You are in for a treat today! Not only are these pancakes way too easy to throw together, they are SOOOO delicious. These soft, almost creamy pancakes get naturally sweetened by a ripe banana, and they also get a little nutritious boost from the addition of chia seeds. It had been a little while since I pulled out my bag of chia seeds from the pantry, but they are such a great addition to these blender pancakes.
And if you haven’t tried chia seed pudding yet, where have you been? Yum!
You could add fresh berries or a few chopped chocolate chips to this recipe to jazz these up even more, but try them plain first because I think you’ll be surprised by how amazing these are all on their own. But, I am definitely a pancake lover! So I may be a bit biased. 🙂
Banana and Chia Seed Blender Pancakes, makes a dozen 4-5 inch pancakes (serves 2-3 easily)
1 cup water
2 teaspoons chia seeds
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 ripe banana (approx. 4 oz.)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
a couple teaspoons oil for frying
In a jar combine the water and chia seeds. If the jar has a lid, then give this a good shake for a minute or two. If not, you can just stir well. Allow the chia seeds to sit and soak for at least 5-8 minutes (longer is OK too) so they begin to develop a gel looking coating around the seeds.
In a blender combine the flour, baking powder, salt, banana (peel removed), vanilla extract, egg, milk, and chia seed water. Pulse until well combined.
Heat a nonstick pan or skillet over low/medium heat. Add a little oil to the pan. Pour about 3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup of batter into the heated pan. Wait until you see bubbles beginning to form in the batter and you can easily pull up the edges with a spatula. Then, gently work your spatula under the pancake and give it a quick flip over to the other side. Cook until the pancake is cooked through. I usually consider my first pancake a test pancake so I can figure out how many minutes to cook each side so it gets done all the way. Once you get the timing down, cook away until you’re out of batter! Remember to add a little more oil to the pan if you notice the pancakes beginning to stick. And also I find a little oil will help to create some slightly crispy edges, which I love in homemade pancakes.
Serve with fresh fruit, soft scrambled eggs, and you’ll want to make sure you have some maple syrup on hand! I love 100% pure maple syrup. Also peanut butter would be really good on these too. 🙂 Just a couple of notes here, guys, and then you should make yourself some pancakes ASAP.
Notes:
-Soaking the chia seeds not only will help to thicken your batter (because of the gel-like coating around the seeds), but I’ve also read that this is actually making the seeds sprout. Which makes them easier to digest and allows your body to access all their nutritional value. So don’t skip it. You can soak these for much longer than the initial 5-8 minutes, like even overnight. But if you aren’t much of a planner, just let them soak at least this long while you go make a pot of coffee or something.
-If you want to keep these dairy free, just use any dairy free milk you prefer (soy, almond, cashew, etc.). Even coconut milk with cream here would be great, but I probably wouldn’t open a can just for this as you’ll only need 1/2 cup.
-I haven’t tried swapping out the all-purpose flour with other flours yet (like whole wheat options or gluten free), but if anyone does, please let us know how it went! I have a feeling many other flours could work well here, but I am hesitant to recommend anything until I’ve tried it.
Happy breakfast days to you guys! xo. Emma
Banana and Chia Seed Blender Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 2 teaspoons chia seeds
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 ripe banana approx. 4 oz.
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- a couple teaspoons oil for frying
Instructions
-
In a jar combine the water and chia seeds. If the jar has a lid, then give this a good shake for a minute or two. If not, you can just stir well. Allow the chia seeds to sit and soak for at least 5-8 minutes (longer is OK too) so they begin to develop a gel looking coating around the seeds.
-
In a blender combine the flour, baking powder, salt, banana (peel removed), vanilla extract, egg, milk, and chia seed water. Pulse until well combined.
-
Heat a nonstick pan or skillet over low/medium heat. Add a little oil to the pan. Pour about 3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup of batter into the heated pan. Wait until you see bubbles beginning to form in the batter and you can easily pull up the edges with a spatula. Then, gently work your spatula under the pancake and give it a quick flip over to the other side. Cook until the pancake is cooked through. I usually consider my first pancake a test pancake so I can figure out how many minutes to cook each side so it gets done all the way.
