage cheese packs 15g of protein per 1/2 cup serving, and the banana is your source of fruit!

I like to top these pancakes with 2 teaspoons of pure maple syrup, which from my calculations, is only 35 calories. Finish them off with a handful of raspberries, and you’ve got a colorful, delicious and extremely healthy breakfast.

Enjoy!

Blend all ingredients in blender until batter is smooth.

Pour batter into warm pan and cook for 3 minutes, or until edges start to harden.

Flip and cook for 2 more minutes.

Serve, warm.

Drizzle with 2 teaspoons of maple syrup and a handful of raspberries.

Banana Protein Pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 small banana, mashed

1/2 cup cottage cheese

2 egg whites

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions

1. Spray pan with cooking spray and heat to medium heat.

2. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and blend with an immersion blender (or blend in a food processor) until batter is thick, relatively smooth and all ingredients are fully mixed.

3. Pour batter onto warm pan to form six medium-sized pancakes.

4. Allow to cook until edges start to harden, about 3 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook for approximately 2 more minutes.

5. Top with 2 teaspoons of pure maple syrup and a handful of raspberries and enjoy.

Yield: 1-2 servings, depending on how much you eat!

Recipe from: Peanut Butter Fingers

Healthy Protein Pancakes

My sister found an amazing recipe for pancakes in a recent women’s fitness magazine, and you would never know that they were considered healthy! With only five low-fat ingredients, these pancakes provide a punch of protein from the cottage cheese and egg whites. Cottage cheese contains 12 grams of protein from a 3.5-ounce single serving, and 1 egg white contains 3.6 grams of protein…wow! In addition, the old-fashioned oats take the place of enriched flour, and the ground cinnamon adds a sweetness and delicious flavoring to these great pancakes.

Trust me, it won’t taste like you’re eating healthy, but your body will truly appreciate it. These pancakes are so good that my mom said she will make them for my dad next time we eat breakfast. “He’ll never know the difference….they taste just like a regular pancake mix,” she quotes.

Enjoy!

Healthy Protein Pancakes

Ingredients

1/3 cup oats

1/3 cup cottage cheese

1/3 cup egg whites

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

2. Spray griddle pan with nonstick cooking spray.

3. Pour batter onto hot griddle. Flip when bubbles start to form. Pancakes should be golden brown.

Yield: 4 medium-sized pancakes

Kelly’s Favorite Dutch Babies

These are my friend Kelly’s, all-time favorite Dutch Babies that his mom makes. He requests them every time he goes home to visit and could probably eat a whole one! (Dutch babies, also called german pancakes, are a cross between a popover and a pancake). My husband, Matt, and I got to experience these famous dutch babies this spring break as we traveled with Kelly and his wife to Washington DC to visit the capitol and stay with his parents.

Kelly’s mom, Terry, is a wonderful cook! Not only did she make one, she made three dutch babies for all the guests and we devoured them! Kelly squeezes a half of a lemon on each dutch baby slice, and two huge spoonfuls of powdered sugar to top it off. I did the same and it was delicious!

I must give credit to Terry for the wonderful recipe she received from a friend for how to make these german pancakes. There are simply four ingredients, and all you need is a blender and pie plate to make these miraculous concoctions. Terry’s dutch babies are ten times better than my previous German Pancake recipe because they are fluffy, sweet, golden, and puffed up very nicely. Try these today and enjoy!

Kelly’s Favorite Dutch Babies
Ingredients
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/3 cup melted butter

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Beat eggs in blender for 1 minute. Add milk and beat for 30 seconds. Add flour and beat for 30 more seconds.
3. Pour into oven proof skillet or pie pan with melted butter. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden.
4. Serve with fresh squeezed lemon juice and lots of powdered sugar

Yield: 2-4 servings
recipe from Terry Largent (Kelly’s mom)

Karen’s Pancakes

Here is another wonderful pancake recipe I enjoy making. When my husband and I got married, my cousin Brooke put together a family and friend’s recipe box. In this recipe box, my special friends and family submitted their most favorite recipes and a note for Matt and I to have. In the box, I discovered this delicious pancake recipe from a parent on my high school cross country team. This pancake recipe has been passed down through the generations, and is a family favorite. Enjoy!!

