Well, it's here: the BEST Plantain Pancake Recipe on the internet.
Four ingredients. Paleo. Gluten free. Nut free. Vegan. Dairy free.
It's one of those recipes that has you assuming it's too good to be true — but I'm telling you, hands down, this recipe is every bit as amazing as I'm making it sound.
These pancakes are dense but fluffy. They soak up maple syrup like skin parched for a little sunshine.
Author’s Note: This post was originally published 11/27/18 and has been updated on 8/5/20.
How to cook with plantains
If you're curious about plantains, I wrote a whole post diving into the starchy fruits. Head over and read that post if you want more plantain knowledge stuffed into your brain.
But here’s the cliff notes version:
- You can eat plantains raw, but you’re better off cooking them.
- Plantains are starchier than bananas, which makes them work SO well for this recipe. The sugars and starch provide the bulk and base for these fluffy, dense pancakes.
- Green plantains are less ripe (and have less sugars). Yellow plantains have a little more sugar but are still very starchy. Spotted or brown plantains are STILL good to use and have the most sugars.
- Ripe plantains tend to burn easily because of the sugars in the fruit. So watch the skillet and be sure to use an adequate amount of fat or oil!
Because the starch and sugar contents of plantains vary so widely depending on how ripe they are, pay close attention to what a recipe calls for.
Plantains a little too green for these plantain pancakes? Try making tostones!
Plantains a little too overripe? This flourless plantain skillet brownie is calling your name.
How to make the best paleo plantain pancakes
Don’t worry - if you’ve EVER made pancakes before, this is super easy!
Even if you haven’t made pancakes before, I’m confident you can crush this.
Blend the plantains with the eggs. If the plantains aren’t blending well, that’s a sign that they’re not ripe enough. You can add a little milk (dairy free or not - your choice) or a bit of water to help thin it — but avoid adding additional liquid if you can.
Fold the blended plantains with the cassava flour and baking powder.
Heat a tablespoon of oil or fat in a large skillet (I use a cast iron!) over medium heat. Add about ¼ cup of batter, using the bottom of the measuring cup or a spoon to spread the batter a bit. It’ll be thick!
Let ‘em cook until you see bubbles forming and popping all around the edges of the pancake. Carefully lift the pancake with a spatula to see if the bottom is a little browned and cooked throughout. If it is, flip it! Cook for another couple minutes, and you’re done.
Tips for making vegan plantain pancakes:
- You can't substitute bananas. They aren't starchy enough.
- Use yellow plantains for best results in this recipe.
- To easily peel a yellow plantain, chop off both ends. Then slice lengthwise down the peel (but not through the fruit). Peel away the outer layer to the flesh inside.
- Plantains tend to burn pretty easily in a hot skillet. So keep the skillet on medium and use the first pancake as a test before cooking batches of 2 or 3 at a time. Flip them after two to three minutes, and try not to make them too thick!
Follow those pointers, and you'll be devouring the best plantain pancakes in no time.
More plantain recipes
- Crazy Easy Plantain Patties
- Gluten Free Plantain Pumpkin Bread
- Plantain Tortillas (two ways)
- Plantain & Olive Beef Bowls
- Flourless Plantain Skillet Brownie
Did you try this recipe? I'd love to hear what you think! Comment below or tag me on Instagram.
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The Best Paleo Plantain Pancakes
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
Fluffy and dense with only 4 ingredients, this plantain pancake recipe makes the perfect paleo and gluten free breakfast!
Ingredients
- 2 yellow plantains
- 2 eggs (see notes for AIP)
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon cassava flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons ghee, butter, or olive oil, divided
Instructions
- Peel the plantains by cutting off both ends, then slicing lengthwise down the peel and removing it. Add the plantains and eggs to a high-powered blender. Blend on medium, increasing in speed, until the mixture is smooth.
- Combine cassava flour and baking soda in a medium bowl. Pour the plantain mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until completely combined.
- Heat 1 tablespoon ghee, butter, or olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once heated, add about ¼ cup of batter to the skillet. You may have to spread the batter out a bit to make a thinner pancake - this batter is thick! Flip after 2-3 minutes or once bubbles start to appear on the edges of the pancake. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining pancakes, using additional ghee, butter, or olive oil as necessary to oil the skillet between batches.
- Serve pancakes with fresh fruit, toasted nuts, or a drizzle of pure maple syrup.
Notes
To substitute the eggs, dissolve 2 tablespoons gelatin in 6 tablespoons water.
Keywords: plantain pancakes
tanya says
What can be used instead of cassava flour? Coconut? Tapioca? ?????
Chelsea says
Hi Tanya! I haven't tried this recipe with any other flour, so I can't conclusively say what would make a good substitute for cassava. However, my first picks would be arrowroot or almond flour. Coconut flour can't be subbed 1:1 with any other flour because it's too absorbent, but if you want to try it out start with 1/4 of what the recipe calls for. Hope that helps!
tanya says
Just caught your reply. Thank you.
