Banana Buckwheat Pancakes with Blueberries

These banana buckwheat pancakes are a healthy, hearty breakfast made with whole grains and blueberries. If you want a more interesting and filling pancake that is also gluten-free, this easy recipe is for you.

Buckwheat flour is an underappreciated grain that happens to make delicious pancakes. In French Canadian culture, it's used to make a specific type of pancake called ployes, which I often enjoyed as a kid at my grandparents' house. They often served them as a side to roast dinners, though I always liked them best topped with a little butter and sugar.

Those buckwheat pancakes were more like crepes, while this recipe, full of bananas and blueberries, is of the traditional American breakfast pancake variety. They're not the light and fluffy kind you get from a mix. Instead, they're more rustic and fruity.

Here are three reasons to give this banana buckwheat pancake recipe a try:

1. Buckwheat flour, which isn't actually flour but rather the ground seeds of the buckwheat plant, is more nutritious than white flour and includes more protein, fiber, magnesium, manganese, and phosphorous.
2. These pancakes are naturally gluten-free, but they still have the satisfying taste of grains rather than bland starch, as many gluten-free foods often do.
3. Bits of mashed banana are incorporated throughout the batter, keeping the pancakes moist and tender, along with the blueberries.

Jump to:

• 🍌Ingredients
• 📖Variations
• ⏲️Instructions
• 🍳Equipment
• 🥞Top tip
• 💭FAQ
• ☕Pairing ideas
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

If you like unique breakfast recipes, try my Orange Ricotta Matzah Brie, Broccoli and Stilton Quiche, or Danish Aebleskiver Pancakes. Berry lovers will also want to check out my Strawberry Cream Soda and Blackberry Scones with Thyme.

🍌Ingredients

Although these pancakes are made with buckwheat flour, many of the other ingredients are similar to those in a standard recipe.

Key Ingredients

• Buckwheat flour - Available in most grocery stores, buckwheat flour is a naturally gluten-free flour made from ground buckwheat plant seeds called groats. Technically speaking, it's not even flour. It's considered a pseudocereal. Bouchard Family Farms is a popular brand I often see in stores in New England. However, you want the buckwheat flour and not their ployes mix. If you have trouble finding it, look in the aisle with the other flours, the pancake mixes, or in a dedicated gluten-free section.
• Bananas - You'll want medium-sized ripe bananas. Unripe bananas are not sweet enough and won't break down well when mashed. The simplest way to mash them is with a fork.
• Blueberries - Either fresh or frozen are fine. But don't defrost the frozen blueberries unless you enjoy mushy pancakes.

See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and measurements.

📖Variations

Make them vegan - Use an equal amount of oil instead of butter and your preferred milk alternative instead of dairy milk. For the eggs, use 3 tablespoons of ground flax seed mixed with ½ cup of water. Let this sit for 5 minutes before adding to the batter.
Add cinnamon - A few pinches of cinnamon would make a nice flavor addition to the batter

⏲️Instructions

Here's how to make these banana buckwheat pancakes.

Hint: Add the blueberries by hand after pouring the batter onto the skillet instead of tossing them in the bowl with the batter, where they will sink to the bottom.

🍳Equipment

Nonstick pan - Although not essential, a nonstick pan helps make the pancakes easier to flip. But if you use a nonstick pan, use a plastic spatula to prevent scraping the pan's surface. I've ruined a few pans because of metal spatulas.

🥞Top tip

💭FAQ

☕Pairing ideas

Looking to round out your breakfast? Here are a few ideas:

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📖 Recipe