Vegan Chocolate Banana Pancakes for Pancake Day

There’s absolutely no reason why everyone can’t enjoy pancakes. I’ve made many types of pancake over the years, including vegan and gluten-free ones. These vegan chocolate banana pancakes are not only delicious and easy to make, but they’re healthy too. Banana replaces sugar as a sweetener in this recipe and the pancakes are made with wholemeal flour. Cocoa powder gives them a good hit of chocolate and you can add superfood flavourings if you so wish.

Shrove Tuesday

Just in case anyone’s missed it, today is Shrove Tuesday, otherwise known as Pancake Day or in French, Mardi Gras, meaning Fat Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday is an important day in the Christian calendar, being the last day before Ash Wednesday when Lent begins.

Traditionally, it’s a day of celebration and feasting when all of the good things in the house are eaten up to make way for the long Lenten fast. This was especially true of butter, eggs and milk. As we know, butter, eggs and milk (with a little flour) make pancakes. So it’s easy to see how a tradition of making pancakes on Shrove Tuesday came about. This is reckoned to be at some point in the Middle Ages.

Tossing pancakes is all part of the fun. If you’re feeling energetic as a result of all those carbs, you can burn them off in a traditional pancake race: pancakes are carried in a frying pan and tossed at the start and finish of the race, with points given for the best flip. I was surprised to learn that the first one recorded was as far back as 1445 in Olney, Buckinghamshire.

Vegan Chocolate Banana Pancakes

Pancake Day cannot go unmarked and in time honoured tradition, I made pancakes for breakfast. In a slightly less traditional approach, I added cocoa and banana to my batter – more Mardi Gras in sunny Rio than in grey rainy Cornwall. I had a surfeit of bananas and reckoned one of those would make a healthier sweetener than sugar.

Generally, I make my pancakes with wholemeal flour, usually wholemeal spelt flour. I find this a lighter flour for baking and it’s also easier to digest than more modern flours. If you’re new to baking with wholemeal flours, why not try these vegan chocolate banana pancakes with a mix of half wholemeal and half plain. It’s a good starting point.

I like to flavour my pancakes with maca powder or baobab for a mini health kick. But sometimes I’ll use cinnamon or even vanilla instead.

I was really pleased I didn’t add any sugar to the mix as the banana made the pancakes quite sweet enough. This meant we were able to add maple syrup to suit our individual preferences.

The first time I made these vegan chocolate banana pancakes, we topped them with maple syrup and sliced nectarines. This made a surprisingly good combination and the nectarines were a perfect foil for the carbohydrate laden pancakes giving freshness, acidity and added flavour.

It’s not often we manage pancakes for breakfast on Shrove Tuesday, but fate was with us that first day. CT reckoned the pancakes were robust and hearty and not too sweet, just what was needed to set him up for the day. They had a real taste of the tropics with the chocolate and cinnamon flavours coming through loud and strong and the banana a faint undertow.

Vegan Chocolate Banana Pancakes: Step-by-Step

Making pancakes is ever so easy. It’s just a case of mixing wet ingredients into dry. But if you’re new to pancake making, I have a few tips to help you on your way.

Step 1. Blend Banana

Whizz the banana, milk, oil and salt up with a jug or stick blender. If you add the salt at this stage, it gets more evenly distributed.

You can mash the banana by hand, and then whisk in the milk, oil and salt, but a blender will give a smoother result. The more the banana is blended in, the better the flavour and distribution of sweetness.

I use my glass jug blender for this as it gives a really quick and smooth result.

Step 2. Measure Dry Ingredients

Measure the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Whisk them together to combine, then using the whisk, create a large well in the middle.

I added a heaped teaspoon of baobab to my pancakes this time around. It has a lovely fruity flavour and is packed with beneficial nutrients.

Step 3. Whisk In Wet Ingredients

Pour the banana batter into the well. Use the whisk to stir the wet ingredients into the dry ones, working from the inside out. Keep going until you’ve mixed everything together.

You don’t have to use a whisk for this, but it works well and saves on washing up.

Step 4. Bake The Pancakes

Lightly oil a non stick frying pan. I use my cast iron skillet for baking pancakes. It does a wonderful job and the pancakes don’t stick. But it is quite heavy.

Put the pan over a moderate heat. Too high and the pancakes will burn and not cook through properly, too low and they won’t rise.

Drop heaped tablespoons of batter into the pan. Three is the best number for a standard sized frying pan as you then have plenty of room to flip the pancakes over.

