I just had a past guest email me and ask for our banana pancakes recipe.
“I’m not a great cook,” he said, “but my girlfriend loved the banana pancakes when we visited your inn, and I would like to try and make them for our anniversary.”
Well, I have good news for you, Jim S…and I have even better news for your girlfriend! Our Southern Banana Pancakes are one of our easiest recipes.
Have you ever heard the phrase “Keep it simple”? Well, that sums up these pancakes in three words. You know, you can make snooty pancakes, with all kinds of fancy ingredients like ricotta cheese or special biscuit flour. One that takes hours to make because it’s a yeast-based pancake, and the yeast needs to bloom and then rise (I’m looking at you, Martha Stewart). But seriously, we think the best recipes are simple recipes that focus on great ingredients and lots of love.
Mary has made these pancakes at our St. Augustine bed and breakfast for years, but it wasn’t until 2016 that I actually spied on her making them one morning, wrote the recipe down, then worked with her after breakfast was over to double-check the amount of the ingredients. I’m not sure she ever has worked with a written recipe–but, like I told her, I can’t really say “just eyeball the milk til the batter is kind of thin”. That may have worked for her, but I’m a “measure it with a scale to be safe” kind of gal.
One of the reasons guests love the pancakes is because they are the most banana-y pancakes ever. Most recipes call for slices of bananas, but Mary’s recipe smashes them so they become part of the batter. Why do we call them ‘southern banana pancakes’? Because Mary is from North Cackalacky (that’s North Carolina to the rest of us!) AND because these pancakes inspire you to sit a spell, swing on the porch, and enjoy some good old fashioned conversation–whether you’re from the south or not!
Southern Banana Pancakes
– Scant 2 cups Aunt Jemima pancake mix (don’t follow directions on box—just use the mix dry)
– 1 egg, beaten
– 1 c. milk
– ¼ cup vegetable oil
– 2 very ripe bananas
Smash bananas with potato masher or fork.
In a bowl, add pancake mix, egg, milk, and vegetable oil, and stir until incorporated.
Add bananas and stir til distributed in batter.
Spray a hot griddle with cooking spray, then pour out batter until it creates a 5” round. When bubbles on pancake are clear so that you can see the griddle through them, flip and cook on second side until brown.
Serve immediately with real maple syrup.
We give everyone two pancakes (but we’ll do more if you ask!), and this recipe makes 8-10 pancakes. If you only have 2 people, make the whole batch and serve them again for dinner with bacon and peanut butter between them!
Enjoy!