Flourless Banana & Protein Powder Pancakes

These no-frills protein pancakes pack a hefty protein punch. With a combination of eggs and protein powder (working to a 20g protein per serve supplement), a finished stack serves up over 30g protein – similar to a small chicken breast!

As a Registered Nutritionist, I’m often asked for quick, easy protein-packed breakfast ideas. High protein foods are slow to be digested, making a decent serve at brekkie a great nutritional strategy to keep satisfied into the morning (1). These pancakes fit the protein brief and can be whipped up in around 10 minutes!

Free of grains, they’re ideal for those gluten-free too. Instead, a banana is used to provide energy (carbohydrates) and natural sweetness.

A quick FYI: these pancakes have been designed to suit a range of dietary preferences, and don’t contain traditional pancake ingredients (except eggs). Because of this, their taste and texture will differ to regular pancakes – but they’re wonderful in their own right🥞

Ingredients Needed

Simple does it for these protein pancakes – only three ingredients are required:

• Protein powder. This recipe is suitable for flavoured or plain whey or pea protein powder. There will be subtle differences in the end dish, depending on what you use – the whey batter blends creamier, leading to a slightly fluffier pancake! I’ve tested collagen protein powder here and found it didn’t work well – this might be due to how collagen dissolves.
• Eggs provide structure, leavening (that little rise as it cooks!), flavour and richness from the nutritious yolk fat. Two eggs definitely pull their protein weight, offering up 10g of the good stuff! #gains.
• Banana is used for nature sweetness, a yummy banana flavour and glorious carbs aka energy. Go for a ripe yellow fruit – more of the starches will have converted to sugars, meaning it’ll be sweeter.

Feel free to play beyond these base ingredients – try blending in spices (like cinnamon), spinach (for green goodness) or cocoa powder (for a chocolatey boost). If you find something that works, leave a comment below!🙏 

Kitchen Tips

• Blend ingredients together to save time and ensure a uniform batter. Otherwise, you can whisk in a bowl by hand, just make sure to really mash the banana prior so it’s not clumpy.
• Pour batter mixture into a small milk jug. Once the frying pan is greased and hot, pour batter direct from the jug into the pan. This will help ensure perfect pancake rounds!👌
• Look out for signs that your pancakes are ready to flip, like a golden brown colour and edges that slightly pull away. The pancake should lift easily off the griddle or frying pan when ready to flip. If not, cook for a bit longer.

A note on consistency:
Protein powders can vary in their total weight measurements per serve (e.g. 24g, 40g…), as well as how they absorb liquids (pea tends to be more absorbent than whey). Both can impact the batter’s viscosity and thickness. This is why a range of 3 Tbsp or more protein powder has been given. Start at 3 Tbsp, blend and check the thickness. If the batter looks to thin (quite jiggly when you give it a wiggle) then add more protein powder. You’re after a thickness where you can pour it into the frying pan and it spreads out just a little. 

Serving Suggestions

Enjoy for breakfast or a post-workout meal. While totally ace by themselves, pancakes are always infinitely better with toppings (and the extra goodies add nutritional diversity and bulk out the meal!). You could try:

• An extra protein boost by adding a dollop of Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, chopped nuts or sprinkle of hemp seeds.
• Bumping up the sweetness by scattering over chopped seasonal fresh fruit, stewed fruit, fruit compote or a drizzle of maple syrup.
• Adding texture with a sprinkle of crunchy granola or muesli, your favourite chopped nuts, a drizzle of tahini, shredded coconut or an assortment of seeds.
• Or for just an insanely good time drizzle peanut butter overtop and a sprinkle of chopped dark chocolate. Yum!