It’s easy. It’s vegan. It’s soft, fluffy, and tangy banana cinnamon pancakes. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or a snack, the blender recipe makes excellent use of your sourdough discard!
You buy bananas and before you know it a few of them turn a little too brown. It’s inevitable, and it happens to everyone, right? Well, I swear my home has reached a whole new level. The sole reason we get bananas is that I can create delicious treats out of them once they are overripe.
Banana bread is the obvious answer, and I’ve baked quite a few. But this time my sourdough starter discard jar was getting a bit full, and I decided to make pancakes.
Jump to:
What’s sourdough discard?
Sourdough discard is that part of your sourdough starter that you have to get rid of. Why? Because you have to keep feeding the sourdough starter and that involves removing a certain amount. A whole lot gets collected. A whole lot. And since it's perfectly usable, why waste it, right?
The good thing is you can cook up a storm with a sourdough starter discard. With it, I’ve made bread, crackers, baked waffles, and now pancakes!
How to make banana cinnamon pancakes?
This is a blender recipe, the kind I like best – all you have to do is add overripe bananas, whole wheat flour, baking powder, a tad bit of salt, oil, and, of course, the discard of sourdough starter. Trust me on the discard; it beautifully balances the sweetness of the bananas with a bit of tang!
As ever, I prefer a vegan recipe, so in went almond milk, coconut sugar, vanilla extract, and a whole lot of cinnamon. Regular sugar and milk are just fine if that’s your preference.
Blend it all to get a thick, creamy batter. That’s how I like it because the endlessly hungry stomachs at home need a filling breakfast. If you want thinner pancakes, go ahead and add some extra milk to thin out the batter a bit.
Cooking the vegan banana cinnamon pancakes
Once the pancake batter is blended, let it rest. After about 30-40 minutes, oil a griddle and scoop the batter on it. When you see bubbles on the top side, flip the pancakes and let the other side cook.
The trick is not to press them with your spatula, and you’ll enjoy the softest and gooiest pancakes.
Sourdough pancake recipe pro tips
I make about four or more pancakes simultaneously because I keep the size small. And I have a big-sized griddle. It saves me a ton of time. Based on the size of your griddle, you can make a handful of them at the same time too.
When you’re picking bananas, select the most heavily speckled ones, and you’ll have the perfect amount of sweetness and a lovely flavor. Although, you can always up the sugar to make the pancakes a touch sweeter.
Banana cinnamon pancakes refrigerate well. So, make extra on the weekend. During the week, when the mood strikes or you need a quick evening snack or breakfast, simply reheat them, and serve!
How to make banana cinnamon pancakes without sourdough discard?
Pancakes, as everyone knows, can be made without sourdough discard. But if you love the tangy edginess and don’t have a sourdough starter at home, add in homemade yogurt.
The yogurt imparts the banana cinnamon pancakes with the same delightful tang and zest as the discard. Greek yogurt is the best, but you can use any yogurt. Just drain it well to keep it thick.
Serving the banana cinnamon pancakes
I recommend chopping up any fresh fruit you have or topping the pancakes with some nuts. If you’re in the mood for some chocolate, sprinkle a few cocoa nibs. Nutella or peanut butter is also lovely with them.
I served them with honey, but feel free to use maple syrup.
The scent of sizzling pancakes mingled with the cinnamon was amazing. The only thing better was eating them. They were soft, heartily filling, and made everyone’s Sunday a whole lot better.
More pancake recipes
Half the joy of cooking is sharing it with others. That’s why I’m always eager to hear from you. So go right ahead & drop a comment or reach out on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, or Facebook. I hope you love these cinnamon banana pancakes as much as we do!
📖 Recipe
Banana Cinnamon Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 Banana, peeled and sliced Over ripe bananas work the best here
- 1/4 cup Sourdough discard You can use plain yogurt if you don't have the sourdough discard
- 1/3 cup Almond milk You can use any milk
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1 cup Wholewheat flour you can use any flour
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Coconut sugar You can use any sugar
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until you get a smooth batter. This will be a thick batter. You can thin it a bit with some extra milk if you want thinner pancakes.
- Let this batter rest for 30 -40 minutes.
- Grease a griddle with oil and heat it. Pour a small ladle full of batter on the griddle. Let the pancake cook for 1-2 minutes more till the underside is golden. Carefully flip it over. Cook on the other side till golden brown. Repeat till all the batter is used up.
- Serve warm with maple syrup or honey. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Michael says
These are great, filling, and a great use for sourdough discard! Definitely let the batter rest at least 30 minutes before putting in the (preheated) pan. Makes the pancakes much fluffier.
Natasha Minocha says
Thank you for the fabulous tip, Michael! So glad you liked the recipe. ????????
Denice says
Just made these and they were so great I had to come to leave a comment. They are filling, super fluffy for sourdough pancakes, great flavor.....really all-around a dream! I would say your photo doesn't do it justice for how thick and fluffy these really are! Great job, highly recommend!
Natasha Minocha says
So so thrilled to hear that Denice! Thanks ever so much! xx
Janet says
Hi Natasha,
Can the batter be made ahead of time and refrigerated?
Thanks,
Janet
Natasha Minocha says
Hi Janet, I guess so. I haven't tried that but it should bring out the sourdough flavor even more, which is great!
Hope this helps! 🙂