If the batter is quite thick, you might need to spread the pancakes out a bit with the back of a spoon so that they cook through properly. But if the batter is right, they will spread out naturally.

Bake for three to four minutes or until a number of bubbles have formed on top of the pancakes. Flip them over and allow them to cook for another two to three minutes.

Transfer the pancakes onto a plate and place in a low oven to keep warm until you’ve finished all of the batter. I make twelve pancakes with this amount of batter.

Serve three per person with your choice of toppings.

Toppings For Vegan Chocolate Banana Pancakes

Sliced banana and maple syrup is a favourite topping. However, most berries work really well with chocolate pancakes. Surprisingly so do sliced peaches or nectarines. If you like the idea of something creamy, try making cashew cream.

Pear Cashew Cream

I like to make fruity cashew cream for these pancakes as the fruit acts as a natural sweetener. Ripe pears give a delicious flavour as does a little sweet orange juice. This is how I make pear cashew cream.

1. Soak 125g cashew nuts in warm water for at least an hour. Overnight is better if you can manage it.
2. Drain and rinse the cashews in a sieve, then pop into a power blender.
3. Add two sweet ripe pairs. Core them, but there’s no need to peel. Much of the beneficial nutrients are in the skins, so it’s a shame to waste them.
4. Add a pinch of salt and 50 ml of water.
5. Blend at a medium speed for a minute, then go as high as you can for thirty seconds or until the cream is beautifully smooth. If it’s a bit too thick for your liking, add in a little more water and pulse to combine.

Other Chocolate Banana Recipes You Might Like

• Baileys chocolate banana pie
• Banana flapjacks with coconut & white chocolate
• Chocolate banana cashew cake (vegan)
• Muscovado banana bread with chocolate chips
• Quick banana chocolate ice cream
• Tortilla wrap hack with banana, chocolate and peanut butter (vegan)

Keep in Touch

Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these vegan chocolate banana pancakes, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.

For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?

If you’d like more pancake recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.

Choclette x

Chocolate Banana Pancakes. PIN IT.

Vegan Chocolate Banana Pancakes – The Recipe

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5 from 18 votes

Vegan Chocolate Banana Pancakes

These pancakes are not only delicious and easy to make, but they're healthy too. Banana replaces sugar as a sweetener and they're made with wholemeal flour. Cocoa powder gives them a good hit of chocolate and you can add superfood flavourings if you so wish.

Cook ModeToggle to keep screen awake

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: British

Keyword: bananas, cocoa, pancakes, quick, vegan

Servings: 12 pancakes

Calories: 110kcal

Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 banana weighing about 125g with skin on – peeled
• 225 ml plant milk of choice (I use cashew, almond, hazelnut or oat milk)
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil or other flavourless oil
• 1 pinch sea salt (I use Himalayan pink rock salt)
• 200 g flour (I use wholemeal spelt flour, but most flours will work)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1½ tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon baobab powder, maca powder or vanilla extract (optional)

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

• Whizz the banana, milk, oil and salt up with a jug or stick blender. If using vanilla extract, add at this point too.
  1 banana, 225 ml plant milk of choice, 2 tbsp sunflower oil, 1 pinch sea salt
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and cinnamon, maca or baobab if using.
  200 g flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1½ tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Make a well in the centre and pour in the banana mixture.
• Whisk or stir from the centre outwards gradually incorporating the flour until all is just about mixed.
• Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add a small knob of coconut oil or a small amount of sunflower oil.
• Place one to two tablespoonfuls of batter in the frying pan and leave to cook for a three to four minutes or so, until bubbles start to appear on the surface of the batter. Three pancakes at a time works well in a standard sized frying pan.
• Flip the pancakes over and cook for a further couple of minutes.
• Remove onto a plate and keep warm in a low oven whilst you cook the rest of the pancakes and the batter is finished.
• Serve with your choice of toppings (see below for suggestions).

Notes

You can make the whole batter in a jug blender, but as it’s quite thick, I find it easier to just blend the liquids and then do the rest by hand.

If you don’t have a blender or any kind, just mash the banana with a fork, then whisk in the milk, oil and salt.

If you’re new to wholemeal flour, try a mix of half wholemeal and half plain.

Sliced banana and maple syrup is a favourite topping. However, most berries work really well with chocolate pancakes. Surprisingly so do sliced peaches or nectarines. If you like the idea of something creamy, try making cashew cream.

Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 110kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 14mg | Potassium: 139mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 80IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below letting us know how you got on and do share a photo on Instagram. Tag @choclette8 or use hashtag #tinandthyme.

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Post updated January 2022