Banana oat pancakes

There are few things better than a plateful of pancakes topped with golden maple syrup and seasonal fruit on a rainy Saturday morning (or – let’s be honest – on pretty much any day and at any time). Sadly, pancakes are often a write-off for people following a gluten free diet. They’ve either tried a super expensive pre-made gluten free pancake mix that was disappointing or they just don’t believe it’s possible to get that characteristic fluffiness without wheat. When I first started following a gluten free diet, I did the pre-made pancake mix thing and then just gave up. I thought pancakes were a thing of my past, like flaky croissants or golden baguettes.

But recently, I decided to give the whole gluten free pancake thing another try. A quick internet search for gluten free pancakes didn’t really inspire me, though. Too much gluten free flour, not healthy enough, too bland… So I decided put my laptop to the side and started experimenting with my favourite ingredients – bananas were a must, so were gluten free oats. A little bit of self-raising gluten free flour, some eggs, coconut oil, a splash of coconut milk, a kiss of spices. And before I knew it, my new favourite gluten free pancake recipe was born.

This recipe is dead easy to make and is perfect for those lazy weekend mornings. These pancakes are more nutritious than your standard pancake and don’t leave you feeling sluggish or bloated. The gluten free oats keep you full for longer, and you can top these beautiful pancakes with all kinds of seasonal fruits. They go exceptionally well with fresh berries, jams, currants – whatever your heart desires, really! So the next time someone tells you they don’t think it’s possible to make good gluten free pancakes, whip them up a batch of these banana oat pancakes and show them how it’s done!

-xo KA

Banana oat pancakes {gluten free}

This is my favourite gluten free pancake recipe, made with oats, banana and spices – they’re fluffy and perfect topped with seasonal fruits, jams and maple syrup. A couple things to note – if you don’t like self-raising flour, you can sub in regular gluten free flour and add a bit of baking powder or baking soda (just check that the baking powder/soda is gluten free to keep this recipe gluten free). My favourite brand of gluten free flour here in the UK is Doves Farm. For the oat flour, I simply grind up gluten free jumbo oats in a food processor until it has a flour-like consistency.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium bananas, mashed

• 2 tbsp room-temperature coconut oil, plus extra for cooking

• 2 medium organic eggs

• 1/4 cup | 60 mL non-dairy milk (I like coconut milk drink)

• 1/2 cup | 50 g oat flour

• 1/2 cup | 80 g self-raising gluten free flour

• 2 tbsp coconut sugar (or any brown sugar)

• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

• 1 pinch fine pink or sea salt

• To serve: fresh berries, currants, jams, and maple syrup

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, add the mashed bananas, 2 tbsp coconut oil and eggs and whisk to combine. Whisk in the milk.

In a small mixing bowl, add the oat flour, gluten-free flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and stir to combine. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.

Heat a bit of coconut oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 scant 1/4 cup pancake batter to the skillet and cook until bubbles start to appear on the surface of the pancake. Flip the pancake, cook for another minute and transfer to a serving dish. Continue working in batches until all the batter is used up (my skillet is large enough to cook 3 pancakes at a time).

Enjoy straight away, served with fresh berries, jams and maple syrup.

Makes 12 small pancakes (enough for 2 hungry people, or more as part of a larger brunch spread). The recipe can easily be doubled to serve a larger crowd.