A few months ago I picked up a muscle magazine at the gym and almost gagged out loud when I read a recipe for “Protein Cupcakes” that involved mixing protein powder and plain yogurt together and piping it on top of some concoction involving pureed beans, flax seed, wheat germ, and egg whites. “It tastes JUST like a cupcake!” One thing was clear- it had obviously been a long time since that person had consumed an actual cupcake. It’s like when people tell you that you’ll never know there’s kale in that sludge-colored smoothie you’re drinking (I can tell) or that you won’t miss pasta if you substitute a spaghetti squash (no really, you’ll miss it. A lot.) So listen up. I’m not going to tell you this little miracle recipe tastes just like a pancake. Use your brain and look at the ingredient list. The only two necessary ingredients here are these:
Seriously. No flour, nothing else.
I’ve seen this recipe floating around for years, in those same magazines that tried to tell me that my brain will not know the difference between protein powder with yogurt and glorious butter and sugar, so naturally I discounted it immediately. But over the past year or so I’ve seen this popping up in more and more reputable sources, so eventually I gave it a try- fully expecting to laugh in the epic failure it surely would be. But something happened. Don’t ask me how. Somehow when you mix bananas and eggs together and say some magic words, an unseen universe wizard comes and sprinkles pancake dust on it and it magically turns into this:
It’s sort of amazing actually. The result is obviously different than a standard carb-filled pancake. The best way to describe the flavor and texture is it’s like the center of a piece of french toast. Kind of eggy and crepe-ish. Keep that in mind when you make these. If you’re expecting a real pancake you’ll be sorely disappointed. While these certainly aren’t meant to replace a good ol’ classic pancake, surprisingly they’ve found a solid place in my kitchen. They take literally 30 seconds to make, and less than a minute to cook. They’re low calorie, high protein, and my kids love them. That means pancakes on a week day morning or a quick daytime snack is totally doable. If you’re into fit food and healthy eating, you’ll probably love these. Banana and eggs? Pretty much the perfect pre or post workout combo. So watch this:
One large banana. Open ‘er up and mash it with a fork. You’ll want to mash it pretty well, a little more than you’d mash for banana bread. If you don’t mash well, you’ll end up with kind of a lumpy gooey mess that basically tastes like scrambled eggs and banana chunks and then you’ll come back and leave mean comments on this post. And no one wants that.
Crack open 2 eggs and mix it in there.
Now that’s seriously ALL you need. I promise. You could mix that up really well and then pour the batter on a hot pan just like you’d cook a normal pancake. I add couple more things, namely a tiny pinch of baking powder, and a few dashes of cinnamon.
Remember back in my Healthy Thai Chicken Salad recipe when I introduced you to PB2 (powdered peanut butter)? I love that stuff. When I’m making these for my kids, I add a couple of spoonfuls of that in as well because it adds a little protein and makes the pancakes a little more substantial. It doesn’t really make them taste like peanut butter, but I do like the addition.
Now, you can make these in the blender as well. I actually usually throw everything in my blender, but if you process them until it’s totally smooth, your pancakes will be quite a bit flatter. So I just pulse a few times until it’s all mixed, but you can still see some small chunks of banana. If you have a high-powered blender like the Blendtec, it really takes like, one pulse.
Then you’ll just cook them on a hot skillet just like you would a normal pancake.
I mentioned the taste and texture is similar to the middle of a piece of french toast, or a crepe. Neither of those things are very sweet and if you eat them on their own they’re mediocre at best. When you eat that first pancake off the griddle you might be thinking the same thing. Sweet eggs. Yum, Sara. Just what I was craving.
Stick with me. You just need a little somethin’ somethin’. But look at those cuties. I like to call these ‘toddler pancakes’ because these are perrrrfect for little kids. All three of mine love these. Look at them- they look just like normal pancakes, crazy, right?
While they’re hot off the pan, spread them with a little butter.
My favorite lower calorie option these days is this Land O Lakes light butter.
Then drizzle with a little syrup. Or you could use agave, honey, or any other sweetener you like. (I love this Blueberry agave).
And while that’s delish, if you really want to make them yummy, give them a smear of nut butter, too. (I literally only buy Justin’s Maple Almond Butter in the sample pack size because I can’t have open jars of the stuff around. It’s amazing and swoon-worthy. (Also, this is not in any way a sponsored post even though I’m doing a ton of brand-naming today. Just sharing some favorites.)
Spread on a little love…
and give that a drizzle.
It’s honestly really, really good.
And not horrible for you.
You know you have to go try this now.
Because you’re dying to know if I’m crazy like the protein cupcake lady.
There’s one positive review. I didn’t say a word about what was in these pancakes. I just stood off to the side like a silent camera-wielding ninja. I’m positive some of you will hate these, and some of you will love them. Try for yourself and see which camp you fit in. Let the games begin!
Give it a shot and have an open mind. Let me know what you think! (Don’t forget the butter and syrup. And maybe peanut butter.)
