Once or twice each year throughout my childhood, my family packed suitcases, stuffed animals, and a library’s worth of books into our minivan for a road trip down to Southern California. We usually drove straight to San Diego to visit our grandparents, but occasionally, my parents let us stop in Anaheim to go to Disneyland.
We stayed at the Howard Johnson hotel because it was really close to the freeway, directly across the street from the theme park, and offered very reasonable room rates. It also had a decent pool, and my brother and I loved swimming and splashing around during the hot afternoons!
As a family of extreme morning people who consistently rose before the sun, we often hit the road by 7 am, if not closer to 6 am, when the streets were still and silent with only a few birds chirping. We watched the sun peek up over the horizon from the freeway, admiring as it stained the sky a dusty rose hue.
To get us out the door even faster, Mom usually packed a portable breakfast we could eat in the car. As a special treat, she picked something up from the grocery store bakery, like jumbo-sized lemon poppy seed muffins or flaky chocolate croissants for us to split.
Although we loved every last crumb of those sugar-laden breakfast treats, they definitely weren’t the healthiest… These Healthy Banana Buttermilk Pancake Bites would’ve been a much better option! They’re completely portable and great for grab-and-go breakfasts, and they’re naturally sweetened with no refined flour or sugar!
To make these easy pancake bites, you’ll start with white whole wheat flour (like this!). White whole wheat flour is not a mix of regular whole wheat flour and all-purpose (aka “white”) flour! It comes from a special type of soft white wheat (hence the name!), whereas regular whole wheat flour is made from a heartier variety of red wheat. This give white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, which lets the sweet banana flavor shine in this recipe!
In order to keep these on the healthy side, you’ll add a mere ½ tablespoon of butter (or coconut oil!), an egg white, and a generous splash of vanilla extract. Vanilla actually enhances butter’s flavor, which makes these pancakes taste rich like traditional, more “indulgent” recipes!
You’ll also need low-fat buttermilk. It’s hard to make buttermilk pancakes without it! ? Since I rarely finish off a carton of buttermilk before it turns bad, I typically use this powdered buttermilk instead. It has the same flavor as regular refrigerated buttermilk, but it’s shelf-stable and keeps for ages. It’s really affordable, too!
You’re using two types of banana today: mashed banana and diced fresh banana. The mashed banana provides natural sweetness and creates a really tender texture. Then the diced fresh banana adds a big fruity taste to every bite!
See those bananas up there? That’s the minimum amount of spots I recommend, especially for the mashed banana! Riper bananas have a stronger flavor and more natural sweetness than their pure yellow cousins. Don’t be afraid of those brown spots!
How cute and fun do these look? I’m pretty sure that everything mini always tastes better too… ? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your pancake bites!
| Healthy Banana Buttermilk Pancake Bites | | Print |
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (135g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
- 1 large egg white, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120mL) low-fat buttermilk, room temperature
- ¼ cup (67g) mashed banana
- ¾ cup (110g) finely diced banana
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat 24 mini muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter or coconut oil, egg white, and vanilla. Stir in the buttermilk. Stir in the mashed banana. Add in the flour mixture, stirring until just incorporated. Gently fold in the diced banana.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared mini muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 9-12 minutes or until the tops feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
It’s extremely important to measure the flour correcting, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the own I own and love!) Too much flour will make your pancake batter dry.
I highly recommend this powdered buttermilk! It’s inexpensive, shelf-stable, and will keep for ages if stored in the refrigerator. It has the same iconic flavor as fresh buttermilk and behaves exactly the same in recipes. Alternatively, mix together ½ cup (120mL) of any milk (dairy or non-dairy) and 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or vinegar. Let that sit for 5-10 minutes before using in this recipe.
The mashed banana provides natural sweetness and creates a really tender texture. Then the diced fresh banana adds a big fruity taste to every bite! For more information, including what bananas work best, see the text and photo in my blog post above.
These pancake bites aren’t very sweet because my family loves to eat them with pure maple syrup!
To cook these on the stove like traditional pancakes, follow these instructions of mine! (This pancake batter is supposed to be thick, similar to muffin batter, because thicker batter yields thicker and fluffier pancakes!)
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}
View Nutrition Information
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Blueberry Buttermilk Pancake Bites
♡ Healthy Peach Pie Buttermilk Pancake Bites
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Buttermilk Pancakes
♡ Healthy Carrot Cake Pancakes
♡ Healthy Cinnamon Apple Pancakes
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
♡ Healthy Peach Pie Pancakes
♡ Healthy Blueberry Buttermilk Banana Bread
Looks like a great recipe. Will coconut flour or almond flour work?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Wendy! Coconut flour definitely won’t work; it’ll make these much too dry. If you use almond flour, the pancake bites will turn out much denser and not nearly as light and fluffy. I’d love to hear what you think if you try them! 🙂
Made them this morning and Bookmarked these for the future. I will be making again and again. I used your hack for buttermilk and only had regular flour, but all worked out fine! As
Long as the bananas are ripe enough, I am definitely not missing the sugar. They are sweet enough! Thank you for this. Will make breakfast for the kids much easier for the week!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these pancake bites India! That really means the world to me that you’ve bookmarked this recipe and already think you’ll make it again in the future. That’s the best kind of compliment there is — thank you SO much for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
Hi Amy,
We made made mini pancakes on a sheet pan and baked them per your instructions. Then we served four layered on a rectangular plate with a line of syrup across he top. Delicious, low calorie and beautiful! Thanks for sharing it.
-Anne
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Anne! That sounds like such a fun way to bake this batter. I’ll have to try that sometime — thank you for sharing! 🙂
Hi Amy. I want to make these ahead as a treat for at my kids daycare. How can I store these for overnight the best? Should they go in the fridge?
Thank you!
You’re so thoughtful to want to make these for your kids at daycare, Adisha! They’re really lucky to have you. 🙂
Yes, storing them in the fridge in an airtight container is best! If you press banana pieces into the tops of the batter right before baking (like you see in my photos), those bits will turn gray and a little gooey when refrigerated overnight. They’re still safe to eat, but I know that appearance can be a bit off-putting, which is why I recommend folding ALL of the diced banana into the batter in Step 2, instead of reserving some for the tops. (I wanted to mention that little detail, just in case it’s helpful!)
I’d love to hear what you and your kids at daycare think if you end up making these pancake bites!