One of the great things about these Banana Pancakes is their versatility. Our staples with them are normally smooth Cashew Cream and Maple Syrup, but the rest is really up to you. They go well with pretty much any fruit you fancy. We like to have them with cooked juicy Blueberries and tangy Passion Fruit (pictured below).
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What You'll Need
Ingredients
- Bananas - You'll need ripe bananas for this recipe. Ideally that sweet spot where they've got a few brown spots but haven't started to turn completely brown yet. (See ingredients photo above for reference). I used 1 ½ Large Bananas but this recipe is fairly forgiving, so if you only have 2 medium, it should work just fine. Just bear in mind that too much banana can make the pancakes a little less fluffy.
- Bicarbonate of Soda - This makes your pancakes light and fluffy by producing air bubbles when combined with the plant milk and flour. When you mix the batter together you'll start to see bubbles popping up at the surface.
- Cashews - Cashews are are abundant with monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are associated with reduced cardiovascular disease risk. They are also a source of numerous other essential vitamins and minerals, including protein, iron, zinc and magnesium. They also help to lower LDL cholesterol levels.
- Dates - I recommend using Medjool dates if you can get them. They are rich and caramel like in flavour. However, if you can't get hold of Medjool, any other soft date will work. Supermarkets and health food stores usually sell bags of these at a lower cost than Medjool. I get mine from GrapeTree in the UK.
- Ground Flaxseed - It's important here to use ground flaxseed and not whole. This is due to the fact they are more nutritionally bioavailable once ground. Our bodies can't break down the outer casing easily. Ground flax is usually another easily accessible product from wholefood or health stores. You can purchase this from multiple places online by simply searching in Google.
- Plant Milk - You can use any plant milk, we choose to use Soy in this recipe but we often just use whatever we have in the fridge - Almond, Cashew or Coconut have all been used and worked the same. Alternatively, we have a Cashew Milk recipe if you'd rather make your own.
- Self-Raising Flour - Self-raising flour is plain flour with raising agents added to it. If you want to make your own, you can mix half a teaspoon of baking powder to 100g of plain/all purpose flour.
Equipment
- Fork
- Frying Pan
- High Speed Blender (Vitamix, Ninja, Magimix, or similar)
- Ladle (we found using a ladle to spoon the pancakes batter out was the perfect size)
- Mixing Bowl
How to make the Pancakes
Using a blender
- Put all of the Pancake ingredients into the blender and then blend until smooth, this takes no more than a minute.
By hand
- If making the Batter by hand then mash the Banana well in the bowl before adding the rest of the Pancake ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Cooking the Pancakes
- When cooking the Pancakes make sure the pan is on a medium heat for about 2 minutes prior to adding the batter. Then pour a ladle of the Pancake Patter into the centre of the pan and cook for 45 to 50 seconds before turning over and cooking for another 30 seconds on the other side. See photos above for what your pancakes should look like before flipping (left).
How to make the Cashew Cream
- Put all of the Cashew Cream ingredients in the blender and blend on high speed for 1 minute.
- When finished, the Cashew Cream should have a smooth, fairly thick, but pourable consistency, similar to double cream.
Storage
If you have any cashew cream or pancakes left over (which is unlikely) both can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Cashew cream thickens in the fridge, so you may need to dilute any leftovers before using them by adding in a tablespoon or two of water or plant milk to the cream, and stirring well.
Recipe Tip
Any left over Cashew Cream can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.If your Cashew Cream is too thick then just add a couple of tablespoons water to the mixture and blend on high speed for 5 seconds to mix through. This can be repeated until desired consistency is reached.If your Cashew Cream is too thin then just add 5-10 more Raw Cashew nuts to the mixture and blend on high speed for another 20 second
Serving Suggestions & Variations
You can get as creative as you like with your toppings, we've got two suggestions for you pictured below. It's easy for the older kids to get involved here as well by getting them to add their own toppings.
Blueberry Pancakes (left):
Pancakes topped with Sweet Cashew Cream, Blueberries, Passion Fruit and Mixed Seeds.
To cook down the Blueberries as pictured, take 100g Blueberries, place in to a saucepan on a low heat for 5 minutes with a teaspoon Maple Syrup. Stir gently, and press down on some of the Blueberries to release the juices.
Remove from the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes before spooning over the Pancakes.
Banana cinnamon pancakes (right):
Pancakes topped with Sweet Cashew Cream, Almond Butter, Cinnamon, sliced Banana, Maple Syrup and Pumpkin Seeds.
These are with topped with sweet Cashew Cream, Fresh Blueberries and Raspberries, with Mixed Seeds.
You can also try having these pancakes with our Homemade Vegan Nutella or our Vegan Chocolate Orange Spread. Both are delicious and work really well with them.
FAQ's
Yes you can, they can then be reheated in a toaster or under a grill for a couple of minutes. Keep an eye on them though so they don't burn.
You can pretty much use whatever you fancy. Pan fried banana slices or stewed apple go really well. Whichever fruit we go for we almost always have them with cashew cream and maple syrup though. Another nice twist is to try them with almond butter, melted dark chocolate and sliced banana.
When using banana to bind the dry ingredients together you negate the need to use any eggs.
Recipe
Vegan Banana Pancakes with Cashew Cream Recipe
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Frying pan)
- High Speed Blender (Vitamix, Ninja or similar)
- Ladle (we found using a ladle to spoon the pancakes batter out was the perfect size)
- Fork
Ingredients
For the Banana Pancakes
- 1 ½ Large Ripe Bananas or 2 small ones (preferably ones with brown spots)
- 190 g Self-raising Flour Gluten-Free if preferred
- 300 ml Plant Milk of choice
- 2 tablespoon Ground Flaxseed
- 1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
For the Cashew Cream
- 100 g Raw Cashews
- 200 ml Water
- 2 Medjool Dates
Instructions
To mix the Pancake Batter using a blender
- Blend: If you have a blender then simply place all ingredients in to the blender together and blitz on a low speed until smooth.1 ½ Large Ripe Bananas, 190 g Self-raising Flour, 300 ml Plant Milk of choice, 2 tablespoon Ground Flaxseed, 1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
To mix the Pancake Batter by hand
- Mash: Mash up the Banana in a large bowl with a fork1 ½ Large Ripe Bananas
- Whisk: Add in all the remaining Pancake ingredients and using the fork, whisk/stir well to combine, until you have a semi-thick Batter190 g Self-raising Flour, 300 ml Plant Milk of choice, 2 tablespoon Ground Flaxseed, 1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
Cooking the Pancakes
- Heat the Pan: Heat a frying pan on low to medium heat.
- Pour the Batter: Once the pan is hot, take a ladle of the Pancake mixture and pour desired amount in to the pan (enough to settle out to about 4-5 inches across).
- Cook the Pancakes: Cook for 45-50 seconds on the first side, until bubbles are visible across the top, then flip and cook the other side for 30 seconds before removing from the pan.
For the Cashew Cream
- Blend: Put the Cashews, Water and Dates in a high speed blender and blend on high speed for 1 minute, until smooth.100 g Raw Cashews, 200 ml Water, 2 Medjool Dates
Mike
Just tried these with the cooked blueberries and we all really enjoyed them. We cant wait to try them again with some of the other toppings. I made them for us and our two children and all plates were empty.
Lou
I've made these a couple of times now and found them pretty easy to do. So this morning I decided to let the kids get involved. We made these for together and had a great time! If you haven't tried these yet, ya gotta!