until tender

I’ve made a lot of pancakes, but this Banana Pancake Recipe is the one I keep coming back to.

I’ve made pancakes for early shoots, for long testing days, and while working on projects with publishers like Martha Stewart and Food & Wine — where you don’t get away with “almost fluffy.”

For a lot of my pancake recipes, I use Martha Stewart’s Easy Basic Pancakes as a starting point. And a fun full-circle detail: I actually photographed that recipe for Martha Stewart.

And I can tell you this — banana pancakes are tricky.

They sound simple. But most of them turn out heavy. Slightly wet in the center. Dense instead of fluffy.

This banana pancake recipe doesn’t.

These are the most delicate, fluffy, and moist banana pancakes I’ve ever made. And after testing more versions than I’d like to admit, this is the one I keep coming back to. If it makes it onto this blog, it means it passed every test in my kitchen.

Why This Banana Pancake Recipe Actually Works

Bananas add moisture and sweetness, but they can also weigh down a batter. The balance here is what makes the difference.

They’re:

• Soft and tender without falling apart
  
• Moist but not gummy
  
• Light but still satisfying
  
• Naturally sweet without being sugary
  

There’s just enough flour for structure. Just enough banana for flavor. Just enough lift to keep them fluffy.

It’s a small thing, but small things are what make recipes reliable.

Ingredient Notes

When you test recipes professionally, you start noticing how tiny adjustments change everything.

Very ripe bananas
This is important. They should be deeply speckled and soft. Underripe bananas won’t give you the same sweetness or texture. If you end up with more ripe bananas than you need, they’re perfect for banana bread with walnuts.

All-purpose flour
Keeps the pancakes structured but still delicate.

Just 1 tablespoon of sugar
This isn’t a dessert pancake. The banana does most of the sweetening.

Baking powder
Fresh baking powder makes all the difference in achieving fluffy banana pancakes instead of flat ones.

Oil instead of melted butter
Oil keeps them moist longer. The texture stays soft even after they cool.

How I Make Them 

Mix the dry ingredients separately.

Whisk the egg, milk, oil, and mashed bananas together until smooth.

Then combine gently. And I mean gently.

The batter should look slightly lumpy. If it’s completely smooth, you’ve probably overmixed it — and that’s how pancakes turn dense.

Let the batter rest for about 5 minutes. This step is simple but important. It gives the flour time to hydrate and helps create a lighter texture.

Cook on medium-low heat. Not high. Not rushed.

Flip once small bubbles appear and the edges look set. And don’t press them down with a spatula — that’s how you lose the fluffiness you just created.