Two Ingredient Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 large banana it should yield abt 1/3-1/2 cup, mashed
- 2 eggs
- 1/8 teaspoon baking powder optional but recommended
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon optional but recommended
Instructions
- Heat a skillet on the stove top to medium heat. While pan is heating, mash banana well and then mix in eggs, baking powder, and cinnamon. When pan is hot (water droplets should sizzle) Spray pan lightly with non-stick spray. Pour 2 tablespoons of batter at a time and cook until bottom appears set (30-60 seconds) flip with spatula and cook additional minute or less. Serve warm with butter and syrup.
Notes
Nutritional Info (per 1 pancake alone)
Cal: 22 Protein: 1.2 g Fat: <1 g Carbs: 2.6 g
Last week we had some technical issues that made it difficult for many of you to access our site. We apologize for that inconvenience. We’re all fixed up now, and in case you missed the great recipes from last week, make sure to check out these links!
1. Kate’s Chicken Enchilada Soup– this is on my menu this week. Hot, cheesy, creamy, basically everything awesome about Enchiladas. In a soup.
2. Come peek into my kitchen and see the appliance I get asked about the most! This thing is sort of amazing, and you just might want one, too.
3. SEAHAWK FANS! This awesome party food recipe is perfect for football, but also for anything you need to color coordinate. School colors, holidays, sports teams, you name it. Also, a hilarious video in that post which is worth clicking just for that.
4. Last but not least, Reuben Pigs in a Blanket. If you didn’t know this fun fact, one of my favorite foods in the whole world is pigs in a blanket. And not even the fancy kind. I’m talking good ol’ hotdogs in crescent rolls with sliced cheese. So these fancy ones will probably knock socks off.
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Questions & Reviews
Can u cook these on a gorge foreman
I made them with the yolks from the 3 eggs Where I only used the white parts. It was very good. I will try the conventional way with the two whole eggs. I did not need syrup or butter.
I make these when I need something to put Hershey’s Special Dark syrup on.
That’s a GREAT idea!
I made these last week (although I used directions from another site but I have a point i’ll get to about your great site) using only bananas and eggs, they were surprisingly good. I made them today and WOW what a failure! lol I added blueberries, cinnamon, baking powder and a little vanilla. They were gooey, would not hold their shape and it was pretty much like a blueberry/vanilla omelette. It tasted good and my husband liked it, but I had a hard time with it. (Although I ate it all. :D) I was really glad to read your post. I like your writing style. Your voice comes across like you are sitting across the table chatting with me. That said, I am sure I mashed my banana too much which I wouldn’t have suspected until reading here. Also, my first banana was a teeny bit green at the stem still and so made of firmer stuff than this brown freckled banana I used today. We’ve also decided to heat the blueberries separate so they don’t add all that moisture while the pancake cooks. Lastly, I have never heard of powdered peanut butter and I’m looking forward to experimenting with it to get beautiful pancakes like yours. Thanks for adding all the details that I couldn’t find anywhere else. I’ll be back to see what else you have to offer.
Made these a couple of days ago. They are amazing! I hate bananas and not a huge fan of eggs. Added vanilla instead of cinnamon. topped mine with white chocolate PB. My kids 9,7,4 are big fans too! If you have trouble making them turn the heat down and learn how to flip em quick. even if they dont turn out looking like perfect pancakes they will still taste good! About to make more right now. Going to experiment with adding hemp protein powder.
Hi Sara i would like to inform you that under the nutritional values, you listed 1.2g per pancake size. is it referring to the 3” size ?
Add almond extract to the batter before cooking. Its amazing.
just to warn you that you shouldn’t eat canola oil. http://www.drgangemi.com/2011/07/canola-oil/ this is only a small bit info.
Just stop with this stuff. As a librarian we have a saying “just because the internet has it, does NOT mean it is true”. Take any website that ends with .com and be even more critical than you would with say a .gov or .edu. In the case of the link you posted, the author is not an actual medical doctor- he is a doctor of Chiropractic and a homeopathic/nutritionist. In other words, to most intelligent people he is no more an authority on health issues or than you or I, or the guy on the bus this morning. If you feel like you don’t want to ingest canola oil- do not- your choice. But, please stop spreading disinformation and calling it fact (see here http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/canola.asp) Check and verify sources, be critical of things you read on the internet and in your email and think for yoruself. /off soapbox
Thank you for the recipe and all of the verification comments that this recipe does indeed work- I love them!
I just seen this recipe today and asked my Nutritionist about it. I was wondering how many calories, carbs, and protein was in it. I recently had gastric sleeve surgery so always looking for good recipes to fix. This sounds almost perfect. Thanks for sharing and cant wait to try them.
Hey! I’ve just tested your recipe and it is amazing! OMG, I still cannot believe how good these pancakes taste! I spread just a little bit of almond butter on each pancake and ate them with fresh strawberries and blueberries. I also tried with a little bit of maple syrup (not too much because I’m on a diet) and the result was absolutely yummy.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe… When you are on a low carb diet it is almost impossible to satisfy your sweet tooth! With these special pancakes you can eat something sweet without feeling guilty!