Karen’s Pancakes
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
3 tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
3 tbsp melted butter

Directions
1. Whisk all ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. Heat pan or griddle (do NOT add butter to pan or spray to pan; your butter is in the batter). If cooking on an electric stove, heat pan about 15 minutes on medium low setting. Pour batter into hot pan. When bubbles form, flip pancakes over. Cook until golden brown.

Nigella Lawson’s Pancake Mix

This is my family’s most favorite pancake recipe. Pancakes are extremely easy and fast, especially if you use the instant pancake mix from Nigella Lawson. My dad would cook these every weekend for breakfast. If you want to make these pancakes a little thicker and richer, feel free to substitute buttermilk for milk. Enjoy!!!

Add 1 cup of pancake mix to large bowl.

Add 1 cup of milk.

Add 1 egg and 1 tbsp melted butter.

Whisk all ingredients together.

Heat griddle or large pan over medium-high heat. Swirl in a small amount of vegetable oil. Add pancake batter. Flip pancakes when they start to bubble.

Serve warm with maple syrup and crisp bacon.

Nigella’s Pancake Mix
Ingredients
4 cups flour
3 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp plus 2 tsp sugar

Directions
1. Mix the above ingredients and store in a jar.

Batter and Pancakes
Ingredients
1 cup Nigella Pancake Mix (see above recipe)
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 tbsp butter, melted
vegetable oil (for the pan)

Directions
1. To make the pancakes, for each 1 cup of pancake mix, add and whisk together egg, milk, and butter.
2. Heat a flat griddle or pan over medium-high heat. Pour a small amount of vegetable oil in the pan and swirl in the pan.
3. Spoon drops of 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of batter onto the hot griddle and when bubbles appear on the surface of the pancakes, flip them over to make them golden brown on both sides. A minute or so a side should do it.
4. To keep pancakes warm before serving, place in 200 degree oven. Serve pancakes with maple syrup, fresh strawberries, and crisp bacon.

Yield: 15 pancakes about 3-inches in diameter

Dutch Baby (German Pancake)

Last weekend I planned on going to the Original Pancake House with my husband and friends for brunch. Since I’ve never been, I looked their menu up online to plan out what I was going to order. I discovered a dish called the “Dutch Baby”, something I have never heard of. I did some research and a Dutch Baby is a German Pancake made with eggs, flour, milk, and seasoned with cinnamon and vanilla. It reminds me of a cross between a popover, french toast, and a pancake. It puffs up really big and falls soon after being removed from the oven. It is sprinkled with lemon juice and powdered sugar. I even added a little maple syrup, bananas, and blueberries.

I absolutely love this recipe and plan on making it again. It looks so fancy, but is extremely easy to make… actually easier than pancakes because you bake it in the oven. This recipe comes from Gourmet Magazine, April 2009. You need to try this! Enjoy!

Beat the eggs on high until pale and frothy.

Then beat in flour, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Melt butter in the hot skillet, swirling to coat.

Add the batter and immediately return skillet to oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until puffed and golden-browned.

Serve immediately, topped with lemon juice and powdered sugar.

Dutch Baby
Ingredients
3 large eggs at room temperature
2/3 cup whole milk at room temperature (I used skim)
2/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions
1. Put skillet on middle rack of oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Beat eggs with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and frothy.
3. Then beat in milk, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and continue to beat until smooth, about 1 minute more (batter will be thin).
4. Add butter to hot skillet and melt, swirling to coat.
5. Add batter and immediately return skillet to oven.
6. Bake until puffed and golden-brown, 15-18 minutes.
7. Sprinkle with lemon juice and powdered sugar. Serve immediately

Serves 3-4