The internet is lousy with banana pancake recipe for infants, many promising something akin to alchemy: that a mere two ingredients–bananas and eggs–will produce perfect first pancakes for your child. Doesn’t take a chemist to predict what most likely will occur: burnt mush.
But there’s an obvious solution hiding in plain sight in your pantry or cabinet: the baby oats/cereal you may have used to introduce solids. Think of them as serving the same function as flour does in regular ol’ flapjacks: they bind; they solidify; they, you know, pancake. You’re still going to have a very soft and loose flapjack with this banana pancake recipe for infants, but it will come together and hold its shape just fine–and be more nutritious, to boot.
Even better, you can continue to adjust the ratio of ingredients to evolve alongside your baby’s palate and/or tooth situation, working his/her way up to regular pancakes by the end of your child’s first year and all kinds of specialty cakes in the days and years that follow. A great launching pad for all things food.
Ready to level up your pancakes for a toddler? Check out our kid-friendly banana pancake recipe.
Sure, there are a lot of baby-led weaning (BLW) banana pancake recipes for infants out there; this one is better. The secret? We add just enough infant oats/cereal to help bind the pancakes better, leading to a fluffy hotcake that your infant can enjoy--and you can make without everything sticking to a pan.
Cut the pancakes into long strips and serve one piece at a time–this will ensure your child does not overstuff his/her mouth or produce so much saliva that he/she gags. You can add applesauce or yogurt if this helps increase the appeal to your child, but do so sparingly, as the pancakes will be quite soft to begin with.
After some initial successes with this one, feel free to begin to add a bit of cinnamon to the mix; you can also begin to test allergens by using almond, chickpea, and other flours in place of the baby oats. You can also skip the egg altogether by adding a bit more baby oats and a splash of formula or breast milk instead.