-
Once you get the timing down, cook away until you’re out of batter! Remember to add a little more oil to the pan if you notice the pancakes beginning to stick. And also I find a little oil will help to create some slightly crispy edges, which I love in homemade pancakes.
Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with the NEW A Beautiful Mess actions.
39 Comments
As a self-proclaimed pancake crazy person, this is a great new way to make my breakfast!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
They look super delicious and sound so healthy, I just have to try them!
https://www.makeandmess.com/
These pancakes look so good and I love the addition of chia seeds.
Oh how I miss pancakes with eggs in them <3
That sounds super interesting. Definitely try this out next weekend 🙂
Love pancakes and I am always on the look for new recipes, so thanks a lot:-)
These look so good! I love pancakes and I love chia seeds, but unfortunately chia doesn’t like me 🙁 I used to eat chia seed pudding and sprinkle seeds on my toast with almond butter, but now it makes me instantly break out with eczema! So please enjoy one of these for me 🙂
These look so delicious! Love the addition of chia seeds for extra fiber + protein!
Pancakes all the way! This recipe is for me x
Jessica — NinetyCo
Yum! Healthy pancakes are my favourite kind of breakfast ♥
Amy // snippetsofamy.co.uk
OH these look so yummy! I want them asap!
http://thatsmagsforyou.com
Those pancakes look delicious.
Oh my gosh – this weekend’s breakfast? Yes, please!
– Natalie
http://www.workovereasy.com
Can you share the source for your silverware please?
These pancakes look amazing! We’ll have to try them when we get home from vacation!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Yum…. I will so try for breakfast tommorow 🙂 xx
A Girl’s Journal
http://girlsjournal95.blogspot.co.uk/
Can we make pancake crazy person a club? So I can join.
😉
-Emma
Awe, thanks McKel!
-Emma
I’ll join too! 😉
Laura
http://laurelandfern.com/
We just had these as part of our “breakfast for dinner”, so good! I have a 9 and 5 year old and they both gobbled them up! Which is saying something for the 5 yr old…aka Mr. Pickypants. They turned out more like a swedish pancake or crepe consistency, which is just fine by us. (I even had mine with lingonberry jam.)
Thanks for such a nice recipe of a healthier pancake. 🙂
I’m waiting for the club jacket cuz you just know if ABM is in on it that’ll be one cute club jacket!
These look delightful!
http://www.petiteandhungry.com
Ooh, these sound wonderful! I know whats for breakfast tomorrow 😉
– goloveyrself.com
Looks delicious! I am pinning to try tomorrow!
These look delicious!
These look so good, and healthy! http://www.likehanna.com
I’ve not long bought some chia seeds and have no idea what to do with them, very glad to have come across this post! These pancakes look just delicious
Yum! Looks healthy & delicious. Definitely giving these pancakes a try this weekend. Been awhile since I’ve used my bag of chia seeds too.
Wow. look so good 🙂 Will try.
Regards from Malaysia.
Wow! Great post and nice design.
These look and sound delish, but can we talk about that adorable napkin for a minute? Too cute!
These also work really well with GF flour, big thumbs up!
What a unique idea to add chia seeds. I tried these with gluten free flour and xanthan gum. They turned out great and so yummy! Thanks!
What a simple recipe! I know what I’m going to be having for breakfast tomorrow!
Wow! nice design thank u
Porfect
I was about to make some pancakes and I came across your recipe. It looks amazing! I’ve never made the pancakes mix in a blender, but I am about to try!
Thankssss!
Hi Emma, In the recipe I read “chia seed water” but in the picture I can see the seeds in the batter. Did you mean “chia seeds with the the water” ?
The look delicious!
I love your site and content but I”m sorry to say these were terrible. They were so runny and I could barely flip them. Once I did get them cooked through they were still mushy in the middle. They were also tasteless, need something to sweeten or flavour them.