★★★
Chelsea says
Your welcome, Tanya! Did you end up trying any substitutes?
tanya says
Not yet but am thinking on it. I tend to stay away from grains and starches. But these look great. I do make plantain bread which is a basic 3 ingredient recipe with a bit of vanilla flavoring. It comes out differently depending on how ripe/unripe the plantain. A very easy recipe and a favorite that I do big and freeze part of for later use.
Chelsea says
Yes, plantains are definitely pretty easy to cook with! Since they're pretty much all starch, you don't need much flour to bake with them.
Laura Young says
There are eggs, so not AIP friendly. Rats! looks good.
Chelsea says
Laura, thanks for pointing that out! I often try to include substitutes but I must have forgotten for this recipe. You can try using the "gelatin" egg substitute and dissolve 1 tablespoon gelatin in 3 tablespoons water per egg.
At any rate, I'm removing the "AIP-friendly" distinction on this recipe to be clearer. So sorry about that!
Stephanie says
These look amazing!
Chelsea says
Thanks, Stephanie!
Jessica says
This makes me love breakfast more, Chelsea! 🙂 This looks really yummy!
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Jessica
★★★★★
Chelsea says
Thanks, Jessica! <3
Melonie Klay says
Do you think I could leave the eggs out or replace with something else?
I'm following AIP and need to take out eggs.
Chelsea says
I wouldn't leave them out - the pancakes definitely wouldn't get fluffy without them! You could potentially replace them with a gelatin egg replacement (1 tablespoon gelatin dissolved in 3 tablespoons water) or an arrowroot egg replacement (1 tablespoon arrowroot + 1 tablespoon olive oil + 1/4 cup water whisked together = 1 egg), but I haven't tried either myself so I don't know if it would work.
CHRISTI S says
Do you have the nutritional info for this recipe? It is delicious and I am keeping a food log...
★★★★★
Chelsea says
Hi, Christi! At this time, I don’t post nutritional information for my recipes. I’m a one-woman show over here and I simply don’t have the time for it! There are awesome websites like myfitnesspal that allow you to plug in a recipe to find that stuff out for yourself, though!
Angela Preston says
Any plantain pancake I try seems to burn so easily. Not sure if its because I'm using cast iron. I try to turn the heat down after I get the griddle hot but that doesn't seem to help. Any ideas?
Chelsea says
Hey Angela! I also find that plantains tend to burn pretty readily. I covered my tip for that in the post, but here's the excerpt: "Plantains tend to burn pretty easily in a hot skillet. So keep the skillet on medium and use the first pancake as a test before cooking batches of 2 or 3 at a time. Flip them after two to three minutes, and try not to make them too thick!"
I find that I cook plantain pancakes on lower heat than I would normal pancakes. I use cast iron, too — the reason turning the heat down doesn't work is because cast iron is great at retaining heat, so even after turning the heat down or off the skillet stays very hot. So my best tip would be to only turn it up to medium and no higher.
Morgan says
Ever since I started AIP I've been craving something starchy and have tried 1000 different pancake recipes. Every time I used cassava flour, my pancakes would come out wet and chewy, and it doesn't help that I have to substitute the egg (which is never perfect). But this one is by far the best recipe I've tried!! They actually came out fluffy and have SUCH a nice flavor.
I used semi-sweet plantains, subbed the eggs for arrowroot starch and hemp milk mixture, and added a boat load of cinnamon to the batter. It came out perfect. Thank you SO much for posting this. It's so nice to find a recipe you would actually choose to eat regardless of dietary restrictions. New favorite <3
★★★★★
Chelsea says
Glad to hear that, Morgan! 🙂
Niki Harrison says
Do you think this could work with overly ripe plantains (almost black) I let them go too long and can't find an appropriate recipe!
Chelsea says
Hey Niki! Sorry it's taken a while for me to respond. I do think overly ripe plantains would work for these, but they won't be as fluffy. I wrote a whole post about plantains and it has some suggested uses for overly ripe plantains, too! https://www.doyouevenpaleo.net/plantains-nutrition-benefits-use/
Niki Harrison says
No worries! Thanks so much 🙂
Carol says
Made these this morning and they have a lovely light texture and are so delicious ? I used my Nutribullet to mix the egg, plantains and oil (easier to clean than my blender). Also added a little almond milk to the batter to get it more spreadable in the pan. This recipe is a keeper!
Chelsea says
Perfect! Glad they worked out for you! 🙂
Ryan says
Cooked a half batch because I only had one plantain, was enough for my girlfriend and I.
I used half green banana flour and half all-purpose flour. Tasted deliciously banana-y.
The first tester pancake we made was very thick but also still light and fluffy, but my girlfriend likes thinner pancakes so I thinned it out with almond milk which worked great.
Make sure you cook them low and slow because the plantains burn very easily, I also found the less oil you use the better, if I had one I would try cooking them in a dry non-profit pan.
★★★★★
Olivia says
Why do you fold the dry ingredients into the plantain mixture manually? Can one put all the ingredients into a high speed blender without disturbing the texture of the batter, Chelsea?
Chelsea says
Hi Olivia! I've tried it before and wasn't as pleased with the results. The batter is pretty thick, so blending everything in the blender makes it a little hard to get the batter out! You can certainly give it a try though and make your own judgement!