These banana oat pancakes have entered the permanent breakfast rotation in my house. They’re toddler-friendly, kid-friendly, gluten-free, and wholesome, with just 6 basic ingredients. They take just 15 minutes to make from scratch, and also freeze super well for quick breakfasts and snacks! 

These banana oat pancakes have become a lifeline for me as the mom of an occasionally—and often inexplicably—picky toddler. When Ethan was first starting solids, he was pretty open and adventurous when it came to new foods. He would eat mackerel, daikon radish, and even strongly flavored leafy greens like tong ho (edible chrysanthemum)—with gusto! At my parents’ house, we’d all sit around the table marveling at his openness to new foods. 

Alas, at around 14-15 months old, things started to get a little shaky. While he’s still a pretty good eater overall, that toddler-esque finickiness at the table has settled in. A meal he once ate happily is suddenly out of favor. Veggies get spit out as the pasta gets shoveled in. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen the kid fling a bit of spinach off his fingers or scrape broccoli out of his mouth with an unceremonious “nuh” (i.e. no).  

I have yet to see him refuse these banana oat pancakes, however. He LOVES them. The base of the batter is just mashed banana, egg, and oats. It takes all of 1 minute to mix together. (It’s so easy, I sometimes have Ethan help me make them.) 

A dash of vanilla and cinnamon adds flavor, and add-ins like flaxseed meal, nut butter, and berries or other chopped fruit add omega-3s, protein, and vitamins. So as you watch your toddler shovel bits of pancake into their mouth with frequent requests for “muh” (more), you can feel good about what they’re eating! 

I love how flexible this recipe is. I often add frozen blueberries, but have also added finely chopped peaches, raspberries, and mango.

I also stir in various nut butters (peanut, almond, pecan, cashew) to give Ethan peanut/tree nut allergen exposure, WITHOUT smearing nut butter all over his face, which tends to cause his eczema to flare. This recipe has been a tasty solution on so many fronts!

I first got the idea for these pancakes from Meaningful Eats. I was a bit skeptical of the idea of simply mixing oats into some banana and egg Indeed, there are other versions of this banana oat pancake recipe that involve making the batter in the blender for a smoother texture. 

But the pancakes came together nicely! (Which I was glad for, because I don’t have time to haul out and wash a blender! I usually just mix up the batter in a cereal bowl with a fork, rinse, and throw it in the dishwasher.) 

I found, however, that the 2 eggs in the original recipe yielded a very wet batter and an eggier pancake, so I opted to reduce to 1 egg, and also increased the amount of oats slightly. I also have some non-negotiable ingredients that give these pancakes more flavor—vanilla and cinnamon. They may not be “3 Ingredient” pancakes anymore, but those little additions are worth it. 

Even if you’re not a parent to a little kid, these banana oat pancakes are tasty, gluten-free, and easy to make anytime with ingredients you already have in your kitchen. Give them a try and let me know what you think! 

In a medium bowl, mash the banana with a fork. Crack the egg into the bowl, and beat it together with the banana.

Stir in the oats, vanilla, and cinnamon.

At this point, you can stir in any add-ins, like flaxseed meal, nut butter, and fruit. 

Thoroughly heat a pan over medium heat, and add the oil. Dollop the batter into the hot pan (I like to make small pancakes), and cook for a few minutes on each side, until golden brown. Below, you can see how both the plainer version and the blueberry version cook up:

Enjoy! 

I like to keep a batch of these pancakes in the freezer at all times. On busy mornings when Ethan wakes up super hungry and we don’t have a ton of time to cook, I take some out and microwave them for 30 seconds to a minute (or steam them if I have a little extra time), and breakfast is ready. 

I bring them to restaurants so he has a little something to nibble on while we wait for food to arrive. I pack them as on-the-go snacks when needed, and at home, spread them with nut butter when we’ve run out of bread! We’re not really a dessert house, but they also make for a naturally sweet end to a meal. 

This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled. Click on the number of servings in the recipe card, and use the slider to scale the recipe up.