What are your qualifications for the “perfect” pancake? Sometimes I like a thicker, more hearty, and “cakier” whole grain pancake with lots of texture. I do like an ultrathin, crepe-like ‘cake. But if we’re talking holy grail, you-can-only-eat-one-for-the-rest-of-your-life kind of pancake, mine, hands down is: lightly browned and crispy on the outside, but where the inside melts in your mouth.
Today I’m sharing my go-to “perfect pancake” recipe. You can whip these up on a weekend morning in a snap, thanks to an easy trick — you combine all ingredients in a blender and can spoon onto the frying pan directly from the canister. You only dirty one blender and one pan, so clean-up is super easy.
These pancakes are naturally gluten-free, but: 1) They’re so tasty and light that I’m not sure anyone would notice the difference, and 2) They’re so wholesome and clean that everyone would benefit from eating them.
They’re also extremely customizable! The recipe base uses bananas, which not only lends natural sweetness but also provides a vehicle for some amazing flavor combinations. Some ideas:
- Blueberry and Dark Chocolate Chip – Pictured, from this past weekend. Add fresh or frozen blueberries and dark chocolate chips to your batter.
- Blueberry Lemon Cake – Add blueberries, a squeeze of lemon, and some fresh lemon zest to the batter, with more zest and blueberries to top.
- Strawberry Shortcake – Add sliced or freeze-dried strawberries to the batter, and drizzle the cooked and cooled pancakes with either a cream cheese or melted coconut butter frosting.
- Salted Dark Chocolate Chip – Add dark chocolate chips to the batter. Top cooked pancakes with thick, flaky Maldon sea salt for a salty-sweet flavor combo.
- Banana Walnut – Add a handful of raw walnuts to the batter and pick up on the mashed banana flavor already in there.
Recipe serves 2 people, or 1 hungry athlete.
Ingredients:
- 1¼ cups gluten-free rolled oats
- 1 ripe banana
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
- Coconut oil for greasing the pan
- Real maple syrup for serving
Instructions:
- Combine all ingredients except coconut oil and maple syrup in a high-speed blender. Blend for 2-3 minutes, or until smooth and creamy.
- Meanwhile, grease a frying pan or griddle with coconut oil. Heat griddle until your coconut oil begins to shimmer and pop lightly. If your coconut oil begins to smoke, your heat is far too high!
- Stir in any mix-ins to your batter, then use a 1/2 cup measuring cup to spoon onto the griddle.
- Keep a close eye on the underside of your pancakes. Once lightly browned and crispy, flip! Don’t press down on your pancakes after you flip, as you want them to remain as light and fluffy as possible.
- Once cooked evenly on the opposite side, remove from heat, let cool, and serve with real maple syrup.
