I love waking up about half an hour early on Wednesdays to make pancakes for breakfast. They really take very little time to throw together, and they make a world of difference to my day. I can’t save my pancakes only for special weekend breakfasts. Sometimes (every Wednesday) I need that weekend indulgence before I throw on the chef’s coat and dive into the big kitchen.
Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Pancakes are surprisingly light, healthy, and keep me full well into the afternoon. Drizzled with homemade Vanilla-Brown Sugar Syrup and served with a side of fresh fruit, I can indulge in the comforts of a lazy Sunday morning, even on a daunting weekday.
Treat yourself to pancakes on a weekday. The sunshine and hearty breakfast are well worth the early alarm chime.
Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Pancakes with Vanilla-Brown Sugar Syrup
adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus additional for brushing the skillet
1 1/2 cup whole milk, plus additional if needed
1 ripe banana, diced or mashed
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl Whisk together yolks, oil and 1 1/2 cups milk in another bowl and add to the flour mixture, whisking until smooth. Let batter stand for 5 minutes to allow flour to absorb liquid (batter will thicken).
If batter is too thick to fall easily from a spoon, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons additional milk.
Fold in banana and walnuts.
Beat egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer at moderately high speed until they just hold stiff peaks. With a whisk, gently but thoroughly fold into batter.
Brush a griddle or 12-inch nonstick skillet with oil and heat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Reduce heat to moderate. Working in batches of 4, spoon 2 tablespoons batter per pancake into a hot skillet, spreading it if necessary to form 3- 3 1/2 inch rounds. Cook pancakes until bubbles appear on surface, edges are set and undersides are golden, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Flip pancakes with a metal spatula and cook until undersides are golden and pancakes are cooked through. Lower heat if pancakes brown too quickly and insides aren’t set. Transfer pancakes to plate and serve with Vanilla- Brown Sugar Syrup. Brush griddle with more oil between batches.
Vanilla-Brown Sugar Syrup
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups water
3 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine brown sugar, water, butter, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a oil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil until syrupy and reduced to about 1 1/2 cups, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and vanilla, then let cool to warm or room temperature.
{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
peek-a-boo, butter! pancakes are my favorite vehicle for syrup consumption, and i believe whole wheat is definitely the way to go. i’m excited by your syrup recipe–the old stand-by maple may just get replaced!
ha-i just realized that the butter was a figment of my imagination. peek-a-boo, banana! i guess i’ve just got butter on the brain. :)
I just want to tell you that I’m a huge admirer of your blog – its one of my favorites! Everything looks so good – especially these pancakes! I can’t wait to try these! Thanks for sharing!
Just the mention of Bananas and Walnuts is incredibly delicious ! Then you top yourself with Vanilla-Brown Sugar…WOW!…Shopping today…;)
Ohhhhh…I love a girl who knows how to indulge mid-week! ;-)
Excellent looking pancakes. There is nothing better than bananas in pancakes. I make a quick and super healthy version of banana pancakes as well: Banana Pancakes w/ Maple Peanut Butter. It only uses 4 ingredients for the pancakes and you just throw it all in the blender and voila! I may have to give these a try though, they look outstanding!
- The Peanut Butter Boy
I love your blog! It makes me want to cook all day! Thank you for this recipe!
These are going in my breakfast files of “need to make”! Mmmm.
Looks very yummy! Where is the milk!
those look so good!!! and what a great alternative to maple syrup – sounds delicious!
Those sound delicious! I have a similar pancake I make, but instead of cornmeal I use oatbran, and I use a bit less oil. Mine are super stick-to-you-ribs and don’t turn out as pretty, so I think I’ll try your recipe.
These look AMAZING! My husband wants to make me breakfast tomorrow for Mother’s Day and these are perfect. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this decadent creation. Thank you SO much for the idea!!
I’ve been reading your blog and I love it! I’m going to make these tomorrow for mothers day!
I have tried a few of your recipes, and must say that you are dead on about a lot of stuff!! Thanks for putting these out there, and sharing! These pancakes are awesome……YUM!!
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Thanks again and I look forward to working with you
I tried these too after the brownies.
They turned out great. I love the subtle banana flavour.
MMM. Thank you so much.
I made the pancakes and syrup this morning. YUM! My 4 year old ate 2 and my 11 month old ate 1 1/2! They were great. Thank you for this recipe.
These look delicious! I’m a very health conscious person so I’m glad I found this recipe, for most recipes include items like flax seed and other expensive items. These I can make anytime (like I intend to do tomorrow morning!)
But I was wondering if I could substitute blueberries for the banana?
Joy!!! These were breakfast this morning… and fabulous!
