The Best Banana Pancake Recipe for Infants
The internet is lousy with banana pancake recipes, 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 pancake, 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.
- 1 egg
- 1 ripe banana
- Baby oats (old-fashioned oats can also be used)
- In a small bowl, smash the banana until it is paste-like in form; add in an egg and mix with the banana until the mix is chunky and wet.
- Pour in a handful of baby oats, mixing in until fully integrated with the eggs and bananas. You can keep adding small amounts of oats into the mix as desired–just make sure the batter remains somewhat loose.
- Heat a sauté pan on Medium; when hot, put a very generous pat of butter in the pan and spread around the pan as it melts.
- Drop spoonfuls of batter around the pan, keeping each cake small and thin so you can get a spatula fully underneath; swirl the pan to ensure the butter gets under each spoonful. Cook until the edges of the top of the pancake are set and your spatula easily fits under and through the bottom of the pancake, which may take 2-4 minutes; flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- When ready, remove from heat and allow to cool for five minutes before placing on your child’s plate.
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.
Brad (the Dad) is the founder and Chief Recipe Officer of New Dad's Kitchen. His own cooking/feeding journey started humbly during his son's infancy, preparing and managing his son's bottle intake in order to support his wife; it has since blossomed into a full-on passion to feed his child and family delicious and healthy meals that can satisfy both a toddler and his very tired parents.
