Gluten-Free Banana Pancakes

I’m just as lazy as the next person and pancakes tend to take too much of my time. Sure I enjoy cooking, but I’m often too hungry in the morning to give pancakes a go. Well, that was until I started making pancake batter using a blender. If you have one of those magical high power machines, you never cease to marvel at what can be accomplished in little time.

These pancakes come together very quickly since there is no need for mixing bowls, whisks or even whipping egg whites. Sometimes I’ll measure the dry ingredients in the blender the night before while I prepare the almonds, making the process even faster the next morning. And I’ve mastered the cooking part with three skillets going all at once. It’s intense but it gets done quickly!

Recipe notes: Almonds soaked in water overnight are optional. I’ve made these pancakes with soaked and non-soaked almonds and both turned out fine. The soaking is believed to help digestion. If you soak your almonds, make sure to drain and rinse them before adding to the blender.

I included hemp protein powder as one of the ingredients to boost the protein content of these pancakes, but don’t go out of your way to get this. You can simply use more oats instead. I’ve also made this recipe several times using mesquite powder instead of hemp protein powder. It adds a nice nutty, earthy flavour to the pancakes. But I suspect you have no idea what mesquite is, in which case you can revert to the above solution.

Gluten-Free Banana Pancakes

Serves 4

• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 cups milk (I use homemade almond milk)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup almonds, soaked in water overnight, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup unsweetened hemp protein powder or mesquite powder or more oats (see note above)
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground vanilla powder or vanilla extract
• Pinch salt

If your blender is not very powerful: First blend together the bananas, milk and almonds until smooth. Add all remaining ingredients and process until you have a smooth batter.

If you have a high power blender: Simply measure all ingredients into the blender and process until you have a smooth batter.

To cook the pancakes: Heat a griddle or a frying pan over medium heat and grease with a little bit of oil. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter and cook about 1 minute, until bubbles appear. Flip the pancake over and cook for another 30 to 40 seconds. Repeat for all pancakes.

Serve as you fancy. For me, it’s always with a little yogurt and seasonal berries. Since the pancakes are naturally sweetened with bananas, I find that little (if any) maple syrup is needed.

The pancakes will keep for a couple of days covered in the refrigerator. To reheat, simply place them in an ovenproof dish and bake at 250F for 10 minutes or until heated through.