My friend brought over a dozen eggs from her chickens the other day, so we enjoyed them as an ingredient in the pancakes, and also over medium,and of course… there was bacon! ;)
As luck would have it, we had both bananas over-ripening in the fruit bowl, and walnuts. I only had whole wheat pastry flour in the pantry, but they were still very awesome! The syrup alone is amazing!! You rock out loud, lady!!! :)
that syrup sounds wonderful!!! if i don’t use it all up, do you think it’d last from one weekend to another? thanks for all the great recipes!
Just sitting here searching the web and came across this blog…Amazing! Drooling on my desk a little :) I’m definitely going to have try out these pancakes they look beautiful!
Woooooooooooooah!!! I am not a baker, but I love bake goods and I tired your website mostly by the great photography, so I tried it. Now I am hooked, you are an amazing women with such a wonderful talent. Thank you so much for sharing your gift, it brought joy to my family. The whole wheat banana pancakes where a hit :)
I love pancakes!!!! I believe I will be making these tomorrow. I have never used cornmeal in pancakes, so I can’t wait to see how these taste!
how many does this serve???
these are perfecccct =]
This recipe makes about 20 to 25 3-inch pancakes. I’ve found that it serves about 4 or 5 people.
Tried these for breakfast and they went down very well with the whole family, will definately be making them again.
Just made these today. They turned out delicious. I placed them in the oven for 350 after I took each batch off of the stove. The inside was chewy and moist and the outside was nice and crisp. I will be saving this for future consumption.
I made these for dinner tonight, (I’m far more inclined to make pancakes for dinner than breakfast!), and they were wonderful. True confession…I was too lazy to deal with the separated eggs, so I just plopped them in the milk and used my immersion blender to whip them into a frenzy. (Next time, I promise I’ll do it your way!) We really enjoyed the added texture from the cornmeal, and the syrup was beyond yummy…I almost poured some in a mug to drink straight up! Thanks for once again expanding our pancake horizons.
Wow these are FILLING. I ate two and a half silver dollar size pancakes and was groaning like I had eaten 5 lbs of them. The syrup was amazing and will never ever ever buy syrup again.
Thank you – you made our day.
These were great even though I had to use skim milk.
Okay, just made the batch, but I am deviating a bit. The batter just went in the fridge for tomorrow’s breakfast. Less to do in the morning before work. Need a hearty breakfast. Thanks Joy!
Okay, I know most normal people would have cooked and eaten the entire batch all at once, but I had some leftover batter in the fridge from two days ago. Just finished the batch off tonight and they were delish. Off to buttermilk pancakes next!
These are THE BEST pancakes I have ever eaten in my entire life! No lie! They were the fluffiest and most delicious! Thanks for sharing!
i made these today but with whole wheat pastry flour, skim milk, omitted the oil and added some cinnamon and a few chocolate chips
the banana was WONDERFUL and made the pancakes so creamy! thanks for the great recipe :)
2 questions, could i use skim milk instead of whole, or even soy milk?? and in the syrup could i use light brown sugar. These look amazing i just never have whole milk or dark brown sugar on hand…
Made these tonight for dinner, yum! Plan to eat them for breakfast for the rest of the week, thanks for sharing!
These are so good!! These pancakes are the first recipe I’ve tried but I’ve collected a few that are waiting their turn. I’ve been making major changes to be healthy and these are so perfect without sacrificing yummy-ness! Thanks for sharing :)
I just made (and completely polished off) these this morning! AMAZING! Pure perfection!
Yummy! Just made them and they were a hit and possibly one of my favorite pancake recipes yet! Thanks for posting Joy!
I made them for breakfast today morning. They are amazing. I replaced the walnuts with almond and served with strawberry sauce, which my children just love.
Thanks for the recipe.
I made these a couple weeks ago and they were scrumptious. We ate the cold pancakes for morning tea and they were still very good.
I didn’t use the cornmeal in mine though and just added more flour.
What could I use as a substitute for corn meal?
thanks :)
My daughter and husband scrafed these up! They were thick and cake-like.. without the thought of whole wheat. I added ground flaxseed, my daughter mashed the bananas, and my husband said ” these are honestly my favorite pancakes I have ever had!” Worth every penny!
I have made different varieties of whole wheat pancakes before, but they have always had a dense texture and have not been flavorful. These were outstanding! I think it is the beaten egg whites that do the trick. My daughters (11 & 13) loved them and had about 4 each. To the person wondering how many they make, it fed my daughters, husband and me and I still have about 6 left over. I didn’t make the syrup this time, but I will definitely give it a try with my next batch. Very yummy!
Made these for dinner tonight, they were JUST what I needed. Thanks!
These were fantastic! We added a second banana and topped them with peanut butter, and they were the perfectly filling meal for an evening at home with my girls. Thank you!
I will take you up on that challenge. Thursday morning pancakes it is!
I made these over the long weekend, but with blueberries instead of bananas and walnuts. Let’s just say my BF and I put away the entire batch, in one morning. These are going to become a tradition, I can tell!
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