Tryed it and it didnt work…i did it three times making sure that i did everything and it turned up like a omlet with bananna taste…didnt look like or taste like a pancake..
Fantastic taste. Had them with rasberries and I am stuffed.
Found them impossible to flip though. Any suggestions? Where I live theres no such thing as fat free cooking spray. Thanks!
Hullo there!
Tried out your recipe and it was fantabulous! =)
Thanks for making my life easier haha.
Just in case: http://mypinkrainbows.blogspot.com/2014/07/2-ingredient-baby-banana-pancakes.html
xoxo
Hi,
I tried these today and it taste good. But I only have one problem, it is too soft. I can’t make a “pancake” out of it. It’s always breaking in the middle. My kids didn’t touch it because it didn’t look like pancakes. Any tips?
Thank you!
I made these and they were fabulous! I took some natural peanut butter and melted it for my sauce and it turned out great! Amazing and simple
Thank you for an awesome post, I actually tried your recipe today with a twist. I added sweet potatoes and raspberries. And I’m loving the maple almond butter! Hope I can find it around here 🙂 I post my version of the pancakes on my blog if you want to check it out. Thanks again.
What’s your blog url, so we can check out your sweet potatoes version? 🙂
I think it could use a pinch of salt.
I used salted butter to cook mine in and had the hint of salt it needed…
I just made these with a egg whites! They were a bit harder to cook but I made it work! Topped with fresh strawberries and Justin’s hazelnut spread…. all I can say is OMG! I found my new favorite breakfast meal 😛
So I was skeptical but I really wanted to try them and I really wanted success the first time! I carefully read through all the comments and followed several suggestions. I beat the eggs first before adding them to the well-mashed bananas and skipped the blender altogether. I also added 1/4 tsp. vanilla, 1/8 tsp. baking power, 1/8 tsp. cinnamon and 1 Tbsp. almond flour. Rather than cooking them over medium heat, I cooked them over medium-low to avoid any problems with overdone outsides and underdone middles. The first time I made them, I did several small pancakes on my large griddle. The next time I poured all the batter into my 10″ frying pan and made one large pancake. Both ways turned out very well. I served with fresh berries and pure maple syrup. Thanks for a great breakfast idea that goes well with my healthy eating goals!
I tried these just now and they didn’t turn out at all
Ok so they taste like they are suppose to but they didn’t look a pancake in the end really want to get these to work just not sure how
Tried these but they did not turn out. They tasted a lot like eggs. Any suggestions would be welcome.
SCORE! These silver dollar pancakes look just like your pictures, and tasted quite good! I was SO surprised, because I def doubted you there 🙂 I can’t believe they tasted just like a French toast, perfect description. I made the BASIC pancakes (using only 2 eggs+ 1 ripe banana) because I didn’t have any other ingredients you’ve mentioned! How sad. But now, I definitely want to try that PB2 stuff, Blueberry agave, and nut butter. I’ve never tried those 3 before, but it sounds good, and seems like all the foodies here agree. Perfect treat when I have to rush out of the house for those crazy 6:00am clinicals. We (the starving and broke nursing students) would forever be grateful if you can post some more “2-4 ingredients” quick and easy breakfast recipes or perhaps an easy “mug recipes”. THANKS!!!!!
looks like a good idea – until all the gunk was dumped on top – I’ll be trying them as they are, thanks.
Score!!! All three kids loved them, even my egg hater. I love all the variations that have been suggested and cant wait to try some. Thanks for this great healthy alternative, now to convince the hubby… 🙂
Wow, thanks for the yummy recipe! I’m not a major cook, but tried these after reading some other comments on other recipes. The little things you said about the consistency of the bananas, and the little bit of cinnamon were excellent! Mine turned out like your pictures, which was a huge surprise to me. I also threw in a tiny bit of vanilla extract just because I can’t leave anything alone. 🙂 They were fantastic and my picky boyfriend agreed!
Hi there! Im itching to try these! Just a quick question though, do you know what adding baking powder does to it? Curious to know what role technical role it plays! Also, I NEVER would have thought banana+eggs could turn out so beautifully just like real pancakes!! THANK YOU
Made these this afternoon, really enjoyed them. I did add 1/4 cup oats (processed into fine powder first), dash of cinnamon, stevia, and vanilla. Did not use the baking powder because I was out. They turned out great. Now my main goal here was actually to use up the one ripe banana I had sitting around, so I didn’t feel awful about the bit of stevia, or the Nutella I spread on the tops (out of PB and almond butter is at work). My 5yo ate one and said ”mmmm” several times. Now I want to make sure and get more bananas so I can make them again! I think would actually prefer peanut butter over Nutella. I’m not a fan of syrup
i made them and for some reason they weren’t looking like yours at all! they weren’t flipping right and not cooking very easily :/
I tried these and they were a complete bust! 🙁 They wouldn’t flip and turned into banana scrambled eggs more than anything. I was quite disappointed, I wish I knew what I was doing incorrectly because yours look delicious and I LOVE pancakes, not the calories.